Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 3, 1802).djvu/248

226] land, in the lowest parts; and, in others, a level sufficient for his purpose.

The common being thus inclosed and divided, Mr. commenced the draining of each division, by small internal cuts, about 20 inches wide at the top, and of various depths, to three feet and a half, reducing them to six inches at the bottom; leaving those open which were in the direction of the plough, and filling up others with brush-wood. Both these drains answer to his entire satisfaction; and he observes that the whole common has been converted from a state of waste into excellent land, for the sum of 508l.

We regret that our limits do not allow us to detail the course of crops pursued by this truly "Practical Agriculturist:" let it therefore suffice, to conclude, that barley and oats have seldom succeeded; but the wheat raised on this land, has been very abundant, and the grain weighty: cole-seed has also been cultivated with great advantage, as a winter food, the crops having in general been very fine, and enabled Mr. to feed great numbers of sheep during the space of four months, from January to April; and to fatten them much sooner than he had ever been able to effect, on turnips of the best quality, produced on his home-grounds. In short, the land, from being of no value, has already been very productive; and Mr. thinks it will, in a short time, become the most valuable meadow of the neighbourhood. The vegetable substance thus drained, has become a fine luxuriant black mould, to the very surface of the water, and is daily losing its sponginess, and acquiring greater cohesion.  MORDANTS, or, in dyeing, signify those substances, which are employed for the purpose of macerating the stuffs, and rendering them capable of imbibing the tinging matter. Of this nature are, the sulphat of alumine; the acidulous tartrite of pot-ash; the solution of tin in nitro-muriatic, and oxygenated muriatic acids; the vegetable astringent principle, or gallic acid; acetite of alumine; sulphat of copper, or blue vitriol; arsenic; acetite of copper, or verdigrease; and the sulphat of zinc, or white vitriol.

Mordicants act on stuffs in two different ways: 1. By parting with a portion of their oxygen, in consequence of which the substance of such stuffs is changed, and their attraction for the pigment or colouring matter is increased; and, 2. By altering, in a similar manner, the nature of the pigment, and rendering it culpable of coagulation. Thus, the colouring matter undergoes several changes, and receives various degrees of a lighter or darker shade.

It would exceed our limits, to point out the different mordicants, which are adapted to certain colours, or to particular stuffs; for these can be only ascertained by experience. But, as the fine Turkey red communicated to cotton by means of madder, depends principally on the mordants employed in that process; and, as the knowledge of these is involved in considerable obscurity, by the jealousy or avarice of dyers, we shall subjoin a few hints on their effects in dyeing cotton red, selected from the memoir lately published by M. ,