390 
DR. C. B. PLOWRIGHT ON BRITISH DYE PLANTS. 
Genista anglica. — -The flowers give a very delicate yellow, with 
alum, which darkens very considerably by treatment with ammonia. 
Ulex europ/EUS. — A much paler yellow, with alum. 
Anthyllis vulneraria. — The fresh flower-heads gave, with 
alum, a good yellow. 
Trieolium pratensis. — Fresh flower-heads, with alum, a pale 
yellow ; with iron (copperas), a yellow green. 
Prunus spinosa.- — The ripe fruit, with alum, gave a pale mauve, 
or dirty fawn, which is darkened by copperas, and turned green by 
alkalies. The bark dyes a yellowish brown with and without alum. 
Pykus communis. — Dried pear leaves, with alum, dyed wool 
yellowish ; with copperas, gi’eenish black. 
Pyrus malus. — The inner bark gives one of most beautiful 
yellows, darkened by ammonia. 
Rubus fruticosus. — The mixed ripe and unripe fruit give a slaty 
blue, with alum, of doubtful durability. This colour was altered 
but not blackened by iron. 
Tormentilla officinalis. — The rhizome, which is so rich in 
tannin that it lias been used for making leather, dyes brown with 
alum ; but by treatment with potash this assumes a reddish tint — 
not a true red, but rather the reddish brown of burnt sienna. 
Linnams in his tour in Lapland found the natives dressed 
in woollen garments, dyed red, which they told him was effected by 
the use of this plant. This, they said, consisted in chewing the 
rhizome and applying the saliva to the wool. They probably 
imposed upon his credulity, or else he misunderstood them, for so 
far as my experiments have gone, saliva has no action of this kind 
on the root of this plant. 
Comarum palustre. — Has very similar properties to Potentilla ; 
prolonged boiling with copperas, however, imparts a deep red 
brown — a chocolate brown — to wool. 
Spiraea ulmaria — Also a rhizome rich in tannin, gives shades of 
brown, red-brown, and brown-black on treatment with the various 
mordants above mentioned. 
Cii/EROPHYllum sylvestre. — With alum gives yellow and 
yellow-green, according as the umbels or stems and leaves are 
used. 
