E-text prepared by Julie Barkley, Diane Monico, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) VEGETABLE DYES Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by ETHEL M. MAIRET Faber and Faber Ltd 24 Russell Square London First published in Mcmxvi by the Ditchling Press Reprinted, for the sixth time April Mcmxxxviii and published by Faber and Faber Limited 24 Russell Square, London Printed at the Ditchling Press, Ditchling All rights reserved CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Wool, Silk, Cotton and Linen 1 II. Mordants 6 III. British Dye Plants 11 IV. The Lichen Dyes 16 V. Blue 24 VI. Red 31 VII. Yellow 35 VIII. Brown and Black 40 IX. Green 43 X. The Dyeing of Cotton 46 XI. The Dyeing of Silk 56 Glossary 60 Bibliography 63 Index 65 CHAPTER I WOOL SILK COTTON AND LINEN WOOLS are of various kinds:-- _Highland, Welsh and Irish_ wools are from small sheep, not far removed from the wild state, with irregular short stapled fleeces. _Forest or Mountain sheep_ (Herdwick, Exmoor, Cheviot, Blackfaced, Limestone) have better wool, especially the Cheviot, which is very thick and good for milling. _Ancient Upland_, such as South Down, are smaller sheep than the last named, but the wool is softer and finer. _Long Woolled sheep_, (Lincolns, Leicester) with long staple wool (record length, 36".) and fleeces weighing up to 12 lbs. The Leicester fleece is softer, finer and better than Lincoln. To the end of the 18th century _Spanish wool_ was the finest and best wool in the world. Spanish sheep have since been introduced into various countries, such as Saxony, Australia, Cape Colony, New Zealand; and some of the best wools now come from the Colonies. _Alpaca, Vicuna and Llama_ wools are from different species of American goats. _Mohair_ from the Angora goat of Asia Minor. _Kashmir Wool_ from the Thibetan goat. _Camel_ hair, the soft under wool of the camel, which is shed annually. The colour of wool varies from white to a very dark brown black, with all shades of fawn, grey and brown in between. The natural colours are not absolutely fast to light but tend to bleach slightly with the sun. The principal fleeces are: _Lambs_, 3 to 6 months growth, the finest, softest and most elastic wool.