The utensils required for feather dyeing are of a very simple
character, few and inexpensive. For small establishments an ordinary
stove, a common wash-boiler, to have constantly hot water on hand,
an ordinary wash tub, a white china wash-basin for dyeing, a clean
board for starching and a few bottles, together with a small tin
pan or kettle and funnel, for making solutions and decoctions and
filtering them, is all that is necessary besides the work table. More
recently, flat, oval upper pans, tinned for special purposes, have been
introduced as dye-vessels, which are neatly provided with a moveable
perforated false-bottom, and are heated either upon a direct fire, or
a gas jet, or by direct steam. In large establishments copper pans are
generally used, for the better grades of ostrich feathers especially,
and for ordinary goods wooden tubs, both heated by steam. Where wooden
tubs are used, several of them are set apart for the color most in
demand, such as black, brown, gray, mode, etc.