Olive Green.

Scientific American 37, 3.6.1848

Olive green is a beautiful and agreeable color. It is refreshing to the eye and chaste to the fancy.It looks always best upon fine cloth, in fact, it is singular in this property, and should never be dyed upon any kind of wool or woolen cloths but that of the finest quality It is very easily dyed. Any person following this subjoined directions cannot go wrong:

Put into a clean copper or tin kettle in which the cloth or woolen yarn is to be dyed, as much water as will cover the whole cloth when put into the boiler and leave it plenty of room for stirring. (There is far less danger in having a large boiler than a too small one.) Bring the water to boil and put into it for then pounds of cloth, five pounds of fustic and one of logwood, in a bag. Boil these for fifteen minutes and then add six ounces of the sulphate of copper and in a few minutes enter the cloth, with the liquor still boiling as strong as possible. The cloth must not have its folds pressed ans squeezed together, but it must be free and loose in the boiler and there is no need of any shifting of the cloth, except with a proper long smooth stick to ease up the cloth gently and frequently from the bottom of the boiler. One hour's boiling will suffice when the cloth may be taken out and washed. It will then be found to be a beautiful olive green color, but rather light. If it is wanted to be very dark it will take seven pounds of fustic, three pounds of logwood and half a pound of camwood boiled in the bag, and the cloth boiled one hour in this, then taken out and aired, and six ounces of the sulphate of copper and four ounces of the sulphate of iron (copperas) added, and the goods then entered again and boiled one hour longer, when they are to be take out, washed and finished. The last process is the best for a fast and dark color, and for home made cloth to be made int owinter coats, it is certainly a much better looking color than the watery and snuff colored yellow greens that we often see. Walnut rinds will answer instead of the fustic and so will that of the butternut - but fustic is the best and is not dear. This color will spot with vinegar and other acids, but a little saleratus dissolved in water and applied to the spots will restore them unless the color is effectually destroyed.

The above receipts may be depended upon as thoroughly practical, but never let it be forgot that the liquor must be kept at the boil - a strong boil when the cloth is entered and a more gentle boil afterwards. Yarn takes one third more stuffs to dye a color than cloth, and coarse cloth one third more than fine. This must also be kept in mind.