The fastness of colours to light, air, rubbing, washing, soaping, acids and alkalies is a feature of some considerable importance, there are indeed few colours that will resist all these influences, and such are fully entitled to be called fast. The degree of fastness varies very considerably, some colours will resist acids and alkalies well, but are not fast to light and air; some will resist washing and soaping, but are not fast to acids; some may be fast to light, but are not so to washing. The following notes will show how to test these features. #Fastness to Light and Air.#--This is simply tested by hanging a piece of the dyed cloth in the air, keeping a piece in a drawer to refer to, so that the influence on the original colour can be noted from time to time. If the piece is left out in the open one gets not only the effect of light but also that of climate on the colour, and there (p. 222) is no doubt rain, hail and snow have some influence on the fading of the colour. If the piece is exposed under glass the climatic influences do not come into play, and one gets the effect of light alone. In making tests of fastness the dyer will and does pay due regard to the character of the influences that the material will be subjected to in actual use, and these vary very considerably; thus the colour of underclothing need not be fast to light, for it is rarely subjected to that agent of destruction; on the other hand, it must be fast to washing, for that is an operation to which underclothing is subjected week by week. Window curtains are much exposed to light and air, and, therefore, the colours in which they are dyed should be fast to light and air. On the other hand, these curtains are rarely washed, and so the colour need not be quite fast to washing. And so with other kinds of fabrics; there are scarcely two kinds which are subjected to the same influences and require the colours to have the same degree of fastness. The fastness to rubbing is generally tested by rubbing the dyed cloth with a piece of white paper. #Fastness to Washing.#--This is generally tested by boiling a swatch of the cloth in a solution of soap containing 4 grammes of a good neutral curd soap per litre for ten minutes, and noting the effect whether the soap solution becomes coloured and to what degree, or whether it remains colourless, and also whether the colour of the swatch has changed at all. One very important point in connection with the soaping tests is whether a colour will run into a white fabric that may be soaped along with it. This is tested by twisting strands of the dyed yarn or cloth with white yarn or cloth and boiling them in the soap liquor for ten minutes and then noting the effect, particularly observing (p. 223) whether the white pieces have taken up any colour. Fastness to acids and fastness to alkalies is observed while carrying out the various acid and alkali tests given above. THE END.