undergo, in order to convert it into
wine or beer, being called the _vinous_ fermentation. Vinegar is of
great use in cookery and medicine; the word is derived from the French
for wine, _vin_, and _aigre_, sour. The ancients had several kinds of
vinegar, which they used as drinks; but it is most likely that these
vinegars were different from that so called among us, and were more
probably a kind of wine.

_Acetous_, sour.

_Vinous_, wine-like.

What materials are used for the dyeing and coloring of our
manufactures?

There are many mineral and vegetable earths which furnish mankind with
different colors for beautifying their various manufactures, and
assisting them in the arts, &c. Some species of insects also come to
their aid, as for instance, the cochineals; these insects are killed
by the application of heat, and thus form the drug used for giving red
colors, especially crimson and scarlet, and for making carmine. The
beautiful and permanent blue called Indigo, is the produce of a small
shrub, two or three feet in height.

From what part is the Dye obtained?

From the leaves; the color is produced by soaking them some hours in
water, in large vessels constructed for the purpose; the sediment of
the blue liquor drawn from them is afterwards dried and sold in the
form of small grains For the painter, they are mixed with oil, or
diluted and made up into small cakes with gum water.

In what countries is Indigo cultivated?

It is native in both Indies, and in South America, where its
cultivation affords employment to many of the inhabitants. It also
grows wild in parts of Palestine, and is much cultivated both in Syria
and Egypt. It once formed one of the staples of the Southern States,
but has in a great measure given way to the cultivation of cotton.

Has Indigo been long known?

The culture and preparation of indigo were known to the Oriental
nations long before it was introduced into Europe. The inhabitants of
ancient Britain painted their bodies with the blue dye which they
obtained from woad, a plant which grows wild in France and along the
shores of the Baltic, and which greatly resembles indigo in all its
properties, except its brilliancy of color.

_Brilliancy_, brightness.

What is Gamboge?

The concrete resinous juice of a species of gum-tree, growing in
Cambodia, and other parts of the Indies. It is brought over in large
cakes or rolls of a yellowish brown color out