_Raffia._—This is a material so widely used in the public schools, as well as by craftsmen, for weaving baskets, that it is well worth while to pay more attention to the dyeing of it. It is quite cheap, and very bulky, and takes these colors extremely well. So that it is one of the most satisfactory of all raw materials to experiment with, especially if there is a school or workshop at hand, where the dyed goods can be utilized. The raffia should be shaken out thoroughly, and soaked in soft water over night, or at least for several hours, to thoroughly wet and soften it. If even shades are desired it can then be dyed, just like straw braid, in a warm dye-bath containing the dyestuff, previously dissolved in diluted acetic acid or vinegar. It is much more interesting, however, to dye it rainbow shades from the start. If red, blue, and yellow dyestuffs are dissolved separately, in different cups or pitchers, these solutions can be used to replenish the large dye-pots of the same colors. To keep the colors reasonably clear, and prevent them from speedily degenerating into “mud,” it is well to keep on hand one or two rinsing-pots, full of warm water, or to have a sink near at hand, where each hank or bundle of raffia should be rinsed after being taken out of one dye-pot and before going into the next. The raffia, when thoroughly wetted out, should, for convenience’ sake, be made up into separate loosely-tied bundles, with a loop on each by which to handle it in the dye-bath without staining the hands. It is well, too, to have some oil-cloth around, for these bundles drip a good deal, and the dye-liquor will stain anything of an animal or vegetable nature with which it comes in contact. After a little experimenting with dipping these bundles first into the first dye-pot and then—rinsing each time—into the other two, it will be easy to get the general effect of any particular shade, although, when examined closely, the fibre will show the presence of all three colors. It is interesting to notice, here, as previously with the Salt colors, how easy it is to modify and soften the harsh shades of the individual unmixed dyestuffs. And, as before, it is very interesting as well as very useful to dye some bundles even shades of some important compound color, such as brown, for instance, or olive green, or steel grey, and to notice how the color is changed on the fibre by adding a little more red, or yellow, or blue to the bath. The “eye for color” obtained in this way is of the greatest possible advantage to a dyer, whether amateur or professional; and where, as in this case, the materials are cheap, easy to dye, and possible to utilize, every advantage should be taken of the opportunity.