OLIVE BROWN.
Wash feathers thoroughly in hot water and soap, and rinse about four times in hot water; after which prepare a bath of half a pound of logwood; first enter feathers in one-quarter pound of turmeric and one gallon of boiling water; let them remain in bath about four minutes. When logwood bath has boiled sufficiently, say ten minutes, rinse feathers out of turmeric in cold water; and enter in logwood, letting them remain in bath about six minutes; take out and rinse. Prepare a bath of half an ounce of bichromate of potash and one gallon of boiling water; enter feathers and let remain in bath about one minute; take out and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Mix a bath of one ounce of turmeric to one ounce of archil and half the old logwood bath; bring to a boil and enter feathers, letting them remain in bath about six minutes; take out and rinse. Then mix a bath of luke warm water and starch, add a couple of drops of sulphuric acid and a couple of drops of picric acid diluted, pass feathers through, squeeze out thoroughly and dry by rubbing in powdered starch between the hands; beat out on a clean board until all the starch is removed from the feathers.
MEDIUM BROWN—page [66]. OLD-GOLD—page [39].
CARDINAL—page [33]. MEDIUM GREEN—page [61].
PROCESS OF DEGRADING OR BLEACHING NATURAL GRAY OR BLACK WHITE.
Begin by washing and rinsing your feathers thoroughly; after which soak in a bath of compound of one gallon of ammonia to eight gallons of water for about eight hours; take feathers out and squeeze out the excess of ammonia which is in the flues. Put your feathers in the peroxide of hydrogen with an addition of twelve to sixteen ounces of ammonia to one five gallon can or demijohn, and let it work slowly, stirring feathers from time to time for about six hours; after which lay your feathers on one side of the tub and add to the peroxide of hydrogen bath about four ounces more of ammonia; stir the bath well to insure a thorough mixture of the peroxide of hydrogen with the ammonia.
The peroxide of hydrogen will continue to work for about twelve hours more, until it becomes thoroughly exhausted; after which take out your feathers and rinse a few times in luke warm water. Then proceed to put them in a second bath of peroxide of hydrogen to be prepared as follows: To a half gallon demijohn of peroxide of hydrogen add two and a half gallons of water, and add thereto about eight ounces of ammonia. Then enter your feathers, and allow the bath to work a few hours; again add about two ounces of ammonia by the same process as before, and then let it work a few hours longer, or until the bath becomes exhausted. To ascertain whether total exhaustion has taken place, take a small portion of the bath in a glass and dilute therein a few grains of permanganate of potash; if it be not totally exhausted, bubbles will appear on the surface; if exhausted, none will be noticeable.
After your feathers have been removed from the bath they must be carefully rinsed off in three or four waters, a few degrees more than luke warm. Then prepare a warm soap bath, and allow your feathers to remain in a few minutes; after which rinse off thoroughly in luke warm water; dilute a small handful of starch in a quantity of cold water, pass your feathers through and dry.