The red dye obtained from the roots of the 11. citrifolia is in general use for dyeing the yarn of the native cloths, both silk and cotton, and better single colours of the kind are rarely seen. The use of a mineral mordant in the native process is unknown, and, with the exception of weak lye made from the ashes of some jungle plants, no other applieation is made beyond the simple solution of the extract from the wood itself. Most of the Aladras red turbands aro dyed with the bark and root of M. citrifolia ; it yields three permanent shades, a bright red, a pink red, and a faint red. The plants aro cultivated and come to maturity in three years ; tho roota aro then dug up and sorted into three kinds, according to tho fineness of the fibres. The fibres are then cut and beaten down well, and afterwards ground to powder, which latter is used for the dye.
Morinda umbellata grows wild throughout Sonth-Eastern Asia. The bark of the roots of plants three years old gives the best dye. It ia one of the commonest of the red dyes of India ; though the colour is dull, it is considered faster than the brighter tints obtained from other sub stances.
Melanorrlicea usitatissima is the black vanish thit-tsay tree of Burma, used to lacquer boxes. M. glabra is similarly useful.
Melastoma Malabathricum and 11. maerocarpuin are shrubs of South-Eastern Asia ; their berries are used to dye black.
Idemecylon tinctorium ; a cold infusion of its leaves gives a yellow colour. It is used for dyeing cotton cloths and grass mats. It also forms an ingredient of the dyes obtained from sappan wood and myrobalans, and it is likewise used with the chay-root, Heclyotis umbellata, as a red dye.
3fergui red-wood is valuable for both black and red, but more especially for orauge. Tho colours imparted to silk, with different mordants, were as follows :— 1. 3Iuriate of tin, 3 shades of orange, varying with tbe temperature of the bark and the time of im mersion.
2. Acetate of alumina, 2 shades of flame colour.
3. Acetate of iron, 2 shades of drab.
4. Acetate of iron with decoction of galls, a 6no black of two shades.
5. 3Iiied with manjith, a variety with red and pink are obtained, but not equal to tuaujith alone.
Nyctanthes arbor-tristia flowers are dried in the sun and kept for use. They aro then boiled in water, 1 pound to 10 gallons, evaporating 9 gallons. The fabric is dipped into it, and is dyed of a fine orange yellow ; but it ia a fleeting colour.
l'armelia hamtschadalis, tho Charela lichen of the Himalayas, is used as a perfume in calico printing, price Rs. 51 the cwt. P. eaperata, P. perlata, and P. physodes aro known.
Pentaptera tomentorra, a tree of the Cuddapah and Kurnool forests. The bark is used with iron for dyeing black.
I'hyllanthus emblica bark is used as a tanning substance for barking' sails, nets, and lines. Its fruit is used in dyeing black.
Pistacia vera flowers, called buznak, are used in the Panjab and NAV. Provinces in silk-dyeing, as also are the galls formed on this plant.
Polygonum Chinense, P. barbatum, and P. aviculare all produce a beautiful blue colour, much like that from indigo. The leaves are first dried, then pounded, and made into small cakes, which are sold in the shops. Three cuttings of P. tinctoria are obtained in China annually. It haS been introduced into Belgium. It has red flowers.
Potash is used in extracting the criinson dye from safflower, and also occasionally in calico printing. It is usually obtained from the stalks of the Penicillaria spicata or bajra.
Punica granatum or pomegranate. An infusion of the root bark yields a deep blue precipitate with salts of iron ; a yellowish-white one with a solution of isinglass ; a greyish-yellow one with corrosive sublimate, and potash or ammonia colours it yellow. A light red (lye is produced from the flowers. The rind of the fruit is ground and boiled, and the concentrated decoction is used alone in dyeing cloth a greenish brown or khak-rezi colour. The cloth is simply dipped in the decoction. But it is rnore generally used along with some other dye as a colour concen trator, in which ease the rind is boiled along with the other dye. It is used for fixing the colour of turmeric in yellow and orange shades, and tur meric with indigo for the various shades of green.
Psychotria. The wood of the jack, the root of the psychotria, the bark of the gamboge trees, the flowers of the butea, the rind of the Bengal quince, the leaves of the inemecylon and the touk-yat, all produce bright yellow dyes.
Pterocarpus santalinus. Red sanders wood is hard and of a bright garnet red colour, and is employed to dye a lasting reddish - brown on wool. It only yields its colour to ether or alcohol. The exports of this wood from Madras in one year amounted to nearly 2000 tons. Price, £6 to £9 the ton.