BANDANA HANDKERCIIIEFS, a species of the East Indian manufacture much admired in Europe, and fabricated in India both from silk and cotton. The ground of these handkerchiefs is commonly of a -dark colour, most frequently red, blue, or purple ; and the pattern almost always consists of spots ge nerally white, or sometimes a bright yellow. The du rability of the colours, and the darkness of the ground, have contributed to cause a very great demand for this article in the European market ; and, from this cause, the home manufacturers have been long very anxious to produce articles of this description, which might rival the Indian goods in quality and cheap ness.
The only mode of accomplishing this, was for a long time, and until very recently, considered to he by the ordinary process of calico printing with blocks upon white cloths ; but in this way it was very rare ly, if ever, in the power of the manufacturer to render his colours sufficiently durable, especially the reds ; and therefore the home made article was never held in estimation by purchasers, most of whom consisted of that class of people to whom durability was a most essential, and even indispensible, requisite. Besides the difficulty of fixing the colour sufficiently, the tax upon this, as well as every other species of printed cloths, most have operated considerably in the com parison with the imported goods. Lately, however, a discovery has been made of a mode of manufactu ring this kind of handkerchief, so as to ensure the du rability of the colour, and at the same time to be en tirely free from any tax whatever under the existing revenue laws. This manufacture was first practised at Glasgtiw, where it is now prosecuted to very considerable extent ; and it is still, we have reason to believe, entirely confined to that part of the country.
The new process is exactly the converse of print ing ; for it consists of dyeing the cloth of a durable colour, as red, blue, or purple, and then discharging that part which forms the pattern, by means of a strong solution of the oxy-muriate of lime applied by a mechanical process, which we shall now describe, referring the reader for a plan and section of the ap paratus used, to Plate LI1. Figs. 3. and 4.
The goods used for this manufacture are of cotton, sometimes woven plain, but much more frequently tweeled. The cloth after being woven, is dyed, and the colour most frequently used is the Turkey red. After the cloth has been dyed, it is smoothly and re gularly folded in pieces generally containing twelve handkerchiefs each, and in this state is put into the which being firmly shut, to prevent the dis charging liquor from into contact with, or operating upon, any part of the cloth, excepting that from which the colour is to he extracted, in about ten or twelve minutes the chemical discharge is completed. As soon as this is done, the press being Opened, another piece is put in, and the operation re peated ; so that, allowing 15 minutes for each piece, about 50 may be put through the press in the course of a day of 12 working hours, by the labour of one man, if the pieces be previously folded, which is ge ' nerally the case. The pieces, after discharging the red, require only a little cleaning, by the usual proces ses for coloured goods, when they may be returned to the warehouse, or sent to the calender to be fold ed and dressed for the market.
Representations of the press used for this purpose, will be found in Plate LII. Figs. 3. and 4. Fig. 3.
• is a horizontal plan of the bottom or under part of a press constructed for manufacturing Bandana hand kerchiefs, of the pattern represented in the figure. Fig. 4. is an elevated section of the press, as seen from the front. In presses of this kind, the chief requi site is great strength, and for this reason the frame work is commonly made of cast iron. Wherever a spot is to be made, the smooth copper plate CC, which forms the under part or sole of the press, .is perforated, and in the upper part is a hollow metal dye or tube commonly made of brass, which exactly fits the hole below. The cloth being smoothly fold ed in squares, the piece, which generally consists of twelve handkerchiefs, is laid in the press, and the press firmly shut by means of the screw D ; when this is done, the liquor being poured upon cover B, which has a rim about half an inch deep to pre vent it from running off, passes down through the perforated tubes or pipes, and in a few minutes dis charges the colour from that part of the cloth through which it passes, and thus the spots are formed. Under the sole of the press, another flat piece with rims is placed to receive the liquor, which is conveyed by a small spout into a vessel placed to receive it ; as even after effecting the discharge of the colour, it is of considerable value for other operations of bleaching. AA represents the frame, BB the cover, CC the sole, D the double threaded screw, and E a strong malleable iron wheel for receiving the lever with which the press is shut.
The mode of pressing by water, which will be found particularly described under the article LENDE11, is peculiarly well adapted for this operation, and every other where the press requires to be fre quently opened and shut. A plan is therefore added, by which the pressure may be effected on a principle nearly similar. In this plan the pressure is produced by the piston G working in a smoothly bored hol low cylinder F, attached to the sole of the press: H is the pipe which contains the water, which, pas '. sing through the piston at G, forces up the sole of the press and the cylinder F. The dark shade shows that part of the pipe which is filled with water, the right hand stop-cock I being open, and the left hand cock at K shut. The press will be instantaneously opened, merely by shutting the cock at I, and open ing that at K to discharge the water ; and as the pipe may be of a very small bore, very little water will be lost at each operation, no more being dis charged than that contained between the stop-cocks. It seems very obvious, that where it may be incon venient to have a pipe of sufficient altitude to give the proper pressure, steam might be very easily in troduced in the place of water, and would, at a very small expellee of fuel, effect the pressing operation with very great power. This hint may, perhaps, be useful ; but we are not aware that it hes in any in stance been hitherto attempted. In large works, where there is a steam engine employed for othor purposes, it seems however to be worthy of consider ation, being probably a more direct and economical way of attaining the end than by forcing water to the altitude required.
The chemical substance employed in the operation of discharging the colour, has already been stated to be the oxy-muriate of lime, which, we belieTe, is only prepared in Scotland by the inventor, Mr Tennant of Glasgow. (J. o.)