In conclusion, when carefully made and dyed these artificial silks furnish beautiful, brilliant, lustrous fibres, which can be used to great effect in many kinds of handicraft work. They can easily be procured with more lustre than the very best natural silk, but even when dry are deficient in elasticity, and to some extent in strength, and when wet are very fragile. The price is kept at a rather high figure, as a rule only from 25 to 50 cents a pound less than that of good natural silk. But every year the production is increasing, new factories are springing up in every country, and as there is no limit to the production excepting the demand, it is probable that in a few years, thanks to competition, the price will be dropped very considerably and the whole silk business will be revolutionized. At present it is estimated that the production of the artificial silk is not far from one-fifth that of natural silk, and this fraction is getting larger every month. Indeed, the rise of this particular industry may fairly be considered as one of the most interesting, most useful, and most valuable contributions of the manufacturing chemist during the last quarter century. CHAPTER XIV TIED AND DYED WORK Hitherto, in this book, the student has been instructed in the general art of dyeing and coloring the various fabrics, both in the yarn and in piece, without any attention to the subject of coloring them in patterns or designs. The remaining chapters will be devoted to various methods, suitable for craftsmen, by which the dyestuffs can be applied so as to give more or less definite patterns to the objects to be colored. This art, in its general principles, was worked out in various parts of the world at very early periods in their civilization. In a great many cases colored designs in textiles were formed, in the process of weaving, by incorporating yarns of different colors in certain portions of the fabric. But along with this, at a very early stage in the textile industry, there was developed the art of making patterns, regular or irregular, by the action of dyestuffs upon previously woven goods. In general there are three methods for doing this which, it is claimed, were known to the ancient Egyptians just as well as they are to the modern calico printer. These three methods are known as Direct Coloring, Discharge, and Resist dyeing. [Illustration: FIG. 2—TIED AND DYED HEADDRESS FROM AN INCA TOMB IN PERU] =Direct Coloring.=—This means the application of the dyestuff or coloring matter to different special portions of the textile or fabric, so as to give a colored design, upon a lighter background. The dye may be applied by dipping special portions of the fabric into it, in which case the pattern is apt to be a very loose and irregular one. Or, if the material will take the dye readily enough, as for instance in the staining of leather, it may be applied with a brush, or a small pad.