It is very important to precipitate the aluminum cold, and heat up before adding the dyestuff. The chemicals used for precipitating must be added very slowly and while constantly stirring. The quantity used for the three washings is required each time to be double the quantity originally used.
I.—Madder Lakes.—Prepare from the root 1 pound best madder, alum water (1 pound alum with 1 1/2 gallons of water), saturated solution of carbonate of potash (3/4 pound carbonate of potash to 1/2 gallon of water).
The madder root is inclosed in a linen bag of fine texture, and bruised with a pestle in a large mortar with 2 gallons of water (free from lime) added in small quantities at a time, until all the coloring matter is extracted. Make this liquor boil, and gradually pour into the boiling water solution. Add the carbonate of potash solution gradually, stirring all the time. Let the mixture stand for 12 hours and drop and dry as required.
II.—Garancine Process.—This is the method usually employed in preference to that from the root. Garancine is prepared by steeping madder root in sulphate of soda and washing.
| Garancine | 2 pounds |
| Alum (dissolved in a little water) | 2 pounds |
| Chloride of tin | 1/2 ounce |
| Sufficient carbonate of potash or soda to precipitate the alum. | |
Boil the garancine in 4 gallons of pure water; add the alum, and continue boiling from 1 to 2 hours. Allow the product to partially settle and filter through flannel before cooling. Add to the filtrate the chloride of tin, and sufficient of the potash or soda solution to precipitate the alum; filter through flannel and wash well. The first filtrate may be used for lake of an inferior quality, and the garancine originally employed may also be treated as above, when a lake slightly inferior to the first may be obtained.
Maroon Lake.—Take of a mixture made of:
| 2/3 Sapan wood, 1/3 Lima wood | 56 parts |
| Soda crystals | 42 parts |
| Alum | 56 parts |
Extract the color from the woods as for rose pink, and next boil the soda and alum together and add to the woods solution cold. This must be washed clean before adding to the wood liquor.
Carnation Lake.—