Mirror of the times & general advertiser. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1799-1806, 1804-02-29

tainly true, that no dye however pleahng
in lis tint, has ever been produced IN
Europe, that could deceive, even care
leis obierver, by companion.
In 1904, a chinefe drug fell in my wa, i.
which ieeme1 to indicate, that it might
be ufeful IN dying. | therefore begin
to make M experiments. Fira, | boiled
il in pure water it produced on COTTON,
well waihed and without any mordant, a
good red. A fmall portion of alkali
made the red deeper, and greatly like
the fmall freaks of red which are to be
ieen in every piece Of genulne nlnkeen.
| then took another portion OF my dying
drug and made an intuition; tie water
not boiling, but iimmered over low
FIRE, and without alkall it Their pro
duced, on wool and fix beautiful buff
color; and on cotton a,fo buff Of in
fcrior lulre. Neither of thcie colo S
were altered BY an alkaline lix vium,
but on immeti;og my iamples in q
Diluted foiu,ion Of lin, they immediately
changed into the psrfect nankeen color
as well the red as the buff. From that
time have inclined to believe that the
nankeen is a dye, aud not the natural co
lor OF the cotton.
At that period forbore 10 communl.
cate my ditcovery, or 10 avail myielf OF
is advantages becaufc had made NJ
my mind to emigrate to America, and tc
bring with me all my obgervations and
experience, which did not douhi would
be highly acceptable to an infan; nation
When arrived, however, in l7o4,
found that the arts occupied 20 part d
che attention Of the American govern.
msnt. A few individuals indeed bot
foreigners and natives entertaiaed tht
abfurd idea, that BY their own e2ertian.
without the aiiiitancc or attention y
government, they would be able, il +;
little time, to complete with, aud ever
excel foreign nations ID the eleth;r&
manufacture and III d-peader. arts
This was never nv ortrio1 ana for ,ha
realon, the nanke.1 dive has renainel
in my own n1calt from tbat tine 10 tn,
prelent; and VOID proosbiy never have
been mentioned, if J had not fnce feen
in Stauntoa's En5afy 70 China, and il
the View Of South Carolina,' the fol
lowingj extracts, which ieem 10 confirm
the opinion that the nankcen color is
natAral production.
In Slaunton's embaGy, is faid, pag,
70 Am. Edit" The land in tht
nciahborhood was chiefly cultivated VIII
that particular fpeeies or variety of cot
ton ihrub that produces the cloth ulnall,
called nankeen in Europe. The dowl
Is Of a white color in the common plant
| BIT IN that growing in the province o
hlaaE Of which the city of Nankeer
is ~ capital, the down is Of the fam,
yellow linga which it preferves wher
| ipua and woven into cloth. The color
as well as the faperios quality of hi
luaaance, was fu?po!ed 10 be owing Il
the particular nature Of the foil and /
IS altered that the feeds Of nlnkeen CO,
ton degenerate, IN both particulars, whe,
! tranlplnted 70 another province, how
ever little different IN It's climate"
In Drayton's View Of South Carroll
na' We meet with the following pan4g
:" Naek-sn Get on is principally grown
III the middle and upper county for FAM
| y ufe. II is 70 called from thu wo5l re
temoiing the color Of Narkecn cloth
/. IS not in much demand, the white cot
ION having eagrofi'ed the public attention
Were it encouraged however, cloti,
might be Manufactured from it, perhap
not inferior to thofs imported from III
Eait lndlss,i il being probable the co,tol
is Of the fame kind"
Notwithstanding thefe authorities,
am inclined to believe, that the color i
an artificial dye, and am happy to fin,
that the time has arrived when the M :
ter May be put beyond diipute and ,
it be true that cotton of The true nm