Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber's Note:

Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal
signs=.

D'Appligny was changed to D'Apligny.

Gallium was changed to Galium.

Page 132: a "Note" was anchored, and added to the footnote sequence.

Inconsistent punctuation and capitalization of lists, chapter headings,
and footnotes was retained.

The listed Errata were corrected.

A BOOK ON
VEGETABLE
DYES

BY
ETHEL M. MAIRET

A.D. 1916

PUBLISHED BY DOUGLAS PEPLER
AT THE HAMPSHIRE HOUSE
WORKSHOPS HAMMERSMITH W

Price 5s. net.

_PRINTED by DOUGLAS PEPLER
at
DITCHLING in the COUNTY of SUSSEX
& PUBLISHED BY HIM AT
THE HAMPSHIRE HOUSE WORKSHOPS
HAMMERSMITH
ON S. JOHN THE BAPTIST'S DAY
A.D. MDCCCCXVI_

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

IN PRINCIPIO ERAT VERBUM
ET VERBUM ERAT APUD DEUM
ET DEUS ERAT VERBUM.
_Sc. Joannem_ 1.1.

VIDITQUE DEUS CUNCTA QUÆ
FECERAT: ET ERANT VALDE BONA.
_Genesis._ 1.31.

MAN uses these good things, and when MAN first discovers how to make anything, that thing which he makes is good.

For example: this book is printed upon one of the first iron presses to be made in this country. The press is a good press; it would be difficult to make a press which would enable the printer to print more clearly. The wooden press was a good press & the printing from it has not been surpassed.

Further, this quality of goodness of a first discovery may persist for many years.

But there is a tendency to avoid _Quality Street_. We are choosing rather _Quantity Street_ & the Bye paths of _Facility & Cleverness_; we have become accustomed to the hum of the _Time & Labour saving_ machinery; and we are in danger of forgetting the use of good things: indeed the tradition & practice of goodness has been lost in a considerable number of trades.

For instance: a carpenter has become so used to buying his timber in planks from a yard that he has nearly forgotten its relation to the tree. The man who works to designs conceived by somebody else with wood sawn by another man's machine must be deprived of the natural strength of the tree.

And this is not an exception to, but an example of, the way we are choosing to do things.

It is impossible to buy linen as good as that normally used by every tradesman in the XVIII century. It is nearly impossible to get cloth, paper, bread, beer, bacon and leather equal to that in common use 150 years ago.

IN VIEW OF THE BEGINNING it is desirable to record what still survives of the traditions of making good things; and I shall endeavour to publish the instructions & advice of men & women who still follow these good traditions.

Douglas Pepler.

CONTENTS

PAGE
I. INTRODUCTION 1
II. WOOL, SILK, COTTON AND LINEN 11
III. MORDANTS 24
IV. BRITISH DYE PLANTS 37
V. THE LICHEN DYES 45
VI. BLUE 63
VII. RED 87
VIII. YELLOW 107
IX. BROWN AND BLACK 122
X. GREEN 133