rass kettle, then put
in the alum and cream of tartar, and let it dissolve. When the water
boils, stir the alum and tartar up in it, put in the goods, and let them
boil a couple of hours; then rinse them in fair water--empty the kettle,
and put in three gallons of water, and the madder; rub it fine in the
water, then put in the goods, and set them where they will keep scalding
hot for an hour, without boiling--stir them constantly. When they have
been scalding an hour, increase the fire till they boil. Let them boil
five minutes; then drain them out of the dye, and rinse them, without
wringing, in fair water, and hang them in the shade, where they will
dry. To dye a fine crimson, take for each pound of goods two and a half
ounces of alum, an ounce and a half of white tartar--put them in a brass
kettle, with sufficient fair water to cover your goods; set it where it
will boil briskly for several minutes; then put in the goods, which
should be washed clean, and rinsed in fair water. When the goods have
boiled half an hour, take them out, without wringing, and hang it where
it will cool all over alike, without drying; empty out the alum and
tartar water, put fresh water in the kettle, and for each pound of goods
to be dyed, put in an ounce of cochineal, powdered fine. Set the kettle
on the fire, and let the water boil fifteen or twenty minutes; then put
in sufficient cold water to make it lukewarm, put in the goods, and boil
them an hour and a quarter--take them out without wringing, and dry them
in a shady place. The blossoms of the Balm of Gilead, steeped with fair
water in a vessel, then strained, will dye silk a pretty red color. The
silk should be washed clean, and free from color, then rinsed in fair
water, and boiled in the strained dye, with a small piece of alum. To
dye a fine delicate pink, use a carmine saucer--the directions for
dyeing come with the saucers. It is too expensive a dye for bulky goods,
but for faded fancy shawls and ribbons, it is quite worth the while to
use it, as it gives a beautiful shade of pink.

437. _Slate-Colored Dye._

To make a good dark slate color, boil sugar-loaf paper with vinegar, in
an iron utensil--put in alum to set the color. Tea grounds, set with
copperas, makes a good slate color. To produce a light slate color, boil
white maple bark in clear water, with a little alum--the bark should be
boiled in a brass utensil. The dye for slate color should be strained
before the good