In preparing bath, when you have added the archil, be careful in bringing it to boiling temperature that you do not allow it to boil any time, as that would have a tendency to dull your color. By keeping this bath clean it can be used several times, in fact, it improves with age; and, if kept in a crock, so that it will not come in contact with any metallic substance, and when needed just brought to boiling temperature; and if needed, a teaspoonful of archil added to it will produce very beautiful shades of garnet.
This bath can be used to make your plum colors; and if you have an old bath of logwood on hand it is not necessary to boil a fresh one, simply add the archil, and bring to a boil.
TERRA COTTA.
If white feathers, wash and rinse them thoroughly with hot water, and if faded out light colors, extract color by bleaching with permanganate of potash in the usual way; being careful to rinse well in hot water to remove all the acid used in bleaching before entering bath. Prepare bath as follows: about a gallon of luke warm water, and add a small handful of starch. Enter feathers, rub around in bath between the hands, take out and add a few drops of diluted safranine, and copperas about the size of a pea. Enter feathers and let remain in bath about one minute; take out and add about half a teaspoonful of diluted aniline brown; re-enter feathers and let them remain in about half a minute longer; after which dry in the usual way. If found too pink for sample, add a few drops more aniline brown, and return to bath for a few seconds. If found too yellow, add a few drops more of diluted safranine, and keep in bath a few seconds longer; if wanted darker, add a little more of each color, and keep in bath longer.
BOTTLE GREEN.
After washing and rinsing feathers thoroughly,—if dirty or greasy, extracting color if necessary,—prepare bath as follows: One ounce of turmeric diluted in one gallon of boiling water; enter your feathers and let remain in about one minute, after which take out and rinse thoroughly. Prepare a weak bath of logwood, about half a pound to the gallon of water, or about half the usual strength of an ordinary logwood bath for black; boil a few minutes, after which enter your feathers and let them remain in bath about one minute; then take out and rinse thoroughly in cold water; after which prepare a bath of half an ounce of bichromate of potash to one gallon of boiling water. Dissolve bichromate of potash, enter feathers and let them remain in about half a minute; a little longer if a very dark shade be required, and so much less time if a very light shade is required; after which take feathers out and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Dilute about one-half a teaspoonful of aniline green in a gallon of boiling water, and reduce temperature of bath a few degrees with cold water; then enter feathers and let them remain in bath about two or three minutes; remove feathers and cool off a small portion of the bath with cold water, and add to it a small handful of starch; pass your feathers through the bath, squeeze out and dry off in the usual way.
If found to be lighter than shade desired, rinse off starch thoroughly, and return for a few seconds to logwood bath without increasing temperature any; then rinse off in cold water, and pass through a weak solution of bichromate of potash, about one-quarter ounce to a gallon; after which rinse, starch and dry.
If found darker than shade desired, pass feathers through a solution of half a teaspoonful of oxalic acid in about one gallon of luke warm water for about thirty seconds; take them out of this and rinse twice through boiling water, and then give a weak bath of aniline green,—about half the strength of the first bath. If samples to be matched be more on the yellow or olive, use decidedly more turmeric in the first bath, and add a little, say about a teaspoonful, to the aniline green bath. If a green on the blue, it will be necessary to use only one-half the turmeric prescribed in the first bath.
STEEL COLOR.
All light colors can be used to make a good shade of steel by first extracting colors by the usual process of bleaching with permanganate of potash; if white and dirty, wash thoroughly in hot water and soap and rinse. Prepare your bath as follows: To one gallon of luke warm water add a small handful of starch; enter your feathers, rub them around well in bath; after which add a small pinch of copperas and about a tablespoonful of logwood liquor, and let remain in about one minute; increase temperature of bath and add a few drops of diluted violet, first removing your feathers from bath; re-enter feathers and let remain about one minute, or until your feathers look about four shades darker than sample; after which take out and dry.