The cultivated taste of the present age, requiring a large variety of natural and artificially produced or embellished material for adornment, employs almost any kind of bird's feathers, either in their natural coloring or dyed. None of them, however, are used in the condition as they are plucked from the body of the live or dead bird, but all must undergo a cleaning process, which not only serves to improve their appearance, but is an exceedingly essential requisite for the preservation of the material from decay and the attacks of moth and other insects, and is, above all, the first condition and indispensable preparatory operation for dyeing feathers, whether the costly feather of the ostrich or the common feather of our domestic chicken or pigeon. The cleaning or washing process is the same for all kinds of feathers; the ostrich feather, however, requires drying after every treatment in a bath, and a The feathers of the ostrich, which are used for dress-feathers, are taken from the wings and tail of the bird, whose spurred wings, by their peculiar construction render it entirely unfit for flight. The wings seem rather only fit to serve for the purpose of holding the body of the bird in equilibrium while running, and of preventing it from sinking to any depth into the loose sand of the deserts, which are the home of the ostrich. The natural colors of the ostrich feathers are white, black and gray, or rather a dark drab. They are, therefore, sorted according to their natural color, to be bleached white, or dyed in light colors, or to be used for dark shades. Practical men in the general dyeing business, and in garment dyeing or re-dyeing, hold that it is unnecessary to bleach, respectively strip, the material for dyeing dark colors, and garment dyers strip their material only to a certain extent, so as to leave upon it a bottom of color which they can advantageously use for their new dye. This method appears correct, if as "practical" as all that is designated, which results in a saving of expense or labor; but it is Owing to the delicate nature of the material, the dyeing of ostrich feathers bears much similarity to that of silk; both being high in price, carelessness and negligence in their treatment is apt to entail heavy losses. The utmost cleanliness of all utensils is an absolute requirement; dyestuffs, drugs and chemicals must never be added to baths in substance, but always in solution, and never while the material is in the bath; but the material must be taken up while the dyestuff or salt, etc., solution is being added to the bath, and only re-entered after stirring well. Solutions, as well as decoctions, That the water used for any purpose in ostrich feather dyeing, for washing, bleaching, dyeing or rinsing, must be perfectly clean, needs hardly to be mentioned. UTENSILS.The utensils required for feather dyeing are of a very simple character, few and inexpensive. For small establishments an ordinary stove, a common wash-boiler, to have constantly hot water on hand, an ordinary wash tub, a white china wash-basin for dyeing, a clean board for starching and a few bottles, together with a small tin pan or kettle and funnel, for making solutions and decoctions and filtering them, is all that is necessary besides the work table. More recently, flat, oval upper pans, tinned for special purposes, have been introduced as dye-vessels, which are neatly provided with a moveable perforated false-bottom, and are heated either upon a direct fire, or a gas jet, or by direct steam. In large establishments copper pans are generally used, for the better grades of ostrich feathers especially, and for ordinary goods wooden tubs, both heated by steam. Where wooden tubs are used, several of them are set apart for the color most in demand, such as black, brown, gray, mode, etc. PREPARATION OF THE FEATHERS.The bundles received from the dealer being opened, the feathers are sorted according to color and size, and For this purpose a strong solution of soap is made in boiling water; when cooled down to about 150° F., it is well stirred, the feathers entered and left in the bath over night. The temperature may be kept up over night. It is necessary, however, to lay the feathers down in the steep so that the liquid can reach every part of them, and to keep them well immersed in the steep, for which purpose it is advisable to weigh them down by clean sticks of wood or some other means. Instead of soap, soda may be used for the steep; taking about one and one-half ounces of soda crystals to one gallon of water. By the steep the impurities, dirt and grease, covering the feather are loosened, and thereby the following cleaning operations materially facilitated. CLEANING AND BLEACHING OF FEATHERS.The ostrich feathers, like all material taken from the covering of the animal body, wool, hair, etc., which are embellished by dyeing for the use of man or woman in dress, contain by nature a certain amount of fat, and in their raw condition are more or less covered with dust, dirt and a greasy exudation, which must be removed for dyeing; that is, they are scoured or washed and then bleached or whitened, because the feathers, like all other so-called white animal matter, have always a faint yellowish tint, sometimes yellowish spots which cannot be removed without injury to the material, but obliterated by bleaching, which, in the case of white feathers, is called bleaching or whitening. The bleaching of gray and black feathers and the stripping or decoloring of dyed feathers are different operations. For scouring or washing, novel methods are recommended, which, however, differ from one another very little, and are, on the whole, represented by the following: Prepare a good handwarm bath (100-120° F.), in which dissolve two ounces Marseilles soap in per gallon of water and beat up to a good lather. Enter feathers and rub them well, string for string, by hand. They may even be taken upon a wash-board and rubbed The feathers being rinsed clean from the oxolate of potash bath, if destined for white, are then whitened, or rather blued, for the purpose of covering the yellowish tint above mentioned. To this purpose a cold bath is DRYING OR STARCHING.The feathers coming from the bioxolate of potash bath, after rinsing, or from the blue baths, are squeezed out by pulling them through the hand, and pressing them between the laps of a dry clean piece of white muslin, whereupon they are immediately passed through a bath of raw starch, that is, unboiled starch, consisting of about one-half pound of starch to a gallon of water. After passing them through the hand the feathers are then again pressed between the cloth; then the waves are lightly drawn by hand over the stems, and the feathers either beaten between the hands or upon a clean board over a stove until dry, or they are agitated by hand or by a suitable mechanical contrivance before an open fire or gas-jet, or hung in a warm room and frequently In case the flues are not sufficiently opened, although all the starch has been beaten out, dip the feathers into clean benzine and swing or agitate them until dry, which takes place in a few minutes, while the flues are opened in the most perfect manner. For white feathers the benzine may be blued, but in this case, they must be dried between muslin. BLEACHING OR DECOLORING NATURALLY GRAY FEATHERS.The feather dyer is often required to dye light colors upon naturally gray or even black feathers. As above remarked, the natural color would show even under dark colors dyed upon them to a greater or less extent, unless they are first decolorized, that is, their natural color destroyed or blackened. Much more necessary is, therefore, this operation for light colors to be dyed Dr. P. Ebell, of Linden, near Hanover, one of the first and still largest manufacturers of peroxyd of hydrogen, writes on the subject of feather bleaching as follows: The assorted and picked feathers are cleaned from dirt and fat with soap and water by means of soft brushes, which operation is continued until the feathers (after drying) are readily wetted by water; when they are laid down for some time in pure water. The liquids are removed from the feathers by a centrifugal machine or a wringer (the latter is evidently meant for ordinary PEROXYD OF HYDROGEN.This most valuable bleaching agent is a contraction LIGHT BLUE.I. To dye this delicate color well, special care must be taken in cleaning the feathers, for which purpose only olive-oil soap of the best quality, with a little ammonia, ought to be employed. When they are perfectly clean and no more grease upon the stems, rinse them first in one or two lukewarm waters, then in cold water until the last trace of soap is removed. Then fill your basin or dyeing pan three-quarters full of cold water; put in, for a dozen feathers, one hundred and eighty grammes (about eight ounces) of raw starch in a sufficient quantity of good indigo extract to give the starch-bath the II. Prepare a lukewarm bath acidulated with a few drops of sulphuric acid, so as to give a faint sour taste, to which add, according to shade, solution of methyl blue B. (Actien Gesellschaft fuer Anilin Fabrikation, Berlin). Enter the feathers and leave them in the bath until cold, or until uniformly dyed. Note.—Some dyers use alkaline blue, which is not, however, recommendable, because alkaline baths, as above remarked, are injurious to the feathers and must be avoided as much as possible. III. Prepare bath of lukewarm water, dissolve in it about one-half ounce tartaric acid per one quart, and add one ounce indigo carmine per quart of liquid; stir well, enter the feathers and agitate or lay down in the bath until the required shade is obtained. This color shows little fastness to light and air, which can be improved, however, by adding to the dye bath one-quarter ounce Light blues, as is easy to understand, can only be dyed upon white feathers for the most delicate shades; nearly white, or developed gray feathers may be used for the shades approaching a light medium blue. NAVY BLUE.I. For this color naturally gray or semi-bleached feathers may be used. It requires a mordant, like wool. For this purpose prepare a bath of forty per cent. (of the weight of feathers) tannin at 167° F., enter the feathers and agitate them from time to time for three hours. Then take them up, drain and squeeze them out, enter a cold bath of pyrolignite of iron (black liquor) marking 5° B., and work them for half hour; take them out, drain and squeeze, and then expose them, well spread out upon the strings, for one hour to the action of the air. Then rinse and dye upon a fresh warm bath with a mixture of aniline blue and a little methyl violet, using about twenty per cent. of the weight of feathers. Add the dyestuff in the beginning only in small doses and slowly in order to prevent the production of a II. Prepare a hot bath, to which add as much indigo carmine as to bring the color of the bath pretty near the shade to be produced. Enter the feathers and agitate them in the bath for one hour. Then take up the feathers, add alum and a solution of cloth-blue S. to the bath, re-enter the feathers and work them while raising the temperature to boiling point, when the steam or gas is turned off, or the pan removed from the fire, and the feathers allowed to lie for fifteen or twenty minutes longer in the bath. They are then taken out, rinsed, starched and dried and beaten. III. Have the feathers properly cleaned and well rinsed from the soap, respectively soda. Gray feathers may be used unbleached, but a purer color is obtained upon them when bleached. Prepare a hot bath, to which so much sulphuric acid is added, that it has a feeble sour taste; add the solution of two per cent. (of the weight of feathers), navy blue, one per cent. fast blue or black, and one-eighth per cent. acid fuchsine. Stir well, enter the feathers, manipulate while raising the temperature to boiling point, but not to actual boiling, continue at this temperature for one half hour; then GENDARME BLUE.This color requires a pure bottom, that is, naturally white or bleached. After cleaning, respectively washing in warm soap, which must not even be omitted with bleached feathers, and thorough rinsing, prepare a bath and dye as for dyeing light blue with indigo carmine. Then add some aniline green and navy blue to the bath, re-enter the feathers which have been taken up before making the addition, work them well while raising the temperature to the boiling point; continue at this temperature for one-half hour longer, lift, rinse, starch and dry as usual. PLUM OR PRUNE.I. For this color, which has in itself a subdued tone of brown, or has the color of gray ostrich feathers, such naturally colored feathers may be used unbleached, but well cleaned and rinsed before dyeing. Prepare a luke-warm bath, to which add about one-half ounce tartaric Or, II. Prepare a boiling hot bath with alum, sulphuric acid and tartar; to which add acid fuchsine; enter the feathers, and dye one-half hour to a blue red, which tone, by the addition of decoction of logwood, continue at nearly boiling heat for one-half hour longer, lift, rinse lightly, starch, beat and dry. III. Take a hot bath, upon which violet has been dyed, and refresh it with some solution of methyl violet, 5 B., and a few drops of sulphuric acid, or prepare a hot bath with the same ingredients, and indigo carmine, according to shade; or, instead of indigo carmine, indigo substitute, fast blue B. A., and indigotine; preferably, however, use indigo carmine, which develops more slowly, and therefore is surer to give better results, while the aniline dyestuffs run up more rapidly, and are apt to dye unevenly, unless their solutions are added gradually and the feathers handled quickly and carefully. LIGHT YELLOW.I. Light yellow is comparatively very little in demand for ostrich feathers, and scarcely used for trimming hats of children and young misses as a set-off for other colors. To produce it, prepare a pretty hot bath with a little sulphuric acid, so as to give it a slightly acid taste, add very little quinoline yellow, lay down the feathers in the bath for one-half hour, turning and agitating them from time to time, lift, rinse and dry. For this color, as well as for light blues and roses, the feathers must be perfectly white. (For this dye the quinoline yellow manufactured by the Actien Gesellschaft fuer Anilin Fabrikation, Berlin, is specially suitable). As the purity of all light shades of delicate colors greatly depends upon the purity of the water, it is advisable to bring the bath, before preparing it, to boil with some bran and chloride of tin and skim it off well. MEDIUM YELLOW.Various shades of yellow can also be produced with the old natural dyestuffs, which are not, however, equal in brilliancy to the foregoing described colors. The feathers must be bleached for these as well as for any Or, dissolve a sufficient quantity of turmeric in boiling water, filter and enter the feathers while the filtrate is still well hot. Agitate them for five minutes, then take them up, add to the bath a small quantity of tartaric acid, this to promote its dissolution; then re-enter the feathers, work them again for five minutes, lift, rinse in cold water, and dry. If these colors are to have a light reddish or warmer tone, add, when nearly done, some anotto to the dye bath. DARK YELLOW.Bleached grays answer for this color as well as naturally white feathers. Scour and rinse them well. Prepare II. A new light yellow, which is fast to light and air, is obtained by products of Leonhardt & Co., at Manheim, viz: redarine and acme yellow. Add to a hot bath of 170-190° F., a quite small quantity of redarine and still less acme yellow; enter the feathers, manipulate for one-half hour, take out, rinse and dry them with starch, and beat well out. This color being extremely sensitive, the purification of the water for the bath is as necessary as the most scrupulous cleanliness of utensils and workshops. GOLDEN YELLOW.I. The feathers being scoured and rinsed clean of soap, prepare a bath of five per cent., of the weight of feathers, bisulphate of soda, add solution (filtered) of azo orange, according to shade. Enter the feathers II. Prepare a bath with three per cent. (of the weight of the feathers) Glauber salt and one per cent. sulphuric acid. Enter the feathers at 100-120° F., after adding to the bath the solution of one per cent. golden yellow S. (of Gust. Doerr, Frankfort-on-Main), work the feathers repeatedly during one-half hour, when they all have assumed a rich, nourished color; take up, rinse lightly; starch and beat them dry. OLD GOLD.Have the naturally white or decolorized gray feathers well washed in soap and rinsed clean from it. Prepare a hot bath at 170° F., to which add so much aniline cream as to color it dark reddish yellow. Enter the feathers and agitate them from five to ten minutes, according to the shade desired. Then take them up, add some sulphuric acid to the bath, re-enter the feathers, work for two minutes; then lift, rinse and dry. The bath can be preserved for further use. GRAY.So unpretending this color appears, so difficult is it to produce, and it requires a considerable amount of practice and good judgment to bring out a good color from the beginning, as very little too much or too little will spoil a color either in tone or in shade. A very good logwood gray, which with proper attention seldom fails to turn out satisfactory, is made as follows: Prepare a hot bath, to which add a small quantity of decoction of logwood; enter the feathers and work them in the bath for fifteen or twenty minutes, according to shade desired. Then take them up, add to the bath very little pyrolignite of iron, that is, only as much as to turn the color of the bath; re-enter the feathers, agitate them again for fifteen or twenty minutes in the liquid; then lift, rinse and starch as usual. This color might be best described as dark ash gray. Instead of pyrolignite of iron, some solution of copperas may be used. It will be easily understood, that the more concentrated the decoction of logwood is, the darker turns out the color, and it is in that respect particularly that the dyer has to use good judgment in producing shades from silver gray to dark ash gray. This color, besides, presents the advantage, that by topping it with solutions PEARL GRAY.After scouring and rinsing well, prepare a warm bath (100-120° F.) with five per cent., of the weight of feathers, bisulphate of soda, to which add solution of Victoria blue and of extract of archil, according to sample. Acid violet may be used, but requires a temperature near the boiling point, which ought to be avoided wherever possible in dyeing ostrich feathers. To be on the safe side, make the solutions of the dyestuffs of medium concentration, use only the clear of them, or better filter the same, and add it slowly and gradually first in small doses, finally by drops, for which purpose the use of a burette with squeeze-cock is recommendable. SILVER GRAY.Scour, respectively bleach, and rinse the feathers well clean, prepare a bath, work the solution of five per cent., of the weight of feathers, silver gray (Actein Gesellschaft fuer Anilin Fabrikation, Berlin), feebly BROWN.The series of brown colors, partly produced by combinations of spectrum colors, partly of direct brown dyestuffs, presents a large range of modifications and shades, from a light rust brown or buff to nearly black, blueish, yellowish, reddish, olive brown, etc., and is in this respect only inferior to the non-descript endless variety of modes. With the exception of the very lightest shades, which require perfectly white feathers, they can be dyed upon half-bleached, and the deeper shades upon unbleached gray feathers; the dyer, must, however, in the latter case, bear in mind, that the gray bottom color always influences to a certain degree, the tone of the color that is to be dyed upon it. Nevertheless, as to the proportions of the dyestuffs to be employed for a given tone or shade cannot be given, because the tinctorial value of artificial dyestuffs is very changeable and not even constant with the same makers. I. After scouring the feathers and rinsing them perfectly clean of the scouring material, whether soap or soda, prepare a bath of 170 to 190° F., to which add fifteen per cent., of the weight of feathers, bisulphate of soda, indigo carmine, extract of archil and azo yellow. According to the proportionally greater or smaller quantity of either dyestuff added to the dyebath either browns are obtained, or olives, Russia green, reseda, or a variety of modes. The trouble with all colors into whose compositions indigo carmine enters is, that this dyestuff requires a comparatively high temperature to run up, preferably a boiling bath, which, however, is decidedly objectionable with ostrich feathers. To avoid this difficulty, the new acid Victoria blue is used instead of indigo carmine, and fuchsine S. instead of extract of archil. Victoria blue dyes up readily at a moderate temperature. II. The feathers being scoured and rinsed clean, prepare a boiling bath with so much sulphuric acid as to give a feebly sour taste, and add fast aniline brown, It is advisable, in order to obtain a level dye, to add not the whole amount of dyestuff solution required at one time, but at least in two times; which rule altogether applies to all aniline dyestuffs, more or less, as they mostly run up very rapidly and are apt, therefore, to give uneven dyes. If a yellowish tint is wanted, use a little azo yellow or azo orange; picric acid, which was formerly very freely used for this purpose, has been almost entirely abandoned. Clean and rinse them as usual, prepare a bath of 170-190° F., with redarine, a trace of orange O, and some acid green; enter feathers and work for one-half RUST BROWN.Prepare a slightly acidulated warm bath with three per cent., of the weight of feathers, fast aniline brown, one per cent. azo yellow, one percent. extract of indigo, and a little sulphuric acid; enter the well scoured and rinsed feathers at 120-140° F., work the feathers for one-half hour, while slowly raising the temperature to the boiling point; continue dyeing at that degree of heat, but not boiling, for five minutes; lift, rinse, starch and dry. RED BROWN.I. Scour and rinse well; prepare a warm bath, in which dissolve three per cent., of the weight of feathers, alum, add twenty-five per cent. extract of archil, one and one half per cent. azo yellow, and if required for shade, one-half per cent. indigo carmine; enter at 170° F., dye to shade while slowly raising the temperature to near the boiling point, continue at that temperature for ten to fifteen minutes longer; then lift, rinse and dry. II. Prepare a bath at 190° F., add five per cent. bisulphate of soda, when dissolved, add solution of extract of archil, fast yellow and indigo carmine as required for the shade, and dye at that temperature to sample. Instead of archil, any red or orange azo dyestuff may be used, preferably bordeaux. COFFEE BROWN.Have the feathers will cleaned and rinsed, bleaching being not required, prepare a bath with three per cent. alum (of the weight of feathers), at 170° F., add indigo carmine, bordeaux and azo yellow, according to sample, and dye to shade while slowly raising the temperature to near the boiling point, but bring not to boil, but continue until the indigo carmine is well up. A less fast color is obtained with archil, indigo carmine and picric acid. When finished dyeing, rinse, starch and dry as usual. The dyestuffs for brown being nearly the same for all shades, while the depth and tone of the color is produced by differently proportioning the quantities of the PUCE.Scour and rinse the feathers well; grays can be used in their natural color without bleaching. Prepare a warm bath, in which dissolve eighty per cent., of the weight of feathers, tartaric acid and eighty per cent. Glauber salt; then add sixteen per cent. aniline fast brown; eight per cent. azo yellow, and sixteen per cent. induline or nigrosine, and bring the bath to a boil; after a few minutes of boiling, chill by the addition of cold water, enter the feathers and work them at hand-heat for fifteen or twenty minutes until the color has become level; then bring the bath again to near the boiling FAWN.Prepare a warm bath with five per cent. bisulphate of soda, add solutions of azo orange, acid violet and some archil cautiously in several doses until the bath has the desired color. Enter the scoured and rinsed feathers and agitate for fifteen or twenty minutes, to produce a level dye; then raise the temperature slowly to 190-200° F., dye for a few minutes longer, lift, rinse and dry. By varying the proportions of the dyestuffs, drab, wood brown, lead color, etc., can be obtained, and olives by increasing the quantity of acid violet and omitting the extract of archil. CHESTNUT BROWN.Scour and rinse the feathers well; natural grays may be used unbleached. Prepare a decoction of one and one quarter pound cudbear, and six ounces turmeric in HAVANNA.I. For this color it is advisable to use naturally white or bleached feathers, scour or wash them clean in soap and warm water and remove the soap by thoroughly rinsing in two warm and one cold waters. Prepare a bath slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid, to which add eighty per cent., of the weight of feathers, tartaric acid, eight per cent. azo yellow, six per cent. fast brown, and three and a quarter per cent. acid green. Enter the feathers at 100-120° F. and manipulate at II. Prepare a bath slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid, bring to nearly boiling, add a concentrated solution of orange S. and some acid green, enter the feathers and dye to shade; then pass them through a week oil-bath, and dry them, placed straight between several laps of clean muslin. III. Prepare a bath of the decoction of twelve and a half per cent., of the weight of feathers, alum and twenty-five per cent. turmeric; strain, enter the feathers at 170-190° F., and let them lie in the bath over night. On the following day dye, at 100° F., with decoction of fustet, tone with decoction of logwood or of brazil, according to sample, starch and dry. MUSHROOM.I. For this elegant color take naturally white or bleached gray feathers, scour and rinse them well. Prepare a hot bath with five per cent., of the weight of feathers, bisulphate of soda, to which add, as required, II. After cleaning and rinsing well, prepare a bath at 170° F., with four per cent. bisulphate of soda, to which add gradually in small quantities, as required, some nigrosine, azo orange and a little mandarin or nigrosine, alkaline blue and fuchsine S., rinse, starch and dry. LIGHT DRAB.Scour and rinse the feathers as usual; bleached grays may be used. Prepare a bath with five per cent., of the weight of feathers, bisulphate of soda and the clear solutions of acid violet, azo orange and fuchsine S.; add the dyestuff in small portions and finally by BEIGE.I. For this color take either naturally white or well-bleached gray feathers, scour or wash and rinse them clean. Prepare pretty thin solutions of aniline orange (chrysaniline) and violet, add very little of them at a time and finally by drops to the dyestuffs containing either five per cent. bisulphate of soda or a small dose of sulphuric acid; enter the feathers at 145° F. and dye to shade at the same temperature, which will require about twenty or thirty minutes; lift, rinse, squeeze and starch. II. Have the feathers well cleaned, respectively, bleached, and rinsed. Prepare a hot bath (170-190° F.), with a little sulphuric acid, just enough to give it a slightly sour taste, add a few drops of solution of fast brown and a little more solution of acid green (both dyestuffs of the Farbwerke, formerly Meister, Lucius & Bruening, Hoechst-on-Main); take of them one or two drops, respectively two or three drops per gallon of water for a light shade and increase quantities proportionally III. Take white feathers or grays very well bleached to nearly white, scour and rinse them well. Prepare a bath of warm water, 100-120° F. and some vinegar so as to give it a distinct sour taste; add to a basin full, or about one-half gallon of the bath a little solution of fast brown, one or two drops of indigo carmine, and a trace of turmeric. Lay the feathers down in the bath for fifteen or twenty minutes and agitate them repeatedly in the liquid to make them level. For a Gray Beige, add a little nigrosine to the bath and proceed as above. MODES.For the modes it is impossible to give generally applicable directions, as these colors are of an indefinitely varying character, consisting in modifications of other compound or mixed colors which are affected by sometimes very trifling, unmeasureable additions of a toning dyestuff, and coloring effects are produced which cannot be described nor defined by names, but must be judged by the experienced eye of the dyer. Most of these colors are derived from grays or browns as above remarked, In general all modes are dyed upon a bath which is acidulated with bisulphate of soda, with azo orange, azo yellow, azo brown, acid violet, indigo carmine, solid blue or cloth blue, induline or nigrosine, archil or acid fuchsine. For brown modes, solution of Bismarck brown may be added at the beginning, in which case the other dyestuffs serve only for giving the peculiar tone. For a yellowish green mode take orange O, azo yellow, and solid blue (fast blue); for darker shades add a little violet 6 B., or a few drops sulphate of indigo. If alizarine dyestuffs are to be employed, use tartaric acid as mordant, but for neutral dyestuffs add also a little alum to the dyebath. For gray modes use the same dyestuffs as above, excepting the orange, instead of which a blue-red dyestuff is to be employed, such as azo rubine, bordeaux, fuchsine, etc., with the addition of a little acid green. The bath must be acidulated with a little sulphuric acid, or better with tartaric acid, or tartaric acid and alum, and after dyeing the feathers must be rinsed, starched and dried as usual. For particularly fast modes add only tartaric acid to the dyebath and no alum, and a few drops of solution of thio-scarlet, thio-rubine, and thio-brown; for grays add a little azo yellow and sadden with solid blue. Alum does not agree with the thio dyestuffs which are manufactured by Dahl & Co., Barmin, and are fast against soap and light. Feathers dyed with these dyestuffs which have become soiled, can be washed, therefore, with neutral soap without injury to the color, but must naturally be dressed anew. RESEDA.Scour the white, respectively bleached feathers and rinse well. Prepare a bath with five per cent., of the weight of feathers, bisulphate of soda, to which add gradually and carefully the filtered solution of acid It is for this dye particularly important that the bisulphate of soda used be crystallized, that is, pure bisulphate free from surplus sulphuric acid, while the commercial article is often nothing but a mixture of Glauber salt (sulphate of soda) into sulphuric acid, answer for this dye. A good reseda is also easily obtained by adding to the acidulated bath small quantities of decoction of logwood and turmeric, so as to give a feeble bath. Enter the scoured and bleached feathers, after rinsing, at 170° F., work them for about fifteen minutes, until level, and sadden with a little solution of blue stone. Rinse, starch and dry as usual. ORDINARY GREEN.For two and one-half pounds of feathers boil two and one-half pounds of fustic for one-half hour with three quarts of water, pour the decoction off and boil the chips again for one-half hour with three quarts of water, mix the two decoctions and strain. Add three LIGHT GREEN.I. Scour, respectively bleach, and rinse the feathers. Prepare a hot bath with the solution of forty per cent., of the weight of feathers, tannin, and treat the feathers in it for 1 hour at 170°F. Prepare a bath with a filtered solution of methyl green, according to shade, tone, if a yellowish green is wanted, with the clear solution of picric acid, and dye to sample at 150° F. Lift, squeeze and starch without rinsing. II. A better color is obtained upon a lightly acidulated bath (with sulphuric acid) with acid green, malachite green, fast green, etc., that is, with the filtered solutions of these dyestuff's, added to the bath in quantities of from ten to twenty per cent. to suit the shade. Enter at 170° F.; dye for twenty or thirty minutes, MOSS GREEN.Scour and rinse the feathers well; for dark shades unbleached grays may be used. Prepare a feebly acidulated bath with sulphuric acid, at a temperature near the boiling point; add turmeric freely and Guinea green G less. Enter the feathers and manipulate at the same temperature for fifteen or twenty minutes, according to the desired tone, re-enter and dye to shade. By varying the proportions of the three dyestuffs, a great variety of green-brownish modes can be produced, which approach medium and dark bronzes the more the fast brown predominates in the composition of the color. BOG GREEN.This color is preferably dyed upon unbleached gray feathers. Scour and rinse them, prepare a decoction of green walnut husks or of sumac; lay the feathers down in it for two hours, working them from time to time; GRASS GREEN.Scour, respectively bleach, and rinse the feathers. Prepare a boiling bath with turmeric and indigo carmine; chill, enter the feathers at 170° F., dye for one-half hour, raise the temperature slowly to near the boiling point and dye to shade, take up, rinse and pass through a handwarm bath of tartar; lift, squeeze, starch and dry. RUSSIA GREEN.I. Scour the feathers as usual and rinse well. Prepare a bath slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid, add two per cent., of the weight of feathers, acid green and one per cent. aniline navy blue dissolved in warm water and filtered acid, according to sample, some filtered decoction of turmeric or solution of fast yellow. Dye at 170° F. to shade, lift rinse and dry with starch. II. Have the feathers well cleaned and rinsed. Prepare a bath twenty per cent., of the weight of feathers, III. Prepare a sharp hot bath with a little sulphuric acid; add Guinea green, according to shade, and tone by the addition of indigo carmine and turmeric; for very deep shades add also some nigrosine or fast blue-black, dissolved and filtered. Enter as hot as the feathers can be handled, work for one half hour; then raise the temperature slowly to near the boiling point and dye to shade. The bath for deeper shades being not exhausted can be preserved for further use, refreshed by suitable additions of dyestuffs as required, but caution must be used as regards the subsequent additions of sulphuric acid, that not so much be added as to injure the feathers. For Russia green, especially the darker shades of it, naturally gray and even black feathers can be used unbleached. ROSE.I. For this delicate color, as well as for the lightest shades of blue and pure yellow, absolutely white feathers must be used; scour them carefully and rinse them perfectly clean from soap or soda, and have the dyestuffs well dissolved and the solutions filtered. Prepare a handwarm bath with a little tartaric acid or acetic acid, to which some solution of eosine, rhodamine, azoeosine, safranine, coccine or ponceau 6 R. B. or ponceau R. R. Be particularly cautious in adding the dyestuff solutions gradually in small quantities, even by drops, to avoid over-dyeing, as by partly stripping of a too dark shade, a fine color can never be obtained, and the nature of the material demands that all unnecessary handling be avoided. After dyeing, rinse lightly, pass through starch and dry. The dyes with the ponceaus are faster than those with eosine or safranine. II. Prepare a bath at hand heat with carthamine (extract of safflower), well dissolved and filtered, which add very gradually in small quantities, taking up the feathers each time before making a fresh addition, until the desired shade is nearly obtained, then add a little tartaric acid to the bath, re-enter the feathers and dye to shade; or dye first to shade upon the safflower bath, RED.Scour and rinse the feathers well; grays must be bleached as near to white as possible, and these ought only to be dyed dark shades of red. Prepare a bath with twenty per cent., of the weight of feathers, bisulphate of soda, and see, as in all cases, that it is well crystallized and dry. (Never use the article when it looks decayed, forms lumps or is moist). Add four to six per cent. azo red, according to the shade wanted, raise the temperature to 170° F., enter the feathers and work to shade; take out, starch and dry. FAST ALIZARINE RED.I. Scour and rinse the white, respectively bleached gray, feathers and prepare a bath of boiling water with eight per cent., of the weight of feathers, alum, four per cent. tartaric acid, two or three per cent. oxalic acid, and three per cent. alizarine red; let the By using alizarine acid 2 A. bl. bl., a pure red, similar to Turkey red is obtained. Alizarine 1 W. S. gives scarlets. If the feathers are passed, before rinsing, through a strong soap bath, pretty blue tones are produced. II. For a fuller red, striking towards bordeau, prepare a well concentrated boiling bath in the same manner with three per cent. bichromate of potash, one and one-half to two per cent. tartaric acid, one per cent. oxalic acid, and eight per cent. alizarine red 2 A. bl. bl. When all is dissolved, let the temperature go down below the boiling point, enter the feathers, and proceed as above. SCARLET.I. For this color naturally white feathers are preferably used, but well bleached grays may also be employed; Then pass through three lukewarm waters, the last of which contains a little chloride of tin and about a pinch of cream of tartar. II. Prepare a hot bath with twenty per cent. (of the weight of feathers) bisulphate of soda, well crystallized and dry, and four to six per cent. azo red, according to According to the brand of azo red which is used, either scarlet or ponceau is obtained. By mixing the various brands of azo red, a very fine ponceau is produced. If a very blue tone is desired, add to the bath some solution of coccinine (azo red blue touch). PONCEAU.I. Scour and rinse the white, respectively bleached feathers well. Prepare a nearly boiling bath, acidulated with sulphuric acid, to which simply add ponceau R. R. extra. Enter the feathers, operate at boiling heat one-half hour, then lay down the feathers and let them lodge until level; lift, rinse, starch and dry. II. Prepare a sharp handwarm bath with one per cent. tartaric acid (of the weight of feathers), or with one per cent. Glauber salt and one-fourth per cent. sulphuric acid, to which add the filtered solutions of ponceau R. B., ponceau 6 R. B., and eosine S. extra B. Enter the feathers and agitate for twenty to thirty minutes, or until the desired shade is obtained; lift, rinse, starch and dry. III. Lay down the feathers for four hours in a cold bath in which some chloride of tin has been dissolved; then dye for one-half hour in a hand warm bath of cochineal, lift and dry. IV. Prepare a bath with one and one-half per cent., of the weight of feathers, saccharic acid, one-quarter per cent. tin salt, and six to seven per cent. cochineal, bring the bath to boil for one minute; then chill. Enter the scoured and rinsed feathers at hand heat, dye for three-quarters of an hour, take up and expose them for two hours to the air, rinse, starch and dry. BORDEAUX.Scour and rinse the feathers well. Prepare a boiling hot bath slightly acidulated with sulphuric acid, to which add a liberal quantity of ponceau 6 R. B., a few drops solution of aniline blue, and some yellow dyestuff, such as turmeric, fast yellow, or quinoline yellow, and bring the bath to boil for a few minutes. Then chill to sharp hand-heat, enter the feathers and work until level, and sample; if still too light, add some more of all these dyestuffs. As the bath shows from the beginning the color it will produce, it can be corrected before entering the feathers. GARNET (RED).I. Scour and rinse the feathers well clean, grays ought to be bleached. Prepare the dyebath as for ponceau (I.), or use an old ponceau bath, and add to it some aniline cerise (cherry red) and very little extract of indigo, or solution of fast blue-black. Enter feathers as hot as possible to handle, work for fifteen to twenty minutes while raising the temperature to boiling heat; then stop heating, lay down the feathers, and let them lodge until level; lift, rinse and dry. II. Prepare a boiling hot, not boiling, bath of anotto, according to shade, enter the feathers, work them well through, then lay them down in the bath for twelve hours. Take them up, rinse, pass through a moderately strong alum bath, rinse again, and dye at 170°F., with either decoction of red wood (brazil, camwood, etc.,) or fuchsine; lift and dry. GARNET (BROWN).For very deep shades naturally gray feathers may be used unbleached with proper consideration of the tone of the bottom color. Have the feathers well cleaned and rinsed, and add to a bath of two gallons of water, one and one-quarter pounds cudbear and five ounces turmeric. Or, utilize a used ruby bath (following) and add to it five ounces turmeric. RUBY.For a good color the feathers must be white, naturally or bleached; scour and rinse them well. Add to two gallons of water one and one-half pounds good cudbear, stir well, enter the feathers and work them, while slowly heating, as long as the hands can stand it. Then lay them down until colored to shade, lift, rinse well, starch and dry. SALMON.I. Salmon or "flesh" may be dyed upon bleached naturally gray feathers, in which case the creamy tint of the feathers must be taken into consideration and can be utilized for certain broken tones of the color. Have the feathers well washed in soap or soda, and rinsed perfectly clean. For dyeing prepare a bath as for rose, preferably with ponceau B. R., or utilize an old bath for II. Prepare a bath as for rose, with some solution of eosine, a little quinoline yellow, according to tone, and a little acetic acid, just enough to give the bath a slightly sour taste. Enter the well cleaned, or bleached feathers after rinsing, at hand heat and agitate them until the bath is well exhausted, or a level color, according to sample, obtained, rinse lightly, starch and dry. AMARANTH.After scouring and rinsing, prepare a bath with one and one-half ounces alum per gallon of water, at 75-80° F., and lay the feathers down in it over night. On the next morning rinse them in cold water; then dye them at hand-heat to nearly boiling heat in a strained decoction of Brazil wood (or camwood, hypernic, etc.) until the required shade is obtained, and rinse in warm water BRONZE.For this color naturally gray feathers may be used if a deep shade is to be dyed; for light shades they ought to be bleached. Scour and rinse the feathers well; then prepare a bath with five per cent., of the weight of feathers, bisulphate of soda, to which add azo orange, acid violet and extract of archil. Dissolve the dyestuffs, each separately in water, filter, add the clear solutions gradually in small quantities until the shade is nearly reached, then, in order to correct, by drops, until the exact depth and tone are obtained. Enter the feathers and dye to shade at 170° F. Instead of acid violet indigo carmine may be used; in this case, however, as the dyestuff runs up slowly and difficultly, work at 170° F., for twenty to thirty minutes, then raise the temperature slowly to near the boiling point and continue at that temperature, without actual boiling, until the required color is obtained. Then rinse, squeeze, starch and dry. Bronze is also produced like drab, that is, with azo orange, acid violet and fuchsine S., but with greater OLIVE.I. Clean the feathers by laying them down for six hours, or over night, in a weak warm solution of soda crystals (1° B.) to which add so much ammonia as to give it a faint odor; take up when completely ungreased and rinse well in lukewarm and cold waters. Prepare the dyebath with five per cent., of the weight of feathers, bisulphate of soda, to which add filtered solutions of indigo carmine, archil and fast yellow as required for the sample. As the indigo carmine is slow to dye up and requires boiling heat or a temperature near it, dye first the feathers blue with indigo carmine, then let the bath cool down to 170° F., and add the solutions of archil and fast yellow in small successive quantities, so as to be able to give the accurate tone. Instead of extract of archil, fast red or bordeaux may be employed. To avoid any possible injury to the feathers by the high temperature necessary for indigo carmine to run II. Scour well and rinse the feathers, and prepare a bath with three per cent. alum (of the weight of feathers), to which add azo orange and some indigo carmine; enter at 170° F., dye for fifteen or twenty minutes, then raise the temperature slowly to near the boiling point and dye to shade. Lift and dry. By beginning with small quantities of the dyestuffs and successively increasing them and varying their proportions, a series of fine shades from light old gold to the deepest olive, near black can be produced. III. Prepare a boiling bath, in which dissolve one per cent., of the weight of feathers, alum, one per cent. Glauber salt, and add a little sulphuric acid; let cool down to 170° F., add some fast yellow, a little solution of archil and of sulphate of indigo, work for fifteen minutes while raising the temperature to the boiling point, and sadden with blue black, lift, rinse and dry with starch. IV. Prepare a sharp handwarm bath with a little sulphuric acid, to which add the clear solution of a little quinoline yellow or turmeric, and acid green; enter the feathers and work for fifteen minutes, or until they have VIOLET.Naturally gray feathers may be used unbleached, but only for very deep shades as the bottom color acts dulling upon the dye, and brilliant colors can only be obtained upon a pure white bottom. Scour, respectively bleach well, and rinse clean. Prepare a hot bath to which add some filtered solution of methyl violet, according to tone, that is, more or less blue, enter the feathers and work until cool, then add gradually more dyestuff solution according to shade while raising the temperature to near the boiling point and continue at this temperature until the desired shade is nearly obtained. If too blue, tone with a little solution of fuchsine S. Towards the end of the operation take up the feathers, add some alum to the bath, and when it is dissolved, HELIOTROPE AND LILAC.I. These colors being simply medium and light shades of violet, proceed as for the latter color, selecting for heliotrope the bluish brands of methyl violet, and for lilac the red touch mark. The dyebath is acidified with a little tartaric acid, so as to give it a feeble sourish taste and dyeing done at hand-heat until a level color is obtained with very little solution of the dyestuff, and more of it gradually added, while the temperature is raised to nearly boiling, as required for the shade to be produced. Or, II. Prepare the dyebath simply of cold water acidulated with a little sulphuric acid, add a few drops of the filtered solution of methyl violet (4 B. for heliotrope), and dye to shade without heating. In both cases rinse after dyeing, pass through a bath of raw starch and dye as usual. CREAM.I. The lightest shade of this delicate color can be produced upon naturally gray ostrich feathers by simply bleaching them; this color, however, is extremely sensitive, probably because the action of peroxyd of hydrogen continues under the influence of the oxygen of the air. Bleached grays require, therefore, dying as well as naturally white feathers. The feathers being well scoured and rinsed, prepare in a white basin (preferable to the copper pans, because the coloring of the dyebath is easier and more correctly discerned over the white bottom) a bath of pretty hot water, to which add a pinch of tartaric acid, and a little decoction of turmeric or solution of fast aniline yellow or of azo yellow, but only enough to give the water a light tint; work the feathers in it for four to six minutes. Then sample and correct, if necessary, by adding more dyestuff solution. The shade being obtained, pass through cold water, starch and dry us usual. II. Prepare in a white basin a handwarm bath with three or four drops of sulphuric acid and a few drops of the filtered solutions of picric acid, fast aniline yellow, quinoline yellow, or mandaric yellow extra, but preferably turmeric which dyes up more evenly than the WHITE AND BLACK.Science teaches that white is the source of light or the product of combination of all other colors, because the light of the sun, which is assumed to be white, when broken up by means of a prism, shows in its image reflected upon a white plain, the three primary, and three secondary colors with the uncounted number of intermediary products of combinations of fractions of the primary colors forming the transition from one to the other, which can be perceived by the eye but not exactly separated from one another, but may quantitatively determined to an approximate degree of accuracy. Black, on the other hand, is described as the absence of all light, and it is denied, therefore, by theory a place among the colors. Practice asserts the direct contrary of the theory developed by science by way of conclusion. While philosophers assert that they have succeeded in producing white light by the combination of lights of the Black, on the other hand, although the name and rank of a color is denied it by the doctrines of theory is, for the dyer, most essentially a color requiring for its WHITE.Naturally white ostrich feathers and bleached grays, like all material taken from the animal realm, retains even after scouring and bleaching a more or less noticeable yellowish tint, which becomes visible after some time even upon such as appear snow-white immediately after scouring. The cause is, probably, that the fat which is contained in feathers, as well as in wool and hair, and a part of which remains after the cleaning process, is oxydized by the action of the air. To perfectly and completely extract this remaining small amount of fat which does not hinder the subsequent dyeing operations, is not advisable; for, it has been observed that in that case, the feathers become brittle, and for this reason, scouring with soap is preferable to scouring For this purpose, for instance, indigo carmine (greenish white), indigo carmine with a very small addition of ammoniacal cochineal (reddish white), induline or extract of indigo (bluish white), or methyl violet 6 B. (direct white), are employed, and a few drops of acid added to the bath, either sulphuric, acetic or oxalic acid. The acid, however, can be dispensed with, as it scarcely has anything to act upon, and as only a diminutive amount of it is employed, the blued feathers are not rinsed but immediately dried from the blue-bath. The additions of dyestuff to baths must be made so small that they do not affect a coloring of the feathers but only a faint tinting. Rather too little dyestuff may be added, which defect can at all times be corrected by adding a few drops more of the coloring solution, than BLACK.I. Chrome Black.—Black being the most difficult color to produce, as above remarked, the feathers require a specially careful preparatory treatment in order to remove everything that might interfere with the purity, uniformity and brilliancy of the color, or cause less dyed, dull spots and streaks. Naturally gray feathers, however, need not to be bleached or decolorized but only careful treatment and attention. The feathers are for twenty-four hours laid down in a solution of twice their weight of calcined soda, ammonia soda being preferable for this purpose to Lablanc soda (old process soda), then taken up and carefully rinsed clean from the alkaline in warm water, or better, in two warm waters. In the case of particularly valuable feathers it is recommendable, before laying them down in the soda solution, to rub the stains of the feathers off with a piece of carbonate of ammonia or with a large soda crystal. After rinsing, the feathers are entered for one hour, at 170° F., in a bath containing forty per It occurs sometimes, that the stems of the feathers are imperfectly died and present light brown or gray places. This is attributable to insufficient scouring. In this case the defective portions of the stems must be scraped with a sharp penknife and dyed over. This operation, however, is difficult and requires much practice and a light hand, as too much scraping removes Another trouble, however, which is not unfrequent with blacks, is that the feathers are over-dyed and become brownish black instead of black. But in this case the remedy is as simple as its occurrence is frequent; a quick passage through sulphuric acid diluted with water to 2° B. strips off the excessive dye and produces a good color. Besides, this operation gives the feathers a brilliant lustre. Many dyers, therefore, methodically avail themselves of this effect of sulphuric acid and deliberately over dye their feathers (See IV below) and then apply the sulphuric acid passage for the purpose of imparting the feathers that peculiar lustre. A passage through a solution of sodium chloride, of 2° B. strength, has the same effect as a passage in sulphuric acid 2° B. For this purpose lay the feathers down in the warm sodium chloride solution, until the black cotton strings with which the feathers have been tied together, as in Sodium chloride can be prepared in a simple way as follows: rub one-half pound fresh chloride of lime in a porcelain mortar with a little water into a smooth milk, which pour into a bucket, dilute with cold water, and add, under stirring, the solution of one pound Glauber salt; let settle and use the clear liquid. Instead of Glauber salt (sodium sulphate), soda crystals (sodium carbonate) may be used; the latter, however, is a little higher in price and renders the solution strongly alkaline. II. Iron Black.—Lay down the feathers over night in a warm bath, in which one hundred per cent., of the weight of feathers, soda crystals have been dissolved. On the following day take them up, squeeze them out and lay them down for two hours in a proportionally strong solution of carbonate of ammonia, take them up and rinse well in warm water. Lay down for six hours upon a bath of nitrate of iron 10° B.; take up, rinse, and dye at 170° F. with the decoction of ten per cent. logwood in which five per cent. Marseilles soap has been dissolved. If a dead black is wanted, add some decoction of quercitron or turmeric to the bath. The desired III. Logwood Black.—Scour and rinse the feathers well. Prepare a bath with three per cent., of the weight of feathers, carbonate of lime, six per cent. blue stone, and five per cent. tartar. Enter the feathers at 170° F., maintain this temperature for one hour; then let it go down, but leave the feathers in the bath for six hours longer, agitating them frequently during that time. Take them up, drain and squeeze, or centrifugate, and enter a handwarm bath containing some decoction of logwood, to which some decoction of fustic is added. Work for fifteen or twenty minutes, then raise the temperature to nearly boiling heat. Continue adding decoction of logwood, until a nourished black is obtained. This dye being hard to correct by the ordinary means, the additions of logwood decoction must be made with caution towards the end of the operation, in order to prevent over-dyeing. If a brownish touch is desired, add some more decoction of fustic when the black is nearly done. Then lift, rinse, starch and dry as usual under continual agitation, beating and shaking of the feathers. This chrome black is superior to iron IV. Whatever kind of feathers are to be dyed, white, grays or old blacks, wash them perfectly clean in two or three warm soap baths and remove the soap by rinsing in two or three warm and several cold waters. Colored feathers which are to be redyed blacks must be stripped of their color as much as possible by washing in hot soap to which some ammonia is added, whereupon this must be rinsed in several waters absolutely clear from soap and alkali; it is an erroneous notion to neutralize the last trace of alkali which may remain, by a passage through a feeble acid bath. The feathers thus prepared for dyeing, make a bath of two parts nitrate of iron to one part hot water at 170° F., enter the feathers, work them through a few times, and then lay them down in the bath for twelve hours (over night). Then lift and rinse the feathers in several (three or four) cold waters Prepare a pretty strong decoction of logwood and fustic, for which take two parts of the former to one part of the latter; let the temperature go down to about 208-210° F., when enter the feathers and maintain that temperature for fifteen or twenty minutes. Then shut off the steam or remove the dye-vessel from the fire, as the case may be, and let the feathers In this bath the feathers are agitated for six or eight minutes, or until the liquid has assumed a yellowish color. Then the feathers are taken out, rinse in two or three warm waters, passed through raw starch, pressed out between several laps of a clean piece of muslin, and dried either by rubbing them in pulverized The nitrate of iron bath can be preserved and used for the same purpose for eight or ten days, but the first logwood bath becomes useless and is let out. As above observed (I) sulphuric acid can also be employed for correcting the over-dyed feathers and reducing that brownish color to a pure lustrous black, but a much shorter passage is given: the feathers are entered by single strings, well opened, agitated in the sulphuric acid bath for a few seconds, and immediately rinsed. Where week work is done, it is advisable to have two men employed at this operation, one of whom passes the feathers in the acid bath and hands them over to the other man for rinsing. CONTRASTS AND SHADINGS, OR OMBREES.Fashion and fancy sometimes requires the dyer of ostrich feathers to dye upon one feather two, or even three contrasting colors, or different shades of the same color, that is, the tips of the feathers in another color or shade than that of the lower part of the feather. Generally in these combinations the tip is dyed the lighter color or shade, and the lower part considerably deeper It needs not to be mentioned that for dyeing two or three contrasting colors upon one feather only such dyes must be chosen as can serve for bottoming and topping one another without materially altering the character of the topping color. EDGINGS OR BORDERS.For this style of feather dyeing, use feathers of good quality, with wide and well developed vanes. They are dyed in two colors and shades only, presenting one color, mostly of a light shade, or a white "black" on both sides along the stems, while the outer edges for the vanes, or ends of the fibres, are dyed in a different color or darker shade. They make a particularly handsome effect when curled over the stem, setting off the edges in a fine contrast against the black showing through the curls. To produce edgings an oval pan, as described in the beginning, or other dye-vessel of greater length than the feathers, and three or four inches deep must be used. The well scoured, respectively bleached, and rinsed feathers are first dyed the color for the middle part, as usual on strings. After rinsing and drying they are taken off from the strings and "edged" singly. For this purpose prepare the dye-bath for the edging color, heat to the proper temperature, take the tip and quill respectively between the fore-finger and the thumb of both hands, dip the feathers edgewise, that is, with the ends of the fibres on one side of the stem, or the edge of the vane only, into the dye-bath as deep as the edging is to be wide, and move the feather in this position horizontally forward and backward in the bath until the shade is obtained. Then place the feather between several laps of clean dry muslin, squeeze it out by passing the hand over it, and dye the other edge in the same manner as the first. Finally rinse, starch and dry the feather as usual. In this connection a chemical reaction is worthy of mention, which was discovered about two years ago by an accident, and may be advantageously employed for the production of edgings upon ostrich feathers, if further developed by experiments. In a large feather-dyeing GILDING AND SILVERING.Gilded and silvered ostrich feathers are but seldom in demand, and then only for grand evening dresses or stage effects, and for short seasons, which generally return far between. Their production is by no means a dyeing process, but rather an operation of surface ornamentation, still the dyer is sometimes requested to perform it. While goose feathers and other feathers of small value are wholly gilded or silvered, the gilding of For gilding, respectively silvering, a sufficiently adhesive solution of possibly colorless gum arabic is prepared and distributed by hand, and by means of a fine hair-brush, in smaller or larger dots, as required, over the upper side of the feather or along the edges, and before the gum solution becomes dry, sprinkled over with finely divided gold-leaf or silver-leaf. The feather is then turned over, given a few light taps with the hand to remove the loose dust of metal, and vigorously shaken, partly to prevent the fibres from sticking together, partly to remove the remaining loosely adhering particles of metal. The operation must be performed as rapidly as possible to prevent the gum solution from drying before the metallic dust is shaken off. The smaller the gum-dots are made, the quicker must the work be done, but the less is the danger of the fibres being pasted together, and the more elegant the appearance Another very pretty, scarcely more permanent, but more frequently applied ornamentation of ostrich feathers, is the following. FROSTING.For this purpose the feathers are first dyed in a light or medium shade of any color, the effect of frosting feathers of a dark color being rather unfavorable. The feathers are then, after drying, covered on the upper side with a solution of clear gum arabic, as for gilding, but more closely, or may even be entirely brushed over with the gum solution, and are then, before the gum dries, sprinkled over with finely ground white glass, or mica, the latter giving the appearance of frosted silver. The glass powder or mica powder is then quickly and vigorously shaken off, to open the fibres and flues as much as possible, while drying. Finally, to complete the opening of the fibres, the feathers are steamed at the under side, and shaken in the air until open and dry. Great care is required in curling gilded or frosted feathers, that the metal or glass powder is not rubbed off in passing the fibres of the vane over the curling-knife. This operation being extremely difficult and dangerous, the use of a curling-iron, like that used by hair-dressers, is preferable to that of the knife. The iron is moderately heated, so as not to singe the feathers; then, beginning at the lower end of the feather, a part of the fibres on one side of the stem are taken by their ends between the shanks of the iron, the latter closed and the fibres wound downwards around it, the iron being carried on the under side of the feather towards the stem. Then first one side of the vane is successively curled from the quill up to the tip, when the same operation is repeated upon the other half of the feather. If, in this manner, the feather should be curled too strongly, the fibres are taken between the shanks of the warm curling-iron at the stem and simply drawn through the iron. Numerous ostrich feather dyers and dressers use the curling-iron altogether, instead of the knife; the only difficulty for the beginner is to get the proper heat, which, however, is soon learned. Very pretty effects are also obtained by dyeing the feathers a light shade of color, drying, gumming and RENOVATING FEATHERS.White ostrich feathers which, by long exposure to the show-window, or by lying in store for a protracted time, have lost their whiteness and turned yellow, and dyed feathers which, from the same causes, have become dirty, pale and discolored, can be restored to their former beauty by washing, respectively redyeing, as follows: I. A washing process, which is ordinarily only applied to white feathers which have become yellow, is as follows: Prepare a bath of two gallons of water at 145°F., to which add half a gallon of liquid ammonia (spirits of sal ammoniac, ammonia water); enter the feathers, work them once well through with the hands, and lay them down in the bath over night. On the following day take them up, wash them once through a soap-bath at 145°F., pass them again through the first ammoniacal bath, and rinse well and let them drain. Then prepare a bath of cold water, to which add so much of a clear solution of methyl violet 6 B., that a white china plate held about a foot below the surface of Colored feathers which have lost their freshness, and are to be redyed, are simply washed clean with soap and rinsed, or they are stripped of their color, as much as possible, with soap and oxalic acid, or bleached with peroxyd of hydrogen, as described in the beginning; whereupon they are dyed and treated like bleached new feathers, always taking into consideration, however, what of the old color may remain upon the feathers, may be utilizable as a bottom for the new color, or even as a component of it, for instance, in the case of many modes and several browns. II. Another method of renovating ostrich feathers presents the advantages that it is executed without the application of heat, that it is a simple cleaning process For this operation fill a basin or small wooden hand-tub with benzene, add a handful or two of potato flour (sifted potato starch), enter the feathers and rub them well through with the starch until clean; then squeeze then out by hand and press between muslin, finally whiz or shake them in the air until dry. This process is partly chemical, in so far as the benzene loosens the dust and other impurities which have settled upon the feathers, partly mechanical, as the numerous fine particles of the potato starch, which do not dissolve in benzene as soap does in water, rub these impurities off from the feather. By the combined action of the benzene and starch, and the friction applied, the feathers are not only cleaned, but the flues completely A remarkable feature of this process is that the starch carries nearly all the impurities down with itself to the bottom of the wash-basin, and becomes soiled, while the benzene takes up every little of them, and can, therefore, after settling, be poured off from the starch sediment, and can be used several times before it needs to be purified or eventually becomes unfit for use. In using benzene, which is a highly combustible substance, the utmost precaution must be observed that no open flame or fire be in the work-room, neither open lamps nor a fire in the stove burning. Even doors leading to adjoining rooms, where lights or fires are burning, ought to be kept closed while working with benzene, because the benzene vapors, which may be carried to the flame by a draft of air, would inevitably ignite and cause an explosion and fire. Occurrences of this kind have been not unfrequently observed. Feathers which have been cleaned by this process, as well as new feathers, may be dyed by the following process. This process is a real dyeing process, as well as a renovating process, both, however, to a limited extent, inasmuch as it can be applied only to white feathers or to such as are dyed with light and medium shades of certain colors which are to be freshened up; but it does not answer for dark colors. It is, however, extremely simple and easy to execute; besides, almost instantaneous, and therefore of great utility where rapid work is required, because it leaves the feathers perfectly in shape, like the benzene washing process, and does not affect the curling of the feather, if there is such. Old feathers which were already dyed cream, rose, salmon, light blue, light gray, light green, sea green, golden yellow, heliotrope or beige, can be redyed in the same colors, but must previously be washed with benzene; new white feathers do not require such washing. For this method of dyeing, aniline dyestuffs soluble in alcohol are used, viz.: for
Operate as follows: Fill a white basin with a sufficient quantity of alcohol to completely wet the feathers in it; add, according to shade, a smaller or greater quantity of the clear alcoholic solution of the required dyestuff, or mixture of dyestuffs, pass the feathers singly, without previously wetting them, three or four times through the alcohol bath; then press them out between clean muslin, put a few handfuls of sifted potato starch upon a clean sheet of paper, and rub the feathers with it until thoroughly dry; finally, shake out the starch. RECAPITULATION OF GENERAL RULES.At all times have the feathers, which are to be dyed, scoured well, that is, washed clean from all externally adhering impurities, fat, etc.; naturally colored feathers bleached for all light and medium shades to be dyed upon them, and rinsed perfectly clean from the scouring On taking the feathers from any bath, always squeeze the liquid out first by drawing the feathers through the hand closed upon them, then by placing them straight between several laps of clean dry muslin and repeatedly passing the hand with quite a smart pressure over it. Never transfer the feathers, in any case, from one bath to another in a wet, but in a moist condition, or nearly dry. Never allow the feathers to become dry in the course of operations. If it is necessary to interrupt work, or to put feathers to one side for further treatment, dry them properly by first passing them through a bath of raw starch, in order to have the flues at all times as well opened as possible. In no case let the temperature of a bath, in which feathers are treated, rise to actual boiling, although for some dyestuffs a temperature near the boiling point is required to make them dye up, to become level or to fix them. In every instance, where an acid or acid salt is employed, either in a separate mordanting or fixing bath, or as a component of the dyebath, rinse well before drying. When sulphuric acid is used in the composition of a bath, add only so much of it as to give the water a very slight, scarcely perceptible acid taste. Although some artificial dyestuffs dye up without an addition of acid to the dye bath (basic dyestuffs), the addition of sulphuric acid, in a very small quantity, to the dye-bath is advantageous, rendering the colors brighter and also faster. When bisulphate of soda is employed, it is not necessary to also add sulphuric acid to the dye-bath; if it is added, however, it must only be in a very small quantity; careful rinsing in several warm and cold waters after dyeing is required. When alum alone is used without any other addition as mordant, sulphuric acid may be added, but only in the proportion of one tenth or, at the most, up to one fifth of the weight of alum, and careful rinsing in several warm and cold waters is the more indispensably required the more acid has been employed. All solutions of dyestuffs, as well as of chemicals, ought to be carefully filtered, and decoctions of woods, etc., strained before adding them to the bath; never add dyestuffs, drugs or chemicals in substance to any bath, in order to prevent solid particles from settling upon the feathers. Never add all the dyestuff probably required or prescribed by a recipe to the dye-bath at one time, but in several small quantities, each time after taking up the feathers, stir the bath after making the addition, re-enter the feathers and watch the progress of the dyeing carefully; when approaching the desired shade, add the dyestuff very cautiously, by drops if necessary, particularly with mixed colors, such as modes. Sample in proper time, and take not a whole feather for it, but pull off two or three fibres from the lower part of a feather, dry them quickly by squeezing between dry muslin, match, correct the bath and finish dyeing. While drying keep the feathers as much as possible in constant motion, shake and beat them. Do not interrupt operations, if it can be avoided, but do the work rapidly and continuously, without pausing. Keep every utensil scrupulously clean. THE END. |