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138 Woodcraft Birch Bark Roll 103 (a) (b) IO 5 a D 3 (a) (b) Vegetable Dyes IVG 3 6 By Jutta M. BuTTREE It must be remembered that different textiles are differ- ently susceptible to coloring matter. That is, dyeing wool or silk is a wholly different matter from dyeing cotton and flax. To dye wool and silk, use oak bark, hickory, walnut, cherry, walnut hulls, walnut roots, sumach berries and yellow puccoon root. To dye cotton, best results are obtained from swamp maple bark, red oak bark, or full grown peach leaves. The best bark comes from youngish trees of vigorous growth. First the rough outside is peeled; then long strips and shav- ings cut next the wood. Of course, the Woodcrafter takes bark only half round so as not to kill the tree. The best bark is stripped in September and. October, when the new wood is forming, and the bark rich with sap. If properly cut, and dried in the shade, it keeps good for years. Swamp maple bark dyes anywhere from light gray to slate-purple, according to the strength of the infusion. To make it, boil the bark three hours, preferably in an open iron kettle. Dip in a bit of the material to be colored. If it comes out too dark, add water; if too light, put in more bark and boil again. After boiling, skim out the bark and put in your mordant, or fixative. Stir until well dissolved. The material to be dyed must be clean, and wet all through with clear hot water. There must be no grease in it. Put it quickly under the dye bath so it will take the color evenly. Keep the whole boiling for ten minutes, then dip out the material, hold it above the pot to air for half a minute, drop it back, boil ten minutes longer, and hang it to drain and cool. Then wash it in water until no more dye comes out. Poke weed dyes purple. Mary White tells of ‘one basket maker who found in the purple iris a dye almost as deep as its own blossoms. The faded flowers are full of the purple liquid; and, when they are rubbed on rattan, color it a beautiful shade which is quite as fast as most dyes.” Peach leaves dye yellow. Take them in early September— or even late August—when they are green, glossy, oily-look-