436 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [November 25, 187 7 . 
the log’s are ground into a coarse powder, which is 
moistened and laid in beds 15 or 20 feet long- by 10 or 12 
broad, and about 3 feet thick. A slow fermentation 
ensues, by which the glucoside is decomposed, and the 
hematine liberated. It is converted into hemateine by 
stirring the mass, thus exposing it to the oxygen of the 
air, the action being quickened by the ammonia of the 
atmosphere, as well as by that given off by the decom¬ 
position of the azotized principles existing in the wood. 
This prepared wood is used by the dyer to produce log¬ 
wood blacks, as I shall describe further on, and also by 
wood-extract manufacturers, who prepare an extract 
which is much used in calico printing. To prepare this 
extract it is necessary that the wood should not be too 
highly oxidized, and that the solution obtained from it 
by successive and repeated lixivation should be slowly 
concentrated at a comparatively low temperature, that is 
to say, not exceeding 150° F.; for if a high temperature 
be employed the hemateine is still further oxidized, and 
a dark purple resinous principle produced, which spoils 
the brilliancy of the colour. 
This extract is chiefly used in print-works, to produce 
purples in steam styles.* A strong logwood solutionis 
thickened with starch, and printed on a prepared cloth; 
that is, a cloth that has been passed through a solution 
of stannate of soda, then through weak vitriol, by which 
means the binoxide of tin has been fixed a3 a mordant in 
the fibre of the cloth; the fabric, after washing and 
drying, is ready for the printer. After being printed, 
the cloth is cither rolled on a perforated cylinder or hung 
in an iron chamber, and submitted to the action of 
steam, when the hemateine combines with the oxide of 
tin, producing a beautiful purple. 
If blacks are to be produced, an iron mordant is fixed 
on the fabric, which is then passed through a logwood 
solution. It is afterwards washed, and the black fully 
developed by passing it through a hot dilute solution of 
bichromate of potash. 
Logwood and its extract are much used in Yorkshire 
for producing cheap blacks on mixed fabrics, which are 
goods in which the warp is cotton and the weft woollen. 
The black is produced by dyeing the fabric in a bath 
composed of logwood, sulphate of soda and bichromate 
of potash. 
It is often very useful to distinguish logwood blacks 
from sumach and other fast blacks, and logwood purples 
from aniline purples. This is easily effected by submit¬ 
ting the piece to the action of weak acids; the logwood 
colours assume a bright red tint, while the others remain 
unchanged. 
Brazil Wood. —We shall now pass on to a series of 
woods which are all obtained from the genus Cesalpinia, 
belonging to the Natural Order leguminosce. 
Although these woods have long been employed as 
dyes by the natives of the countries where they grow, 
it is only since the introduction of Brazil wood by the 
Spaniards that their value as dye-stuffs has been known 
in Europe. The best qualities are all imported from 
Brazil. The particular wood known as Brazil wood, 
derived from Cesalpinia braziliensis , has become scarce in 
the market, from its having hcen all cut in the districts 
within easy distance of shipping ports. 
The woods most in favour at the present day comes 
from Pernambuco, and is the Cesalpinia Christa. This 
tree is also found in Jamaica. That obtained from 
Sierra Nevada is not of such good quality. 
Another variety, bearing the name of peach-wood, is 
chiefly derived from Nicaragua. A third, known as 
Sapan-wood, comes principally from Siam, the East 
* Calico printers employ the word style or govels when 
speaking of a class of goods which are denoted by a word 
characterizing the colouring matter used, or the method em¬ 
ployed in producing them, ivladder goods and garancine I 
styles may be given as examples of the first, and steam styles 
of the second. 
Indies and other eastern countries. A rather infenor 
quality, known as Lima-wood, is imported from Peru. 
All these woods appear to contain the same glucos de, 
and, like the previous ones, are decomposed by peculiar 
ferments into a saccharine matter and a colour-giving 
principle. This is proved by the following experiments. 
If the decoction obtained by treating the wood from the 
interior of the sticks be boiled with a solution of double 
tartrate of potash and copper (the best known test for 
grape sugar), no precipitate is obtained; while, if the 
glucoside be first decomposed by boiling with a dilute 
solution of hydrochloric or sulphuric acid, and after¬ 
wards treated with the copper salt, an abundant precipi¬ 
tate of suboxide is thrown down. The decoction, which, 
has only a faint yellow colour, gives a most abundant 
and brilliant precipitate with subacetate of lead. The 
colour-giving principle was discovered by M. Chevreul, 
who gave it the name of brazilinc. By oxidation it is 
converted into brazileinr. It also combines with water, te 
form a hydrate containing two equivalents of w T ater. Pro¬ 
fessor Bolley gives the formula of braziline as C 
22 h 20 o 7 , 
and that of the hydrate C 22 II 20 O 7 , 2 H 2 0. He has also 
made the curious observation that a comparison of the 
formulae of hematine and braziline shows a difference 
equal to carbolic acid, as may be seen by the following- 
table :— 
Braziline C 22 H 20 O 7 
Hematine C l6 h 14 o 6 
Difference C 6 Pig 0 Carbolic acid. 
What is still more remarkable is, that by the action of 
nitric acid upon hematine, he obtained oxalic acid, whilst 
under similar circumstances braziline yields oxalic acid 
and picric or trinitrophenic acid, which is the product 
obtained when carbolic acid is acted upon by nitric 
acid. 
A decoction of any of these woods becomes yellow or 
orange (according to the quantity of braziline or brazi- 
leine it contains) on the addition of an acid, and by the 
addition of an alkali, a beautiful crimson red, the shade 
of which varies according to the proportion of the two- 
principles. It also becomes-red with bichromate of 
potash, and gives a red precipitate with oxymuriate of 
tin. 
These characters are sufficient to distinguish between 
a solution of these woods and one of logwood. 
To prepare a good commercial extract from these 
woods, they must be finely ground, as they yield theii 1 
colour to water with difficulty ; like logwood, they must 
be allowed to ferment and oxidize in the air, but not to 
the same extent. The concentration of the decoctions 
differs from that of logwood in the fact that they can 
bear a higher temperature. The more quickly they are 
evaporated, the brighter are the colours which the ex¬ 
tract gives. Dr. Dingier has proposed a process whiclr 
is stated to give very good results. It consists in adding 
4lbs. of gelatine, dissolved in water, to every cubic yard 
of ground wood, and allowing the whole to ferment for 
several days. The wood so treated yields a stronger 
and richer extract than that obtained by the ordinary 
process; no doubt the gelatine helps the decomposition 
of the glucoside, aud the ammonia produced facilitates 
the bxidation of the braziline. By the addition of a 
small quantity of chlorate of potash to the hot extract, 
Mr. Peak greatly increased its brilliancy, and rendered 
it more valuable to the printer on account of the brighter 
colour produced on the fabric. 
These extracts are principally used to obtain pinks 
and reds in steam styles. To effect this, acetate of 
alumina, chloride of tin, oxalic acid, or acetate of cop¬ 
per is added to the extract, and printed on the prepared 
cloth already described, which is then submitted to the 
action of steam. 
These woods are also used in conjunction with a little 
quercitron, or bark, in the production of cheap gnran- 
cine styles. These inferior garancine prints are easily 
