"But where is the chloride of lime?"
"Do you remember that black ore we have in the laboratory, which is called manganese? If we put some of the sulphuric acid on that a gas will be formed, called chlorine, one of the most powerful bleaching compounds known. We can use it in that form, or subject some of our lime to the gases, and in that case make chloride of lime."
The decision was to make the flag sixteen feet long and nine feet nine inches wide, so that each stripe would be nine inches wide. The blue field would be five feet wide and seven feet long.
This was certainly a task, and the boys were directed to prepare four strips of red and three strips of white, each nine feet long, and also three strips of white and three strips of red sixteen feet long. Four of the short strips and three of the long strips were then laid aside to be dyed red. The other strips were put out to bleach.
When all this was prepared George was troubled about the colors.
"Professor, I do not see what we can use to make the blue and red colors."
"I think we are fortunate in having one of the varieties of the madder plant all about here."
"Is that a good dye plant?"
"It is a plant that is more extensively used for dyeing than any other in the world. For many years, until the products from petroleum began to come in, it was the only source for the red colors, because of its permanence. The dye is so powerful that it will turn the bones of animals red, if they are fed on it, and it also colors the claws and beaks of birds."
"Have you seen any of it here?"