SANDERS-RED

SANDERS-RED (see PTEROCARPUS, Encycl.) is used as a dye stuff, but generally in a manner which is very disadvantageous. In Crel's Chemical Annals are given, by Mr Vogler, the following directions for dyeing with this wood.

1. Into a solution of tin made with aquafortis (nitric acid), and mixed with three times as much salt water, put clean-washed wool, silk, linen, and cotton. After six hours, take them out, and wash them carefully in three different quantities of clean cold water,

wringing them well each time. Let them dry, and then put half the quantity of each article into the spirituous tincture of red sanders, hereafter described in n° 6. letting them soak therein, without heat, from half an hour to an hour. To ascertain the superiority of his different processes, the other half of each article must be boiled in the tincture of sanders mixed with water, described in n° 7. a bare quarter of an hour. After being taken out, wrung, and dried in the shade, all of them will be dyed throughout of a fine rich poppy-colour.

2. Take three drams of powdered alum, and dissolve it in twelve ounces of clean hot water. Into this solution, while yet warm, put some well-washed wool, silk, linen, and cotton. After suffering them to remain therein for the space of twelve hours, take them out, wash them well in three quantities of clean cold water (wringing them each time), and dry them. Then steep the half of each article in the cold spirituous tincture of sanders (n° 6.), from half an hour to an hour; and boil the other half of each in the diluted tincture of sanders (n° 7.) for the space of six or seven minutes. After being taken out, wrung, and dried in the shade, they will be found to have acquired a very beautiful and rich scarlet colour.

3. Dissolve three drams of blue vitriol, or vitriol of copper, in twelve ounces of hot water. Steep in this solution, for twelve hours, wool, silk, linen, or cotton; and having sufficiently washed the stuff in clean cold water, immerse the one half of it in the spirituous tincture of sanders (n° 6.), from half an hour to an hour; and boil the other half of each for six or seven minutes in the diluted tincture, n° 7. Being then taken out, wrung, and dried in the shade, as before, they will have acquired a beautiful, rich, bright, crimson colour.

4. Steep wool, silk, linen, and cotton, which has been well washed, during twelve hours, in a solution of three drams of white vitriol, or vitriol of zinc, in twelve ounces of hot water. After being taken out, well washed in clean cold water, and dried, immerse one half of each in the cold spirituous tincture of sanders (n° 6.) and boil the other half in the diluted tincture (n° 7.) as before. When taken out, wrung, and dried, they will be of a fine, rich, deep crimson colour.

5. Dissolve three drams of common green vitriol, or vitriol of iron, in twelve ounces of hot water: steep well-washed wool, silk, linen, and cotton, in the solution, for the space of twelve hours. When taken out, wash several times in clean cold water, and dried, treat them, as in n° 4. and they will be generally found to be of a fine, rich, deep violet colour; though, on repeating his experiments, our author sometimes found the colour a dark brownish red.

The tincture in which the stuffs are to be dyed must be prepared in the following manner.

6. Take half an ounce of red sanders wood, beat or ground to powder, as it is sold at the colour shops or druggists. Having put it into a large glass bottle, pour upon it twelve ounces of malt spirit or common brandy; then cork the bottle, and set it in a moderately-warm place. In the space of 48 hours, the spirit will have extracted all the colouring matter from the red sanders, and thereby acquired a bright red colour. The bottle

Sanders, should be often shaken during the digestion; and the tincture, thus prepared, may be used for dyeing without heat, and without separating the powdered sanders from the liquor. The articles to be dyed (after the application of the proper mordants, n^o 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) are to be steeped in the tincture for half an hour, or a whole hour; they are then to be taken out, wrung, and dried in the shade. This tincture does not lose its dyeing quality by age; but dyes substances, after being kept a long time, almost as well as when it is just made. Its colouring power is indeed weakened by the frequent immersion and dyeing of different articles in it; and when that is the case, it must be again digested with some fresh sanders-wood.

7. Mix the spirituous tincture of sanders, just described, with from six to ten times as much clean cold water. The mixture was made by our author without any separation of the colouring particles worth noticing; and in this diluted tincture, the various articles (having their proper mordants first applied, n^o 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) were boiled, as before mentioned. Linen and cotton, by being dipped in glue-water, after the application of the mordants, acquire, in this diluted tincture, a much deeper and richer colour.

If a very fine and bright colour be desired, the above spirituous tincture of sanders should not be too old, nor should the digestion be protracted beyond 48 hours; for, after that period, the spirit appears to extract brown and yellow colouring particles from the wood. The powder of sanders need not be separated from the diluted tincture which is made use of by boiling; nor is it absolutely necessary to wash the articles in cold water after they are dyed; as the powder which adheres to them may easily be taken off by rubbing and shaking. M. Vogler, however, found it advantageous, after the articles were taken out of the dye, and wrung, to steep them for a few minutes in a cold solution of half an ounce of common salt, and a quarter of an ounce of alum, in 12 ounces of pure water. In this case, they should afterwards be washed several times in clean cold water, then wrung and dried in the shade. By this method the colours are not only more beautiful, but are also more permanent. All the articles of wool, silk, linen, and cotton, which were dyed as is above mentioned, bore perfectly well the test of alkaline ley, soap, and acids; but, by exposure to the open air and the sun, the colours were more easily discharged, especially from linen and cotton.

N. B. Red sanders, by being ground to a fine powder, answers much better for dyeing by this process, than when it is merely cut into small pieces; but it must be remarked, that the powder of red sanders which is sold at the shops is sometimes adulterated, by being mixed with other substances, and moistened with acids. The best kind is not light, but rather heavy; and is not of a dark red colour, but clear and bright.