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Brown Dye

The different shades of this dye vary from pale yellow and reddish brown up te very dark brown, almost black, every shade of which, however, may be produced, as the taste of the workman may dictate, by mixtures of reds and yellows with blues and blacks, or by simple dyes, which at once impart a brown, -as catechu, walnut rinds, or oxide of manganese.

Boil the cloth in a mordant of alum and common salt dissolved in water, then dye it in a bath of logwood, to which a little green copperas has been added. The proportion of alum should be 2 ounces, and of salt 1 ounce, to every pound of cloth.

Or boil the goods in a mordant of alum and sulphate of iron, then rinse them through a bath of madder. The tint depends on the relative proportions of the alum and copperas; the more of the latter, the darker will be the dye. The joint weight of the two should not exceed 1/8 of the weight of the wool. The best proportions are 2 parts of alum and 3 of copperas.

For other receipts for dycing black and brown see Index. boil slowly for 1 hour, when they will be a good scarlet. Take them out, cool, and rinse in cold water. If it should happen that the wool or flannel shows some white hair, which is generally the case when new wool is used, then add 5 pounds of raw muriatic acid to the dye. This powerful agent will work wonders in scarlets, oranges, and pinks, as it tans the wool, which is perhaps a little greasy, and prevents the tin crystals from fastening too quickly to it, and thereby evener colors are obtained. This latter fact is very valuable, and not generally known.

Scarlet spirit is thus prepared: Take 16 pounds muriatic acid 220 Baumé, 1 pound feathered tin, 2 pounds water. The acid should be put in a stoneware pot, and the tin added, and allowed to dissolve; the mixture should be kept a few days before using.