Lacdye

Lac-dye is a red colouring matter obtained from lac (q.v.). It is usually obtained from the crude stick-lac by maceration with water and precipitation with milk of lime. The colour is due to a substance, Laccaic acid, present in the lac-dye. It has long been used in the East for silk and wool, and formerly it was very extensively used in Europe, chiefly in combination with cochineal, but later years have seen it diminish greatly in importance.