Cochineal is very frequently adulterated. A common fraud consists in extracting part of the colour by soaking it in water, then drying it, and selling it as black cochineal, or shaking it up with ground talc or sulphate of lead, to resemble silver cochineal. The fraud is easily detected by throwing some of the ground article into water. The chief use of cochineal has been for dyeing wool ; in calico-printing, to produce pinks and reds ; an ammoniacal preparation for dyeing silk, and to produce violets and mauves on wool ; and for the manufacture of carmine lakes (see Pigments). Though it has suffered much from competition with coal-tar dyes, our imports, in 1878, were 30,827 cwt., valued at 359,8361. The chief contributors were :—Canary Islands, 26,740 cwt. ; Mexico, 1549 ; W. Coast Africa (foreign), 1330 ; other countries, 1208. Li 1879, the figures were reduced to—Canaries, 24,720 °wt. ; Mexico, 1931 ; other countries, 1301.
Cudbear.—(See Orchella.) Ericine.—Thia is a new colour, derived from the wood of the common heath (Erica vulgaris), and different kinds of poplar. The stems of the former, or new branches and twigs of the latter, are cut up, crushed, pulverized, and boiled in an alum solution-10 lb. wood with 1 lb. alum in 3 gal. water ; the whole is boiled for twenty to thirty minutes, and filtered. The filtrate becomes turbid on cooling, and deposits a greenish-yellow resin. When free from resin, the liquor is refiltered, and left for three to five days exposed to light and air ; it thus acquires a golden-yellow colour, and may be worked into an extract, or precipitated as a lake. The extract surpasses most yellows in brightness ; the lake can be used in paper-staining, artificial flower making, calico-printing, &o.
Fustic (Fe., Fustique ; GER., Visetholz).—The dye-stuff known as "Old Fuetic" is the pro duce of Aforus tinotoria, a native of Brazil, Mexico, and several of the West Indies. It arrives in logs of various sizes, the best being dense, of a fine orange-yellow colour inside, and not worm eaten. Cuba fustic is valued at 81.-81. 10s. a ton, while Jamaica, Mexican, and Honduras fetch only 51.-51.10s. The article is used chiefly for wool dyeing, and is but little employed by calico printers. Extracts, both liquid and solid, are largely imported from America and France ; the West Indian colonists do not seem as yet to have availed themselves of this method of reducing cost of transport. The exports from Sau Domingo, in 1878, were 948,000 lb. ; of this, 718,000 lb. went to the United States, and only 16,000 lb. came to Great Britain. The so-called "Young Fustie " is a distinct product. (See Tannin.)
Gardine.—This yellow dye-stuff, consisting of the fruits of a species of Gardenia, is exten sively used in China, under the name of Hoang-tehi. It has been introduced into Germany, Holland, and England, but without attracting much notice. The extract gives orange on wool, fiery-yellow on silk, and yellow on cotton, and is said to resist soap and most acids.
Godari, or Dhauri.—The flowers and leaves of Grislea tomentosa are much used in some parts of India, for giving a red colour to skins for native slippers. The plant grows abundantly in the Northern Circars.
Henna.—This popular Eastern dye is derived from the leaves of Lawsonia alba (spinosa, inermis ; Alcanna spinosa). This plant is common from Egypt to India ; it is very generally culti vated in Indian gardens, and on a much more extensive scale for commercial purposes in some districts, e. g. at Touat, in Arabia, and near Bombay. The best henna grown in all Asia is said to come from Yezd, in Persia ; a very superior quality is produced also near Mecca. It forms an important article of commerce in every Eastern bazaar. The shrub is propagated by cuttings, planted in shaded situations, and grows rapidly. It is cultivated both for the sake of the dye, and for the delicious perfume of the flowers. In the former case, the shoots are cut when 3 ft. long, and are stripped of their leaves, which are sun-dried, and finally ground in a mill. Two or even three crops are obtained in year. If the flowers are required, the shoots are allowed to reach 5-6 ft. before cutting. The dye is applied to the finger-nails of men and women, and to the manes, tails, and hoofs of horses, to produce a brownish-yellow tint. Applied to human hair, it produces a beautiful black by a second dyeing with indigo. The flowers are used in perfumery and embalming. Medicinal virtues also are ascribed to the plant. Egypt is said to produce 6i million lb. yearly ; Morocco, in 1873, exported 2216 cwt., valued at 35451.
Indian Mulberry.—The root-bark of the Indian mulberry (Dforinda citrifolia) produces a scarlet dye, largely used by the natives of India, for colouring turbans, handkerchiefs, &c. The tree is cultivated iu Kandeish, Berar, and the Deccan ; in a wild state, it is common in most parts of India. The roots are partially dug up in the second year, and are in perfection in the third. The small best pieoes are worth 4-5 rupees a mound. Large quantities of the bark are exported from Malabar to Guzerat and North India. M. tinctoria appears to be the same species, wild.