though on a small scale-the moss only being disturbed-the appearances peculiar to slips and faults, running in lines parallel to the central fault. The deposit in the lower moor would also produce a material increase in the thickness, and the deposit on the burn banks, at present covering up a great area of land, mostly arable, might be considered as illustrating the doublings and perplexing appearances of intruding patches of coal in troubled fields. The amount of peat carried away by the river Avon was immense, and forms a feature of importance, in its increasing and modifying the new strata being formed by the silt deposited by that river. We have also new water-courses on both sides of the heap of debris, and the course of the Culloch burn altered, a plantation partially carried away, and a public road and a railway covered up. Some of these alterations will be modified by art, as, in the railway, the moss is already cleared away, and agriculture will modify the deposit on the banks of the burns, incorporating it with the soil. The principal alterations-as the stream from the former position of the blind loch, and the deposit in the lower moor and plantation-will probably, however, remain permanent until modified by nature.

Notes upon Dyeing and Dyed Colours in Ancient Times.
By JAMES NAPIER, F.C.S., &c.

I MAY state at the outset, that, in this inquiry into the art of dyeing in ancient times, I have not been able to find any really intelligible description of dyeing processes, and have therefore had to content myself with the evidence of the existence of colours upon fabrics that must have been dyed, and with collecting the names of the dyeing agents used for that purpose in ancient times, drawing from these a few deductions bearing upon the art: these notes will therefore be somewhat disconnected. To attempt to write anything like a consecutive history of such an art as dyeing in ancient times would be ridiculous; for we find that in all countries and all ages man instinctively seeks to adorn himself in some way, by means of applying colours to his person or dress, so that the fixing of a date or locality for the origin of dyeing is impossible. It is very easy to suppose that the blood of animals and the juice of fruits, such as the grape, staining the skin, would naturally suggest the seeking for and applying a variety of juices, &c., for similar purposes, and thus extend the art. How simple and apparently reasonable is it to suppose that the first person who stained his fingers or his garment with the juice of some plant, at once tried a great many other plants, and then set up a regular dyeing establishment! Yet how contrary to our own

experience would be such reasoning! We make very few discoveries in our arts by deductive reasoning, although, after a discovery is made, how simple and evident it seems! The account of many

discoveries falls upon our ear like a note of condemnation, that a fact so evident and simple should have escaped us; and too often this feeling manifests itself in attempting to detract from the discoverer much of the merit due to him. I believe that such a mode of reasoning, applied to the progress of dyeing in ancient times, would be vain and deceptive. At the same time, the love of distinction, and the application of colours to the person or dress being a ready means of showing this distinction, and the natural emulation to excel in whatever gives distinction, were the stimulants to progress in the dyeing art; and as to the success attained in this art in the time of Pliny-a time, by the way, when dyeing was not so well known as it seems to have been several centuries before--that writer says, after mentioning the luxurious art by which men had surpassed the savour of natural flowers by artificial means, "That they had also learned, by dyeing, to emulate the finest colours of these flowers."

I have divided the subject into three heads, first, the fabrics or materials dyed; second, the colouring matters used; and third, the colours dyed. The fabrics that were dyed are of the utmost importance in this inquiry; for the same operations, and often the same dyedrugs, will not produce the same effect upon different kinds of fabric, which will be more fully referred to afterwards. In the meantime I will refer to these fabrics separately.

SKINS OF ANIMALS.-In all probability the first kind of clothing mankind wore consisted of skins. Scripture says, "Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them." Dyed skins were in common use in Egypt from the remotest antiquity; and the Israelites took numbers of them from that country. "Rams' skins dyed red" seem to have been held in high esteem by the Hebrews, and were made the covering of the tent over the ark of the Testimony. It is stated that every man with whom was found rams' skins dyed red offered them, and Moses made a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers' skins above that.

C. Hamilton Smith, in Kitto's Cyclopædia, says,-"We agree with Dr. Mason Harris, that the skins in question were most likely tanned and coloured crimson, for it is well known that what is now termed red morroco was manufactured in the remotest ages in Lybia, especially about the Tritonian Lake, where the original ægis or goatskin breastplate of Jupiter and Minerva was dyed bright

red; and the Egyptians had most certainly red leather in use, for their antique paintings show harness-makers cutting it into slips for the collars of horses and furniture." And Wilkinson says of ancient Egypt, that they made shoes, sandals, coverings and seats of chairs and sofas, bow cases, and most of the ornamental furniture of chariots, harps, and also shields were adorned with coloured leather, and skins prepared in various ways requiring the dyer's art.

WOOL. That woollen stuffs were used, and spun and woven into cloth for common use, at a very early period of man's history, is beyond doubt; and that woollen was dyed various colours, either before or after being converted into cloth, is also plainly stated in history, both sacred and profane. It is the opinion of Wilkinson that the ancient Egyptians dyed their woollen stuff in the state of wool or thread, previous to its being woven. The words translated purple, blue, and scarlet, in the Scriptures, refer, in the original, to something more than the colour; it is rather to the coloured material, such as purple or blue cloth or thread. So that such passages as the following: "And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; blue, and purple, and scarlet," embrace the materials dyed in these colours. Although woollens were in common use amongst the ancient Hebrews, it was held in very low estimation with the Egyptians, and was not worn by the better class of society. No woollen was used in wrapping up their dead. The reason for this, as given by Wilkinson, is the tendency of woollen stuffs to breed insects that would destroy the dead body. Others think that this aversion to the use of woollen among the Egyptians arose from its being made from the sheep-an aversion which extended even to the shepherd, as stated by Moses, "Every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians." The Hebrew priests were forbidden to wear woollen garments in their official capacity, as a matter of cleanliness. It is said, "They shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them whiles they minister; they shall not gird themselves with anything that causeth sweat."

SILK. The existence of silk in ancient times has been doubted by several scholars. Although it is mentioned both by Solomon and Ezekiel, some have endeavoured to prove that the word translated silk in the Proverbs and Ezekiel may with equal propriety be translated fine linen or cotton. In a late article in the Westminster Review it is argued that silk could not have been known in ancient times from its great cost in the early part of our era. Aurelian complained that a pound of silk was sold at Rome for twelve ounces of gold, or weight for weight. But the same argument may be

used in respect to the Tyrian purple; 1 lb. wool dyed of that colour in the time of Augustus cost upwards of £32 of our money; hence it may be said that Tyrian purple could not be known long before that period. Under the article "Silk," in the Encyclopædia Metropolitana, it is distinctly stated that silk was known in very ancient times. Bonomi, in his book on Assyria, says, "The custom of presenting robes as a mark of honour may be traced to the remotest antiquity in eastern countries, and even still prevails. The Midian habit was made of silk, and among the elder Greeks it was only another name for a silken robe. The silken robes of Assyria, the produce chiefly of the looms of Babylon, were renowned long after the fall of the Assyrian empire, and retained their hold of the market even to the time of the Roman supremacy." Pliny speaks of the wool of silk, and believed it was washed down from trees, although at a later period the western nations became acquainted with the worm or fly by which the silk is spun. As the worms were bred upon the mulberry trees, the error of washing down the wool from trees was a natural one. Serica, or Seres, the ancient name for silk and for the worm, and also for China, is considered strong evidence that silk was known to the ancients, and that it was imported from the remote countries of the East. A Roman poet, describing the consecration of the pontiff or high priest, says,—

"For when, with sacred pomp and solemn state,

Their great high priest the Romans consecrate,
His silken vest in gabine cincture bound,

A festal fillet twines his temples round."

Although the precise time that silk was introduced as a fabric for clothing in the more western countries cannot be fixed, still I am strongly of the opinion that the knowledge and use of it extend considerably into ancient times, at least to that of Ezekiel, 594 B.C., who says, "Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work.”

COTTON.-Cotton was known to the ancients very early, but to what extent it was used in the earlier periods of man's history is not known. Herodotus is the earliest historian who mentions it, calling it a tree wool, observing that the trees of India bear fleeces as their fruit, surpassing those of sheep in beauty, and that the Indians wear clothes made from those trees. Ctesias, a contemporary of Herodotus, and who resided at the Persian court, speaks also of the Indian wool of trees. According to Baines, Yates, and several Biblical commentators, the word translated " green" in Esther i. 6, means "cotton," which shows that this fabric was used in Persia

at least 100 years before Herodotus wrote; and it is not improbable that Solomon, who traded extensively with India, may have received cotton as part of his merchandise. Dr. Royle tells us, in his History of the use of Cotton in India, that its manufactured products, and even the process of starching it, are referred to in the Institutes of Menu, at as early a period as 800 years before Christ, close to Solomon's time. Egypt had also a trade with India at a much earlier time than that of Solomon, so that cotton may have been an article of commerce obtained from India as a matter of exchange. The mummy cloths of Egypt have been examined for proof of the use of cotton amongst that ancient people. But, contrary to expectation, all those examined by Bauer, Thomson, and Ure, were found composed of linen. Nevertheless, since these examinations, Dr. Bowring has ascertained that the mummy cloth of a child was formed of cotton, and not of linen, as is the case with adult mummies. Rosselini has found the seeds of the cotton plant in a vessel in the tombs of Egypt, which is an indication that cotton was not only purchased as an article of import, but was cultivated in Egypt. Wilkinson says that cotton cloth was amongst the manufactures of Egypt, and dresses of this material were worn by all classes. Pliny says that the Egyptian priests, though they used linen, were particularly partial to cotton robes; and cotton garments, supplied by the government for the use of the temple, are distinctly mentioned in the Rosetta Stone. Bonomi says, "The cotton manufactures were celebrated and remarkable, and are mentioned by Pliny as the invention of Semiramis, who is stated by many writers of antiquity to have founded large weaving establishments along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates;" and the textile fabrics of Assyria were celebrated all over the civilized world. This implies an extensive shipping trade, and agrees with the words of Isaiah, 800 years before Christ, in reference to Assyria,--" Thus saith the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in their ships." From these evidences I think it proven that cotton was not only known, but used, in Egypt, Palestine, and all the other civilized countries in the East, from the earliest times of which we have any record or relic.

LINEN AND FLAX.-Whatever doubts may exist in reference to the common use of cotton and silk in the East, in the early history of these countries, there can be none as to the knowledge and common use of linen. It is familiarly referred to in almost all ancient writings. The Old Testament speaks of linen, fine linen, and fine twined linen, &c. VOL. V.-No. 2.

R