DRYING OR STARCHING.
The feathers coming from the bioxolate of potash bath, after rinsing, or from the blue baths, are squeezed out by pulling them through the hand, and pressing them between the laps of a dry clean piece of white muslin, whereupon they are immediately passed through a bath of raw starch, that is, unboiled starch, consisting of about one-half pound of starch to a gallon of water. After passing them through the hand the feathers are then again pressed between the cloth; then the waves are lightly drawn by hand over the stems, and the feathers either beaten between the hands or upon a clean board over a stove until dry, or they are agitated by hand or by a suitable mechanical contrivance before an open fire or gas-jet, or hung in a warm room and frequently shaken until dry, that is, until all starch has dropped out; and finally the remaining starch is beaten out between the hands or upon the board by means of a soft brush. By this treatment the feathers are not only dried, but the flues opened besides. It needs not to be specially mentioned, that the feathers are dried, or finished, as it were, in the same manner after dyeing.
In case the flues are not sufficiently opened, although all the starch has been beaten out, dip the feathers into clean benzine and swing or agitate them until dry, which takes place in a few minutes, while the flues are opened in the most perfect manner. For white feathers the benzine may be blued, but in this case, they must be dried between muslin.