BISMARCK BROWN.
Wash and rinse your feathers, after which prepare a bath of one gallon of boiling water and about one ounce of turmeric and half an ounce of copperas; enter your feathers and let them remain in bath about two minutes, more or less, after which take out and rinse twice in cold water. Meantime have boiling a bath of half a pound of logwood to a gallon of water, and enter feathers at boiling temperature, letting them remain in about ten seconds or longer. Should a darker shade be desired, take out and rinse in cold water, after which dilute a half teaspoonful of aniline brown in a gallon of boiling water. Reduce temperature a little with cold water. Enter feathers and let them remain in about three minutes; then cool off a small portion of the bath, and add a small handful of starch, pass feathers through and dry.
If a lighter shade is wanted, add a drop of sulphuric acid to the starch bath and pass feathers through. If the sample to match be more on the yellow order, about twice the amount of turmeric in the first bath; and if desired more on the red, use no turmeric, only copperas, in the first bath. If a darker shade is wanted, let them remain a longer time than that specified in the logwood bath. Any light color can be used to make a Bismarck brown; but if very dark colors are used, it is well to draw off some of the color, doing it in the usual way.
SEA-FOAM—page [70]. SILVER GRAY—page [26].
ECRU—page [23]. TRILEUL—page [58].
SEAL BROWN.
For seal brown it is not necessary to wash your feathers, nor to bleach off any color. Any old colors, excepting black, can be made a good shade of seal brown. Begin in bath by diluting about two ounces of turmeric in a gallon of boiling water (more or less matters not). Enter your feathers and keep them well under the surface of the bath about two or three minutes; after which take out and rinse in cold water twice. In the meantime boiling a bath of logwood about one pound to a gallon of water. If boiled on fire about fifteen minutes is necessary, and if boiled with steam a half hour is required. Enter feathers in logwood and let remain in about three minutes, keeping them well under the surface of bath, after which take out and rinse; if in cold water about twice, then dilute a half an ounce of bichromate of potash in a gallon of boiling water, and see that bichromate is thoroughly dissolved. Enter feathers and let them remain in about ten seconds, a longer time if a very dark shade is wanted; then take them out and rinse thoroughly in cold water; after which add to your logwood bath about one tablespoonful of extract of archil; bring bath to a boil and enter your feathers; cover up bath and let them remain in about four minutes; a little more or less time, in this bath is of no material difference in color, only to make the shade heavier or lighter. Take your feathers out of bath and rinse in cold water; mix a small handful of starch in about a quart of cold water, and pass feathers through and dry in the usual way.
If your color be darker than the shade you desire, add a drop or two of sulphuric acid to starch bath, and pass your feathers through for a few seconds. If found to be lighter than the shade you desire, rinse off the starch from your feathers in cold water; then dilute a quarter of an ounce of bichromate of potash in a gallon of boiling water, and pass your feathers through; after which rinse, starch and dry.
Another excellent method for quick seal brown is as follows: dilute two ounces of turmeric and half an ounce of copperas in one gallon of boiling water, and let them remain in about two minutes; take out and rinse, then enter in a strong bath of logwood at boiling, and keep under surface about three minutes; after which rinse; then mix a bath of a quarter to a half teaspoonful of aniline brown in a gallon of boiling water. Enter your feathers and let them remain in bath about three minutes; take out, rinse, starch and dry. If required darker, re-enter into logwood bath for a few seconds. If wanted lighter, add a drop or two of sulphuric acid in your starch bath, squeeze out and dry in the usual way.