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1162                                    Journal of Chemical Education                  October, 1926
Melantheria was a word applied to the products of the weathering of copper ores at the surface of mine shafts. Usually these ores were sulfides and the product then must have been chiefly basic iron and copper sulfate.
95.     The Preparation of Purple.
Break into small pieces stone of Phrygia; put it to boiling, and having immersed the wool, leave it until it cools. Then throwing in the vessel a mina of seaweed, put it to boiling and throw in it (again) a mina of seaweed. Let it boil and throw the wool into it, and letting cool, wash in sea water. . .[the stone of Phrygia is roasted before being broken]. . . until the purple coloration appears.
The "stone of Phrygia" was evidently some kind of a mordant and may have been, as Berthelot suggested, a type of alunite. The seaweed mentioned above was probably the so-called dyers moss or archil.
96.     Dyeing with Purple (Two Methods).
Grind lime with water and let it stand over night. Having decanted, deposit the wool in the liquid for a day; take it out (and) dry it; having sprinkled the alkanet with some vinegar, put it to boiling and throw the wool in it and it will come out dyed in purple... .al­kanet boiled with water and natron produces the purple color.
Then dry the wool, and dye it as follows: Boil the seaweed with water and when it has been exhausted, throw in the water an imperceptible quantity of copperas, in order to develop the purple, and then plunge the wool in it, and it will be dyed. If there is too much copperas, it becomes darker.
97.     Another (Procedure).
Grind some walnuts with some alkanet of good quality. This done, place them in some strong vinegar; grind again; add some pomegranate bark to this; lay aside three days; and
after this, plunge the wool in it and it will be dyed cold........It is said that there is a certain
acanthus which furnishes the purple color; moistened with some natron of Berenice in place of nuts, it produces the same effect.
98.     Another (Procedure).
Clean the wool with fullers plant, and hold at your disposal some lamellose alum. (Then) grinding the interior part of gall-nut, throw it in a pot with the alum, then put in the wool and let it remain several hours. Take it out and let it dry. Follow this procedure first: Having ground the lees (from wine) and having placed them in a vessel, pour in sea water, agitate and set aside. Then, decant the clear water into another vessel and hold it at your disposal. Taking the alkanet and placing it in a vessel, mix with the water from the lees until it thickens conveniently and becomes as though sandy. Then place the product in a vessel, diluting it by estimation with the preceding water which comes from the alkanet. Then, when it has become as though slimy, place it in a small kettle, add to it the remainder of the alkanet water, and leave until lukewarm. Then plunge the wool in it, lay aside several hours, and you will find the purple fast.
99.     Another (Process).
Taking alkanet, (and) some leontice, strip off the bark, take it and grind it as fine as stibnite in a mortar. Add to it some hydromel diluted with water, grind again, place the ground product in a vessel and boil. When you observe (the liquid) to be lukewarm, plunge the wool in it (and) let it remain. The wool ought to be cleaned with fullers plant and thickened. Then take it, plunge it in lime water; let it soak; take it out; wash thoroughly with some sea salt (and) dry. Plunge it again in the alkanet and let it remain.