Prepare feathers by washing and rinsing thoroughly. Prepare bath by
diluting about two ounces of turmeric in a gallon of boiling water,
and enter your feathers, letting them remain in bath about two minutes;
then take them out and add a few drops of diluted Bismarck brown and
about a teaspoonful of oxalic acid; re-enter your feathers and bring
bath to a boil, and let remain in about three minutes; after which take
out, and cool off a small quantity of bath, add a small handful of
starch, pass feathers through and dry.
Should you desire a very full dark shade, use about twice the amount
of turmeric, add a few drops more Bismarck brown; and if wanted much
lighter, use less of each color. If wanted more yellow, use very small
quantity of Bismarck brown; and if a very reddish shade of orange, a
little more Bismarck brown than amount prescribed in recipe.
There are numerous orange anilines in the market that are used
successfully in dyeing shades of orange, but it is almost necessary to
have a different shade of aniline for every shade of color made. Should
your sample to be matched be rather dull, use no oxalic acid in bath,
as the oxalic acid is used in developing and brightening the shade. To
remove the color, should it be too dark, the first method is to wash
well in soap water, rinse and pass through a solution of oxalic acid in
warm water, about half an ounce to the gallon.