Linen is dyed in the same manner as cotton. Jute is dyed without any previous preparation, since it behaves like a tannin-mordanted fibre, attracting the basic colours direct.
The basic colours, to which class most of the earlier coal-tar colours belonged, are remarkable for their great colouring power, and in most cases for the brilliancy of the colours they yield. With the exception of certain dark colours, they are fugitive to light. It is interesting to note that only one vegetable colouring matter is at present recognized as belonging to this class, namely, the yellow dyestuff barberry bark and root (Berberis vulgaris) which contains the alkaloid berberine.
The following is a list of the more important basic colours derived from coal-tar:—
Red.—Magenta, safranine, rhodamine, pyronine red, rhoduline red, rosazeïn, induline scarlet.
Orange.—Chrysoïdine, phosphine, acridine orange, tannin orange.
Yellow.—Auramine, benzoflavine, thioflavine T, acridine yellow, homophosphine, rhoduline yellow.
Green.—Malachite green, emerald green, imperial green, China green, brilliant green, Victoria green, diamond green, methylene green, azine green.
Blue.—Methylene blue, new methylene blue, toluidine blue, thionine blue, indamine blue, Victoria blue, night blue, Nile blue, turquoise blue, marine blue, indoine blue, metamine blue, Capri blue, indazine, metaphenylene blue, paraphenylene blue, toluylene blue, indigene, indol blue, diphene blue, setopaline, setocyanine, setoglaucine, Helvetia blue.
Violet.—Methyl violet, crystal violet, ethyl purple, methylene violet, mauve, paraphenylene violet, rhoduline violet, methylene heliotrope.
Brown.—Bismarck brown.