For three and a half to four pounds of cotton rags, such as are used in making rag carpets, three and one-half gallon pots are about the right size. This amount of material will be about enough for the filling for one rug about 6×4 feet, woven on a hand loom. _Heating Devices._—Work may be done over any flat-topped stove that burns wood or coal; gas is, of course, an advantage and so is an oil stove, as with these the heat may be regulated very exactly and much time saved. For actual work, a stove with space for four or five pots is the most convenient type to use. There should always be one large pot set aside for heating water, another for boiling out the raw goods, and still a third for boiling out and brightening the finished materials with soap, when very fast colors are used on cotton or linen; and each of these pots should be reserved for its special purpose and _not used_ for dyeing. This will avoid the danger of staining the goods. The top of a kitchen range will do for heating, but whenever possible, it is best to have a separate stove, so placed that the top of it will not be more than about twenty-four inches from the ground or floor. This enables the operator to look down into the dye-pot and so avoid strain, and the consequent excessive fatigue while stirring the goods. _Stirring Rods._—While the material is being dyed, it should be kept in constant motion. When working with small amounts of material, or with goods such as straw, raffia, muslin, or silk in skeins, which are delicate and easily spoiled, it is far more satisfactory in every way to use heavy glass rods for stirring. These are rather expensive. They are about fifteen inches in length and well rounded at the ends. If carefully handled and thoroughly washed, they are always clean and smooth. Care must, of course, be exercised in their use, as sudden variations of heat and cold may cause them to crack or chip, and lifting or stirring large quantities of heavy materials—anything above five pounds—is liable to break them. In these cases, it is best to use wooden dye-sticks. Broomsticks or dowel sticks, cut into two-foot lengths, with the ends rounded carefully by whittling with a sharp penknife, are excellent substitutes. For careful work it is necessary to have several sets of wooden dye-sticks—two for each main color at least—and these must be carefully washed each time after using, or they will stain cloth that is being dyed light shades. They are bound to get soft and rotten before very long, from the action of the alkali in the dye-baths, but they are easily replaced. Good rubber gloves are extremely useful while dyeing, to protect the hands not only from being stained and discolored by the dyes, but also from the action of the chemicals—especially while dyeing with indigo and other dyes wherein the caustic alkalies are employed.