[Regia-NA] mustard plants

[Carolyn Priest-Dorman]

Vara wrote:

>I know I shouldn't but I get Cochaneal insects (whole) and grind them
>myself.
>Kermes now being a protected species from what I can find and the colours
>being very similar..

Okay, so you're using Dactylopius coccus Costa (New World cochineal), and 
not Kermes vermilio Planchon (kermes), Porphyrophora polonica L. (Polish 
cochineal), Porphyrophora hameli Brandt (Armenian cochineal), or Kerria 
lacca Kerr (lac). As I understand the literature, cochineal colorants are 
related to those of kermes, whereas the colorants in the porphyrophoras 
(the medieval "greyne" dyes) are alike but yield different shades from 
cochineal or kermes.

I get purplish-reds and fuchsias from cochineal over alum and tartar on 
wool, and clearer reds over just alum on wool.  But on silk all I ever get 
is old-rose:  very disappointing.  Sometimes I think I'm just destined to 
be a wool dyer, not a silk dyer. ;>

Sure would like to get ahold of some real kermes, though!


Carolyn Priest-Dorman              Þóra Sharptooth
  http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/thora.html