Genus I. LECANORA, Ach.
[…] [L. pallenscens] Its most common variety, var. parella, a rimose, areolate-verrucose form, which is both saxicolous and corticolous in its habitat, with a rugose, white-pruinose apothecium, is the Lecanora parella of older authors (E. B. 727). Its specific name is said to be derived from its having been for ages known in France as the "Perelle d'Auvergne," on account of its yielding, on ammoniacal maceration, a fine orchill, called the "Orseille d'Auvergne." This pigment was prepared chiefly at St. Flour and Limoges, and the Lichen was collected by the peasantry of Auvergne, Limousin, Languedoc, Provence, Lyons, and other districts of southern France. Manufacturers distinguished two varieties, white and grey, depending chiefly on the maturity and purity of the plant, the latter being preferred. The operation of maceration or preparation extended over ten or twelve days, and consisted essentially in the steeping of the Lichen, ground into a pulp, in stale urine,—the addition of lime, and sometimes alkalies,—and the moulding of the mass into parallelopipeds or small cakes, like those of litmus. Under the name of "Light Crottle" it has been much used by the Scotch Highlanders to yield an orange or reddish dye for woollen goods; and, as the common "Crab's-eye Lichen" it appears to have been gathered in the north of England, according to Withering, for the London orchill-maker. "We have found various saxicolous varieties of L. pallescens, especially isidioid, variolarioid, or tartareous forms, from different habitats,—maritime, lowland, and alpine,—to yield good qualities of orchill; corticolous varieties are usually too thin and scarce to be so employed. Under the name of "White Crottle," isidioid saxicolous forms have been used by the peasantry of this and other countries, in the preparation of a red or crimson dye. […]
[…] [L. tartarea] This species yields a beautiful orchill, and, under the name of "Swedish" or "Tartareous Moss," is largely imported from Norway and Sweden by the London orchill-maker. Isidioid varieties or forms, in which the thalline tubercles are hypertrophied, appear to be richest in colorific matter. From this Lichen Cudbear was at one time largely manufactured in Scotland, and Litmus in Holland. When Cudbear-making flourished in Glasgow and Leith, the "Cudbear Lichen," so-called, was largely collected in the western Highlands and islands by the poor peasantry, who were thus able to earn in 1807, according to Hooker, fourteen shillings a week. In Derbyshire and the rocky parts of Cumberland and Westmoreland it was also at one time collected by the peasantry, probably for the London market; they sold it to the manufacturer at a penny a pound, and were able usually to gather twenty to thirty pounds a day. The plant is very abundant in alpine districts throughout Britain, and might surely be collected for the London market at a cheaper rate than the same article from Sweden and Norway. Could the gathering of the "Cudbear Lichen" be revived in our highlands and islands, a great boon might be conferred on the inhabitants, who have within the last half-century also been deprived of another source of emolument— kelp-gathering,—and whom poverty now compels to emigrate to foreign shores. This Lichen has been much used by the peasantry of various parts of Britain and Scandinavia in the preparation of domestic dyes. The Scotch Highlanders manufacture Cudbear by macerating the powdered Lichen in putrid urine for some weeks, adding some kelp or salt, and when the requisite purple or crimson tint is obtained, forming the paste into balls or lumps with lime or burnt shells, and suspending it in bags to dry. "When about to be used, it is powdered, and the powdered Lichen boiled in water with a little alum. This Lichen is the "Cork" or "Korkir" of many parts of the Highlands. In Shetland, along with the pigment prepared therefrom, it is called "Korkalett" there it is always collected in May or June, or early in the spring or summer, as it is then richest in colorific principles; and it is popularly supposed that a slight admixture of Cladonia rangiferina, Peltigera canina, or Marchantia polymorpha is sufficient to spoil it for dyeing purposes. The Swedes prepare from it a red dye, which they call "Bœttelet," and the Welsh peasantry use it in a similar way. […]
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