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To dye a black upon cotton, linen, and mixed goods
Take tar, iron liquor of the very best quality; add to each gallon thereof, three quarters of a pound of fine flour, and boil it to the consistency of a thin paste. Put the liquor or paste above-mentioned into a tub belonging to a machine used in the process. The goods intended to be dyed are wound upon a roller, and passed through the liquor or paste, betwixt the two rollers, thereby completely staining or dyeing the whole mass or body of the cloth. Pass them into a very hot stove or drying-house till dry, then take cow's dung, put it into a large copper of water about scalding hot, and mix it well together, through which pass the piece of cloth until it be thoroughly softened. Wash the goods, so dunged, extremely well in water. Take a quantity of madder, or longwood, or sumach, or all of them mixed together, as the strength of the cloth and nature of the colour may require, and put them into a copper, or tub of of hot water; then enter the goods before mentioned in this liquor, and keep rinsing or moving them therein, until they are brought up to the strength of colour required. Have the goods again well washed and dried. For dyeing black, it will be proper to pass the goods a second time through the above operations; adding more or less of the dyeing-woods as before. If, after the above operations the shade of colour is too full, or too much upon the red hue; it will be necessary to give them a little sumach; and then run them through a liquor made from iron and owler or alder bark.