Feathers, Dyeing of

— Black. By immersion for 2 or 3 days in a bath (at first hot) of logwood, 8 parts, and copperas or acetate of iron, (about) 1 part. Blue. With the indigo vat. Brown. By any of the brown dyes for silk or woollen. Crimson. A mordant of alum, followed by a hot bath of brazil wood, and afterwards by a weak one of cudbear. Pink or Rose . With safflower and lemon juice. Plum. The red dye, followed by alkaline bath. Red. A mordant of alum, followed by a hot brazil-wood bath. Yellow. From an alum mordant, followed by a bath of turmeric or weld. Other shades may be obtained by a mixture of the above dyes. Feathers may also be dyed by simple immersion, for two or three minutes, in a bath of any of the aniline colours. Goose feathers for BEDS are generally PURIFIED by simply exposing them to the sun or in a stove until perfectly dry, and then beating them to remove loose dirt. When carele ly collected and dirty, they are sometimes first cleansed with lime water, or, better still, with a weak solution of carbonate of soda, or water to which a little solution of chloride of lime has been added; after which they are rinsed in clean water, and dried or stoved as before. Old feathers are cleansed or purified in the same way.