derived either from the animal or vegetable kingdom. We recognise the
former by the property they possess of liberating ammonia on being
treated with potash; while the latter afford a liquor having an acid
reaction under the same treatment. The animal kingdom furnishes three
varieties--silk, wool, and the furs, &c., of various animals; the
vegetable kingdom also three--flax, hemp, and cotton: all of which
require certain preliminary preparations to render them fit for the
dyer, which do not come within our province, our space only admitting
of a rapid glance at the production of the various colours.
2683. General Observations.
The various shades produced by colouring matters may be classed in one
or other of the following groups:
1. Blues }
2. Reds } _Simple_.
3. Yellows }
4. Violets }
5. Orange colours } _Binary_.
6. Greens }
7. Compound colours }
8. Black } _Ternary_.
Some colours adhere at once to the stuff, and are called _substantial
colours_; while others require that the material to be dyed should
undergo some previous preparation in order to render it permanent. The
substances used to fix the colouring matters are called _mordants_,
which should possess four qualifications:
i. They should possess an equal affinity for the fibre of the
material and the colouring matter.
ii. They should be incapable of injuring or destroying either by
prolonged action,
iii. They should form, with the colour, a compound capable of
resisting the action of air and water.
iv. They should be capable of readily conforming to the various
operations of the dyer.
2684. The Mordants.
For the reasons just given, the acetate or tartrate of iron is
preferable to the sulphate; and the acetate or tartrate of alumina to
alum. _For reds, yellows, green, and pinks_, aluminous mordants are to
be used. _For blacks, browns, puces, and violets_, the acetate or
tartrate of iron must be employed. _For scarlets_, use a tin mordant,
made by dissolving in strong nitric acid one-eighth of its weight of
sal-ammoniac, then adding by degrees one-eighth of its weight of tin,
and diluting the solution with one-fourth of its weight of water.
[CUNNING MEN'S CLOAKS SOMETIMES FALL.]
2685. Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Blue).
_Blue_.--Wash well to remove dressing, and dry; then dip in a strong
solution of sulphate of indigo--partly saturated with potash--and hang
up. Dry a piece to see if the colour is deep enough; if not dip again.
_Saxon Blue_.--Boil the article in alum, and then dip in a strong
solution of chemical blue.
2686. Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Buff).
_Buff_.--Boil an ounce of anatto in three quarts of water, add two
ounces of potash, stir well, and put in the calico while boiling, and
stir well for five minutes; remove and plunge into cold pump water,
hang up the articles without wringing, and when almost dry, fold.
2687. Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Pink).
_Pink_.--Immerse in the acetate of alumina mordant, and then in the
colouring of a pink saucer.
2688. Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Green).
_Green_.--Boil the article in an alum mordant, and then in a solution
of indigo mixed with any of the yellow dyes until the proper colour is
obtained.
2689. Calico, Linen, and Muslin (Yellow).
_Yellow_.
i. Cut potato tops when in flower, and express the juice; steep
articles in this for forty-eight hours.
ii. Dip in a strong solution of weld after boiling in an aluminous
mordant. Turmeric, fustic, anatto, &c., will answer the same as weld.
2690. Cloth (Black).
Impregnate the material with the acetate of iron mordant, and then
boil in a decoction of madder and logwood.
2691. Cloth (Madder Red).
Boil the cloth in a weak solution of pearlash--an ounce to a gallon of
water,--wash, dry, and then steep in a decoction of bruised nutgalls.
After drying it is to be steeped twice in dry alum water, then dried,
and boiled in a decoction made of three quarters of a pound of madder
to every pound of the article. It should then be taken out and dried,
and steeped in a second bath in the same manner. When dyed, the
articles should be washed in warm soap and water, to remove a
dun-coloured matter given out by the madder.
2692. Cloth (Scarlet).
Three quarters of a pint of a tin mordant, made by dissolving three
pounds of tin in sixty pounds of hydrochloric acid, is added to every
pound of lac dye, and digested for six hours. To dye twenty-five
pounds of cloth, a tin boiler of seventy-five gallons capacity should
be filled nearly full with water, and a fire kindled under it. When
the heat is 150° Fahr., half a handful of bran and two ounces of tin
mordant are to be thrown into it. The froth which arises is skimmed
off, the liquor is made to boil, and two pounds and three quarters of
lac dye, previously mixed with a pound and three quarters of the
solvent, and fourteen ounces of the tin solvent, are added.
Immediately afterwards two pounds and three quarters of tartar, and a
pound of ground sumach, both tied up in a linen bag, are to be added,
and suspended in the bath for five minutes. The fire being withdrawn,
five gallons of cold water and two pints and three quarters of tin
mordant being poured into the bath, the cloth is immersed in it. The
fire is then replaced, and the liquid made to boil rapidly for an
hour, when the cloth is removed and washed in pure water.
2693. Cloth (Yellow).
Use No. ii. for calico. Quercitron and weld produce a solid yellow;
fustic a very brilliant tint; while turmeric yields a less solid
yellow.
2694. Feathers (Black).
Use the same as for cloth.
2695. Feathers (Blue).
Every shade may be given by indigo--or dip in silk dye.
2696. Feathers (Crimson).
Dip in acetate of alumina mordant, then in a boiling-hot decoction of
Brazil-wood--and, last of all, pass through a bath of cudbear.
2697. Feathers (Pink, or Rose-colour).
Pink, or rose-colour, is given by safflower and lemon juice.
2698. Feathers (Deep Red).
Proceed as for crimson, omitting the cudbear bath.
[THE FAT MAN KNOWETH NOT WHAT THE LEAN THINK.]
2699. Feathers (Yellow).
Mordant with acetate of alumina, and dip in a bath of turmeric or weld.
2700. Hair (Black).
As the object in view is simply to dye the hair without tingeing the
skin, the following will be found the best:--Take equal parts of
litharge and lime; mix well, and form into a paste with water, if a
black is desired; with milk if brown. Clean the head with a small
tooth comb, and then well wash the hair with soda and water to free it
from grease; then lay on the paste pretty thick, and cover the head
with oilskin or a cabbage-leaf, after which go to bed. Next morning
the powder should be carefully brushed away, and the hair oiled.
2701. Leather (Black).
Use No. iv. _black stain_ (see par. 1430), and polish with oil.
2702. Gloves (Nankeen).
Steep saffron in boiling-hot soft water for about twelve hours; sew
up the tops of the gloves, to prevent the dye staining the insides,
wet them over with a sponge dipped in the liquid. A teacupful of dye
will do a pair of gloves.
2703. Gloves (Purple).
Boil four ounces of logwood and two ounces of roche alum in three
pints of soft water till half wasted; strain, and let it cool. Sew up
the tops, go over the outsides with a brush or sponge twice; then rub
off the loose dye with a coarse cloth. Beat up the white of an egg,
and rub it over the leather with a sponge. Vinegar will remove the
stain from the hands.
2704. Silk (Black).
The same as for cloth, but black dyeing is difficult.
2705. Silk (Blue).
i. Wash quite clean, rinse well, and then dip in a hot solution of
sulphate of iron: after a short time take it out and rinse again.
Have ready in another vessel a hot solution of prussiate of potash,
to which a small quantity of sulphuric acid has been added. Dip the
silk in this liquid; on removal rinse in clean water, and expose to
the air to dry.
ii. Wash well, rinse, wring out, and then dip in the
following:--Boil a pound of indigo, two pounds of woad, and three
ounces of alum, in a gallon of water. When the silk is of a proper
colour, remove, rinse, and dry.
2706. Silk (Carnation).
Boil two gallons of wheat and an ounce of alum in four gallons of
water; strain through a fine sieve; dissolve half a pound more of alum
and white tartar; add three pounds of madder, then put in the silk at
a moderate heat.
2707. Silk (Crimson).
Take about a spoonful of cudbear, put it into a small pan, pour
boiling water upon it; stir and let it stand a few minutes, then put
in the silk, and turn it over in a short time, and when the colour is
full enough, take it out; but if it should require more violet or
crimson, add a spoonful or two of purple archil to some warm water;
steep, and dry it within doors. It must be mangled, and ought to be
pressed.
2708. Silk (Lilac).
For every pound of silk, take one and a half pounds of archil, mix it
well with the liquor; make it boil for a quarter of an hour, dip the
silk quickly, then let it cool, and wash it in river water, and a fine
half violet, or lilac, more or less full, will be obtained.
2709. Silk (Madder Red).
Use the dye for cloth.
2710. Silk (Yellow).
Take clear wheat bran liquor fifteen pounds, in which dissolve three
quarters of a pound of alum; boil the silk in this for two hours, and
afterwards take half a pound of weld, and boil it till the colour is
good. Nitre used with alum and water in the first boiling fixes the
colour.
2711. Wool (Blue).
Boil in a decoction of logwood and sulphate or acetate of copper.
2712. Wool (Brown).
Steep in an infusion of green walnut-peels.
2713. Wool (Drab).
Impregnate with brown oxide of iron, and then dip in a bath of
quercitron bark. It sumach is added, it will make the colour a dark
brown.
[NO LOCK WILL HOLD GAINST KEYS OF GOLD.]
2714. Wool (Green).
First imbue with the blue, then with the yellow dye.
2715. Wool (Orange).
Dye first with the red dye for cloth, and then with a yellow.
2716. Wool (Red).
Take four and a half pounds of cream of tartar, four and a quarter
pounds of alum; boil the wool gently for two hours; let it cool, and
wash it on the following day in pure water.
Infuse twelve pounds of madder for half an hour with a pound of
chloride of tin, in lukewarm water; filter through canvas, remove the
dye from the canvas, and put it in the bath, which is to be heated to
100° Fahr.; add two ounces of aluminous mordant, put the wool in, and
raise to boiling heat.
Remove the wool, wash, and soak for a quarter of an hour in a solution
of white soap in water.
2717. Wool (Yellow).
Dye with that used for calico, &c.
2718. Dyeing Bonnets.
Chip and straw bonnets or hats may be dyed black by boiling them three
or four hours in a strong liquor of logwood, adding a little green
copperas occasionally. Let the bonnets remain in the liquor all night,
then take out to dry in the air. If the black is not satisfactory, dye
again after drying. Rub inside and out with a sponge moistened in fine
oil. Then block.
2719. To Dye Hair and Feathers Green.
Take of either verdigris or verditer one ounce; gum water, one pint;
mix them well, and dip the hair or feathers into the mixture, shaking
them well about.
2720. To Clean White Satin and Flowered Silks.
i. Mix sifted stale bread-crumbs with powder blue, and rub it
thoroughly all over the article; then shake it well, and dust it
with clean soft cloths. Afterwards, where there are any gold or
silver flowers, take a piece of crimson ingrain velvet, rub the
flowers with it, which will restore them to their original lustre.
ii. Pass them through a solution of fine hard soap of a moderate
heat, drawing them through the hand; rinse in lukewarm water, dry,
and finish by pinning out. Brush the flossy or bright side with a
clean clothes-brush, the way of the nap. Finish them by dipping a
sponge into a size, made by boiling isinglass in water, and rub the
wrong side. Rinse out a second time, and brush, and dry near a fire
in a warm room.
Silk may be treated in the same way, but not brushed.
2721. Cleaning Silk, Satins, Coloured Woollen Dresses, &c.
Four ounces of soft soap, four ounces of honey, the white of an egg,
and a wineglassful of gin; mix well together, and scour the article
with a rather hard brush thoroughly; afterwards rinse it in cold
water, leave to drain, and iron whilst quite damp.
2722. To Clean Black Cloth Clothes.
Clean the garments well, then boil four ounces of logwood in a boiler
or copper containing two or three gallons of water for half an hour;
dip the clothes in warm water and squeeze dry, then put them into the
copper and boil for half an hour. Take them out, and add three drachms
of sulphate of iron; boil for half an hour, then take them out and
hang them up for an hour or two; take them down, rinse them thrice in
cold water, dry well, and rub with a soft brush which has had a few
drops of olive oil applied to its surface. If the clothes are
threadbare about the elbows, cuffs, &c., raise the nap with a teasel
or half worn hatter's card, filled with flocks, and when sufficiently
raised, lay the nap the right way with a hard brush.
2723. To Clean Furs.
Strip the fur articles of their stuffing and binding, and lay them as
nearly as possible in a flat position They must then be subjected to
a very brisk brushing, with a stiff clothes-brush; after this any
moth-eaten parts must be cut out, and neatly replaced by new bits of
fur to match.
Sable, chinchilla, squirrel, fitch, &c., should be treated as follows:
Warm a quantity of new bran in a pan, taking care that it does not
burn, to prevent which it must be actively stirred. When well warmed,
rub it thoroughly into the fur with the hand. Repeat this two or three
times: then shake the fur, and give it another sharp brushing until
free from dust.
White furs, ermine, &c., may be cleaned as follows:--Lay the fur on a
table, and rub it well with bran made moist with warm water; rub until
quite dry, and afterwards with dry bran. The wet bran should be put on
with flannel, and the dry with a piece of book muslin.
The light furs, in addition to the above, should be well rubbed with
magnesia, or a piece of book muslin, after the bran process.
Furs are usually much improved by stretching, which may be managed as
follows: To a pint of soft water add three ounces of salt, dissolve;
with this solution, sponge the inside of the skin (taking care not to
wet the fur) until it becomes thoroughly saturated; then lay it
carefully on a board with the fur side downwards, in its natural
position; then stretch as much as it will bear, and to the required
shape, and fasten with small tacks. The drying may be accelerated by
placing the skin a little distance from the fire or stove.
[GOLD IS NO BALM TO A WOUNDED SPIRIT.]
2724. Cleansing Feathers of their Animal Oil.
The following receipt gained a premium from the Society of Arts:--Take
for every gallon of clean water one pound of quicklime, mix them well
together, and when the undissolved lime is precipitated in fine
powder, pour off the clean lime water for use. Put the feathers to be
cleaned in another tub, and add to them a quantity of the clean lime
water, sufficient to cover them about three inches when well immersed
and stirred about therein. The feathers, when thoroughly moistened,
will sink, and should remain in the lime water three or four days;
after which the foul liquor should be separated from them, by laying
them in a sieve.
The feathers should be afterwards well washed in clean water, and
dried upon nets, the meshes of which may be about the fineness of
cabbage nets. The feathers must be from time to time shaken on the
nets, and, as they get dry, they will fall through the meshes, and
must be collected for use. The admission of air will be serviceable in
drying. The process will be completed in three weeks. When thus
prepared, the feathers need only be beaten to get rid of the dust.
2725. To Clean White Ostrich Feathers.
Four ounces of white soap, cut small, dissolved in four pints of
water, rather hot, in a large basin; make the solution into a lather,
by beating it with birch rods, or wires. Introduce the feathers, and
rub well with the hands for five or six minutes. After this soaping,
wash in clean water, as hot as the hand can bear. Shake until dry.
2726. Cleaning Straw Bonnets.
They may be washed with soap and water, rinsed in clear water, and
dried in the air. Then wash them over with white of egg well beaten,
Remove the wire before washing. Old straw bonnets may be picked to
pieces, and put together for children, the head parts being cut out.
2727. To Bleach a Faded Dress.
Wash it well in hot suds, and boil it until the colour seems to be
gone, then wash, and rinse, and dry it in the sun; if still not quite
white, repeat the boiling.
2728. Bleaching Straw Bonnets, &c.
Wash them in pure water, scrubbing them with a brush. Then put them
into a box in which has been set a saucer of burning sulphur. Cover
them up, so that the fumes may bleach them.
2729. Clothes Balls.
Take some fullers' earth, dried till it crumbles to powder: moisten it
with the juice of lemon, add a small quantity of pearlash, work and
knead carefully together till it forms a thick paste; make into balls,
and dry them in the sun. Moisten the spot on clothes with water, then
rub it with the ball. Wash out the spot with pure water.
[O HEART! BUT TRY IT ONCE;--'TIS EASY TO BE...]
2730. To Wash China Crêpe Scarves, &c.
If the fabric be good, these articles of dress can be washed as
frequently as may be required, and no diminution of their beauty will
be discoverable, even when the various shades of green have been
employed among other colours in the patterns. In cleaning them, make a
strong lather of boiling water; suffer it to cool; when cold or nearly
so, wash the scarf quickly and thoroughly, dip it immediately in cold
hard water in which a little salt has been thrown (to preserve the
colours), rinse, squeeze, and hang it out to dry in the open air; pin
it at its extreme edge to the line, so that it may not in any part be
folded together: the more rapidly it dries the clearer it will be.
2731. To Wash a White Lace Veil.
Put the veil into a strong lather of white soap and very clear water,
and let it simmer slowly for a quarter of an hour; take it out and
squeeze it well, but be sure not to rub it: rinse it twice in cold
water, the second time with a drop or two of liquid blue. Have ready
some very clear weak gum arabic water, or some thin starch, or rice
water; pass the veil through it, and clear it by clapping; then
stretch it out evenly, and pin it to dry on a linen cloth, making the
edge as straight as possible, opening out all the scallops, and
fastening each with pins. When dry, lay a piece of thin muslin
smoothly over it, and iron it on the wrong side.
2732. Blond Lace.
Blond lace may be revived by breathing upon it, and shaking and
flapping it. The use of the iron turns the lace yellow.
2733. Washing Bed Furniture, &c.
Before putting into the water, see that you shake off as much dust as
possible, or you will greatly increase your labour. Use no soda, or
pearlash, or the articles will lose their colour. Use soft water, not
hot, but warm: have plenty of it. Rub with mottled soap. On wringing
out the second liquor, dip each piece into cold hard water for
finishing. Shake out well, and dry quickly. If starch is desired, it
may be stirred into the rinsing water.
2734. Washing with Lime (1).
Half a pound of soap; half a pound of soda; quarter of a pound of
quick-lime. Cut up the soap and dissolve it in half a gallon of
boiling water; pour half a gallon of boiling water over the soda, and
enough boiling water over the quick-lime to cover it. The lime must
be quick and fresh; if quick, it will bubble up when the hot water is
poured over it. Prepare each of these in separate vessels; put the
dissolved lime and soda together, and boil them for twenty minutes;
then pour them into a jar to settle.
2735. Washing with Lime (2).
After having made the Preparation, set aside the flannels and coloured
articles, as they _must not_ be washed in this way. They may be washed
in the usual way while the others are boiling. The night before, the
collars and wristbands of shirts, the feet of stockings, &c., should
be rubbed well with soap and set to soak. In the morning pour ten
gallons of water into the copper, and having strained the mixture of
lime and soda well, taking great care not to disturb the settlings,
put it, together with the soap, into the water, and make the whole
boil before putting in the clothes.
A plate should be placed at the bottom of the copper, to prevent the
clothes from burning. Boil each lot of clothes from half an hour to an
hour, then rinse them well in cold blue water. When dry they will be
beautifully white. The same water will do for three lots. Wash the
finer things first.
2736. Washing. (_Supremacy of Soapsuds over Lime_).
To save your linen and your labour,--pour on half a pound of soda two
quarts of boiling water, in an earthenware pan; take half a pound of
soap, shred fine; put it into a saucepan with two quarts of cold
water; stand it on a fire till it boils; and when perfectly dissolved
and boiling, add it to the former. Mix it well, and let it stand till
cold, when it will have the appearance of a strong jelly. Let your
linen be soaked in water, the seams and any other soiled part rubbed
in the usual way, and remain till the following morning. Get your
copper ready, and add to the water about a pint basin full; when
_lukewarm_ put in your linen, and allow it to boil for twenty minutes.
Rinse it in the usual way, and that is all which is necessary to get
it clean, and to keep it in good colour. Housekeepers will find the
above receipt invaluable.
[...BUT TO APPEAR SO, WHAT A STRAIN AND MISERY!]
2737. Hard Water.
When water is hard, and will not readily unite with soap, it will
always be proper to boil it before use; which will be found
sufficiently efficacious, if the hardness depends solely upon the
impregnation of lime. Even exposure to the atmosphere will produce
this effect in a great degree upon spring water so impregnated,
leaving it much fitter for lavatory purposes.
In both cases the water ought to be carefully poured off from the
sediment, as the neutralized lime, when freed from its extra quantity
of carbonic acid, falls to the bottom by its own gravity. To
economize the use of soap, put any quantity of pearlash into a large
jar, covered from the dust, in a few days the alkali will become
liquid, which must be diluted in double its quantity of soft water,
with an equal quantity of new-slacked lime. Boil it half an hour,
frequently stirring it; adding as much more hot water, and drawing off
the liquor, when the residuum may be boiled afresh, and drained, until
it ceases to feel acrid to the tongue.
2738. Washing Machines.
Much labour in washing has been saved by the introduction of washing
machines, by which the toil of washing day, formerly so severe, has
been much abridged. Suitable machines for washing, wringing, and
mangling may be purchased at comparatively low prices of any of the
makers of what is termed "labour-saving machinery," such as Kent,
Bradford, Twelvetrees, &c. Preparations for softening water, and
facilitating the process, exist in the Extract of Soap, and the
various washing powders now to be purchased of most grocers and oil
and colourmen. Cold water soap, too, has achieved considerable
popularity, for by its use a lather can be quickly produced, even in
the hardest water.
2739. Save Soap and Labour.
Soap and labour may he saved by dissolving alum and chalk in bran
water, in which the linen ought to be boiled, then well rinsed out,
and exposed to the usual process of bleaching.
2740. Hardly Any Soap.
Soap may be dispensed with, or nearly so, in the getting up of muslins
and chintzes, which should always be treated agreeably to the Oriental
manner; that is, to wash them in plain water, and then boil them in
rice water; after which they ought not to be submitted to the
operation of the smoothing iron, but rubbed smooth with a polished
stone. This work, which is known as "calendering," is very heavy and
laborious, and is done by men.
2741. Improvements.
The economy which must result from these processes renders their
consideration important to every family, in addition to which, we must
state that the improvements in philosophy extend to the laundry as
well as to the wash-house.
2742. Gum Arabic Starch.
Procure two ounces of fine white gum arabic, and pound it to powder.
Next put it into a pitcher, and pour on it a pint or more of boiling
water, according to the degree of strength you desire, and then,
having covered it, let it set all night. In the morning, pour it
carefully from the dregs into a clean bottle, cork it, and keep it for
use. A tablespoonful of gum water stirred into a pint of starch that
has been made in the usual manner will give to lawns (either white or
printed) a look of newness to which nothing else can restore them
after washing. It is also good (much diluted) for the white muslin and
bobbinet.