The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1883-03-01
Random Thoughts.
BY D. MACKLEY.

u OOIlA AdChICys III WHICH, 1C ooyS hIo
mother never used a cook stove. [
will here say that | never saw a cook
stove, a cigar or an oyster, until after
l was old enough to vote; and | never
owned a watch or pair of boots until
after / was voter | do not speak of
this to show my own ignorance and
poverty, but to show the ignorance
and poverty so generally peryading
all classes in this county forty to fifty
years ago.
do not think that there was Ave
hundred dollars worth of mems cloth
ing bought, fifty years ago, in the
entire county of jackson. Very
nearly all the clothing for men, and
mostly for women and children also,
was made at home. Men often wore
linsey-that is, a cloth with flax or
cotton chain, and woolen filling. 1t
was regular plat, one thread over
another. 1t was generally what was
called six hundred cloth; that is,
there were six hundred threads in the
chain, three hundred in each one of
the two gears. Jeans was great i'm
proyement, as it was twilled cloth.
There were three leaves of gears, and
If it was six hundred cloth, each leaf
of gears had two hundred threads.
There were three treadles, each one
attached by strap, or string to one
leaf of the gears. One treadle was
pressed down by the foot, and this
brought down one third Of the chain,
and of course left two-thirds above,
in the other two leaves Of the gears.
When the shuttle was thrust through,
the next treadle was pressed down,
etc. When the cloth was thus woven,
there would be two-thirds of the
wooden filing on one side of the
chain, and one-third on the other
side.
Various colors Of filling were used;
black, dyed with walnut bark
and copperas; yellow, dyed with
hickory bark and alum; red,
dyed with madder: brown, dyed with
alder bark; blue, dyed with indigo,
and green, which was yellow dyed
blue, or blue yellow.
Twill only describe the process of
dyeing blue. 1t was done with indigo.
This was a vegetable product, and
was something like consistency of
starch, but in Jumps, some as large as
the end of your thumb. It was of a
very dark, dull blue, and was sold by
the ounce, the price, l think, being
about 25 cents per ounce.
Now as to the process Of dyeing.
A ten gallon iron kettle was placed in
some retired locality, and by careful
attention by members of the family
generally, it was, in the course Of a
week or two, pretty we'll filled with
urine. Then it was carefully poured
into another vessel, all except the
whitish sediment at the bottom. This
was thrown out and the kettle well
rinsed, and the liquid poured back
Then small quantity of indigo was
put into little bag, the mouth of
which was tied up, and the bag put
into the kettle. When well soaked,
the bag was rubbed between the hands
and squeezed until the liquid in the
kettle was quite blue. Then the
yarn was put in, and the kettle set in
the corner of the great fire place, near
enough to the fire to keep the liquid
at a temperature of from 80 to 100
degrees, or about blood heat, or milk
warm, as it was termed The yarn
was taken out once day and wrung
with the hands, hung out to get the
air, and remained there fifteen to
twenty minutes, and was then put
back into the liquid. When the yarn
had taken up most of the indigo held
in solution, the indigo bag was again
rubbed and squeezed, until the liquid
was again dark blue. This process
was continued for a period of from
ten days to two weeks, when the yarn
was dyed a dark blue, which never
faded. During the first few days,
when the yarn was taken out to get
the air, it would be somewhat spotted
that is, some parts Of it would be a
dark blue, and some light. After get
ting the air for a few minutes, the
color would become more even.
Some times pieces of corn husk
would be tied tightly around the
skeins Of yarn, at distance of some
four inches apart, and under these
strips of husk the yarn would remain
white, and when this yarn would be
knit into stockings, or woven into
cloth, it would be spotted, or, to use
the technical phrase Of the times
'clouded."
You will probably think that in q
room perhaps Is by IS feet, used as
parlor, sitting room, bed room, kitch.
en- and loom house, and family OF
eight or ten children, kettle filled
with such a liquid, kept at blood heat
for ten or twelve days, would not be &
very sweet smelling SAVIOR of a room