=Even Dyeing.=—The goods should be well washed, rinsed, and wrung out, so as to be sure that they are free from dirt and grease, and have been thoroughly and evenly wet. They are then placed in the dye-bath, completely under the liquid, and stirred round and round and turned over and over with the dye-sticks. The chief objects in stirring are, first, to prevent part of the goods from resting on the bottom and then getting more heat than the rest of the material, in which case, naturally, it will become darker when finished; and second, to prevent the outside portion of the goods from getting more color than the inner portions. Accordingly the goods, when placed in the dye-bath, must be well opened up and, excepting when deliberately making patterns by the method described later under the name of “Tied and Dyed Work,” they should not be tied or entangled in knots or bunches. Every part must be equally exposed, by the turning and lifting and stirring, to the action of the color solution. If only light shades are desired, the goods are heated and turned until the proper shade has been reached—remembering always that, unless the color has been boiled on, it is likely to be only a stain which will wash off easily. _Salt._—For full and indeed for medium shades, it is customary to add to the dye-bath some agent—usually table salt or, when the shade is not very dark, phosphate of soda—which will make the color less soluble in the dye-liquor and will tend to throw it on the fibre. For, after all, there is comparatively little affinity between the cotton fibre and the dyestuff (far less than between silk or wool and the Acid or Basic colors), and when a skein is warmed or even boiled in the dye-bath a large proportion of the color remains in the liquid. The bath is not “exhausted” as the dyers say. Hence, if we try to dye full shades with these colors dissolved in water only, or in soap and water, it can only be done by using large quantities of the dyestuff, most of which will be wasted in the spent dye-liquor. For dark shades, then, where there is little danger of uneven dyeing, the goods are usually dyed for a short time with the color dissolved in hot water. And then, to deepen the shade, the goods are lifted, and common salt added in considerable quantities, three or four tablespoonfuls to the gallon, and stirred round till it is dissolved. Then the goods are put back and well boiled for half an hour or so, before the dyeing is considered complete. The presence of salt, by increasing the temperature of the boiling bath, also helps to make the dyed goods fast to washing.