It is worth mentioning here that, as a general thing, it is distinctly more interesting to build up shades by dipping first in one bath, and then topping with the second and the third color than it is to mix the different colors to the desired shade first and then dye the material in the single bath. On a small scale there is the same difference, although not so marked and less easily noticed, as that between even dyeing and rainbow dyeing. There is often a loss in regularity and evenness, but the gain in life and light when one color shines through another which covers it more than compensates. This overlaying is not so perceptible in the even dyeing of fine, thin materials, whether yarn or cloth; but with coarse, heavy yarns and thick textiles, effects can be obtained by after-dyeing which cannot be approached when the goods are dyed in one bath. _Matching Shades._—Some people, I believe, go so far as to say that, in order to be really expert at true shade matching when using the three colors in dyeing, a dyer must have begun to learn the art in the person of his grandfather, ninety or a hundred years ago, and kept in practise ever since. It certainly is true that heredity and early training both have a great deal to do with skill in this art, and a good color dyer will show an almost uncanny instinct, as he instantly picks out differences in shade which an untrained eye would never notice, and without any hesitation prescribes the exact remedy for the defect. Still there are plenty of good, even first-class dyers, nowadays, who have learned their art quite late in life, with the aid of a good eye and intelligent perseverance. The chief rule to remember is this: Red, blue, and yellow, when mixed in equal strength, make a neutral grey or black. Accordingly any one color will form grey or, as we may say, will _neutralize_, or be _complementary_ to a mixture of the other two. Thus red will form grey with green; blue with orange, and yellow with violet. Accordingly if there is too much red in the dye-bath, it can be killed by the addition of a little green; and vice versa. The same is true with the other complementary colors. If this simple rule be kept clearly in mind, most of the problems of matching colors and of getting pleasant and harmonious shades can be worked out easily. It is chiefly a matter of practice, and perseverance. The student is strongly advised to attack this study in three ways: First, mix the three primary colors together in one bath, to form definite shades—grey, brown, olive green, steel blue, etc.; then dye the cloth in the bath to see how the colors look when on the materials and dried.