24 
RERAMIC STUDIO 
window receiving a good Northern light, the part of the 
window above the glass being covered up, so that the light 
falls through the sheet of glass and it is very easy to trace 
the design on the parchment with the melted wax. When 
this is done, a little ridge of clay is built around the design, 
in such a way that the pasted strips are covered, then the 
dye is poured into the basin thus formed. After a quarter 
of an hour the dye is poured out and the dyed parchment 
rinsed off with a syringe, then dried. Subsequently the 
wax is scratched off and washed off with turpentine, the 
second covering of wax is applied for the second dyeing, and 
so on. 
My experiments with the dyeing of textiles led to the 
following results, after ample knowledge had been obtained 
in the laboratory : 
Blue dye — The indigo bath is made in a leaden basin 
with a wood mantle, the bottom of which is rectangular. 
The height of the basin is such as to allow the textile to rest 
in the bath full length. It maybe closed by means of a cover. 
Even textiles of rather large size may be dyed in this bath. 
The indigo required for this bath must be reduced 
beforehand. This is done in a smaller knip, or vat. The 
Java indigo, rubbed fine, is first mixed with water in a 
crucible, then a tepid milk of lime is added, and, at the 
same time, with continual shaking, in small quantities 
at a time, a solution of sulphate of iron. This concen- 
trated bath is left undisturbed for a couple of days in a 
moderate temperature, after which it is diluted in the vat 
of water, the water having first been freed of the absorbed 
oxygen by adding lime and green vitriol. 
The indigo bath remains fit for use for about six months ; 
it is true that it loses in strength, but a dark tint may be 
obtained to the last by repeated dyeing. Before the tex- 
tile is dyed in the bath, it is steeped for a quarter of an 
hour in water freed of the absorbed oxygen. 
If now any textile is steeped for a sufficient length of 
time in the perfectly clear, yellow liquid, and subsequently 
exposed to the air, the indigo-white unites again with the 
oxygen and forms in the fibre of the textile the famous 
indigo-blue, which is perfectly fast and non-fading. An 
extremely weak solution of sulphuric acid, in which the 
dyed textile is subsequently steeped, causes the disappear- 
ance of the traces of lime and iron which may have adhered 
to it, and allows the blue to appear in all its beauty. It is 
obvious that, after the bath, the textile must be thoroughly 
rinsed, in order to remove all the sulphuric acid, even to 
the smallest traces, from it. 
There is nothing new in indigo-batiking in itself, but 
it is well worth noticing that, before the experiments in 
the Harlem laboratory, no fast indigo batiking was done 
in this country, neither on textiles nor on parchment. 
The indigo bath described above can be used in every 
studio, and even large sized cloths may be batiked there 
in all shades of the purest and most beautiful blue. 
(To be continued.) 
Tea-cosy in Dutch batik. 
ANSWERS TO INQUIRIES 
Miss E. H. Tally — Materials for curtains can be bought from Joseph P. 
McHugh & Co., 9 42d St., New York City. Leather for tooling and coloring 
at A. Gongalery, 21 Spruce St., New York City. 
Dyes for leather from Mrs. B. Van Court Schneider, 102 Auditorium 
Bldg., Chicago, 111. We regret that we are not able to comply with your 
request for stencil designs full size. 
O. H. M. — A very good jeweler's cement can be made by dissolving in 
alcohol enough to produce 3 ounces. Add to this 15 grains of liquid gum 
ammoniac and 9 large drops of gum mastic, which have been dissolved in a 
little alcohol. Keep in an air tight bottle. 
Metal — A good resist for silver or copper during the etching process is 
made as follows: 2 ounces white wax, 2 ounces of asphaltum in powder. 
Melt the wax in a clean vessel, add the powdered asphaltum and boil to a 
proper consistency. For etching on gold use one-third part muriatic acid, to 
two-third nitric acid. 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS 
A stenographer who receives $18.00 a week, who is in New York and 
working in Wall street, but who has a taste for china decoration, asks if it 
would pay her to give up her work and devote herself to the study of ceramics. 
Unless she has great talent and an irresistible desire for the work so that she is 
willing to take all chances, she had better stick to stenography and indulge 
in china decoration only as a recreation. A stenographer, if proficient, always 
has a chance for increase of salary or a good permanent income as private 
secretary, especially in New York and on Wall street. A china decorator's 
existence, unless she has a large circle of paying acquaintances or great talent, 
so that she may be in the lead, is a very meager one, if not eked out by other 
sources of income. 
R. O. B. — Mat colors are grounded in the same manner as ordinary 
powder colors. The grounding oil is applied and padded until tacky, the 
powder poured on and brushed over the surface with a piece of surgeon's wool, 
keeping always the powder between wool and oil, or it will stick and draw 
threads. When the oil will absorb no more powder, the balance is brushed 
off and may be used for another piece. Mat colors are used only for grounds, 
they are not suitable for painting. 
A. L. — It would be difficult to exactly match any red except iron reds 
on china. You had better take some broken bits of china and make trials. 
Try for first fire — Pompadour Red and for second fire Ruby over it in varying 
depths of color — for grey try Grey for Flesh or Warm Grey or Pearl Grey one- 
half with Copenhagen one-half. You will find numberless good and simple 
conventional designs in back numbers of Keramic Studio in which you 
could use the gray and red with or without gold outlines. 
•f ** 
A NEW GARDEN POTTERY 
As we all know, there is a most welcome and general 
revival in the art of gardening. Landscape gardening has 
had its day for a while and the picture garden with its old 
world flowers, lawns, trees and shrubs is again appreciated 
and loved. For this form of gardening, garden pottery is an 
invaluable aid, not only because it fulfills the practical de- 
mands of utility but by its added charm of form and color. 
Until within the last few years, in England at least, the gar- 
den pot has not been treated as an object of decorative 
skill. Ornamentation made use of in horticultural decor- 
ation has been in the direction of architectural enrichments 
verv seldom practical from the plant grower's point of view, 
and either florid in design, or purely utilitarian. 
As in other branches of applied art, Messrs. Liberty & 
Co., London, Eng. have gone into untrodden paths, and 
in this instance, assisted and advised by Mrs. G. F. Watts, 
have shown in these illustrations of their new Celtic garden 
pottery, what good results can be achieved with good form 
and simple design. Dame nature is so beautiful and so full 
of charm that it is only the simple and right things that can 
assist her. The body of this garden pottery is a porous red 
clay, so that, unlike the Portland cement vases of our ances- 
tors, these pots are drained and ventilated, naturally aiding 
the healthy growth of plants. It is also claimed for this 
pottery that it will stand sudden changes of temperature, 
that frost does not affect it. This is an important point 
