CHAPTER XXII
BLEACHING
217. The beauty and the commercial value of uncolored fabrics depend
upon the purity and perfection of their whiteness; a man's white
collar and a woman's white waist must be pure white, without the
slightest tinge of color. But all natural fabrics, whether they come
from plants, like cotton and linen, or from animals, like wool and
silk, contain more or less coloring matter, which impairs the
whiteness. This coloring not only detracts from the appearance of
fabrics which are to be worn uncolored, but it seriously interferes
with the action of dyes, and at times plays the dyer strange tricks.
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