They taught this halakha in the case of sweet types, because they are fit to be mixed together to sweeten the food in a pot. The Talmud infers: The reason that they join together with one another is that they are suitable to sweeten the food in a pot together. However, if that is not so, then they do not join together with one another. Apparently, spices, in general, do not join together to constitute a complete measure. The Talmud answers: Here, too, the Mishnah is referring to a case where they are suitable to sweeten the food in a pot.
קליפי אגוזין וקליפי רמונים סטיס ופואה — כדי לצבוע בגד קטן. ורמינהי: המוציא סמנים שרויין — כדי לצבוע בהן דוגמא לאירא! הא איתמר עלה, אמר רב נחמן אמר רבה בר אבוה: לפי שאין אדם טורח לשרות סממנים לצבוע בהן דוגמא לאירא.
We learned in the Mishnah: The measure that determines liability for carrying out nutshells, pomegranate peels, safflower and madder, which are used to produce dyes, is equivalent to that which is used to dye a small garment that is placed atop a woman’s hairnet. And the Talmud raised a contradiction from what we learned elsewhere in a Mishnah: One who carries out herbs that were soaked in water is liable if he carried out a measure equivalent to the amount used to dye a sample the size of a stopper, for the shuttle of a loom. This refers to a small swath of wool that a weaver places on the loom, as a color sample. The herbs were soaked in water because this was how they were prepared for use as dyes. Apparently, according to this Talmud, the measure for liability is not the amount used to dye a small garment. The Talmud replies: Wasn’t it stated with regard to that Mishnah that Rav Naḥman said that Rabba bar Avuh said: In the case of soaked dyes, the measure for liability is smaller because a person does not go to the trouble to soak herbs just to dye a sample for the shuttle of a loom. He will only begin soaking herbs to dye a more significant garment. However, for herbs that are soaking and are ready for use as a dye, the measure for liability is smaller, i.e., sufficient to dye a sample.