This is two books in one. The first documents the use of about 50 of the most common natural materials in the United States used for dyeing before the introduction of synthetic dyes. The second is a revised version of "Home Dyeing with Natural Dyes," an out-of-print U.S. Department of Agriculture publication first issued in 1935. The dye recipes in that publication still stand among the most thoroughly tested of those published in recent years.