Osage Orange To Be Used In Making Dyes

Popular Mechanics, tammikuu 1917

Extensive experiments, which have been in progress for some time, indicate that Osage-orange wood can be utilized for dyeing purposes. It is believed that this fact will not only relieve the situation with regard to the shortage of aniline dyes in certain shades but may eventually replace the use of fustic, a dyewood of which about 4,000 tons are now imported annually from the tropics. It is estimated that the yearly mill waste from the present manufacture of Osage orange is more than 25,000 tons, a fact which gives some indication of the available sypply of this wood. The same dye has been found in the Osage orange as in fustic, and in some respects is more uniform than that in the tropical wood. Among the colors for which it can be used are orange-yellow, old gold, deep tan, olive, and chocolate shades. American manufacturing interests are also taking steps to overcome the present shortage in dyestuffs. A large chemical company, now completing an immense plant in the East, has announced that its principal products will be used in the manufacture of dye materials. This plant, it is said, will be the only one of its kind in the United States.