DECEMBER 1944 A497 THE JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE

1—FIBRES AND THEIR PRODUCTION ^B)— A n i m a l Merino Sheep: Control of Blowfly. A. IT de Vries and J C. dc Klerk. Fmg. in S. Africa, 1944, 19, 485-495. Reference is made to previous articles on blowfly control (these Abs., 1943, A555 and A675). The Australian classi­ fication of sheep into A, B and C types is described, A type having no folds, B type either medial or lateral folds, and C type prominent medial and lateral folds and other undesirable characters and being most susceptible to blowfly strike. Skin development on the tail is most undesirable, and Australian experiments have proved that skin development in the breech can be eliminated by breeding. Data are given on the availability of A type rams in S. Africa, and a breeding policy recommended. \V. Sheep Blowfly Research. VII. Investigations in the Cape Winter Rainfall Area. H. O. Mónnig and P. A. Cilliers. Onderstepoort J., 1944, 19, 71-77- The investigation comprised the measurement of rainfall, temperature and humidity, the collection and identification of maggots from struck sheep aiid from the carcases of sheep and various small animals, and trapping by means of ordinary meat bait. The live sheep produced mainly Lucilia cuprina, and the carcases various species of Ghrysomyia. W . Research as Applied to Animal Production. R. B. Kelley. Australian Vet. J., 1944, 20, 236-238. Research into domestic animal production in Australia should (1) determine characteristics and the range of genetic variability, (2) define and classify climate as the outstanding condition of the primary environment, (3) state the conditions of secondary or economic environments, and (4) co-ordinate the results by assessing the costs of production. Although major contributions have been made as broad surveys of the primary environ­ ment, 110 well-conceived attempt has been made to analyse existing data, e.g. to determine the suitability of particular breeds or strains of merino sheep for tropical environments. W. Research as Applied to Animal Production. L. 15. Bull. Australia)’. Vet. 1944, 20, 233-235. A discussion of the scope of ecology, physiology (functional and structural), nutrition and dietetics, and genetics and breeding as applied to the improvement of the healthy animal and its product. \V U.S.A.: Sheep and Wool Research. W. R. Lang. Pastoral Rev., 1944, 54, 262-263. The activities are listed of the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture, especially those of the Western Sheep Breeding Laboratory, Dubois, Idaho, and the Southwestern Range and Sheep Breeding Laboratory, Fort Wingate, New Mexico. The latter deals with Navajo sheep. W.

(C)— V e g e t a b l e Cotton Plant: Variety Experiments in Georgia. R. P. Bledsoe and E. D. Matthews. Georgia Sla. Circ. 140, 1943, 8 pp. (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 59). Coker 100, Stoneville 2B, and D. and P.L. were high in money value and lint yield per acre in north Georgia tests, 1938-42. Results were similar in 1940 and 1942, except that Coker 200 also yielded high. Three strains of Empire, a new variety developed by the station and U.S. Department of Agri­ culture, cooperating, were noteworthy in 1942 tests. Empire is of the Stone­ ville type, but has larger bolls, and higher lint percentage, and is early. Its lint length approximates to that of the above three leading varieties. In south Georgia tests, 1938-42, leaders in acre value included Coker 4-in-i, Coker Cleve- wilt 7, and W. W. Wannamaker Cleveland Wilt Resistant. Average results in i— Fibres and their Production

1942 resembled those of previous tests, except that Coker Clevewilt 7 yielded relatively lower than heretofore. The most promising new strains tested in 1942 were Wannamaker Stonewilt 18 and Bobshaw 1. C. Cotton Plant: Variety Trials. R. S. Hawkins. 52nd Ann. Rept. Arizona Agric. Exp. Sta. for year ending June 30, 1941, 1942, 99 pp. (through Plant Breed. Abstr., 1944, 14, 195). Variety trials in 1940 showed that the varieties Delta and Pineland 44-51 out-yielded all others when grown in Upland regions, whilst Coker-Wilds 11 produced the longest fibre but the lowest yields. S x P yielded more heavily than the two other American-Egyptian varieties, P —Sx P (Earlipima) and Pima. Some 1,300 F„ plants of the Pima— 120 cross and 60 plants of the Fj back-cross (Fj Pima x 120) x Pima, were grown with a view to selecting for a combination of fine linting, ability of the boll to hold the seed cotton, and productiveness. Crosses were made between the G. bar- badense and Upland cotton hybrids on the one hand and Hopi x Stoneville hybrids on the other, in an attempt to combine the disease resistance of the G. barbadense type with the good quality of the Other forms. Strength tests on the Stoneville cotton grown on the Yuma Farm show it to be stronger than any other cotton tested. The F 6 of the Stoneville x Hartsville cross was grown, and selfed seed obtained from those lines which showed promise. The progeny of crosses between Santan and many other varieties have been tested with a view to selecting a type possessing better lint and spinning quality than that variety. C. Manchurian Cotton: Improvement. S. Nakatomi. Plant Breed. News, 1934, 9, 547-548 (through Plant Breed. Abstr., 1944, 14, 227). Three selected strains obtained from a cross between a Manchurian cotton and a variety from southern China are illustrated in the original paper. They mature early like the native cotton which they surpass in ginning percentage and staple length. C. Station Miller Cotton: Characteristics. H. B. Brown. Louisiana Sta. Circ. 29, 1943, 7 pp. (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 206). The strain of Station Miller cotton currently grown, according to test results, is a relatively good producer, has a medium large boll (60-65 per pound of seed cotton), is a good picking cotton with staple length 31-33 thirty-seconds of an inch, lint per­ centage 34-37, and considerable wilt tolerance, and the seed has a high oil content. It is considered desirable for hill lands in north Louisiana. C. Upland Cotton Kanno No. 1 : Production and Characteristics. S. Nakatomi. Plant Breed. News, 1934, 9, 544-547 (through Plant Breed. Abstr., 1944, 14, 226). By line selection of an early maturing upland cotton, King’s Improved, at Kantó-syu Agricultural Experiment Station, the new line, Upland Cotton Kanno No. 1, was obtained. It matures much earlier and is more productive than the parent tvpe. It was thought most promising for southern Manchuria. C. Cotton Crop: Reduction of Labour and Power Requirements. H. P. Smith. Agric. Eng., 1943, 24, 149-150 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 488). The principal means whereby the power and labour requirements of the cotton crop may be lowered are (1) the use of larger units and the performance of two or more operations at the same time; (2) mechanical thinning, hill dropping of mechanically delinted seed, and planting thin; (3) the treating of seed to obtain better stands, (4) shallow cultivation; and (5) the use of mechanical harvesting equipment. A suitable mechanical harvester in the plains areas would reduce almost by one half the total labour to produce a crop. In these areas a simple, cheap, stripper-type machine can be used satisfactorily. In sections where the plants grow larger and the harvest is earlier, a picker-type machine would probably be more suitable. C. Cotton Fields: Row Widths and Yields. I). M. Simpson and E. N. Duncan. /. Amer. Soc. Agron., 1942, 34, 544-552 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 88, 760). Review of row width experiments with cotton at several stations indicated that narrow rows yield more per acre, whilst wider rows yield more per row. Since planting and cultivating operations are done by the row, the number of feet of row per acre is important in determining production costs. Row widths may be varied from 2-5 to 4-5 ft. without materially changing cost of cultivation per row, and, in general, should be adjusted so as to result in the lowest cost per pound of cotton produced or the greatest production return for labour and equipment. In experiments at Knoxville, Tennessee, i— Fibres and their Production A4 9 9 1938-40, yields of cotton per row increased consistently and profitably as row widths were widened from 2 • 5 to 4 5 ft. Optimum row widths may depend upon local conditions regarding land value, labour and equipment costs. C. Cotton Plant: Effects of Ploughing and Seed Treatment on Sand. H. P. Smith and M. H. Byrom . Texas Sta. Bui. 621, 1942, 16 pp. (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 257). On Lufkin fine sandy loam, a soil which tends to pack and crust after rains, better stands of cotton were obtained when the furrow for the seed was opened with a knife or runner-type furrow opener than when opened with either a narrow or wide shovel opener. It appeared that the knife opener gave better results, because it left a clean furrow and a firm seed bed with little loose soil. It did not disturb the soil enough to cause it to dry out as rapidly as when the furrows were made by shovel openers. A narrow shovel if in. wide, with shields to hold the loose soil out of the furrow until the seed reached the bottom of the furrow, gave better results than a shovel 4 in. in width. The regular open centre press wheel used after covering the seed and in combination with a knife opener gave a slightly higher percentage of emergence than did other types of press wheels. Rolling on the seeds and pressing them in the bottom of the furrow before covering did not give any better stands than when the soil was pressed with an open centre press wheel after covering. All types of press wheels gave slightly better stands of cotton on the Lufkin fine sandy loam than those obtained when no press wheel was used. Cottonseed planted at a constant depth gave better stands and yields on the Lufkin fine sandy loam than did cottonseed planted at variable depths. Treatment of cottonseed with Ceresan was followed by significant increases in the emergence of cotton seedlings. Lime reduced emergence to some extent, while sulphur apparently had no effect on germination and emergence. C. Cotton Plant: Nutrient Uptake. L. C. Olson and R. P. Bledsoe. Georgia Sta. Bui. No. 222, 1942, 16 pp. (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 88, 760). The time and rate of absorption of plant foods by cotton were studied, 1939-40, under field conditions on three soils that are acid and low in base-exchange capacities, organic matter and mineral nutrients. At 120 days or longer after planting dry weight production and nutrient absorption was largely confined to the bolls. Some translocation of nutrients from plants to bolls occurred at the late growth stages. The amount of nutrients found in the cotton plant exceeded that ordinarily added in fertilizer mixtures, indicating the importance of plant residues in maintaining the fertility of cotton soils. The average amounts of nutrients found in the mature plants for all three soils approximated to N 1041b., Po0 5 38, K 20 97, CaO 132, and MgO 43 lb. C. Cotton Plant: Potash Requirement Test. L. C. Olson. Proc. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer., 1941, 6, 238-242 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 180). Laboratory studies were carried on of soil reaction, clay content, available K, base-exchange capacity, and exchangeable bases. The available K in the soil prior to applica­ tion of fertilizer was found to give a reliable index of the needs of the cotton plant for potash. The response from liming for cotton was found to be related to the amount of available potash in the soil. C. Cotton Plant: Response to Potash. J. G. Kutral and J. J. Skinner. Georgia Sta. Bui. No. 223, 1942, 15 pp. (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 88, 739). Seven soil types were included in a comparative study of fertilizers that do or do not develop acidity, the latter having been neutralised with dolomitic limestone. The results indicate that neutralizing acid-forming fertilizers with dolomitic limestone does not materially affect the response or requirement for potash of the cotton plant. C. Cotton Soils: Effect of Sulphur Deficiency on Production. O. R. Younge. Proc. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. 1941, 6, 215-218 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 184). Fertilizer treatments with sulphur and its effect on cotton production are reported for 10 soil types in the Coastal Plain of S.W. Arkansas. Six showed significant yield reduction where sulphur was not applied as compared with applications of 12 lb. of sulphur per unit of 4-10-4 fertilizer. Sulphur deficiency caused a marked reduction in the number of bolls produced, but boll' size was not appreciably affected. Insufficient sulphur delayed growth, as. indicated by the lower percentage of the yield being ready for harvest at the first picking. Sulphur deficiency had little effect on staple length, size of bolls, and lint turn-out. Yields of seed cotton and seed varied directly with the associated lint yield. C, A 5 0 0 i— Fibres and their Production

Cotton Plants: Wilt and Root-knot Resistance and Effect of Potash Fertilizer, Bull. Texas Exp. Sta. 627, 1943, 26 pp. (through Rev. Appl. Mycol., 1944, 23. 225). In the sandy-loam fields of East Texas cotton yields are often seriously decreased by wilt (Fusarium vasinfectum), nematode root knot (Heterodero marioni), and potash hunger. Results of variety-fertilizer tests are reported. The data show that the use of a potash fertilizer increased yield and reduced wilt. Tests over a period of six years showed that the following varieties (arranged in decreasing order of likely value) were highly wilt-resistant: Coker 4-in-i, Coker 100 Wilt Resistant str. 39-5, Delta Dixie W.R. str. 2, Tifton Dixit Triumph, Dixie Triumph 25-12, Dixie 14-5 str. 2, Delfos 425, Miller 610, Delta- pine 12, and Stone-wilt. In addition, Coker 4-in-i, Coker 100 W.R. str. 39-5, and three strains of Dixie varieties were resistant to wilt and root knot together. Miller 610 lost much of its wilt resistance in the presence of root knot. It is concluded that farmers can prevent wilt and root knot from becoming limiting factors in cotton production by growing only those varieties that are resistant to both, using high-potash balanced fertilizers, and rotating cotton with Crotalaria spectabilis and sorghum. C. Cotton Root Rot Organism: Control by Sulphur. A. A. Dunlap. Phyto­ pathology, 1943, 33, 1205-1208 (through Rev. Appl. Mycol., 1944, 23, 224-225). When thoroughly mixed with the soil and autoclaved, 325-mesh dusting sul­ phur, at the rate of one part per 1,000 of air-dry black Houston clay soil, totally inhibited the formation of sclerotia by the agent of cotton root rot, Phymatotrichum omnivorum, with no apparent effect on mycelial growth. At 1:2,000 the same mixture permitted only a trace of sclerotial growth, which proceeded unchecked, however, in the presence of a 1:8,000 concentration. The repressive action of the sulphur-soil mixture is possibly due to th,- formation of a toxic compound on autoclaving. C. Cotton Seedling Disease: Occurrence in West China. L. Ling and J. V. Yang. Ann. Botany, 1944, 8, 91-104. A species of Colletotrichum which differs from the conidial stage of Glomerella gossypii in morphological characters was noticed on diseased cotyledons and bolls of cotton in Szechuan Province, West China. It was considered to be identical with C. indicum Dast. Morphological and cultural characteristics are described and the results of investigations of the influence of temperature and p li on germination and growth are reported. The conidia are susceptible to desiccation. The production of toxic substances capable of causing blight of cotton seedlings was not confirmed. Artificial infection was successful on both Chinese varieties of Gossypium arboreum and American varieties of G. hirsutum. Soaking of seeds in conidial suspensions of the fungus resulted in a high percentage of diseased seedlings. Lesions on the cotyledons, young stems, young leaves, and detached bolls were induced by spraying with the conidial suspension. Besides cotton, fruits of pepper, tomato, eggplant, and pods of soybean and cowpea were successfully infected, but no plant included in the tests was found susceptible at the seedling stage. The fungus over winters chiefly inside the infected seeds and possibly in the affected host tissues left in the field. Fairly high temperature in combination with high humidity favours the development of the disease, the latter factor being even more important under the conditions of cotton-growing regions of Szechuan. A rainy or cloudy period not only facilitates the dissemination of conidia, but also prevents the mucilaginous matrix from drying out; hence the conidia may survive for a longer period. C. Cotton Seedling Diseases and Boll Rots: Distribution and Dissemination. U.S. Dept. Agric., Bur. Plant Ind., Soils, and Agric. Eng., Plant Disease Rptr., 1943, Sup. 141, 53-78 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 454). The following reports summarise the results of four years of surveys for cotton diseases and of special studies on distribution and dissemination suggested by observations made during the surveys: Occurrence of the Anthracnose Fungus, Glomerella gossypii, on Cotton Plants Grown from Infested Seed at Four Loca­ tions in 1941, by R. Weindling (pp. 59-65); Relation of Ginning to Con­ tamination of Cotton Seed by the Anthracnose Fungus, by R. Weindling and P. R. Miller (pp. 65-72); and A Summary of Four Years of Cotton Seedling and Boll Rot Disease Surveys (pp. 54-58), The Dissemination of Fungus Spores from Contaminated Seed Cotton During Ginning in Relation to the Germina­ tion of the Seed and the Diseases of the Seedling (pp. 72-75), and The Probable i — Fibres and I Ik n- Production A5 0 1 Effect of Humidity on the Survival and Sporulation of the Anthracnose Fungus on Cotton (pp. 76-78), all by P. R. Miller. C. Cotton Virus Disease: Occurrence and Control. S. N. Moskovets. Trans. Conference on Plant Virus Diseases, Moscow, 1940, 173-190 (through R ev. Appl. Mycol., 1944, 23, 213-214). Differences between the virus disease of cotton in Azerbaijan and the leaf curl occurring in the Sudan are pointed out. To avoid confusion of the two diseases it is proposed to name that in Azerbaijan ‘ cotton curliness.” Observations of reductions in the number of bolls caused by the disease and the susceptibility of different varieties are recorded. It is estimated that in years of severe infection susceptible varieties may suffer losses in yield up to 9 5 per cent. The disease also affects the quality of the fibre, reducing its length by about 7-5 per cent, and lessening its absolute strength by 3-3-16 per cent. The virus from cotton was successfully transmitted by Aphis gossypii or by infusing infected sap into decapitated stems of healthy plants to Gossypium barbadense and its variety maritima, and to G. hirsutum; -imilar symptoms were produced on Hibiscus cannabinus and Solanum dul­ camara. Experimental data showed that under local conditions A. gossypii is the most important vector, A. laburni, Myzus persicce, and Epitetranychus althceae playing a secondary part. The incubation period of the virus varied from 35 to 56 days. The results of field tests with isolation from insects pointed to the possibility of seed transmissions. Less disease appeared to occur in denser stands. Higher incidence in summer- than in spring-sown plants was at least partly due to higher temperatures of soil and air. Some cottons were resistant to the virus; the most promising among those bred in Azerbaijan are 'trains of G. barbadense, such as Giza 7 and 3782-1 (from Giza 12), and G. maritima, such as Nos. 1, 2 and 7, and among those bred in Russian Central Asia, 6081, No. 15, 263, 4623a, and 35-1. For the control of cotton curliness the author suggests the growing of resistant varieties, roguing of infected plants, separate harvesting from healthy and diseased plants to ensure healthy seed for the next year, and control of vectors. C. Cotton Virus Disease: Effects. V. L. Ryjkoff and Mine. T. P. Ovcharova. Trans. Conference on Plant Virus Diseases, Moscow, 1940, 191-196 (through Rev. Appl. Mycol., 1944, 23, 214-215). The anatomical changes produced by the virus disease of cotton found in Azerbaijan consist in a thickening of the leaf lamina, the presence of excessive starch in the lamina and petioles, under­ developed bast fibres in the petioles, and underdeveloped roots which are poor in starch. The disease is considered to be a special type of yellows, although it lacks the hypertrophy and necrosis of the phloem usual in this group of virus diseases, and produces an unusual hypoplasy of the bast fibres. It differs from the leaf curl disease of cotton in the Sudan in the following points: ii Azerbaijan the diseased leaves tend to curl upwards, the palisade parenchyma is more strongly developed than in healthy plants, .no additional cylinders are formed in the stems and petioles, and the bast fibres are hypoplastic; in the Sudan the diseased leaves mostly curl downwards, the palisade parenchyma is either underdeveloped or not developed at all, and additional cylinders are rnrmerl in stems and petioles. It is suggested that the two diseases are distinct, and it is proposed to name that in Azerbaijan " leaf roll ” and the virus causing it, according to K. M. Smith’s classification, Gossypium virus 2, Verderevsky. C. Cotton Virus Disease: Effects. L. K. Kara-Mur/.n. Trans. Conference on Plant Virus Disease, Moscow, 1940, 197-202 (through Rev. Appl. Mycol., 1944, 23, 215). In a physiological study of the Azerbaijan virus disease of cotton it .vas found that the leaves of diseased plants contain less total and albuminous nitrogen and both leaves and petioles have more carbohydrates, particularly starch, than those of healthy plants, the amount of carbohydrates in the repro­ ductive organs and in the stem walls being, 011 the other hand, smaller; further­ more, the accumulation of dry matter is less intense, and the amount of ■ hlorophyll smaller. C. Boll Weevil: Winter Survival. R. C. Gaines. J. Econ. Ent., 1943, 36, *2-84 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 345). It was found in a limited num­ ber of records that the number of boll weevils in woods trash was associated with the number of boll weevils present in cotton fields during the following May and June. Since the correlations between winter temperatures and the A502 i — Fibres and their Production number of weevils in cotton fields during May and June were significant, the inference would be that ground trash affords an important shelter for the weevils during the winter. C. Calcium Arsenate Insecticides: Effect of Particle Size. J. C. Gaines and H. A. Dean. /. Econ. Entomology, 1943, 36, 76-79 (through Exp. Sta. Rec.. ' 943. 89, 339). A report is given of tests of a calcium arsenate preparation con­ taining large particles, a calcium arsenate-sulphur-rotenone mixture, and com­ mercial calcium arsenate against the boll weevil, bollworm, and aphids at College Station, Texas, and against the boll weevil and aphids at Tallulah, La. The special and the commercial calcium arsenates were equally effective against weevils at both locations, but the coarse material (special calcium arsenate) did not give as good control of bollworms at College Station as the commercial product. Both materials contained approximately the same percentage of water-soluble arsenic pentoxide. The special calcium arsenate-sulphur-rotenone mixture significantly controlled the aphids and increased the yield at Tallulah, whilst the aphids did not injure the cotton sufficiently at College Station for the mixture to increase the yields. C. Cotton Aphids, Bollworms and Weevils: Control. J. C. Gaines. J. Econ. Entomology, 1943, 36, 79-81 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 339). The yields indicated that calcium arsenate-rotenone and calcium-zinc arsenate mixtures were equally effective and better than calcium arsenate alone. The higher yields were due to aphid control in the first case and slightly better bollworm control as well as retarding aphid increases at least two weeks in the latter. In a second experiment alternate applications of calcium arsenate and lead arsenate, using two applications of lead arsenate during the peak of boll­ worm injury, gave good control of both weevils and bollworms. Losses in yields occurred when cryolite was used in this manner, because of the increased weevil injury. Two consecutive applications of either lead arsenate or cryolite at the peak of bollworm injury instead of calcium arsenate did not prove to be effective against weevils, thus causing a loss in yield. C. Cotton Seed: Delinting and Disinfection. I". R. Gore. Georgia Sta. Circ. 141, 1943, 18 pp. (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 80). Anthracnose-infested seed averaged an increase of 159 lb. of seed cotton to the acre from Ceresan treatment. Machine delinting or reginning gave an increase of 167 lb. and reginning plus the chemical treatment an average increase of 250 lb. of seed cotton to the acre over the fuzzy, untreated seed. Planting of about 1 bushel of reginned seed per acre is recommended. Either New Improved Ceresan or Ceresan proved effective dusts for cotton seed, which may be treated at any convenient time and stored in a dry place until planted. It is a good insurance any season to treat with organic mercury dusts. Being poisonous, treated seed should not be fed to stock or sold for oil. Seed heated in storage or damaged seed of low vitality should not be planted. Ample planting seed should be saved, since 2-year-old seed is almost free from disease and seed will be available should replanting be necessary. C. Cotton Seed: Gin Delinting and Incidence of Disease. 8. G. Lehman. Research and Farming [North Carolina Sfa.], 1943, 1. Prog. Rept. 2, pp 5, 6 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 454-455). Reginning to remove the linters has been found to carry off much of the load of fungus spores and bacteria adhering thereto, and subsequent treating of the seed with a disinfectant saves many seedlings that would otherwise die of disease, thus making possible a lower seeding rate. Supporting data are presented. C. Seed Cottons: Characteristics and Ginning. W. S. Smith, \Y. J. Martin and N. L. Pearson. /. Agric. Res., 1943, 66, 249-260 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 59). Sixteen cotton varieties grown at Stoneville, Miss., 1936-37. differed significantly in the time (minutes) and net energy (watt-hours) required to gin either 30 lb. of seed cotton or enough seed cotton to produce 10 lb of lint. The larger and more fuzzy-seeded cottons took longer and required more energy to gin than the smaller and less fuzzy-seeded varieties. Varieties with a high lint percentage required less time and energy to gin 10 lb. of lint than cottons with low lint percentage. Whilst lint percentage had little effect upon the energy needed to gin 30 lb. of seed cotton, an increase in lint percentage tended to increase the time. Strength of fibre attachment to the seed had no effect upon the energy requirement. C. i— Fibres and their Production A 5 ° 3

Sea Island Cotton: Costs and Returns in Puerto Rico. L. M. Geigel. Puerto Rico Univ. Sta. Bui. 61, 1942, Span, ed., 41 pp. (through E xp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 494). Information from 140 Sea Island cotton plantings in 1939 and 210 plantings in 1940 was obtained. Analysis is made of the costs of production and the variations in and the factors affecting such costs and returns. Share-croppers planted 62 per cent, of the crop in 1939 and 71 per cent, in 1940. The average yields of seed cotton per cuerda (0-97 acre) and the average price of the seed per pound were 498 lb. and 8-7 ct. in 1939 and 674 lb. and 9-1 ct. in 1940. The average costs of production per cuerda and per quintal were $29-67 and $5-96 in 1939 and $37-21 and $5-53 in 1940. The net returns were $13-68 and $2-74 in 1939 and $24-29 and $3-59 in 1940. Growing costs per cuerda were about the same on soils of high, low or medium productivity. Tenure had no material effect on net returns. The farmers making the highest returns had yields above 700 lb. of seed cotton per cuerda, applied more than 400 lb. of fertilizer per cuerda, harvested over 95 per cent, of first-class cotton, cultivated relatively small- to medium-sized plantings, and used from 120 to 160 hours of labour in growing operations on the soils of high productivity and 120 hours on the medium and poor soils. C. Bast-fibre Plants: Fibre Content Determination. G. Bredemann. Faser- forschung, 1942, 16, 14-39 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 467-468 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 34714). A conventional method is described according to which the samples, after a suitable pretreatment, are subjected to a pre­ digestion, a main digestion and a cleaning process by spraying them on screens. H em p: the carefully cleaned male and female stems are boiled for 2 hours in sodium carbonate; the removed bark is calendered, boiled for 2 hours with 2 per cent, caustic soda at 2 atm. pressure and sprayed with water. F la x : boil 0-5 hour with 1 per cent, sodium sulphite; do not calender bark, continue as for hemp. Nettles: boil for 2 hours with 0-4 per cent, sodium carbonate, then continue as for hemp. The fibres obtained are pure. C. Cotton Bolls: Growth. D. B. Anderson and T. Kerr. Plant Physiol., 1943, 18, 261-269 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 662). D aily and seasonal variations in the diameters of cotton bolls of the Rowden, Half-and-Half, Coker 100, Cook, and D. and P.L. varieties of upland cotton were recorded during the summers of 1940-42. Enlargement of young bolls was not inhibited by severe wilting of the parent plant. Full-sized bolls shrank in size when the parent plants were visibly wilted and regained their size during the night if low soil moisture was not a limiting factor. Degree of shrinkage of full-sized bolls was, in general, proportional to the severity of wilting of the parent plant. During periods of severe drought, shrinkage occurred later in the day and recovery during the night was partial or even entirely absent. C. Cotton Crop: Improvement in South East Missouri. J. R. Paulling. /. Amer. Soc. Agron., 1943, 35, 409-412 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1944, 90, 42). Progress and accomplishments in the Missouri cotton improvement programme are reviewed for the period 1936-42. ' C. Cotton Plants: Tolerance to Soil Salts. X. A. Henkel and S. S. Kolotova. C. r. Acad. Sci. U.R.S.S., 1943, 39, 209-212 (through Brit. Chem. Physiol. Abstr., 1944, B i l l , 123). When the leaf stems are immersed in various salt solutions, and the leaves are exposed to diffused daylight, yellow spots and patches appear after varying lengths of time, depending on the tolerance of the given variety to the salts. Leaves of plants grown in salty soils exhibit high tolerance, and yellowing appears only when the salt concentration of the leaf juice is much greater than that found in normal plants exhibiting an equal degree of chloroplast destruction. C. Vetches: Manurial Value for Cotton. C. D. Hoover. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc., 1942, 7, 283-289 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1944, 90, 46). In vetch fertilizer experiments, 1939-42, on Grenada silt loam, drilling lime and lime- fertilizer mixtures under hairy vetch was superior to ordinary planting methods. Vetches so treated produced nitrogen equivalent to 36 lb. per acre of commer­ cial nitrogen as measured by cotton yields. Lime drilled into soils deficient in calcium might increase the nitrogen content of vetch as much as one-third as compared with unfertilized vetch. Vetch with a high nitrogen content decom­ posed faster than that low in nitrogen. C A5°4 i— Fibres and their Production “ Whole Cotton” : Growing and Processing. F. K. Cameron. ] . Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., 1943, 59, No. 1, 1-13 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89. 662). A practical account of the growing and processing of the whole cotton plant for oil and a-cellulose. Cotton is planted close some weeks later than usual in the locality, matures about 25-30 weeks after planting, and is cut and baled. Seed cotton comprises 60 per cent, of the mass of whole cotton, leaves 2 per cent., and the remainder is about equally divided between cusps and stems. Cultural, harvest and storage methods, production costs, preparation for processing, recovery of cottonseed oil and pulping whole cotton and costs, cellulose derivatives, and uses of cellulose from whole cotton are discussed. C. Cotton Root; Rot: Effect of Rainfall. W. N. Ezekiel. Texas Acad. Sci. Proc. and Trans., 1941, 25, 63-6S (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 630). The greatest economic damage by Phymatotrichum omnivorum in Texas is in cotton fields, where root rot often kills the plants in areas so large as to be visible even from aeroplanes. From the statistical studies presented, the con­ clusions are drawn (1) that the final percentage of root rot within areas of favourable soils is almost exactly a linear function of the rainfall during the several preceding months, with the same amount of rainfall having a greater effect later in the season, and (2) that beyond an optimum amount for a par­ ticular month, additional rainfall will not cause further increase in the per­ centage of root rot. Rainfall more effectively promotes root rot later in the season because young cotton plants are resistant. The root rot fungus and the cotton plant are both affected by the rainfall in somewhat the same manner. In years of favourable rainfall, yields may be higher even in root-rot areas, but this higher yield is still very much less than would be obtained were the disease absent. The disease thus tends to equalise cotton production on the particular farms on which it occurs at the drought level, causing meanwhile a percentage crop reduction that approaches the percentages of plants killed by root rot. These factors explain why, when average figures over an area are taken, increased yields may be directly correlated with increased prevalence of root rot. C. Cotton Varieties: Resistance to Fusarium Wilt Disease. V. II. Voting- and L. M. Humphrey. Arkansas Sta. Bui. 437, 1943, 23 pp. (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1944, 90, 64). This study revealed marked genetical differences among cotton varieties as to wilt resistance and yield, but indicated also that en'/ironal factors may greatly modify the expression of these differences. Varieties sus­ ceptible under favourable conditions include some giving high yields, good staples and high gin turnouts, whereas others, such as Half-and-Half, are inferior in staple length. Clearly, no highly susceptible varieties should be grown under conditions favouring the disease. Another group comprises varieties such as some strains of Rowden, developed in Arkansas, that are “ wilt tolerant.” Except where conditions are extremely favourable to infection such cotton is believed to offer the best present solution to the wilt problem in the State. A comparatively small number of varieties exhibit very high resistance, but whilst none of those now available can compete with some of the less wilt-resistant varieties on non-wilt or low-wilt soils, where conditions favour the highest wilt incidence no other varieties will succeed. If cotton must be grown in such areas, it is recommended that, only some highly resistant variety such as Rhyne Cook be used. C. Bollworm Eggs and Larvae: Natural Control. R. K. Fletcher and F. I,. Thomas. J. Econ. Entomology, 1943, 36, 557-560 (through Exp. Sta. Rec.. 1944, 90, 224). A report is made of investigations of certain of the biological factors affecting the eggs and first instar larvae of the bollworm and their relative importance in relation to the possible survival of early stages. Assum­ ing that all the eggs and larvae that were not known to be destroyed by predators or parasites hatched and completed development, the conclusion is reached that not more than 61 per cent, of the eggs laid by the bollworm develop beyond the first instar under field conditions. C. Cotton Aphid: Control. E. H. Floyd, I. J. Becnel and C. !>. Haddon. Louisiana Sta., Northeast Louisiana Sta. Biennial Rpt., 1941-42, pp. 27-31 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 711-712). Yields of seed cotton in Louisiana per acre from plats treated in 1941 with calcium arsenate, 10 per cent, sulphur, and 0-5 per cent, rotenone; calcium arsenate; calcium arsenate and 1 per cent. i— Fibres and tlieir Production A5°5 nicotine; and calcium arsenate, 10 per cent, sulphur, and 02 per cent, pyrethrins were 1,384-0, 1,258-4, 1,674-4, and 1,368-0 lb., respectively, com­ pared with 1,269-6 lb. for the untreated check. In 1942, treatment with cal­ cium arsenate plus 1 per cent, nicotine; calcium arsenate plus 2 per cent, nicotine; 1 per cent, nicotine and a proprietary dust; and calcium arsenate alone resulted in yields of seed cotton of 3,019, 3,035, 3,062, and 2,835 lb. Per acre, respectively, compared with 2,970 lb. from the untreated check. It appears that nicotine used at 1 per cent, concentration in every application of calcium arsenate or at 2 per cent, in alternate applications is equally effective. C. Cotton Aphid: Damage and Control in Texas. K. P. Ewing. J. Econ. Entomology, 1943, 36, 598-601 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1944, 90, 223). In two experiments conducted at Waco, Texas, in 1942, it was shown that reduc­ tions in cotton yield of 164 and 243 lb., respectively, of seed cotton per acre, could be attributed to cotton aphids. Nicotine sulphate mixed with calcium arsenate to contain 0-5 per cent, of nicotine did not satisfactorily control the aphid. Calcium arsenate in alternate applications with calcium arsenate plus 2 per cent, of nicotine and calcium arsenate plus 1 per cent, of nicotine in each application gave considerable control of the aphid, the former being slightly better. Cryolite produced a lower infestation of aphids than did cal­ cium arsenate. Early morning applications of calcium arsenate plus 1 per cent, of nicotine were more effective in controlling the aphid than were midday applications. A non-dusted buffer of 30 ft. or more greatly reduced the migra­ tion of aphids between plats. C. Cotton Bolls: Effect of Boll Weevil on Production. A. L. Hamner. Miss. Farm Res. [Mississippi Sta.'\, 1943, 6, No. 6, pp. 4-5 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 717). Cotton plants react to the loss of squares punctured by the boll weevil by setting a higher percentage of the young bolls and by producing heavier bolls. A higher percentage of young bolls that matured was produced on plants that had as few as 10 per cent, of the squares removed throughout the season than on untreated checks. When bolls were protected from weevil damage, fewer were required to make a pound of seed cotton on the treated plats than on the check. With the exception of a few bolls set early and late in the season, four varieties of cotton set approximately 80 per cent, of their crop during the first 5 weeks of fruiting and over 70 per cent, during the second, third, fourth and fifth weeks. C.

Cotton Insects: Control in Peru. F. F. Bibb}-. J. Econ. Entomology, 1942, 35> 193“197 (through Brit. Chem. Physiol. Abstr., 1944, B i l l , 127). The use oi arsenicals, particularly calcium arsenate dust, for control of leaf worms 011 cotton produced a severe aphis infestation during the summer which could be prevented by using a cryolite (20 per cent.)-sulphur (80 per cent.) dust, or cube root (0-75-1-5 per cent, of rotenone)-sulphur on an inert carrier instead. The rotenone-sulphur dust was suitable for controlling spring infestations of aphis. The Peruvian weevil, Anthonomus vestitus, was controlled with cal­ cium arsenate or a cryolite-sulphur mixture, the latter being preferable as pre­ venting subsequent aphis infestation. Sulphur alone or with nicotine sulphate to give a 2 per cent, nicotine mixture gave satisfactory thrips control. Arsenicals for leaf- or cut-worm should be used only as bran baits. Ć.

Mirid Bug: Control. H. F. G. Sauer. Arq. Inst. Biol. [Stfo Paulo], 1942, 13, 29-66 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1944, 90, 224). Investigations of the life history, habits, and control of the mirid bug Horcius nobilellus, conducted in the State of Sao Paulo, are reported. During the last 4 years this insect has caused severe losses in many cotton fields extending over a rather wide area of the State. Its injury is manifested by excessive shedding of small squares, blossoms and immature bolls and the suppression of fruiting branches. Tech­ nical descriptions are given of the adult and immature stages. Cultural con­ trol measures are recommended. The application of sulphur or a mixture of 80 per cent, sulphur and 20 per cent. Paris green or 66 per cent, sulphur and 33 per cent, calcium arsenate, as a dust, gives effective control if used at the rate of 12-5-16 lb. per acre, and 4-5 applications at 8-10-day intervals are employed when the population of the plant bug begins to increase more than 8 per cent. C. i— Fibres and their Production

(D)— A r t i f i c i a l Polyacrylonitrile Fibres: Spinning. Y. Mamiya, S. Matui and S. Kanbara. /. Soc. Chem. Ind. Japan, 1941, 44, 125-126 B (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 80a and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3481 ”). Acrylonitrile, bp. 77-80°, d. 0-807, was prepared and polymerised to a degree of 12,000-16,000. A 1-4 to 3-1 per cent, solution in Na or K thiocyanate was spun. Mixtures of lower alcohols, e.g. ethyl and propyl alcohols, were used as precipitation baths. Threads of 0-9-1-2 denier and d 1 008-1 • 108 were prepared. The strength was up to 1 • 9-2 - 4 g. / denier at 19-36 per cent, elongation. Dry heat up to a tem­ perature of 130° does not damage the fibre', but causes shrinking; at 170° the fibre turns brown; decomposition begins at 2150. Hot water does not damage the fibre, but 1 per cent, caustic soda is, injurious. C. Rayon Spinning Bath: Control of Composition. A. Wehrung. Chem. App., 1941, 28, 119-121, 132-137 (through Chem. Zentr., 1941, ii, 2636-2637 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3468s). Various methods are described for the evapora­ tion of the water which must be removed to insure a constant composition of the precipitating bath, or to crystallise the salt, and for recovering the com­ ponents. During the evaporation process a part of the water is removed to facilitate the crystallisation, and the remaining part to maintain a constant composition of the bath. The ratio changes with the salt composition of the bath. The course of the evaporation and the expenditure of the reagents depend on the amount of the excess of the salt in the precipitating bath. Increasing the content of salt decreases the acid-salt solution in the newly formed fibre. The fibre so obtained,is of a higher-quality. Suitable apparatus is described and its costs given. Under mass-production conditions, it is economically practical to use the spinning bath for recovering the acid and salt. r Viscose Rayon: Causes of Milky Striations. W. Kling and IT. Schwerdtner. Textilberichte, 1942, 23. 333-340 (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 34Ó84). Commercial products were subjected to an extensive and thorough microscopic and chemical examination which showed that it is necessary to distinguish between a true and a simulated milky streakiness. The microscopic study of cross-sections showed that the true effect is characterised by the existence of a sponge-like hollow space between the outside layer and the nucleus of the fibre. A part of this hollow space appears to be filled with an organic sub­ stance, and the streakiness is increased by treatment with suitable extracting agents. A simulated milky streakiness may be due to various causes. A poorly desulphurised viscose rayon and several samples containing inorganic deposits, particularly zinc compounds, were studied. Chief causes of milky streakiness are (1) excessively high carbon disulphide concentrations during sulphonation, (2) insufficient ripeness of the viscose and (3) poor adjustment of the precipitation baths, particularly excessively high concentrations of sul­ phuric acid or zinc sulphate or excessively high temperature of the precipitation bath. The defect may be made more or less visible by washing, brightening and drying treatments. Thus, strong cleaning and brightening agents can make the defect more noticeable; on the other hand, fillers like mineral oil emulsions can make it less noticeable. C. Alkali-cellulose: Ripening; Effect of Metal Carbonyls. ('». A. Schroter. Kolloid Z., 1943, 105,-223-225 (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3838s). Iron carbonyls, in gaseous phase, are absorbed by technical alkali cellulose (from beech and spruce sulphite pulps) and hasten the ripening process. At 40° the ripening time for beechwood alkali-cellulose was reduced by half, when the cellulose had an iron content (from the carbonyl) of 30 mg. per 100 g. cellulose. Nickel carbonyl gas was not absorbed to as large an extent as the iron car­ bonyl, and had less effect on the ripening time. Spruce sulphite pulp impreg­ nated with nickel sulphate, dried, and then made into alkali-cellulose, ripened more rapidly than unimpregnated pulp. C. Viscose Solution: Mixed Molecular Chain State. J. J. Stockly. Kolloid Z., 1943, 105, 190-199 (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3837’ ). In the various stages of viscose production, such as sulphiding, solution, ripening and decom­ position, the “ solution state ” of the viscose plays an important role. A tech­ nical cellulose spinning solution is conceived as consisting of a mixture of bundles of esterified, etherified and solvated chain molecules, designated as 2— Conversion of Fibres into Finished Yarns A507

“ mixed chain molecules.” The relationship between this concept and previous theories of solution state dealing with mesophases, myelin figures, and mixed little rods, is defined. The concept of mixed-chain molecules is in excellent agreement with the important phenomena observed in solution of the cellulose xanthate, in the process of ageing, in coagulation and in decomposition of the viscose, as well as with the properties of the regenerated cellulose. It also helps to clarify a number of hitherto confused and contradictory ideas on the pre­ paration and spinning of viscose. C

P a t e n t s Water-soluble Polyvinyl Ester, Filaments: Production. K. P. Roberts, E. B. Johnson and H. H. Taylor. B .P .563,960 of 21/11/1942:7/9/1944. Filaments, foils and similar articles which swell or dissolve in water are produced by shaping and setting solutions of polyvinyl esters containing free hydroxyl groups in which the ester group content is between 2 and 12 per cent, of the maximum theoretically possible. Preferably the polyvinyl ester employed contains acetyl groups. The filaments are preferably produced by extruding an aqueous solution of the polyvinyl ester into a coagulating medium contain­ ing acetone, and it is also preferred to subject them to a stretching operation in the presence of a softening agent such as moist air or steam, m order to increase their tenacity. C. Rayon Staple Cutting Apparatus. American Viscose Corporation. B.P. 563,983 of 12/4/1943:7/9/1944 (Conv. 30/4/1942). Apparatus for cutting continuous filaments into staple fibre is provided with means for directing alternate cuts into separate discharge channels. Means may be provided for causing successive cuts to differ in length, each alternate cut of the same length being directed into the same separate discharge channel. The fibres of an individual cut may vary in length, alternate cuts of the same variation in cut being directed into the same separate discharge channel. The apparatus may comprise a rotatable member for feeding continuous filaments outwards there­ from, cutting devices disposed at a number of points about the rotatable member, and separate discharge channels associated with each of the cutting devices. Means may be provided for adjusting the position of at least one of the devices about the periphery of the member. C. Viscous Liquid Deaerating Apparatus. British Cellophane Ltd. B.P.564,153 of 16/7/1942:14/9/1944 (Conv. 18/7/1941). Apparatus for deaerating viscous liquids under vacuum is fitted with means for determining the temoerature or the (a) incoming liquid, and (b) the liquid just above the liquid level in the lower part of the container, and thermo-regulated means for controlling the vacuum. C. 2—CONVERSION OF FIBRES INTO FINISHED YARNS (A)— P k ę p a r a t o r y P r o c e s s e s Vertical Cotton Opener: Curling Action on Fibre. Cotton (U.S.), 1944. 108, No. 7, 128-129. The writer proffers answers to the question, “ Does the vertical (Creighton) opener curl the cotton as it is swirled around while passing through the conical beater?” He claims that the Creighton opener is a more effective machine for cleaning than for opening, so that the position of the machine in the blowroom sequence is the ruling factor. He suggests as a satisfactory sequence: six blending feeders (two converted from a tandem feeder and two from a bale breaker), delivering 250-275 lb. of cotton per hour to a blending apron, a vertical opener, tandem lattice openers, and a Centrif-air machine. The action of the vertical opener is discussed and hints are given on its maintenance. C. Carding Engine: Speeds, Settings and Maintenance. Textile Operating Executives of Georgia. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 98-99. Replies by the managers of twenty American mills (total spindleage 1,051,000) to a question­ naire on carding are analysed. They relate to (1) the beater speed for a blow­ room system producing a 45-lb. lap, 13J oz. per yd., every 6J minutes, from I in. Strict low middling cotton; (2) the relative merits of continuous, vacuum and hand methods of stripping; (3) grinding of cylinders, doffers and lickers-in; (4) the effects of reducing flat speeds from 3 to ij ins. per minute; (5) methods of checking waste and weight; (6) the merits of condenser drawing. Consider­ able divergences of opinion are revealed. C. :—Conversion oj Fibres into Finished Yarns

Rayon Staple Fibre: Processing on Cotton Machinery. I'. S. Culpepper. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 3, 70-73; No. 4, 116-117; No. 5, 109; No. 6, 119. Practical hints are given on opening, scutching, carding, drawing, speed frame processing and spinning of rayon staple, with particular reference to speeds and settings. Typical breaking loads are tabulated for various staples in singles yarn from 5s to 100s. The last instalment gives the complete organisation ior spinning 30s. C.

Slubbing Frame Roller Covers: Relation to “ Eyebrowing.” E. H. Ilclliwell. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 7, 66-67. The author discusses the conditions under which roller, clearer waste becomes attached as “ eyebrows ” to speed frame products, thus causing slubs in yarn and cloth. He reports a test in which high-draft slubbing top rollers were covered with (1) plain calfskin, (2) calfskin embossed with a fine pebbly surface, (3) plain cork, (4) a composition with fine ground cork in it, and (5) a synthetic product, and, after “ running them in ” for a week, with stationary clearers, records were taken of (a) the weight of clearer waste per hour, (b) the place where the waste accumulated on the clearer, (c) the length of time that elapsed before the waste made con­ tact with the strand, and (d) the nature of the waste. The data are tabulated. Under (a) there was little difference in the amount of waste, but under (b) it was found that coverings Nos. 3, 4 and 5 tended to deposit the waste at the front so that it hung down as a curtain and made contact with the strand more frequently than the doffing period. With the calfskin covers, the waste was carried well back, No. 2 even rather too far back, so that the waste could be dealt with easily at doffing time. Covers 3, 4 and 5 gave short, neppy waste, but with 1 and 2 the waste contained some long fibre. Some comments are offered on the use of revolving clearers. C.

Roving: Variability. Colton (U.S.), 1944, 108, No. 7, 129-130. The writer gives hank numbers obtained at four 10x 5 intermediate frames on two- process drawing from 1^ in. cotton. The extremes in 20 numbers are 0 878 and 0-922 (nominal, 0-9). C. Noble Comb: Criticism. W. H. Robinson. Wool Rec., 1944, 66, 276-277, 279-280. The Noble comb is discussed and improvements suggested. Oiling and greasing, and circle cleaning could be more satisfactorily done auto­ matically, with consequent improvement in production. Intersecting sector circles could be tried, and, if successful, would both eliminate the dabbing brush and reduce the many detrimental effects which are directly due to the compression of fibres at the base of the pins by the force of the clabber. The use of drawing-off leathers is neither economical nor highly efficient, and methods should be investigated for increasing the life of combing leathers and for removing the combed fringes from the circle pins, forming them into a sliver, and transporting them into the coiler can. The following factors in Noble combing efficiency merit special consideration : the very small part of sliver between the two circles at the dabbing point which does not pass through the intensive final combing action; the danger of fibre breakage at the outside drawing-off roller point due to the compression of fibres at this point and the lack of a straight drawing-off action. W.

Combing Machines: Comparison. “ Tex.” Wool Rec., 1944, 66. 23(1, 2 39. A description of the distinctive features of Noble and rectilinear combs. \Y.

Automatic Feed for Woollen and Worsted Cards. I’roctor iv Sell w;nv. Inc. Text. World, 1944, 94, No. 4, 122. The feed is driven by a separate electrically- controlled motor operated by a mercoid switch resting against the end of the scale arm. When the scale pan has received its weighing, the end of the beam rises and the switch falls forward, cutting off the current from the motor and stopping the spike apron. The drive dispenses with mechanical clutch mechanisms. The trap door over the scale pan operates in conjunction with the electrical control, by means of a solenoid and a spring mechanism. The weight o f the mechanism <511 the scale arm has been greatly reduced. A com­ pensating device located in the hopper ensures that an even amount o f material is fed to the spike apron. Improved types o f combing mechanisms and a beater with a receding pin stripper motion are also incorporated in the feed. \Y. 2— Conversion of Fibres into Finished Yarns (PatentsJ A509

(B)—S p i n n i n g a n d D o u b l i n g Ring Frame Top Clearer: Modification to Prevent “ Eye-browing.” Cotton (U.S.), 1944, 108. No. 7, 130-131. The writer believes that a common cause of " eye-browing ” with synthetic plastic roller cots on high-draft ring frames is that the clearer board is not heavy enough. He describes a modification that holds the waste for more than four hours without trouble. A piece of strap iron, 16 x i-| x J ins. is screwed to the board and this is fastened to a bent rod that passes through a bracket mounted on the cap bar rod. The board will thus stand up by itself for attention to the rollers. The extra weight is about 1 lb. C. Spinning Frame Assignment Constants: Calculation and Application. F. H. Gunther and M. Gross. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 95. The calculation of the number of frames required to feed a given number of looms is simplified by making a constant out of the ratio of pounds of yarn consumed per loom per working week to the pounds of yarn produced per frame. Thus, for a loom consuming 32-10 lb. of 17s weft per 40 hr.-week and a frame producing 410 lb. of the yarn, the constant is 32-10/410 = 0-0783. To feed 225 looms would require 225 x 0-0783 = nearly 18 frames. C. Spinning Problems: Discussion. Textile Operating Executive of Georgia. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 7, 73-74; Cotton (U.S.), 1944, 108, No. 7, 98-100. Replies to a questionnaire from a number of mills are reported on the follow­ ing topics: (i) Humidities in high-draft spinning. A common figure is 55 per cent., but figures as high as 65-70 are also reported. (2) Female doffers: Few mills report satisfactory experience with female doffers. (3) Synthetic products for roller covers: Several mills report favourably, but recommend revolving front clearers to obviate “ eye-browing.” (4) Scavenger rollers: A variety of preferences are expressed for plush, paper and blue denim covers. (5) Bobbin building: Various types of winding and bunch building are discussed. C. Single Roving Worsted Ring Yam Production. Victor Ring Traveler Co. (TT.S.A.). Text. Mfr., 1944, 70, 305. Single-end roving in worsted preparation eliminates one drafting* operation, reduces waste and increases production. A uniform sliver is produced by weighing (1) at the weigh box, and (2) at the first finisher, next to the weigh box. A table compares the layouts used in the single- and double-end methods for spinning 40s from fine wool (American grade). W.

(D)—Y a r n s a n d C o r d s Hand-knitting Yarns: Production. “ K.M.G.” Wool Rec.. 1944, 66, 366-367, 369. The production of hand-knitting yarns is described, with special refer­ ence to the suitability for different types of wool of the various preparing and subsequent processes. W.

P a t k n t s Carding Engine. D. Walsh. B.P.562,740 of 31/3/1943:13/7/1944. A carding engine is provided with means for passing a current of air beneath the rotating parts, i.e. the taker-in, card cylinder and doffer, to one end of the engine, the space through which the air passes being enclosed and having transverse baffles extending across the enclosed space from side to side of the frame, to prevent upward flow of the air to the rotating parts, thus preventing its inter­ ference with the carding operation, while enabling the air to convey the fly which is deposited on the baffles to the said end of the carding engine for dis­ charge. Three co-operating baffles may be mounted under the rotating parts and devised to receive fly from the rotating parts and to direct it downward into the air current. The baffles may be made of thin material and capable of vibrating when the engine is working to assist the downward passage of the fly- deposited on them. C. Carding Engine Eccentric Mechanism. J. Pickles. K.I*.364,035 of 4/3/1943: 11/9/1944. In eccentric mechanism for reciprocating the rubber rollers, leathers or like devices in carding engines, a non-metallic flexible coupling (either with or without a spring metal reinforcement) is provided between each eccentric strap and the co-acting cross-head of the shafts of the rubber rollers, leathers, or like devices. The eccentrics may also be provided with ball or roller bearings between the eccentric sheave and the eccentric strap. C. A5 IO 3 — Conversion of Yarns into Fabrics

Drafting Mechanism. Dominion Textile Co. Ltd. (Montreal). B.P.564,188 of 7/9/1942:18/9/1944 (Conv. 3/9/1941). A drafting mechanism of the kind having a pair of small control rolls arranged behind the front drafting rolls close to the nip, and a roll for clearing the bottom control roll of waste is characterised by the provision of a pair of arms for holding the clearer roll yieldingly against the bottom control roll, supported on a member that is weighted to counter­ balance the weight of the arms and of the clearer roll and is formed in two parts to which the arms are respectively fixed, whereby removal of the clearer roll is facilitated. C. Card Clothing Mounting Machine. A. Abbey (Kardbeslag Fabriks Aktie- bolaget; Norrkoping, Sweden). B.P.564,214 of 12/3/1943:18/9/1944. A machine for mounting fillets of card clothing on the drums or rolls of carding engines, includes a braking device for producing a certain tension on the fillet, characterised in that it is freely movable on a guide bar, and in that an auxiliary braking device is arranged in the path of the fillet to produce a pull on the portion of fillet between the braking devices, the pull acting longitudin­ ally of the guide bar. The auxiliary braking device preferably comprises a braking disc provided with friction coating for the fillet. In order to adjust the braking force of the braking disc, it may be adapted to be forced at variable pressure against a stationary part and / or may be provided with means for varying the angle of contact between the fillet and the braking disc. C. Sliver Condensing Apparatus. Dominion Textile Co. Ltd. (Montreal). B.P. 564,577 of 9/11/1942:4/10/1944 (Conv. 20/6/1942). In a method of con­ densing sliver of fibrous material, the sliver is continuously passed between a pair of condensing rolls having a groove and a mating tongue after the sliver has been first reduced in width to substantially that of the groove while being allowed to expand in a transverse dimension, the sliver while passing through the groove being condensed between the tongue and the groove and the side walls of the groove in the transverse direction. Apparatus for carrying out this method comprises in combination a pair of co-operating condensing rolls, a groove on one roll mating with a tongue on the other, and a member posi­ tioned adjacent to the rolls for the first condensing of the sliver, the member including a narrow sliver-constricting passage leading to the groove. Prefer­ ably, the member for the first condensing of the sliver has a funnel portion or tapering mouth forming an entrance for the sliver to the passage and is adapted to condense the sliver into a ribbon-like form and to retain it in this form until it enters the groove of the pair of condensing rolls. A large amount of the con­ densed sliver may be inserted into a can by packing the coiled sliver into the can under pressure. C. 3—CONVERSION OF YARNS INTO FABRICS

(A)—P r e p a r a t o r y P r o c e s s e s Nylon Yarns: Preparation for Weaving and Knitting. J. P. Ransom. Cotton (U.S.), 1944, 108, No. 5, 85-88; No. 6, 93-96, 126; No. 7, 95-97, 136. Practical advice is given on twisting, twist setting, knot tying, single-end sizing, coning and oiling of nylon yarn. C. Nylon Yarns: Winding, Sizing and Weaving. E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. Rayon Textile Monthly, 1944, 25, 277-281. Practical advice is given on 1) suitable tensioning devices for winding, (2) knot tying, (3) single-end sizing, 4) oiling, (5) tinting and marking, (6) control of static electricity, (7) winding off dense packages, (8) warping, (9) tape sizing, (ro) weft winding, and (11) weaving, of nylon yarns. C. Rayon Tyre Cord: Twist Setting by High-frequency Heating. Industrial Rayon Corporation. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 7, 105; Rayon Textile Monthly, 1944, 25, 285. A picture is given of the working bench at which rayon tyre cord on i8-lb. cones is passed through a high-frequency electric field whereby heat is generated internally. Each unit has an output of about 22,500 B.Th.U. per hour and can deal with several thousand pounds of tyre cord per 24 hours. C. Warping Combs and Reeds. Frank Kaufmann. Rayon Textile Monthly. 1944, 25, 331-332. Brief descriptions are given of various types of comb and reed used in warp preparation, with illustrations of (1) the tape type of spring 3— Conversion of Yarns into Fabrics A 5 1 1

extension comb, (2) the screw type ditto, (3) the positive expansion comb, (4) the fan reed holder and (5) a warp leasing device with swing comb for holding the split rods and hook reed. C.

(B)— S i z i n g Laboratory Tape Frame. J. M. Cook. Textile Research, 1944, 14, 188-193. A laboratory tape frame for small lots of cotton warps consists of a narrow steel frame approximately 36 in. high, on which are mounted the guide rods, combs, squeeze rollers, and leasing rollers. The size box and drying chamber are attached to the frame between the floor and the top. On the T-shaped front of the machine is mounted a movable carriage, equipped with rollers that allow it to be rolled from side to side on the frame. Bearings for the loom beam, a variable speed drive, and bearings and shafts for driving the squeeze rollers are mounted on this carriage. The variable speed drive permits the slashing of yarn at speeds ranging from about 4 to 23 yards per minute. Yarn bobbins from the spinning frame are placed in the creel and the yam is pulled between polished guide rods mounted at the rear of the machine and through a comb made from a fine shortened reed. It then passes over a roller, through the size box, between squeeze rollers and over and under rollers in a drying chamber in which the temperature of the air is controlled by a thermostat. The dried yarn then passes to lease rollers, through an expansion comb, and on to a loom beam. The beam is of the usual diameter, but is constructed in sections, the sections being separated by aluminium discs. The size box con­ sists of an inner copper shell, an outer shell, and a wooden box in which the shell rests. The outer shell contains glycerin in which is submerged an electric heating element which is thermostatically controlled. The squeeze rollers are about 3 in. in diameter, the bottom one being driven from the loom beam and the top one being covered with rubber about f in. thick. Photographs, diagrams and notes on the use of this machine are given. C. Rayon Crepe Yarn: Dressing. S. J. Miller. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 113. Practical hints are given on the dressing of rayon crepe yam to secure uniformity in the fabric. Particulars are given of four mixtures of oil and size (gelatin) for soaking and a table shows which recipe is appropriate for each of a wide range of crepe yams. C. Rayon Warp: Sizing; Tensions and Stretch. J. J. Sussmuth. Rayon Tex­ tile Monthly, 1944, 25, 283. The author discusses the importance in rayon sizing of controlling the three tensions (a) from the warp beam to the point where the size is applied, (b) from this point to the first drying cylinder and (c) from the last cylinder to the weaver’s beam. C. Sweet-potato Starch: Application. C. W. Bendigo. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 123. It is reported that plant for the production of more than 100 tons of sweet-potato starch daily is under construction in Florida. Experience during the past 10 years in the application of the starch in sizing is brief!}' reviewed. It appears to give best results on fine yarns, but has been used to good effect on 20s. Suggested recipes for (a) difficult and (b) light warps are, for 100 gallons:— starch (a) 120, (b) 80 lb.; tallow (a) 6, (b) 4 lb.; size taken up (a) 7-12, (b) 6-9 per cent.; cooking time, 2 hours; storage temperature 180° F.; sow box temperature, 205° F.; squeeze roller, 210 lb. C. Tape Frame: Automatic Control. Tallassee Mills Inc. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 7, 64-65. An illustrated account is given of steps taken to secure (1) elimination of excessive stretch in the warp, and (2) tension control and consequent regularity of beam density, by fitting Reeves variable-speed transmission units at (1) the main drive of the tape frame, (2) the size rollers, and (3) the loom beam, and placing these units under control from the Brown " Moist-o-Graph ” moisture recording panel. C.

(C)— W e a v i n g Loom Reeds: Selection. H. E. Wenrich. Rayon Textile Monthly, 1944, 25, 284-285. Practical hints are given on the selection and care of pitch band, stain­ less steel and all-metal reeds and on how to centre the reed in the loom and to prevent “wash-boarding” of shuttles. C. Cotton Looms: Adaptation to Rayon Weaving. H. E. Wenrich. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 7, 56-57. Practical hints are given on the steps to be taken (overhauling, etc.) when a cotton warp has run out and is to be A 5 I 2 3— Conversion of Yarns into Fabrics

replaced by rayon. It is recommended that particulars of the new cloth should be posted in the weaving shed a few days ahead of the time so that tacklers and others can collect any necessary accessories and plan their work. C. 2 x 2-Twill: Weaving on Six Shafts. H. R. Mauersberger. Rayon Textile Monthly, 1944, 25, 289. The writer reproduces two replies to a request for a chain pattern for a 2 x 2 twill on a 6-shaft taffeta weave, straight and skip enter. C. Weaving Shed Records: Application in Improving Efficiency. A. R. Kandler. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 96-97. Suggestions are made for checking the efficiency of a tackier by making systematic records of smashes, new shuttles issued, cloth defects, pick counts and stoppages. Examples are shown. Different colours are used for recording different causes, e.g. smashes due to broken bobbins, broken shuttles or incomplete transfer of bobbins, might be recorded in black, red and green, respectively. C.

(D)— K n i t t i n g Defective Knitted Fabrics: Description and Causes. F. J. Quilitsch. Tex­ tile World, 1942, 92, No. 8, 77; No. 11, 122; 1943, 93, No. 12, 75; 1944, 94. No. 2, 121; No. 7, 95. The writer stresses the utility of a reference collection of defective materials and gives brief, illustrated descriptions, with suggested causes and remedies, of defects due to fuzzy needle lines, sinker lines, oil streaks, dropped stitches, knots in decorative and other yarns, and bad latches on the needles. C. Knitting Room: Humidification. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 109-111. A simple statement is given of the advantages of humidification in knitting circular cotton hosiery. One recommendation is to aim at a regain of 8 per cent, in tht- yarn. Another suggestion is to maintain the knitting room at 72-78° F. and 55 per cent. R.H. C. Knitted Fabrics: Design. J. C. H. Hurd. J. Textile Inst., 1944, 35, PS5-92. Types of ornamentation in knitted fabrics and garments are discussed. The term “ design stitch unit ” is introduced to represent the stitch or group of stitches forming a unit of the ground or the design effect in a patterned area, and examples of design stitch units and their combination in fabrics are con­ sidered. Mechanisms used for the selection of design instruments on knitting machines, including (1) spiral type pattern wheels, (2) multi-butt pressers, selectors or discs working on a depressing principle and (3) fuli Jacquard mechanisms, alid examples of the types of designs obtained with them are discussed. C.

(G)—F a b r i c s Hand-loom Designs: Production on Power Looms. F. W. Sterling'. Tex­ tile World, 1942, 92, No. 8, 100. Illustrations are given of some decorative fabrics that were developed on a special hand-loom but could be woven on a dobby loom. C. Military Rayon Yarns and Fabrics: Adapting to Civilian Uses. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 100-101. The writer discusses the prospects of the transition to civilian fabrics of (1) rayon cloths made specially for war and (2) cloths made from new types of yarn (strong viscose and acetate rayon, glass filament, nylon, Vinyon, etc.). Judged by current experience in the United States the transition should be smooth. C. Textile Designer: Function and Mill Organisation. T. O. Ott. Textile- World, 1943, 93, No. 9, 79-82; No. 10, 70-72; No. 11, 98-99; No. 12, 90-91. The writer discusses the place and functions of the fashion “ stylist ” and the designer who translates the stylist’s ideas into fabrics. The first article deals with the inter-relations of the stylist, the sales organisation and the business and technical management. The second chapter is concerned with planning the designer’s work and discusses his production of a point paper diagram and a weaving specifica­ tion. Chapter III describes the planning of the manufacture of sample fabrics. Chapter IV deals with the costing of new fabrics. C. The Rag, Shoddy and Mungo Trade. N. C. Gee. Text. Mir., 1942, 68, 240, 2<57. 33°. 359. 399. 443- 479; ' 943- 69. 32' 76, 121, 167, 227, 271, 302, 345, 395, 436, 482, 532; 1944, 70, 23, 67, 117. A series of illustrated articles dealing com­ prehensively with all aspects of rag treatment and shoddy and inungo produc­ 3— Conversion of Yarns into Fabrics (Patents) A513 tion. The collecting, sorting and blending of rags, and the carbonising and shaking, dusting and washing, drying, stripping and re-dyeing, blending and oiling, pulling, and cleaning and opening processes are described. Details are given of types of shoddy and mungo cloths, and the identification and assess­ ment of raw material in rags. The articles conclude with a description of gametting machinery, and with a list of terms and definitions. W. Printing Machine Blankets. Dyer, 1944, 92, 177-1S1, 1S7. The qualities required in a printing machine blanket are listed, and the necessity stressed for a resilient and level foundation to obtain satisfactory impressions. Old (1850-1871) and recent patents dealing with washing apparatus and with various types of blanket fabrics are surveyed. Details are given of methods of waterproofing (including the use of blood albumen) and washing and cleansing. Precautions are necessary to avoid faults due to cold or damp blankets, to variations in tension and to creasing. W.

P a t e n t s Warping or Beaming Machines. F. Lambach (Tenafly, New Jersey, U.S.A.). B-P.563.756 / 7 / 8 and 563,879/80/1/2/3 of 24/7/1942:1/9/1944 (Conv. 21 /11 /1941). (1) A warping or beaming machine equipped with an electromotor for causing a rotation of the warp beam is characterised in the arrangement of electrical means for the adjustment of a predetermined normal speed of the electromotor and in the arrangement of controlling means automatically con­ trolled by a member held in contact with the winding on the beam for changing the speed of the electromotor from the normal value to a lower value in depend­ ence on the building up of the winding on the beam. (2) The system comprising a motor circuit for connecting a source of current with an electromotor arranged for driving a beam includes automatic electrical controlling means responsive to the building up of the winding on the beam, which cause a variation of the operating speed of the electromotor by a variation of the electrical conditions of the system in such a manner that a substantially constant travelling speed of the warp yarns may be obtained. (3) Both the start switch and the stop switch of the electromotor may be actuated by the same movable controlling means, and selecting means are associated with the controlling means for selecting an actuation of either the start switch or the stop switch by the controlling means. (4) An electrical control system for the operation of braking means of a warping or beaming plant is characterised in that the system comprising a motor circuit for connecting a source of current with an electromotor arranged for driving a beam includes at least one circuit opening switch for causing an interruption of the motor circuit, that an electrical control responsive to an interruption of the motor circuit is arranged in the system for causing an actuation of the braking means upon such an interruption, and that the system includes a time relay responsive to an interruption of the motor circuit for causing at least a substantial release of the braking means after a period of time determined by the delaying action of the time relay. (5) A warping or beaming machine equipped with a drive for causing a rotation of a beam having a flange on each side of its ends and having a centre hole in each of its flanges is characterised in that the machine includes a driving head connected with the drive and arranged for driving engagement with one of the centre holes of the beam, and that an idling head arranged for engagement with the other centre hole of the beam is journalled in a bracket which is movable from an operative position with the idling head engaged with the centre hole of the beam into an inoperative position wherein the idling head is disengaged from the centre hole and the bracket permits free access to the flange of the beam. (6) The reed of a warping or beaming machine is movably arranged in the machine and automatic control means are associated with the reed for lifting it during the building up of the winding on the beam, the arrangement being such that, in operation, the warp remains in a substan­ tially plane surface whereby any variable angles in the warp are avoided and the tension in the yams remains substantially constant. (7) A beam support is provided which is swingably mounted on a stationary point of the machine and may be lifted by adjusting means from a lower beam receiving position, wherein the beam is disengaged from the drive, into an upper operative position, wherein the beam is coupled with the drive, and locking means are arranged for holding the support in the upper operative position. (8) A beaming or warping machine equipped with a drive for causing a rotation of a warp beam and with rotatable means rotated by engagement with the warp, is characterised A514 3— Conversion of Yarns into Fabrics (Patents) in that the machine comprises actuating means for a simultaneous actuation of a braking mechanism arresting the beam, and of braking means arresting the rotatable means, in combination with compensating means for compensating differences in the action of the braking mechanism and the braking means. C. Warping or Beaming Machine Storage Device. F. Lambach (Tenafly, New Jersey, U.S.A.). B.P.563,855 of 24/7/1942:1/9/1944 (Conv. 21/11/1941). A storage device for a temporary unwinding of a portion of a warp from the beam comprises a pair of relatively movable gripping means which are normally in an inactive position permitting a free passage of the warp through the storage device. Driving means are connected with at least one of the gripping means for changing their relative position so as to cause the gripping of the warp. C. Circular Independent Needle Knitting Machine. Wildt & Co. Ltd., H. H. Holmes and A. P. Saunders. B .P .563,905 of 5/1/1943:5/9/1944. In a modi­ fication of the machine described in B.P.545,676 there are provided a main knitting cam system for circular knitting only, including a stitch or knocking- over cam adapted to enable inactive needles to go through the system without reverting to the knocking-over position, an auxiliary knitting cam system for reciprocatory knitting, an additional series of butts associated with the needles intended to be active during reciprocatory knitting, and jacks adapted normally to position the additional butts for engagement with the auxiliary knitting cam system, the construction and arrangement being such that butts corresponding with jacks influenced by the narrowing picker or pickers are permitted to assume an inoperative position so as to avoid engagement with the auxiliary cam system and when the same jacks are influenced by the widening picker or pickers the corresponding additional butts are re-positioned for engagement with the system. In a machine employing ordinary needles the additional butts may be provided on the stems below the ordinary knitting butts, but in a machine of the characteristic type employing double-ended needles the additional butts are pro­ vided on the sliders engaged with the needles, e.g. below the transfer butts. C. Nylon Sizing Compound. J. C. E. Bessieres and H. W. Best-Gordon. B.P. 564,027 of 6/11/1942:11/9/1944. A size for nylon and other yarns comprises casein or a compound thereof, e.g. an alkali caseinate, an oil, e.g. castor oil or arachis oil, in an emulsified or colloidal state, and an amide, e.g. urea. A sulphonated oil, preferably a sulphoricinate, or a sulphonated alcohol, prefer­ ably cetyl alcohol, and gelatin may also be added. The casein or casein com­ pound (and gelatin) may be dissolved in an alkaline solution, e.g. in a dilute aqueous solution of ammonia, soda or borax. The size may be applied to yarn at normal room temperature during winding, warping or beaming operations, or to warp threads on the loom. C. Circular Knitting Machine. Interwoven Stocking Co. (New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.A.). B.P.564,189 of 11/11/1942:18/9/1944 (Conv. 19/2/1942). The invention comprises a circular knitting machine having co-axial superposed needle cylinders and needles operable in either cylinder and transferable from one cylinder to the other by selectors associated with the needles and having selector butts engageable by selector levers which are movable into and out of operative position in predetermined order by a selector pattern drum to transfer selected needles, in which separate sets of selector levers are independently con­ trolled to maintain one set of levers inoperative while levers of another set are moved into and out of operative position, and in which means are provided for orienting the selector pattern drum to the proper position for starting each of successive articles produced on the machine and for stopping the pattern drum at predetermined points during the knitting of each article to maintain the same needle selection for a number of courses. The invention further comprises a multi-feed circular knitting machine having coaxial superposed needle cylinders, needles operable in either cylinder, sliders for operating the needles in each cylinder and selectors associated with the needles and operable by selector levers to transfer selected needles from one cylinder to the other, in which means acting on the sliders are operable to by-pass selected needles at at least one of the feeds, and in which means are provided for independently controlling separate sets of selector levers to maintain one set of levers inoperative while levers of another set are moved into and out of operative position, selector levers of one set being actuated to produce Links-Links fabric, and selector levers of another 3— Conversion oj Yarns into Fabrics (Patents) A5 I 5 vet being individually actuated to position alternate needles in the upper cylinder during the knitting of a number of courses, and thereafter to position selected needles in the upper and lower cylinders respectively to produce rib knit fabric other than 1 x 1 rib for a number of successive courses. C. Insulating Fabrics: Production. D. Finlayson and H. Crawshaw. B.P. 564,192 of 19/11/1942:18/9/1944. A fabric suitable for oiling or varnishing (e.g. for use as an electrical insulating fabric) comprises in both warp and weft, yarns of great tensile strength and low extensibility and yarns of relatively low strength and high extensibility woven together in such a *way that the yams of low extensibility are not interlaced with other yarns of the same kind but depend for their maintenance in the fabric structure on the presence of the yarns of high extensibility. When a fabric of this kind is treated with an insulat­ ing varnish it is found to possess a much higher resistance to tearing than a fabric of similar weight woven from the stronger yarns alone. It is particularly con­ venient to employ as the stronger yarn saponified cellulose acetate yarns that have been stretched. The yarns of lower strength may be cellulose acetate yams or other thermoplastic yarns such as polyvinyl derivative yarns. Insulating varnishes, e.g. of the type comprising a basis of a drying oil, may be applied to the fabric by any suitable means. C. Cut Ribbons: Production. C. Clay & Sons Ltd., C. R. Clay and Agnes M. Heasman. B.P.564,337 of 28/6/1943:22/9/1944. For the application of the method of B.P.544,379 to the cutting of a woven fabric, such as Petersham, consisting of cellulose acetate warp and relatively heavy cotton weft, the angle between the sides of the ridge on the periphery of the cutter disc is 35-40°, a radius of about 0-004 in- being formed at the edge of the ridge. C. Hosiery Tops: Knitting. Hemphill Co. (U.S.A.). B.P.564,391 of S/2/1943: 26/9/1944 (Conv. 9/2/1942). A method of knitting with a machine having needles and sinkers includes feeding a yarn to all of a group of needles at one feeding station, feeding a second and relatively fine yarn at a second feeding station to alternate needles of said group leaving intervening or intermediate needles unsupplied with the second yarn, and causing the said alternate needles to draw the second yarn over the nibs of sinkers. A greater tension may be applied on the second yarn than on the first yarn. A rib-like fabric is produced by feeding a yam to all the needles at one feeding station and feeding a second and relatively fine yarn to alternate needles at a second feeding station, and adjacent to the second feeding station causing alternate needles to draw the second yarn over the nibs of alternate sinkers only and knitting relatively tight stitches with the alternate needles and causing each alternate needle in the knitting cycle to rob from the stitch drawn by the needle in advance thereof. C. Accordion or Mock Rib Fabric: Knitting. Hemphill Co. (U.S.A.). B.P. 564,397 of 30/3/1943:26/9/1944 (Conv. 2/4/1942). A method of knitting an accordion type fabric wherein at one feeding station a yarn is knitted by all needles and at a second feeding station another yam is knitted by spaced needles only and is floated over intermediate needles, is characterised by the step of elongating floats of the second yam by robbing material for the floats from the stitches of that second yam. Floats of the accordion yarn are elongated by extending them while robbing material from the adjacent stitches. Sinkers or web holders may be given an additional movement for the purpose of elongating the floats of the second or accordion yarn. The sinkers may be constructed with inclined nibs. A knitting machine for carrying out this method of knitting is provided with needles and sinkers which are independently controlled. Alternate sinkers may be provided with inclined nibs and inter­ mediate sinkers constructed to have yarn drawn in their throats. C. Looped Fabric Articles: Production. Elsa Horler (Barcelona, Spain). B.P. 564,413 of 8/9/1942:27/9/1944 (Conv. 9/9/1941). An article with strong loops resembling knitted loops is formed by the interlacement of horizontal rows of loops in such a way that each single loop is interlaced with loops of the neighbouring horizontal row and also with both of the lateral loops of the same horizontal row. The formation of the rows of interlaced loops may be carried out by using an embroidery machine and replacing the frame nor­ mally used for holding the base fabric by wire or string grating, the wires or strings of which can be withdrawn from the interlaced loops on completion of the articles. The grating may be rectangular for forming a fabric resembling 4 — Chemical and. Finishing Processes that knitted on straight-bar machines, or circular when fabric resembling fabric knitted on a circular machine is desired. In forming the fabric upon a rectangular grating it is advantageous to link the various loops in one row from right to left and in the next row from left to right, firm selvedges being always formed in this way. In forming fabric resembling circular knitted fabric the interlacing of the horizontal rows of loops is effected in spiral form, so that in this way seamless stockings or other tubular goods can be manufactured. Fabrics resembling plain knitted fabrics in elasticity, softness, uniformity, fineness and transparency can be produced. C. Knitting Machine Yarn Changing and Splicing Mechanism. H. H. Holmes, A. H. Widdowson and Wildt & Co. Ltd. B.P.564,510 of 4/1 / 1943 : 2/10/1944. Yarn changing and splicing mechanism comprises, in combination, a number of movable yarn guides, one or more for a striping yarn or yarns, respectively, others for a main or ground yarn, and a splicing yarn, respectively, and means for automatically operating the guides interchangeably so that a striping yarn is supplied to a section of the needles while the main or ground yarn and the splicing yarn are substituted for the striping yarn and supplied to the remainder of the needles during a course or a succession of courses of knitting, periodically, and in the intervals the main or ground yarn only is supplied to the said section of the needles and both the main or ground yarn and the splicing yarn are supplied to the remainder of the needles. A knitted fabric is produced wherein there are, coursewise, adjoining sections, one consisting of horizontal striping effects composed of the main or ground yarn only with which are interspersed partial courses of a striping yarn, or yams, respectively, and the other consisting wholly of both main yarn and splicing yarn. The invention is applicable primarily to circular knitting machines, particularly to machines for knitting seamless hosiery. C. Nylon: Sizing. Lister & Co. Ltd., W. Garner, F. G. Holroyd, Allied Colloids (Bradford) Ltd., G. Langley and R. Gill. B.P.564,737 of 28/12/1942: 11/10/1944. Textile materials, composed of non-cellulose synthetic linear polymers such as nylon, in loose form, as a sliver, or as yam, or in inter­ mediate stages of processing or in other form are treated with a mixture of wax and oil in very fine aqueous dispersion with casein; after subjecting to cus­ tomary textile operations such as setting, weaving or knitting, they may then be scoured. The combined percentage of wax and oil on the sized yarn may be between 0-5 per cent, and 10 per cent., and the percentage of casein between 0-5 per cent, and 5 per cent. , The oil may consist of a light mineral oil and/or non-drying vegetable oil and/or a synthetic ester. The wax may be of hydrocarbon, vegetable or animal type. Antiseptics, emulsifying agents, anti-static compounds, fatty acids, colouring matter, antioxidants and insolubilising agents for the casein may also be included. If desired, petroleum jelly may be used alone instead of the mixture of oil and wax. A suitable scouring operation may consist of a treatment for 1 hour at 70° C. with 15 per cent, soap and 5 per cent, sodium carbonate, or alternatively 0-5 per cent, caustic soda, calculated on the weight of goods (liquor/material ratio 40:1). Woven or knitted fabrics may be set by steam blowing, decatising or calender­ ing after sizing but before scouring. Such pre-set material may be scoured and dyed in open width or rope form without the development of crease marks or other distortion of the fabric after drying. C. 4—CHEMICAL AND FINISHING PROCESSES (B)—B o i l i n g , S c o u r i n g , D e g u m m i n g a n d W a s h i n g Knit Rayon Outerwear Fabric: Processing. E. S. Dunlap. Textile W orld, 1944, 94, No. 6, 121. Practical hints are given on the scouring, dyeing and scrooping of rayon outerwear fabrics. For scouring, a bath containing 2 per cent, of soda ash and 1 per cent, of a synthetic detergent is recommended; the cloth is treated on a reel for about 25 minutes at 180-1900 F. If much oil is present, the addition of Na metaphosphate or pyrophosphate is advisable. Dyeing may be carried out in the same machine after rinsing. The “ Tube-Tex " machine is recommended for scrooping and water-repellent finishes. C. Nylon Fabrics: Processing. E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. Ravon Tex­ tile Monthly, 1944, 25, 325-327. Practical advice is given on (1) scouring, (2) dyeing (and stripping), (3) finishing and setting, and (4) cleaning of nylon fabrics or garments. (See also Section 3A, above.) C. 4 -—Chemical and f inishing Processes A5I7 Jute Incrustants: Relation to Fibre and Yarn Strength. B. P. Ridge, A. H. Little and J. Wharton. /. Textile Inst., 1944, 35, T93-116. When jute is treated with the chemicals employed in textile purification and bleaching pro­ cesses the lignin, hemicellulose and other incrusting substances are attacked and to some extent removed. Removal of substantially all the lignin with retention of hemicellulose, or of hemicellulose with retention of lignin, results m low wet strength although dry strength is but little affected. Treatments that result in the partial removal of both these incrustants usually reduce both dry and wet strength, although in hot alkaline steeps such as are given in peroxide bleaching, where fibre swelling can occur and there is no pronounced removal of incrustants, dry strength may be increased above the original value owing to the closer setting of fibre on fibre that occurs as a consequence of swelling and subsequent drying. Boiling under moderate pressure with sodium hydroxide solution removes substantially all the hemicellulose but little lignin, whilst treatment with acid chlorite solutions and then neutral sulphite liquor removes the lignin but not the hemicellulose. The incrustants in jute resemble 111 their behaviour the starch size on a low-twisted sized cotton yarn and whilst they themselves have little strength they contribute in marked manner to the strength of the jute by cementing together the ultimate cellulose fibre bundles on which the strength fundamentally depends. In oxidation treatments com­ monly employed in technical bleaching they appear to have a protective action on the cellulose. Alkaline hypochlorite has mainly an oxidising, and acid hypo­ chlorite a chlorinating action on jute, and use of the latter in conjunction with pressure boil with sodium hydroxide and a final oxidation bleach with alkaline hypochlorite promotes attack and removal of lignin and fairly readily allows pure white cellulose to be isolated. If the preliminary chlorinating treatment is not given, more drastic boiling at high pressure is necessary and more than one boil may be required. The characteristics of the jute cellulose are such as to suggest that the product can be used satisfactorily for the manufacture of viscose, cellulose compounds and white papers. The " browning” of bleached jute that occurs when this material is exposed to sunlight can be prevented only when the conditions of purification are such as to ensure that no lignin remains, and it appears that lignin itself is the product responsible for the browning effect. C.

(E)— D r y i n g a n d C onditioning “ Dryair ” Colloidal Silica Drying Elements. R. K. Dundas Ltd. Engineer, 1944, 178, 271. A brief note is given about elements for (1) storing with goods to keep them dry, (2) keeping the interior of petrol engine cylinders dry, or 5) for protecting gun barrels, that use colloidal silica as desiccating agent. This may be tinted blue (with cobalt chloride) so that approaching exhaustion is revealed by a change of colour to pink. One element is effective for a year in an ordinary storage place and may be revived by heating at 2000 C. for half an hour. C.

Drying Cylinder Condensate High-pressure Return System: Advantages. R. Lundrigan. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 7, 70-71. Brief particulars are given of some American finishing works in which the problem of providing steam for additional drying plant has been met by the installation of jet or centrifugal pumps and auxiliary gear for returning the condensate from the drying cylinders under high pressure to the boilers. With such plant it is possible to return the condensate from steam supplied at 100 lb. per sq. in. (338° F.) at 320° F., thus preventing the usual heavy heat loss if an open system is used to return water at about 210° F. C.

Staple Fibre: Spontaneous Inflammability. W. Speclit. Dent. Z. gerichtl. Med., 1942, 36, 174, 180 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 801 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3483s). Staple fibre containing 140-200 per cent, water repeatedly gave rise to fires in the drying apparatus. The temperature of the steam- heated dryers was as high as 150°. The fires are attributed to some staple fibre that adhered to the dryer outside the actual oven space. Experiments showed that staple fibre which has charred is extremely autoxidisable. Such charred staple fibre can readily ignite spontaneously under the catalytic action of rust. The possibility of spontaneous ignition by electrostatic charges is considered. C. 4— Chemical and finishing Processes

(G)—B l e a c h i n g Cotton Goods: Continuous Peroxide Bleaching. D. J. Campbell. Amer. Dyes. Rept., 1944, 33, 293-298. A continuous process for the bleaching of cotton goods consists of two basic steps each involving uniform impregnation of the cloth with its own weight of treating solution, heating to a predetermined reaction temperature in a chamber wherein the surfaces of the cloth are exposed to an atmosphere of conditioned steam, and storing or ageing the heated cloth without heat loss for a period of one hour. In the treatment of goods that do not contain dyed patterns, the first step is a treatment with caustic soda, usually a 3 per cent, solution. For fabrics containing dyed patterns the first step involves treatment with 0-5 to 1 • o (usually o • 5) volume hydrogen peroxide. For the second step a 0-5-1 o volume peroxide bath is used. The temperature of the cloth during storage should be 205-2 io° F. The pH of the impregnation baths should be controlled in the range 10-4-10-8, using sodium silicate as stabilizing and buffering agent. Preliminary singeing, desizing and mercerising treatments may be incorporated in the process. Suitable impreg­ nating apparatus and heating and storage chambers are briefly described. Operating speeds of up to 190 yards per minute have been reached. It is claimed that the steam consumption of this process is less than that of other bleaching processes, and that the total cost of chemicals used is lower than in any other method of peroxide bleaching and is well in line with the lowest figures for hypochlorite bleaching. C. Hydrogen Peroxide: Use as Antichlor. li. Walther. Wdscherci-Ber 1942, 10, 67-71 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1013-1014 and Chem. Abstr., 1944. 38, 3846s). Instead of sodium thiosulphate to counteract excess chlorine after bleaching, it is proposed to use hydrogen peroxide, which does not affect the copper washing drum and is more economical. Furthermore, the hydrogen peroxide has the advantage that on decomposition of chlorine lye, which often occurs, there remains a large excess of hydrogen peroxide after the anticlor action, and this acts as an after-bleach. Experiments with cotton and linen indicate that the fabrics are least affected by bleaching if hydrogen peroxide is used as antichlor. C.

(H)—M e r c e r i s i n g Mercerisation: History. W. Dohle. Textilberichte, 1943, 24, 430-434 (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38. 3483s). A discussion of the discovery of mercerisation, chemical phenomena, theoretical basis, physical changes of the fibre, deter­ mination of the degree of mercerisation and future outlook. C. (I)— D yeing Dead Cotton: Dyeing. Marcel Pagerie. Rayon Textile Monthly, 1944, 25. 286. The author discusses the origin of dead cotton and its effects in dyeing. A recommended dyeing procedure for covering dead cotton is: Prepare the dye-bath with wetting agent as usual. Start dyeing at 120° F. with all the required dye present. Raise to the boil during the next half an hour and keep at the boil for another half an hour. Shut off the steam and add the required amount of salt. Allow to cool. Suitable dyes are mentioned. C. Vat Dye Oxidising Agents: Selection. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, i 17 Recipes are given for vat dye oxidising baths containing (1) Na dichromate, (2) Na perborate, (3) hydrogen peroxide, (4) sodium chlorite and (5) ammonium persulphate. Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 5 are acidified with acetic acid and No. 4 has Na bicarbonate. No. 1 has the most rapid action and No. 5 the slowest; (1) is applied at i20-2i2°F„ but (5) at 8o° F. Formation of oxycellulose is deemed to be possible with all except No. 1 if control is not rigid. No. 1 can be varied over fairly wide ranges of temperature and concentration without much effect on the shade of the dyeing, but the other agents require closer control. All the agents give the same results with regard to the fastness of the dyeings, ii properly applied. Dichromate is much more difficult than the other agents to rinse out of the cloth. C. Wollstra and Staple Fibre-Cotton Mixtures: Dyeing. F. Richards. Kunstseide u. Zellwolle, 1942, 24, 614-616 (through Chem. Zentr.. 1943, i, 1220 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3479s). The treatment is similar to dyeing of part- woollen materials. Treatment before dyeing is accomplished in a hot bath with soap, Igepon T and Laventin KB. Size containing starch is treated with biolase. 4—6 hemical and Finishing Processes A 5 19

Aktivin or similar product. In the presence of paraffin, montan wax or tallow, the size may be removed with Asordin. Substantive dyes are sufficient for most dyeing operations. For greater fastness Indanthrene or Naphthol-AS combinations may be employed. For light and medium tints many indigo salts may be applied by the slop-padding process, giving beautiful uniform shades. Para dyes developed with Nitrazol CF give good shades on cotton and viscose. For light tints it is best to use unmercerised cotton. Dyeing at various tem­ peratures, with or without salt, is discussed. Indanthrene dyes are used on sensitive fabrics on the tension-free special jigger for rayon dyeing or drum. Improvement in uniformity of tint between cotton and rayon is obtained by slop-padding. Directions are given. Dyeing of dense fabrics is discussed. Naphthol AS-RR with mixtures of rayon and cotton penetrates deeper at highei temperatures than in the cold. C. Anthrasol Blue IBC: Piece Dyeing Difficulties. W. Mitfessel. Textilberichte, 1942, 23, 492-493 (through Brit. Chem. Physiol. Abstr., 1944, B II, 202-203). This dye is susceptible to oxidation and has a very low substantivity, par­ ticularly when used on spun rayon and delustred rayon and in the presence of residual nitrous acid. A corrective is 1 ■ 5-5 ■ o g./l. of Dekol applied on the jigger and/or added to the dyeing or developing bath. Irregular dyeing, pro­ ducing moire effects, sometimes results especially in the presence of copper compounds. Peregal O is frequently a satisfactory corrective for this, but may fail if decorative effect threads dyed with an indanthrene dye are present. In such cases the most effective method is to ensure thorough and uniform pene tration of the goods by the solution in the dye bath (special plant described). When dyeing foulards by the slop-pad method, high roll pressure and tensions should be avoided; the goods should hang as loosely as possible. C. Cellulose Fibres: Dyeing. — Hajo. Textilberichte, 1943, 24, 511-513 (through Brit. Chem. Physiol. Abstr., 1944, B II, 202). Factors affecting the uni­ formity of dyeing of cellulose fibres include variations in and too high a temperature in the dye bath, inadequate circulation of liquor in the bath, presence of fibre mixtures (e.g. under equal dyeing conditions Egyptian cotton acquires a stronger shade than American cotton), and inequalities pro­ duced in a pre-treatment process (e.g., bleaching, oiling, scouring, etc.) or in washing out the reagent after such treatment. In particular, hydrochloric acid formed from bleaching powder residues may attack the cellulose which then has a greater affinity for basic dyes and a lower affinity for direct dyes than has the normal fibre; oxycellulose behaves similarly. Mercerising may set up unequal tensions in the web which affect the uniformity of dyeing, and unequal distributions of dressings and of soap residues (e.g. precipitated by hard water or adsorbed on the fibre during too prolonged an interval between scouring and rinsing) act similarly. Imperfect fibres (e.g. “ dead ” cotton, or sulphur inclusions in viscose rayon) may produce patchy results, and a dyed cloth which appears satisfactory in one type of light may appear mottled in another. With cotton, the greater the fibre-dye affinity, the greater is the tendency to non-uniformity, and vice versa. C. Insoluble Azo Dyes: Fixation in a Single Operation. A. Wolff. Teintex, 1942, 7, 247-255 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1418 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3844s). A discussion, based on patents, of (1) mixtures of naphthazoles with stabilized and passive water-soluble diazo components that liberate the active diazo compound on the fibre and can be coupled with naphthazole, (2) mixtures of naphthazoles and water-soluble fast bases which when treated with an acid liberate the base on the fibre (the bases are diazotised by sodium nitrite con­ tained in the dye and couple with the naphthazole), (3) temporary solubilising of the dye and rendering it again insoluble on the fibre. C. Spun Rayon Fabrics: Dyeing. L. Bonnet. Monit. Maille, 1942, 52, No. 734. 10-11 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1108 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3844'). The goods should be carefully cleaned by the use of Igepon, Igepal or fatty alcohol sulphonates, bleached with weak hypochlorite solutions or hydrogen peroxide, and dyed with Indigosols, Anthrasols or Hydron blue with the simul­ taneous use of the wetting agents Peregal OK or Igepon T. Piece goods are dyed best with vat dyes on the padding machine according to the pigment process. Sulphur dyes are employed either as Immedial leuco dyes or with reduced Rongalite C. In all cases those dyes should be preferred which dye cotton and rayon staple equally well. C. A5 2 0 4— Chemical and Finishing Processes

Diphenylbenzene Derivative Substantive Azo Dyes: Production. C. F. H. Allen and F. P. Pingert. J. Org. Chem., 1944, 9, 50-54 (through Brit. Chem. Physiol. Abstr., 1944, B II, 199). Technical o-diphenylbenzene is transformed into the 4:4'-diamino derivative, which after tetrazotisation couples very slowly with 2 mols. of a naphthol unless the solution is strongly alkaline, thus facilitating the isolation of monoazo dyes which do not colour cotton but dye wool from an acid bath. Addition of the tetrazo solution to a strongly alkaline solution of 2 mols. of H-acid yields a substantive dye. w-Di-p-nitrophenyl- benzene is readily reduced (H„, Raney Ni) to the diamino derivative, which gives a substantive dye when tetrazotised and coupled with H-acid. p-Di-p- nitrophenylbenzene is slowly reduced in dioxan at no" and gives a substantive dye when tetrazotised and coupled with H-acid. It is suggested that a cross- conjugated system of multiple linkings and particle size contribute to substantivity. C. lndanthrone and Indigo: Structure. R. Gill and II. 1. Stoneliill. /. Soc. Dyers &• Col., 1944, 60, 183-186. It is suggested that indigo, indanthrone, and certain of their derivatives are resonance hybrids of a number of contributing forms, as is generally the case with dyes, and that the resultant structure is a hydrogen-bonded type. Indications are given of the differences between this structure and the quinonoid polar form previously advanced and of the advantages offered by the former both from the viewpoint of theoretical organic chemistry and in the interpretation of (1) the colour of indigo in various solvents, (2) the lack of pronounced colour change in the normal vatting of indanthrone and some of its derivatives, (3) the necessity for the reduction of only two of the four quinonoid oxygen atoms in the normal vatting of indan­ throne, (4) the absence of semiquinone formation in indanthrone, (5) abnor­ mally large differences between the standard redox potentials of the first and second leuco-compounds of indanthrone, and (6) the differences between indanthrone and its N-methyl derivative. C. Dyed Canvas: Resistance to Atmospheric Conditions. F. I. Sadov. Tekstil. Prom., 1944, 4, No. 1, 15-17 (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3845s). Variously treated samples of canvas were tested for resistance to light, to cold water, to washing in hot water, to perspiration, to rubbing and to atmospheric conditions. Insolation destroys cotton web rapidly. A fabric prepared for dyeing (sized and washed) lost 37-5 per cent, of its strength in 2 months and 41 per cent, in 4 months exposure. Fabrics dyed with direct dyes were some­ what more resistant to insolation than undyed fabrics. After-treatment with metal salts considerably increases this resistance. After-treatment with copper and chromium salts or with copper sulphate alone, greatly improves the light fastness as well as other properties of fabrics dyed with direct dyes. After- treatment with a waterproofing emulsion and aluminium acetate did not affect any of the other properties. Best results were obtained with a specimen dyed with (for 142 kg. of fabric): Direct Brown K 150, Direct Blue K 280, Direct Yellow Z 1440, sodium chloride 4000, sodium phosphate 2000 g. and water 200 1. After dyeing, the fabric was treated at 95-98° in potassium dichromate 2200, copper sulphate 2000 g., acetic acid (30 per cent.) 3 and water 150 1. After washing, the fabric was waterproofed and treated with a solution of aluminium acetate. C. Dyed Cotton: Light Fastness; Effect of />H. C. A. Seibert and C. A. Syl­ vester. Amer. Dyes. Rept., 1944, 33, 311-312. Tests were made on samples of cotton cloth which had been dyed with various types of dyes by the usual methods and given neutral, mild acid and mild alkaline finishing treatments. It was found that the light fastness of samples dyed with many direct, developed and sulphur dyes was definitely inferior when the cloth pH was 3-5 compared with the fastness at a cloth pH of about 7. Cotton coloured with azoic and vat dyes exhibited only minor differences under these conditions. At a pH between 8-5 and 9 5 the fastness of cotton dyed with direct and developed dyes was slightly superior or slightly inferior to that at or below pH 7 accord­ ing to the particular dye used. With variations in pH between 7 and 9-5, cotton dyed with azoic and sulphur dyes exhibited only minor differences in light fastness, except in the case of sulphur blacks which were consistently superior at the higher pH values. At the higher pH values, cotton dyed with vat dyes was outstandingly inferior to the cotton at or below pH 7. Retention by vat dyed cloth of a small quantity of a mildly alkaline soap was sufficient to 4—Chemical and Finishing Processes A521 reduce appreciably the light fastness of some of the dyes. Improvements could be effected, even after storing for some time, by rinsing in water containing a small quantity of acetic acid. A few experiments indicated that the presence of o ■ 5 per cent, of sodium chloride or acetate in the cloth did not influence the light fastness of the vat dyes. A convenient method for the determination of the pH of cloth is described and data are given showing the pH values of vat dyed cloth after rinsing, soap and other treatments. C. Vat Dyes and their Uses. E. Greenhalgli. Canadian Text. J., 1944, 61, No. 14, 35-36, No. 16, 38, 51. After a brief survey of the historical develop­ ment of the vat colours, the constitution and characteristics are described of the indigoid and Indanthrene types, and details given of their application to fabrics and yams, including a note on the pigment padding process. Stress is laid on the valuable fastness properties of the vat dyes. W. Theory of Dyeing. XII. Absorption by Wool of Acid Dyes with Different Numbers of Sulpho Groups. A. E. Porai-Koshits, E. A. Veller and N. V. Sokolova. J. Appl. Chem. (U.S.S.R.), 1943, 16, 28-35 (English summary) (through Chem. Abs.. 1944, 38, 3131). Three dyes (Acid Red Zh, Acid Red S and Acid Orange Light-stable) of similar structure, but varying in number and positions of the acid groups, were studied in respect to absorption on wool. Dyed in presence of sulphuric acid at pH 2-2 • 5, the same saturation limit of o-8 mg. equivs. per g. was found as in previous work (these Abs., 1940, A495) as the maximum amount of acid dyes chemically absorbable by wool. At pH 1-5, or less, a slight increase of absorption was found which may be due to partial hydrolysis of wool keratins. Greater absorption was noted for wool washed by organic solvents than for that washed only with ammonium car­ bonate. Dyeing in presence of hydrochloric acid showed somewhat higher absorption than in presence of sulphuric acid. W.

(J)— P r i n t i n g Luminescent Pigments: Application. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 91. Hints are given of the possible uses of fluorescent and phosphorescent pig ments, in suitable vehicles, for decorating textiles. These materials are now produced by the ton at about 0-90-2-50 dollars per lb., but more than 90 per cent, of the output is consumed for non-textile, military purposes. The fluorescent pigments are based on Zn and Cd sulphides, and the phosphorescenl ones on crystalline forms of Zn, Cd, Sr and Ca sulphides. Suitable vehicles are methacrylate and vinyl plastics. C. Luminescent Pigments: Application in Textiles. M. A. Heikkila. Rayon Textile Monthly, 1944, 25, 296, 345. A brief review is given of fluorescent and phosphorescent pigments and their probable post-war applications in coated and printed fabrics. A present major application is in phosphorescent adhesive tape which is used in all ships of 3,000 tons or more to supply direc­ tional markings in the event of power failure. C. Rayon Velvet: Printing. Rayon Textile Monthly, 1944, 25, 294-295. Prac­ tical hints are given on the preparation for and printing of rayon velvets, especially those with cellulose acetate pile. C. Cellulose Fabrics: Printing. A. Wolff. Temtex, 1942, 7, 284-285 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1108 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3845s). The use of the following is discussed: Indigosols and Rapidogens, insoluble azo dyes that can be developed and fixed with and without acid (Rapidogens, Rapid fast dyes and Rapidazols), and water-soluble dyes that are made insoluble in the fibre (Neocoton dyes, pigment dyes like Aridyes and Impralac). C. Lining Fabrics: Printing. Textile Recorder, 1944, 62, September, 63-67. A general description of singeing, bleaching, dyeing, printing and finishing for the production of lining fabrics. C. Rayon Fabrics: Printing. T. Fischer. Textilberichte, 1942, 23, 493-495 (through Brit. Chem. Physiol. Abstr., 1944, B II, 203). Special problems arising in the printing of rayon as distinct from cotton and spun rayon products are dealt with by the new types of German machines described. Pre-treatment is important (e.g. with lactic acid,.or glycerol); Ramasit in particular makes the web slightly water-repellent and gives very sharp printing effects. Glazing between rollers is also effective, but is apt to damage rayon goods if overdone. Synthetic rubber printing rollers have given excellent results. Paste formulae A 522 4— Chemical and Finishing Processes recommended contain Anthrasol Blue IBC 15, in the presence of sodium chlorate 2, tragacanth-starch 200, and ammonium metavanadate about 55 g.j 1.; or Rapidogen Blue B 15, in the presence of urea 25, caustic soda lye 25, ethyl alcohol 25 and tragacanth-starch 200 g./l. A 15-20 per cent, increase in pro­ duction is obtainable by the use of the automatic paste feed described. The solution is contained in a closed airtight reservoir, and the outlet from a pipe in the bottom dips below the level of the solution in the feeding trough; the latter level is thus automatically maintained constant. C.

(K)— F i n i s h i n g Plastic Coating Applying Machines: Types and Limitations. J. li. Cleave - land. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 3, 74-76; No. 5, 90-91; No. 6, 107, m ; No. 7, 81-85. An illustrated description is given of knife coating, knife spread­ ing, knife blanket, knife roller, reverse roller, extrusion and spraying types of machines for applying plastic coatings and precautions to be observed when using them are discussed. C. Superheated Water Systems: Application in Finishing Plant. P. I.. Geiringer. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 104-105. The author stresses the advantages of heating by superheated water, conveyed in relatively narrow pipes, for various operations in dyeing, printing, finishing, humidification, etc. Even the steam cylinders of a drying machine can be conveniently supplied from a local steam-raising unit fed by the superheated water. It is economical to set the boiler plant for about 400 lb. per sq. in. pressure, and 75-80 lb. back­ pressure, thus providing water at 310° F. or more. C. Cerex Resins: Properties and Uses. C. L. Jones. Modern Plastics, 1944, 21, No. 11, 83-84, 166, 168. The causes of the poor dimensional stability of thermoplastic resins are discussed and the advantages of Cerex resins are pointed out. The Cerex resins have heat distortion points (American Society for Testing Materials) ranging from 195 to 300° F., values that actually over­ lap similar figures for many thermosetting moulding compounds. Early developmental work has been confined to the X-214 brand which has a heat distortion point of approximately 225° F. Tables are given showing the thermal, mechanical and electrical characteristics of this resin and of poly­ styrene, and the results of treatment for 48 hours with boiling water of com- pression-moulded disks of general-purpose phenolic and urea resins, and Cerex formulation X-214. The mechanical properties of the Cerex resin are fully equivalent, if not superior, to those of polystyrene, and the dielectric strength is superior to those of the electrical grades of phenolic moulding compounds. The A.S.T.M. arc resistance is similar to that of polystyrene, in the neighbour­ hood of 70 sec. This new resin retains the chemical resistance of polystyrene, and moulded parts can be boiled in battery acid for a sustained period with no appreciable effect. It is soluble in aromatic and chlorinated hydrocarbons but insoluble in aliphatic hydrocarbons. War-time applications and projected post-war uses are indicated. Moulding of Cerex resins is briefly discussed. C. Softening Agents: Effect on Fabrics. S. Ueno. J. Soc. Chem. Ind. Japan, 1941, 44, Suppl. Binding 101-103 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1016 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3482°). Laurie, myristic, palm itic,. stearic and oleic acids and paraffins produced a stiffening instead of a softening effect. Peanut oil, fat acid esters, cholesterol, turpentine, eugenol, menthol, etc., showed slight softening effects. An excellent softener is cetyl ethyl ether, prepared from cetyl iodide and sodium ethylate. C. Starch Finishes: Characteristics. Rayon Textile Monthly, 1944, 25. 291-293. A broad review is given of the colloid properties of the common starches (gelatinization, retrogradation, viscosity, effects of salts) that govern their behaviour in finishing. C. Cotton Fabrics: Shrink Finishing. F. R. Redman. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 7, 91. A brief report is given about a shrink-proofing process in which the cloth is advanced along a conveyor in a rumpled, loose manner, is exposed to steam spray, and finally dried. Reports of laundering tests on knit cotton under-shirts are recorded. The unfinished cloth shrank about 14 per cent, in one wash and nearly 20 per cent, in 20 washes, but the values for the finished cloth were 3-4 and 6-5 per cent. The finished cloth reached fairly constant 4 — Chemical and Finishing Processes A 5 - 3 dimensions after very few washes. The U.S. Underwear Institute has appointed a committee to investigate the machine. C. Gelatin: Use in Finishing. H. J. Henk. Gelatine, Leitn, Klebstoffe, 1942, 10, 127-129 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1836 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3846’). A discussion of the use of gelatin as protective colloid in boiling out cotton, as dispersing agent for lime soap, as stabilizer for olein emulsifying agents and for hydrogen peroxide baths, as dyeing assistant, as reserve assistant for indigosols, as sizing medium, and for protecting wool during chlorination and against proteolytic damage. C. Seaweed Powder: Use for Sizing. P. Islent’ev. Tekstil. Prom., 1944, 4. No. 2/3, 15-18 (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3846®). Sodium alginate is suitable for sizing and finishing textiles and as a thickener for basic dyes. Because the cost of extraction is high, experiments were made on the use of finely ground, whole seaweed, containing moisture 13 -8, ash 27-4, water- insolubles at 40° 56-9 per cent.; the insoluble matter includes 26-8 per cent, of alginic acid. Details are given of a method of determining alginic acid. Na, K, NH,, Li and Mg alginate solutions are 10-12 times more viscous than similar concentrations of starch. Size is best prepared from powdered seaweed not less than 4 per cent., and sodium carbonate 20 per cent, of the weight of air-dry powder, by heating at 60-65° f°r 45~6° min. For sizing textiles pow­ dered seaweed can be used alone or mixed with corn, wheat or rye flour. C. Starch: Chemistry and Application. Textile Recorder. 1944, 61, Jan., 65-67, 56. In continuation of previous articles, the writer describes the processes of starch mangling, back-filling and drying, with particular reference to recipes and machines. C. Oilcloth: Development. F. J. Tuttle. Textile Research, 1944, 14, 228-232. A review of the development of oilcloth, including oiled silk, cotton and other fabrics, tarpaulins, floor coverings and American or leather cloth. C. Complex Organic Compounds in the Textile Industry. Dyer, 1943, 90, 127-128, 167-169, 201-203, 247-251, 277-279, 317-318, 359-360, 401-403, 441-443, 481-484; 1944, 91, 15-16, 97-99, 183-185, 202. The constitution, textile uses and evaluation are described of soaps (including those for special purposes, e.g. wool scouring and milling soaps, and solvent, ethanolamine and glycol soaps), non-detergent soaps (e.g. aluminium soaps for waterproofing, copper soaps for rotproofing and other metallic soaps for various purposes), sulphonated oils and sulphonated fatty alcohols, surface-active agents, quaternary ammonium compounds, dye levelling agents and emulsifying agents. The textile uses are also given of glue, casein, lecithin and other protein auxiliaries. The characteristics of certain surface-active agents and the constitution of wetting agents are discussed in detail. W.

(L)— P r o o f i n g Textile Materials: Waterproofing. E. Dutoit. Teintex, 1942, 7, 82-84 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1016 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3483"*). The material is impregnated at pH approximately 4-5 with a solution of animal or vegetable albumin, fixed by steaming or by brief treatment with hot water, and soaped hot at pH 7-5. The soap bath can be replaced by an emulsion of a higher fat acid; a mixture of oleic and stearic acids is most suitable. It is advantageous to add some wax to the fat acid emulsion. C. Fabrics: Waterproofing. L. Bonnet. Teintex, 1942, 7, 2S5-290 (through Cliem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1433 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 38472). A general dis­ cussion of the porous waterproofing finish of textiles. Protective layers on fibres are produced by double-bath treatments with aluminium acetate and soap or with alkaline alginates and by various single-bath treatments. The following new commercial products are discussed: Tylose, Apermine N (Fran- color), Ramasit I and K conc. (I. G.), Praedigen T (Boehme), and Waxol (I.C.I.). The fibre can be waterproofed by changing its surface, as by esterifica- tion and etherification. Applications of Velan PF and of Persistol (I. G.) are described. C. Ferrous Sulphate: Use in Waterproofing. O. A. Samsonova. Tekstil. Prom., 1944, 4, No. 1, 20-21 (thijpugh Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3846s). Waterproofing with ferrous sulphate requires an oxidation treatment. Oxidation has the dis­ advantage of causing a yellowing of the fabric, but it increases water resistance A524 4— Chemical and. Finishing Processes (Patents) and fastness to sunlight. Oxidation is best effected in a solution of potassium dichromate. If pure ferrous sulphate is used, the solution of dichromate is acidified with acetic acid. If the ferrous sulphate contains any ferric iron, sulphuric acid should be used in the oxidising solution. In this case the fabric must be thoroughly neutralised. Details of the process are given. C. Mercury: Determination in Mildew-proofed Textiles. D. A. Sliiraeff. Anier. Dyes. Rept., 1944, 33, 310 and 315. For the determination of mercury in tex­ tile materials which have been mildew-proofed with organo-mercuric com­ pounds, a sample (0-25 g.), shredded or cut into small pieces, is left in 20 c.c. of ether saturated with hydrochloric acid for 20-30 min. with occasional shaking, the ether is evaporated and 5 c.c. of chloroform and 10 c.c. of dis­ tilled water are added. The mixture is then titrated with a solution of dithizone in chloroform until the colour of the chloroform layer changes from orange to a slightly greenish dark brown. The dithizone solution is stan­ dardised by a similar titration with a mercuric chloride solution of known com­ position. The method is reliable and rapid. C.

P a t e n t s Polyvinyl Esters: Saponification. R. P. Roberts, E. B. Johnson and H. H. laylor. B.P.563,991 of 21/11/1941:7/9/1944. A process for the production of polyvinyl compounds containing hydroxyl groups comprises saponifying a. polyvinyl ester in a solution consisting of an alkali, a lower aliphatic alcohol, and water in amount 1-10 per cent, of the total weight of liquid, the amount of alkali being substantially less than is equivalent to the ester group to be dis­ placed. Products in which the final proportion of hydroxyl group to ester group is such as to impart to the compound a degree of solubility in water are particu­ larly valuable lor the manufacture of yams, fabrics, etc., which are soluble or dispersible in water. For this purpose the amount of water in the saponifica­ tion medium should be such as to give an ester content of 30 per cent, or lower, and preferably between 2 and 12 per cent. C. Tetrakisazo Dyes: Production. Society of Chemical Industry in Basle. B.P. 564,024 of 2/9/1942:11/9/1944 (Conv. 2/9/1941 and 17/7/1942). Tetra­ kisazo dyes are made by tetrazotising and coupling with 2 molecules of 1:3- dihydroxybenzene or 1-amino-3-hydroxybenzene, a diaminodisazo dye of given general formula. The diamino compound is advantageously prepared by coupling in an alkaline medium a diazo compound of the benzene or naphthalene series which contains in meta- or para-position to the diazo group a group capable of conversion into an amino group, e.g. a nitro group or an acidylamino group, and may also contain other substituents, with an amino- naphthalenesulphonic acid of given general formula, diazotising the resulting monoazo dye, coupling it with a so-called middle component of the naphthalene series and finally converting into an amino group the group in the initial com­ ponent capable of such conversion. The tetrakisazo dyes have a pronounced affinity for natural and regenerated cellulose fibres. The shades obtained vary from red-violet to grey-violet, dark brown and olive green. The shades are not substantially altered by after-treatment with formaldehyde, but may be altered to a greater extent when developed with diazotised ^-nitraniline. C. Shock-absorbing" or Cushioning Material: Production. Tister and Co. Ltd. and W. Garner. B.P.564,026 of 2/11/194.2:11/9/1944. A shock-absorbing or cushioning material comprises three or more textile fabrics held or secured in superposition and at least two layers of resiliently flexible elements respectively connecting adjacent fabrics by being woven into one of the latter and by being secured by adhesive to the other, these resiliently flexible elements providing “ legs ” between the adjacent fabrics which, due to their length, their substantial inclination, or approach to normality, to the surfaces of the fabrics and their resistance to collapse, are capable of holding the fabrics spaced apart at least o-i in. or, if external compression has been applied, of restoring them to such spacing apart when the compression is released. The material may be produced by securing together two or more pile fabrics by adhesive between the tips of the pile on one fabric and the backing of the next fibre. Alternatively two or more double pile fabrics may be superposed with the interposition of a laver of cloth secured by adhesive to the pile contiguous to«t on both sides. A layer of cloth is secured by adhesive to the exposed pile or piles of the outer fabric or iabrics of the composite structure. The resilient connecting elements may be dis­ 4— Chemical and Finishing Processes (Patents) A525 posed in groups or strips separated by gaps and a honeycomb structure may be produced. With mohair yarn connecting elements satisfactory results may be obtained with “ leg ” densities between 250 and 2,000 per square inch, and fabric spacings of o-i to 0-4 in. Materials made from various other types of fibres, e.g. wool, cotton, rayon, kapok, glass and asbestos, may be used. C. Plastic Bead Decorated Fabrics: Production. H. Freiberg. B.P.564,104 of 12/2/1943:13/9/1944. A process for the decoration of a fabric to simulate beadwork comprises applying a mixture of a heat-hardenable urea-formaldehyde resin, a hardener and, if desired, a pigment, the mixture being extruded in single drops on to the surface, and heating the material in an oven to about 120° F. so as to convert the composition to the hardened and insoluble condition. C. Differentially Dyed Fabrics: Production. Courtaulds Ltd., C. M. Whittaker, H. A. Thomas, C. C. Wilcock and C. P. Tattersfield. B.P.564,131 of 10/3/1943:14/9/1944. A process for the production of differential dyeing effects comprises impregnating the fabric with a solution or suspension of a non-volatile dye or of resin-forming compounds which are capable of altering the dyeing properties of the material of the fabric, and evaporating the liquid more rapidly from one portion of the fabric than elsewhere. With a dye, the two portions of the fabric are thereby differently coloured, and with resin- forming compounds, different colour effects are obtained on subsequently heating the fabric to effect condensation and then dyeing. If hot or cold air is blown on to one side of the impregnated fabric the two sides will or can be differently coloured. For the production of a differential effect on one side of the fabric, stencils, templates or other suitable means may be used for localising the evaporation. The resin-forming compounds may be cyanamide and form­ aldehyde, and the impregnating liquid may also contain an intensifier such as ammonium thiocyanate. C. Tetrakisazo Dyes: Production. Society of Chemical Industry in Basle. B.P. 564,258 of 2/9/1942:20/9/1944. Tetrakisazo dyes are made by tetrazotising a diamino-disazo dye of given general formula and coupling the tetrazotised dye with 2 mols of resorcinol or with 2 mols of i-amino-3-hydroxybenzene. 1'he parent diaminodisazo dye may advantageously be made by combining a diazotised aminoazo dye of the general formula (•^NiN -R.-N H ,, in which I stands for a nitro group or an acidylamino group, in an alkaline medium with an aminohydroxynaphthalene sulphonic acid, and then converting the nitro group or acidyl amino group in the resulting dye into an amino group by reduction or saponification. The tetrakisazo dyes have a pronounced affinity for natural and regenerated cellulose fibres. The shades obtained vary from red or red-violet to dark blue-green, olive green, black and brown. The shades are not substantially altered by after-treatment with formaldehyde, but may be altered to a greater extent by development with diazotised ^-nitraniline. C. Textile Fabric Petrol Tanks: Production. Courtaulds Ltd., C. Diamond and A. Hill. B.P.564,265 of 4/1/1943:20/9/1944. Receptacles for organic liquids, and in particular petrol tanks, can be manufactured by completely forming the receptacle from a composition consisting of a cellulose ester, e.g. cellulose acetate, together with a plasticiser, and then saponifying the inside surface of the receptable to such a degree that the walls of the receptacle are capable both 0! resisting swelling and also removal of the plasticiser therefrom when in contact with the organic liquid. The cellulose ester sheet may have a backing of fabric, e.g. of cotton, rayon, or wire, and/or may be surrounded with self-sealing layers of bullet-proofing materials. C. Wetting Agent: Preparation. A. E. Everest, J. A. Wall work and M. Briscoe. B.P.564,359 of 18/1/1943:25/9/1944. A wetting agent, which is a clear liquid miscible with mineral oils, is prepared by treating a mixture of one or more cyclo-aliphatic amine salts of sulphonated or sulpha ted aliphatic primary, secondary or tertiary alcohols containing at least 8C atoms, the corresponding cyclo-aliphatic amine sulphate, and one or more organic solvents in which the salts are soluble, with an inorganic salt, e.g. common salt, if necessary with the addition of water, and separating the clear oily layer. The salts are prefer­ ably the cyclo-aliphatic amine salts of sulphonated or siilphated lauryl alcohol. Such compositions are suitable for use either as such or when mixed with a mineral or coal tar oil for wetting out and penetrating with oil materials A526 4— Chemical and Finishing Processes (Patents) saturated with water, such as wet paper, leather, textile fibres, pigments, lakes, mineral and vegetable matter, and increasing the spreading power of oil on water or wet surfaces. C. Laminated Fabric: Production. British Celanese Ltd. B.P.564,364 of 24/2/1943:25/9/1944 (Conv. 25/2/1942). In a laminated fabric comprising an assembly of three fabric layers bonded together face to face by means of a thermoplastic film-forming material contained in at least one of them, the inner layer of the assembly is a thermoplastic fabric coated on one face with a thermo­ plastic film and both outer fabric layers of the assembly have a water-repellent coating. Preferably, the two outer fabric layers are provided by a single sheet of fabric folded to enclose the inner layer of fabric. Preferably, the outer fabric is made wholly or in part of yams of a thermoplastic material such as cellulose acetate or other organic derivative of cellulose. Laminated fabrics of the type described are suitable for sweat-bands for hats. C. Factice and Gelled Rape Oil: Application in Waterproofing. loco Rubber & Waterproofing Co. Ltd., A. Ryan and G. Cameron. B .P .564,422 of 1/3/1943:27/9/1944. A method of waterproofing fabrics comprises applying thereto a composition consisting essentially of a mixture of gelled rape oil and white factice, and hot curing. The method is equally applicable to the pro­ duction of single-proof or double-proof fabrics. The fabric may be given a pre­ liminary coating to promote adhesion of the main coat and to prevent “ striking” through open texture fabrics. A sticking coat may be applied to promote adhesion when the fabric is doubled in the production of double-proof fabrics. For single-proof fabrics, the sticking coat is omitted and the fabric given any desired surface finishing treatment. The main coat is preferably pre­ pared from a mixture of gelled rape oil, white factice, stearine pitch, whiting, zinc oxide, sulphur and an accelerator (tetra-ethylthiuram disulphide), the mix­ ture being worked into spreading consistency with naphtha. The preliminary coat is preferably prepared from a mixture of gelled rape oil, white factice, zinc oxide, sulphur and accelerator, the mixture being worked into spreading con­ sistency with naphtha. The sticking coat is preferably prepared from a mix­ ture of gelled rape oil, dark factice, stearine pitch, bitumen “ A ” (asphaltic bitumen), china clay, vegetable black, zinc oxide, sulphur, accelerator (zinc, iso'jvopyl xanthate) and stearic acid, the mixture being worked into spreading consistency with naphtha. C. Printing Blanket Washing Apparatus. A. Abbey (Dewey and Almy Chemical Co., Cambridge, U.S.A.). B.P.564,565 of 28/7/1943:3/ 10/1944. A process of removing colour from the surface of a textile printing blanket in a printing machine having two blanket washing stations separated by the outward run of the blanket includes the steps of mechanically transferring a part of the soft colour to a metallic surface, breaking up the film of colour adhering to the blanket by wet-brushing the film, flooding the remaining colour with a swelling agent and diluent, maintaining the diluent in contact with the colour and blanket during the outward run of the blanket, and finally removing both diluent and colour from the blanket before it is dried. The machine is pro­ vided with blanket washing and colour diluting means located adjacent to the printing machine comprising a colour transfer roll which contacts with and removes colour from the blanket surface, means for removing colour from the transfer roll, brushing means capable of scrubbing the blanket surface, and means for supplying and maintaining a sheet of water on the blanket during its outward run to the second washing station. C. Printing Backing Surface Protective Coating: Application. A. Abbey (Dewey and Alm y Chemical Co., Cambridge, U .S.A.). B .P .564,566 of 28/7/1943:3/10/1944. In a backing-surface printing process for printing on fabric, porous paper or other porous web, there is applied to the supporting surface (impression surface), which may be a flexible blanket or draw sheet, a temporary continuous coating which receives the surplus ink passing through the fabric or porous web, and which coating is removed periodically and immediately replaced by a fresh coating. Ordinarily, but not necessarily, the "oating is replaced after each impression. The coating composition is a material which can be applied in liquid or plastic form to the supporting surface, which will dry or harden quickly, and which will form a continuous surface so that surplus ink will not penetrate to the supporting surface and which material can 5— Analysis, Testing, Grading and Dejects A5 2 7 be removed easily after printing. The coating composition may, for example, be an aqueous suspension of bentonite and a rubber-loading or paper coating clay, or a mixture of ammonium alginate, whiting and water. C. Textile Materials: Fire-proofing. Geigy Colour Co. Ltd. and C. Hobday. B.P.564,573 of 13/8/1942:4/10/1944. Flame-damping and fire-proof pro­ perties are imparted to textile materials by treating them with a solution of a water-insoluble condensation product made by reacting, in the presence of an alcohol, a nitrogen compound containing a five- or six-membered heterocyclic ring in which the grouping — N :C.NHX (where X is H or NH2 and the atoms connected by the double bond form part of the heterocyclic ring) is present at least twice with an aldehyde, especially formaldehyde, or a substance liberating an aldehyde, and containing at least an equal weight of non-inflammable plasticizer and then heating. The material may be treated by dipping, steep­ ing, soaking or padding and may afterwards be squeezed and dried before heating. The water-insoluble condensation product may be one obtained by heating melamine or a guanazole with formaldehyde or with a substance yield­ ing formaldehyde in ethyl alcohol. Other five-membered or six-membered heterocyclic nitrogen-containing compounds of the character indicated, such as cyanuric trihydrazide, may be used. Suitable non-inflammable plasticizers are organic esters of phosphoric acid, especially chlorinated alkyl esters of phos­ phoric acid. The final properties of the materials can be varied by varying the relative proportions of the components and/or the duration and temperature of the heating treatment. The fire-proofing and fire-proof properties show a high standard of resistance to water. C. Cellulose Materials: Parchmentisation and Vulcanisation. Tootal Broadhurst Lee Co. Ltd. and W. H. Roscoe. B.P.564,583 of 10/12/1942:4/10/1944. Cellulose materials, such as fibres, yarns, films, sheets, scoured sawdust, wood pulp or macerated paper are treated with sulphuric acid of parchmentising strength without substantial solution of the cellulose after a preparatory treat­ ment with sulphuric acid of less than parchmentising strength. By subsequent pressing and drying the treated materials may be formed into a homogeneous mass valuable for its hardness, lightness and electrical insulation properties, and capable of being moulded under heat and pressure. C. 5—ANALYSIS, TESTING, GRADING AND DEFECTS (A)— F i b r e s Cotton Fibre: Spinning Quality Tests. A. C. Walters. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 7, 58-59, 164-166. A brief review of American methods of testing cotton staple (Suter-Webb duplex sorter, Hertel fibrograph), fibre strength (Pressley and Chandler methods), fineness (weight per unit length), cross-sections and convolutions (microscope) and alignment of micelles (X-ray angle). C. Fibres: Molecular Structure. C. S. Venable. Textile Research, 1944, 14, 179-182. The molecular structures of silk, wool, nylon, Vinyon, cellulose and cellulose derivative fibres are briefly described and discussed in relation to the properties and uses of the fibres. C. Fe-Ce .and Nylon Fibres: Characteristics.

Textile Fibres: Damage by Light. J. Salquain. Teintex, 1942, 7, 275-281, 303-307 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1233, and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3482’ ). The effect of natural and artificial light on fibres and the humidity factor are discussed. Exposure of cotton to ultra-violet light alters the fluorescence, and increases the alkali-solubility and the absorption power for Fast Red Salt NB and Variamin Blue B. The formation of carboxyl groups and increase in reduc­ tion power are shown by the copper number and other tests. The chemical changes are accompanied by a weakening of the fibres. The hydrogen peroxide formed by solar rays oxidizes alcohol and aldehyde groups of cellulose to carboxyl groups and causes the formation of oxycellulose. Probably a splitting of the glucopyranose groups of the cellulose chain takes place. Wool is attacked at the S —S linkages of cystine and sulphur is split off; a thio-alcohol is produced as well as the easily decomposed sulphonic acid, which is converted to several intermediate products and finally to sulphuric acid. Reactions of the basic groups and the increase of the ammonia nitrogen and the amine groups are dis­ cussed. The hydrolytic decomposition of wool is shown by its increased alkali and water solubility and lower strength and elongation. Even the wool of the living animal is damaged by the sun. Damaging effects are shown by certain unreduced vat dyes, such as Indanthrene Gold Orange 3G, and naphthol dyes, such as Naphthol AS-G. Complex oxidation reactions are responsible in which the dyes are reduced. Vat dyes that undergo this reaction are Cibanon Orange R, Indanthrene Brilliant Orange 3G, and others. Oxides of iron, titanium and zinc act as catalysts. Fibre-weakening dyes should be avoided and finished fabrics should be protected with yellow or green light filters. Naphthols and amines protect by combining with oxygen. Wool can be protected by chroming. Fibres damaged by bleaching or alkali are damaged by sun more readily than those that have not been weakened chemically. C.

Yucca, Noiina, Agave and Sotol Fibre: Strength. C. W. Botkin, L. B. Shires and E. C. Smith. New Mexico Agr. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull., 300, 1943, 38 pp. (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 34807). Yucca glauca, Y . elata and noiina are sufficiently abundant in New Mexico and yield enough fibre to serve as a possible source of hard fibre to replace imported jute and hemp. No significant difference in strength of fibre was found between air-dried and green plants. Bacterial retting was effective on either green or dry leaves; inoculations were necessary for the best decomposition of the dry leaf. Retting of noiina was unsatisfactory but autoclaving at 15 lb. for 80 min. with 2 per cent, soda ash freed the fibre. The average breaking lengths were, respectively, 47, 44 • 7 and 32-2 km. The two Yucca fibres are thus equal to hemp in strength, and noiina is equal to sisal, jute, sansevieria and raw silk. On drying for 28 days in a well-ventilated room the leaves lost, respectively, 48-4, 54-1 and 41-2 per cent, moisture. They contained 42-3, 43-0 and 48 • 5 per cent, crude fibre, 4-86, 5 16 and 3-22 per cent, ash, and 5 -57, 6-50 and 4-30 per cent, protein. Similar data are presented for the stems of these plants and for Y . baccata, Y . macrocarpa, Agave lechuguilla and Sotol. C. American Upland Cotton: Staple Length. J. H. Moore. J. Amer. Soc. Agron., 1943, 35, 491-498 (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1943, 89, 662-663). Measurements of combed staple length on the cotton seed and commercial staple length of 325 samples from representative cotton varieties grown on North Carolina farms for two seasons indicated a correlation coefficient of 0-89 between the two measures of fibre length. Since combed staple length on the seed can be measured by relatively inexperienced help, that method should be used wherever possible. C. 5— Analysis, Testing, Grading and Defects A520

Textile Fibres: Density. J. W. Illingworth. Textile Recorder, 1944, 62, August, 60-65; September, 57-61, 67. A useful review is given of modern work by Davidson, Speakman and others. C. Wool Off-sorts: Percentage, Shrinkage and Value. E. M. Pohle and H. R. Keller. Sheep and Goat Raiser, 1944, 24, No. 10, pp. 12-13. Range wool, representing the 1943 clip produced by the Rambouillet, Targhee, Corriedale and Columbia breeds at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station and Western Sheep Breeding Laboratory, Dubois, Idaho, was graded, and sorted into a main sort and a number of off-sorts (burry, paint, low and stained, crutchings, tags and sweepings). All lots were sorted and scoured by a commercial scourer. A table shows the percentage of each sort in each grade, and also the shrinkage and the Boston grease wool value. W. White New Zealand and Angora Rabbits: Coat Variations. T. M. P. Hardy and M. H. Markley. /. Heredity, 1944, 35, 183-192. Homozygous short- haired, heterozygous short-haired (carrier), and the undesirable long-haired ("woolly”) pelts of the domesticated white New Zealand rabbit were examined microscopically and compared with the Angora rabbit pelt. The hair of the Angora rabbit was of lesser diameter and of greater length. In length, number of medullary cells, cross-sectional diameter, and ratio of guard hairs to under-fur, the hair of the carrier type pelt occupied a position inter­ mediate to the short- and long-haired coats. The greatest difference between the normal and hybrid short coats of the New Zealand rabbit was in the cross- sectional diameters of the guard hairs at the zone above the skin where the fibre attains its maximum diameter, and it is planned to use this measurement as a basis for future studies. W. Cuticular Scales of Hair: Staining. J. Davidson and W. D. Taylor. /. Quekett Microscopical Club, 1943, Series 4, I, 289-293. A staining method to show the cuticular scale pattern of animal fibres is described. The air is first driven out of the fibres by cutting and placing in distilled water in a vacuum embedding oven. Staining is also done in a vacuum oven, using dilute Carbol Fuchsin in distilled water. W. (B)—Y a r n s Sheeting Yarns: Effect of Acid on Breaking Strength. C. E. Morrill. Amer. Dyes. Rept., 1944, 33, 320-321. Tests were made on a bleached sheeting with 21 • 97s warp and 21 ■ 85s weft yarns. Squares were immersed in acid solutions of concentrations varying from o-o 1 per cent, to 0-03 per cent. c.p. sulphuric acid and changes in the breaking strengths of single warp and weft yams were determined with an Incline Plane Serigraph Model I-P-2. The data are tabulated and curves are given showing average changes in strength of warp and weft yams against acid concentration. The results indicate that the acid had approximately the same tendering action on both warp and weft threads in the same piece of cloth. C. Yarns: Acoustic Determination of Modulus of Elasticity. J. W. Ballou and S. Silverman (E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co.). Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 7, 99; Rayon Textile Monthly, 1944, 25, 282. Brief reference is made to a method of determining the elastic modulus of yam from its sound transmission. The yam is held taut with one end held by a weight over a pulley and the other support­ ing a horizontal bar of steel about 8 ins. long. The bar is excited by a radio-tube audio oscillator and vibrates at the io-kilocycle frequency, emitting a. very high note. The yarn is thus set in vibration like a violin string and the wave-length is accurately measured by a sliding crystal. The velocity of the sound is calcu­ lated from the wave-length and frequency, and the density of the fibre substance is then introduced into the calculation to give the modulus of elasticity. The values obtained are two or three times greater than those given by slow loading or static tests. C. The Control of Counts. “ Questor.” Wool Rec., 1944, 66, 31S, 360, 403, 447, 489, 532. The application is considered of accepted methods of quality con­ trol to woollen and worsted spinning, the maintenance of a steady average count, the location and assessment of sources of variation in yarns, and the accumulation of data regarding the variability of the product as a whole being discussed. Certain conditions necessary to the proper functioning of quality control are outlined, viz., the isolation of irrelevant variables due respectively A53° 5— Analysis, Testing, Grading and Defects to the regain factor and to the length unit of measurement, the deliberate selection of samples in order to achieve either true randomness or an accepted bias, the choice of suitable " control points,” etc. Particular problems relating to the woollen and worsted processes are indicated, and it is shown how the use of quality control methods can increase the scope and the responsibility of the testing department. The final article discusses the research value of treat­ ing routine test methods b y statistical means, and suggests the large part th at an adoption of quality control methods might play in the future technical progress of wool spinning. W.

(C)— F a b r i c s Hosiery Abrasion Testing Machines: Comparison. Margaret B. Hays and Dorothy C. Caudill. Textile Research, 1944, 14, 183-187. Tests were made on two constructions of Sea Island cotton hose (A) from 90s / 2 yarns reinforced with a second 90s/2 yarn in the heel, sole and toe; (B) from 120s/2 yarns reinforced through the heel, sole and toe with an additional end of 90s/2 yarn. In the first testing machine cut toe and heel portions were mounted on a circular holder which revolved 60-70 times per minute beneath two fine abrading wheels which exerted a normal pressure of 500 gm. The counter reading was recorded when a hole was worn through in a section. In the other testing device the hose were placed on leg forms arranged so that the parts to be tested came into con­ tact with cylinders around which strips of duck material were wound. The pressure against the cylinder on the toe was 485 gm. and the heel pressure 735 gm. The cylinders oscillated 40 cycles per minute. The results of tests on the toe and heel portions of 25 hose with the first machine and 50 hose with the second, and also of tests of high heel portions on the second machine are tabulated and dis­ cussed. Both machines showed that Construction A was more resistant to abrasion than Construction B and that no significant difference existed between the resistance to abrasion of the toe and heel. More cycles were required to produce a hole with the second machine than with the first. The random sampling error was less with the first machine than with the second. The first method required half as many test hose (but twice as many determinations) as the second. The second method required more time per hose, both as elapsed time and as operator time. C. Fabric: Determination of Air-permeability. S. G. Popov and S. P. Palazov. Izmeritelnaya Tekh., 1941, 3, No. 5, 27-32 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1345 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3482s). Devices suitable for determinations of the air-permeability of fabrics and formulae that can be used for evaluating the results are discussed. C. Fabrics; State of Tension in — . W. Weltzien. Monatsh. Seide Kunstseide, ' 939- 44' 429-43°; Mitt. Textilforsch-Ansta.lt Krefeld, 1939, 15, 80-81 ; 1941, 17, 7-11, 14-16 (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3482s). The results of various physical tests on silk, rayon, staple fibre, mercerised cotton, etc., are discussed. C. Quality Control Charts: Application in Textile Mills. A. G. Ashcroft. Textile World, 1943, 93, No. 12, 69-71. A general account is given of the utility of Quality Control Charts as an aid to manufacturers working to the strict requirements of American service specifications. The following examples are reproduced. (1) Control of weight, strength, and yarns per inch of Army blanket; (2) The same for hard-texture duck; (3) Record of the porosity of cotton duck. C. Salt Spray Test Cabinet: Fog Calibration. V. M. Darsey. A.S.T.M. Bull., 1944, No. 128, 31-34. The salt spray test is a method of producing accelerated corrosion of articles placed in a finely divided dense wet fog produced and main­ tained by atomizing a 20 per cent, solution of sodium chloride with air inside a cabinet at 92-97° F. The deficiencies of the methods used for calibrating the fog inside a salt spray cabinet are pointed out. A report is given of investiga­ tions of the humidity produced by atomizing salt solutions of different con­ centration inside a. test cabinet, and of the relationship between the humidity and the sodium chloride content of the fog. A method of calibrating the fog is suggested which depends on collecting a solution of fog in the cabinet and deter­ mining its salt concentration. A daily operating record of a large salt spray cabinet is presented. Various important factors in salt spray testing are considered. C. 5 —Analysis, Testing, Grading and Defects A5 3 I American Cotton Dress Fabrics: Quality, X942 and 1943. P. E. Keeney. Missouri Sta. Res. Bui. 375, 1943, 19 pp. (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1944, 90, 281-282). The fabrics for this study included percale prints, gingham, cham- bray, seersucker, light weight muslins, lawns and dimities, and were purchased irom local stores in two groups, including 68 fabrics purchased in the spring of 1942 and 42 in February, 1943. Prices ranged from 19 to 79 ct. in 1942 and. from 23 to 79 ct. in 1943, averaging 37 and 45 ct., respectively. Chambrays, ginghams and lawns were higher priced in 1943. Lower thread count, more sizing, greater fabric strength (due to larger and stronger yarns), and little difference in shrinkage were observed in the 1943 purchases as compared with those for 1942. The majority of the fabrics purchased exceeded 2 per cent, shrinkage in both warp and weft. Most of the fabrics showed little loss of colour by crocking; only 12 per cent, of those purchased in 1942 and none in 1943 showed loss of colour by bleeding; 70 per cent, of the 1942 purchase and 64 per cent, of the 1943 purchase showed loss of colour in laundering; approxi­ mately 27 and 57 per cent, of these two groups, respectively, failed to show joss of colour after 40 hours’ exposure in the Fade-Ometer. In all tests for colour fastness the percale prints showed the greatest tendency toward loss of colour. Rose, green, tan and blue showed the least colour permanency. Tests of house dresses are also noted. C. American Drapery Fabrics: Quality, 1942 and 1943. P. E. Keene}'. Missouri Sta. Res. Bui. 374, 1943, 18 pp. (through Exp. Sta. Rec., 1944, 90, 282). The draperies studied were purchased at three stores (in Missouri) in two groups consisting, respectively, of 40 fabrics of varied textures, colours, designs and prices purchased in June, 1942, and representing goods of pre-war fabrication, and 24 fabrics purchased in February, 1943. In both groups the majority of the iabrics were of cotton; the few containing rayon or linen were considerably more expensive than the cotton. Widths varied from 35 to 53 in., the majority 170 per cent.) being 48 in. wide. Weight per sq. yd. varied from 3 2 to 10-3 oz., with a range of from 5-0 to 7-7 oz. for the majority of fabrics. Very little relationship existed between the weight of the fabric and its construction and durability due to wide variation in strength and structure of the yarns, and price was no indication of durability. Fabrics purchased in 1943 had lower thread counts, without the expected decrease in strength, than those obtained in 1942. Greater shrinkage in laundering and dry cleaning was apparent, how­ ever, in fabrics purchased in 1943. The few labels pertaining to shrinkage that appeared on fabrics were found to be dependable. The label information per­ taining to colour fastness was not very reliable, however, according to the results obtained in colour fastness tests. Of the fabrics purchased in 1942, 19 showed no loss of colour after 80 hours of exposure in the Fade-Ometer, as compared with 5 fabrics purchased in 1943. C. American Service Clothing: Physiological Testing. Textile Research, 1944, 14, 222-227. In physiological testing, as practised by the American Quarter­ master Corps, climatic conditions representative of the area for which the gar­ ment is designed are selected and reproduced. Garments for arctic use are tested at temperatures down to — 400 F., with or without wind, and those for tropical use at 85° F. and 85 per cent. R.H. Rain or snow may be added. Measurements are made of skin temperatures, sweat rates and Clo values, the Clo being the amount of insulation provided by a suit which affords comfort, at least to the average American, at 70° F. when he is inactive in still air. Investigations have shown that gloves or mittens constructed of materials known at present cannot keep the hands of inactive persons adequately warm at temperatures much below freezing. Increases in thickness are accompanied by disproportionate increases in radiating surfaces and by losses in dexterity. Wool pile fabrics half an inch thick are suitable for cold weather clothing. As a result of tests of clothing for tropical climates, preferences have been expressed for poplin. Lighter weight and thinner textiles impose less heat stress as measured by the sweat rate, and close, tight weaves materially reduce mos­ quito bites. Investigations of garments intended for protection against rain have resulted in the development of a garment made from coated Nylon. C. Clothing Fabrics: Functional Characteristics. G. F. Doriot. Textile Research, 1944, 14, 217-219. A report of an address. It is suggested that the textile and clothing industries should encourage young men to embark early on a career of training, and to specialise in a particular phase. Army experience A532 5— Analysis, Testing, Grading and Defects of discomfort in the wear of clothing impermeable or permeable to vapour and of a pattern of wear which is associated with some physical property only doubtfully represented by tensile and tearing strength is discussed, and it is suggested that the industry could profitably have applied its scientific ability to such problems and to the study of the durability, functional characteristics and performance required by the consumer. C. Textile Fabrics: Warmth. J. W. Illingworth. Textile Recorder, 1944, 61, March, 56-59; April, 55-60; 62, June, 60-64; July. 67-70, 73. The thermal pro­ perties of clothing fabrics are reviewed in the light of modern research, under the headings (1) physiological aspects, (2) body temperature, (3) desirable attri­ butes of clothing, (4) the importance of entrapped air in clothing, (5) the Kata thermometer, (6) constant temperature methods of test, (7) effects of cloth thickness and density, weave, multiplicity of layers and closeness of fit, (8) effects of air movement and humidity, (9) effect of washing and finishing, (10) sur­ face emissivity, (11) moisture content and cold feel, (12) moisture permeability, (13) thermostatic effect of moisture, (14) comparisons of various fibres, (15) pro­ tection from sunburn, (16) all-wool and part-wool blankets, (17) part-wool clothing, (18) asbestos and glass fibres, and (19) protection from exposure. C. Sampling Plan for Wool Textiles. Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot. Text. World, 1944, 94, No. 5, 88-89. The plan is designed to measure, in addition to width and length, the following attributes observed by visual inspection and not by laboratory tests: (a) shade, from side to side, or from end to end; (b) shivy material; (c) slubby material; (d) holes; (e) coarse yarn. A rejected piece of material is defined as being more than 1% per cent, defective. The sampling plan, which is a double one, is a compromise between an average out-going quality level and lot-by-lot acceptance, and is a 10 per cent, consumer risk. Tables show the classification of fabrics into 3 groups (purpose for which used, cost, and urgency of the need), and the corresponding sampling required. W7.

(D)—O t h e r M a t e r i a l s Textile Preservatives: Testing. H. J. Bunker. Proc. Soc. Agr. Bacteri­ ologists, 1943, 9-12 (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3483s). Pieces of fabric are treated with preservatives, then fixed on aluminium frames and buried vertically in a typical light garden soil, kept at 30° and 20 per cent, water con­ tent. They are tested weekly for strength by attempting to tear them by hand. C. Vinyl Chloride-Acetate Non-rigid Resin Compounds: Stiffness and Brittle­ ness. R. F. Clash, Jr., and R. M. Berg. Modern Plastics, 1944, 21, No. 11, 119-124, 160. The cantilever beam test for the determination of the stiffness in flexure of non-rigid plastics (A.S.T.M. D747) and a torsion test (" Flex Test ” ) for stiffness are discussed. Data are presented showing agreement between results obtained by the two methods for compounds containing 25-45 per cent, dioctyl phthalate in vinyl chloride-acetate resin VYNW at temperatures in the range — 56-7° C. to 250 C. An apparatus for testing brittleness which conforms to the requirements of A.S.T.M. D746 is also described. Results are expressed as brittleness temperature, i.e. the lowest temperature of non-failure of five con­ secutive test specimens of a given material when struck by a moving arm under specified conditions. Results of stiffness and brittleness tests on three series of plasticized compounds based on vinyl chloride-acetate resin VYNW and a range of concentrations of tricresyl phosphate, dioctyl phthalate, and trioctyl phosphate plasticizers, respectively, are discussed. Inverted " S ’’-shaped families of curves are obtained representing the log stiffness-temperature function for these plasticizers in the concentration range 25-45 per cent. Plasticizer addition above 25 per cent, appears only to translate the curves toward lower temperatures. The brittleness contour superposed on the stiffness curves shows that impact failure is not simply related to stiffness but includes other factors, among them plasticizer type and concentration. The three plasticizers have the same sort of effect 011 both properties but to widely different degrees. The curve showing stiffness at 25° C. as a function of dioctyl phthalate concentration also has a characteristic inverted “S” shape. C. Drop Ball Impact Testing Machine: Application to Plastics. G. I.ubin and R. R. Winans. A.S.T.M. Bull., 1944, No. 128, 13-18. The Izod-type pendulum machine is not suitable for determining the shock resistance or impact strength of plastics, and a drop ball impact machine is described and shown in photo­ 7 — Laundering and Dry-Cleaning A533 graphs. Izod specimens with the notch milled in on the face are used. The single-blow test consists of dropping hardened steel balls by means of a special electro-magnet on to the specimen supported in a vice. The height of drop can be varied. For multi-blow impact fatigue tests an arrangement is pro­ vided for delivering a ball every 4 to 10 sec. to the magnet. An automatic cut-off stops the machine when the sample is broken or cracked. Three methods of testing are described. Results obtained in tests 011 laminated phenolic, moulded phenolic and thermoplastic materials are presented in tables and graphs, and are compared with results obtained with the Izod pendulum machine. Photomicrographs showing types of fractures are given. C.

P a t e n t Quality Control Calculating Device. Belling & Lee I.td. and C. W. Heath. B .P .564,520 of 4/3/1943:2/10/1944. A calculating device for performing industrial quality control calculations comprises a base bearing a calibrated cir­ cular or part-circular scale, a disc or part of a disc rotatable about the centre of the scale and bearing a zero datum line or equivalent marking disposed adjacent the scale to co-operate therewith, and a linear scale rotatable about the centre of the disc and slidable radially thereof, the disc or part of a disc bearing a number of predetermined curves originating from the zero datum line. Details of the method of operation are given. C. 7- LAUNDERING AND DRY-CLEANING (A)— C l e a n i n g Soaps: Wetting Action. Sadgopal. Soap, Perfumery Cosmetics, 1944, 17, 258-259 (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3501'). The Na and K soaps of fatty acids from C, to Clu have very little wetting action on soiled fabrics. This action begins with soaps of both saturated and unsaturated C12 to C20 fatty acids. Ricinoleates possess very little wetting action. The myristates have the maxi­ mum wetting action of the saturated acids. Oleates are better than linoleates and K soaps are better than Na soaps. The action of soaps is dependent on the total predominant fatty glyceride components. The soaps of castor oil rich in ricinoleic glycerides have very little wetting power, whilst almond, olive and sesame and other oils, rich in oleic glycerides, have good wetting activity. Soaps of hard fats like mahuwa and tallow are good wetting agents at high temperatures. Coconut soaps possess the best wetting properties because of their richness in myristic glycerides. Soaps from hardened fats possess poor wetting activity. Wetting action is high at high temperatures. Rosinates, however, have less wetting action at high temperatures. C. Fabrics: Laundering; Losses due to Lint Formation. W. Kind and O. Oldenroth. Bastfaser, 1942, 2, 147-153 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1014 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3846s). Linen, twill and satin fabrics were laundered in a 35 kg. drum. Losses due to lint formation were determined after 5 and 50 washings by weighing the samples and by filtering the lint from a measured amount of the wash water. Experiments with various sudsing materials indicated that the usual suds, consisting of large bubbles, have no protective properties. An increased rate of rotation of the drum causes greater lint formation. The strength of the washing solution is of little significance; the chief losses appear only in rinsing. Prolonged dry running of the washing drum when the washing solution is changed is harmful. C. Sodium Secondary Alkyl Sulphates: Detergency; Effect of Electrolytes. R. G. Aickin. J. Soc. Dyers & Col., 1944, 60, 170-176. An account is given of investigations of the effect of the addition of various alkali metal and alkaline earth halides on the removal of olive oil from wool by secondary alkyl sul­ phates. Data showing the effects of electrolyte concentration, temperature and pH are presented. It is found that the initial reduction in the efficiency of the process brought about by addition of electrolytes is followed by a very large increase in the efficiency at higher concentrations. The electrolyte effect is largely due to the ions of sign opposite to that of the long-chain ions, and divalent ions are much more effective than the univalent ions. The various univalent ions fall into a series as regards their influence, viz. K>N H ,>N a>Li. The observed effects are explained in terms of the interfacial forces, viz. those existing between the oil, the detergent solution and the textile fibre, which are involved in the actual removal of the oil from the fibre. Another major factor *534 8— Building and Engineering involved is that of the stability of the emulsion produced by dispersion of the removed oil in the detergent solution. C

P a t e n t s Control Means for a Power Actuated Machine. H. H. Brownlee. B.I’.564,605 of 12/1/1943:5/10/1944. In a garment press of the polished head type a device is usually fitted to ensure that the operator has to use both hands to close the press, but the danger to bystanders is not thereby removed. This specification describes a means for opening the press immediately anyone comes within a predetermined distance from it, and of closing it again when they leave this area. Further, the press can be made to open when the garment is dry. The control is based on a magnetically operated air valve which is made to function by suitable valve circuits. The metalwork of the press forms part of the input circuit to a three-electrode valve, and a series of relays culminat­ ing in the air valve are connected in the output circuit. The characteristics are arranged so that when the press is unattended it automatically shuts; when a person approaches within a certain distance of the press, the characteristics are changed and the press immediately opens. By incorporating a moisture or thermostatic switch in the back of the press, it can be made to open when the garment is dry. La. Control-Means for a Machine adapted to operate on Moist Articles. H. H. Brownlee. B.P.564,606 of 12/1/1943:5/10/1944. The object of this invention is an improvement of the means whereby a garment press is automatically opened when the garment has reached a definite state of dryness. The operator has to close the press by operating two manual switches, but these open on being released. As soon as the head comes into contact with the wet garment, current is made to flow in the plate circuit of a valve so that a magnetically operated air valve keeps the press closed. When the garment has reached a certain state of dryness, the plate current is reduced and the air valve allows the press to open. The arrangement can also be controlled by thermostatically operated contacts in the head of the press and a simplified circuit. La. Improved Process and Apparatus for Treating Liquid. W. Paterson. B.P. 564,708 of 3/4/1943:10/10/1944. This invention is an improvement of the continuous flow softening process described in B .P. 10,719 (1902), and is of particular use in the lime softening of water. The liquid is mixed and agitated with previously formed sludge or other catalytic agent and fresh reagent in a special tank. The tank is arranged so that the mixture travels from one end to the other in a horizontal direction and during its passage through the tank the mixture is subjected to a spray or cascade of the sludge or catalytic agent. The sprays are produced by power-driven means and the method ensures effective treatment without short circuiting by the raw water. La. 8—BUILDING AND ENGINEERING

(D)— P o w e r T ransmission Lubricating Oil Addition Agents. R. Sclmurmann. Chemical Products, 1944, 7, 56-60. Addition agents for lubricating oils are classified into (1) extreme pressure additives, (2) viscosity index improvers, (3) pour point depressants, (4) oxidation inhibitors, (5) bearing corrosion inhibitors, and (6) detergents, and are briefly discussed. C.

(F)— L i g h t i n g Textile Mills: Scientific Lighting. J. W. Howell. J. Sac. Dyers Col., 1944, 60, 161-170. Sight and seeing, the process of seeing, accuracy of seeing, light measurement and the adequacy of illumination are briefly discussed. Lighting requirements in wool grading and sorting, healding or drawing-in, weaving, perching, dyeing and printing departments are studied, suitable lighting arrangements, including systems employing fluorescent tubes are con­ sidered, and photographs are given. Data are presented showing increases in output and quality, and the net profits resulting from better lighting in worsted weaving, and silk and rayon warping and weaving processes. The use of day­ light lamps and other colour corrected sources, particularly for colour matching, is discussed. The use of infra-red lamps for heating is also discussed. C 8— Building and Engineering A535

(G)— H e a t i n g , V e n t i l a t i o n a n d H umidification Electrostatic Air Cleaning System. Judson Mills Inc. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 88-90. An illustrated account is given of an air-conditioning system equipped with an electrostatic “ precipitron ” supplied by the Westinghouse Electric Co. Air is supplied by a 60-h.p. electric blower to a set of four pre- cipitrons, each dealing with 125,000 cub. ft. per minute. The deposited dirt is washed off each unit in turn, by hand, and allowed to pass to the drain. The ionizing section of the precipitron operates with a 13,000 volt charge and the collector section with 6,000 volts. These d.c. voltages are supplied from a iij-v. a.c. unit. The power consumption is about 15 watts per 1,000 cub. ft. of air per minute. In the winter air is re-circulated and only about 10-15 per cent, is taken from outside. In summer, fresh air only is circulated. The weaving shed was kept for a year at 82-85° F. (even on a day when the outside temperature was 98°) and the relative humidity was controlled as required between 70 and 80 per cent. C . “ Precipitron ” Electrostatic Dust Precipitator. /. Appl. Physics, 1944, 15. No. 7, xvi. In the electrostatic unit known as the Precipitron the generation of ozone by the discharge current has been reduced to such a point that the ozone concentration in the air is no more than that found in outdoor air in bright sunlight. A compact unit small enough to be placed in an ordinary window has been developed. Industrial uses of the Precipitron for removing oil mist, dust, pollen, etc., are mentioned. C.

(H)—W a t e r P urification Lime-Soda Water Softening Plant: Automatic Control. F. A. Champion. J. Soc. Chem. Ind., 1944, 63, 204-208. An automatic method has been devised in the laboratory for controlling lime-soda softening of a variable mixture of several constituent waters, when each of the latter is of reasonably constant composition. Theoretical consideration of such general cases, and experi­ mental work on an actual water, of this type, have shown that the quantity of reagents required per gallon of raw water is proportional to the conductivity of the latter. The rate of flow of the raw water may be measured by noting the effect of the variable level of the water above a weir on the resistance of a partly immersed conductivity cell of special design. By suitably shaping the electrodes, this cell may be used to measure both the hardness and the rate of flow of the water and n'ence to determine the quantity of reagent required per hour for softening. Thermionic relays incorporating automatic temperature correction are suggested for using the resistance of this dual-purpose cell to operate an electrical device, such as a solenoid, which, in turn, controls the valve of the dosing gear. Three examples of suitable dosing gear are outlined. C. Water for Textile Processing: Quality and Treatment. L. B. Miller. Cotton (U.S.), 1944, 108, No. 7, 85-88, 132-133. A general review of natural water supplies, constituents that are deleterious in textile processing, softening, removal of iron and manganese, bacterial growths in pipes and tanks, turbidity and colour, microbiological growths, and pollution of supplies. A textile pro­ cess water should have as maximum limits: hardness 50 parts per million (as CaCO,), Fe 0-2, Mn o-1, heavy metals nil, turbidity 25 and colour 50, p.p.m. C. Water Softening and Filtration Plant. Rayon Textile Monthly, 1944. 25, 299-302. A general account is given of the zeolite process for softening water, with illustrations of single-unit and triple unit filters and a zeolite softener (Graver Tank and Manufacturing Co.), a filtration plant and a zeolite installa­ tion (Roberts Filter Manufacturing Co.), and a water softening installation with selective-automatic valve control (Refinite Corporation). Mention is also made of a coagulator and a filter for caustic liquors in mercerising or caustic soda recovery (Hungerford and Terry Co.). C.

(I)—W a s t e D i s p o s a l Mercurial Ointment: Preparation. N. A. Kessler and H. G. DeKay. J. Amer. Pharm. Assoc., 1944, 33, 118-122 (through Chem. Abs., 1944, 38, 2790). Formulae are given for improved dispersion and precipitation methods for preparing mercurial ointment. Various substances, including wool fat, are capable of dispersing mercury, wool fat being a better dispersing agent for mercury than mercury oleate. W. A536 9— Pure Science

P a t e n t Sleeve Air Filter. C. C. Marston. B.P.564,161 of 12/1/1943:15/9/1944. An air or gas filter comprising a hollow textile member (e.g. a sleeve) through which dust-laden air or gas passes for filtering is fitted with power-driven means for continuous and regular mechanical shaking, and is divided into a number of non-extensible parts by one or more interposed resiliently extensible sections. The latter may consist of a resilient section such as of elastic material (e.g. elastic webbing or other elastic fabric) which will enable the sleeve to be hung taut and to be further tautened or extended and released evenly without undue shock or strain. C. 9—PURE SCIENCE Nitrocellulose Molecules: Weight and Shape. H. Campbell and P. Johnson. Trans. Faraday Soc., 1944, 40, 221-233. Viscosity, sedimentation velocity, and diffusion measurements have been made on solutions in acetone of some commercial nitrocelluloses, and compared with similar measurements on the so-called globular proteins. By means of equations connecting viscosity and molecular shape, and my making certain assumptions, molecular weight values have been calculated for nitrocellulose fractions from vis­ cosity measurements. For the calculation of molecular weight from sedi­ mentation velocity and diffusion measurements, the experimental requirements for accurate work are pointed out. The dangers of extrapolating to zero solute concentration from measurements on solutions of too high solute con­ centration are emphasized. Until molecular weights of many fractions of nitro­ cellulose have been accurately obtained, no decision regarding the validity of the viscosity equations can be attempted. Data so far obtained are in agree­ ment with the view that the nitrocellulose molecule in acetone is a long, almost completely stretched chain of nitrated glucosidic residues, the chain diameter of which is considerably increased by solvation, and in which some little flexibility may be assumed. C. Polyvinyl Chloride: Rheological Properties. L. Bilmes. /. Soc. Chem. hid.., 1944, 63, 182-184. The rheological properties of plasticised polyvinyl chloride have been studied in a specially constructed torsion apparatus over the tem­ perature range — 70° to 100°. The results are analysed by means of the Nutting equation, \l/ = SP

This is confirmed by the increased surface tension and the lowered protective colloid action of formaldehyde-treated protein. W. Fibrous Proteins: Combination with Acids. ('.. A. Gilbert and E. K. Rideal. Proc. Roy. Soc. A., 1944, 182, 335-346. An approximate titration equation is developed for the reaction between fibrous proteins and acids, in which account is taken of the valency and intrinsic affinities of the acid anions and of the limited number of adsorption sites available for anions. The differences between this hypothesis and that of Steinhardt and Harris (these Abs., 1940, A291) are indicated. W. Protein-formaldehyde Reaction: Wool. E. R. Tlieis and M. M. Lams. /. Biol. Chem., 1944, 154, 99-103. After reaction with formaldehyde, the amount of acid or base with which wool combines is unaltered over the pH range 1-9-5, but it combines with a slightly larger amount of base at > p H 9-5. A t pH 1-5 formaldehyde combines with acid amide and/or imino groups of the poly­ peptide chain. In addition, it combines with the imidazole group of histidine at > p H 6- 1 and with the terminal amino group of lysine at > p H 10 5. A t pH 9-5-12 wool combines with more formaldehyde than corresponds to the lysine content, this difference being probably due to reaction of the formalde­ hyde with the wool sulphur. W. Reaction of Formaldehyde with Keratin. J. L. Stoves. Nature, 1944, 154, 272-273. On the basis of supercontraction experiments it is suggested that new cross-linkages are formed in wool and deaminated wool fibres by treatment with formaldehyde at pH 1 and 10-5 for 1 hr. at ioo°. These linkages are not formed in either normal or deaminated fibres by treatment with formaldehyde at pH 5 and ioo° for 1 hr. W. Wool Blends: Spectrophotometric Prediction of Colour. E. I. Stearns and F. Noechel. Amer. Dyes. Rep., 1944, 33, 177-180. An empirical relation has been derived between the reflection coefficient of the components of a blend and the reflection of the blend, for any particular wave-length. By means of this relation the spectral reflection curve of the blend can be obtained from that of the components. Diagrams are given showing the close agreement between the calculated and observed curves for a number of blends. For wool the relation is:

where R = the percentage reflection of the blend, R, and R 2 = the reflection of components and a and b=the percentages of the components in the blend. W.

P a t e n t s Soluble Starch: Production. M. I). Rozeubroek (Netherlands; vested in U.S. Alien Property Custodian). U.S.P.2,338,457. Powdered starch contain­ ing 8-20 per cent, of moisture is mixed with about 15 parts by weight of sodium carbonate and then treated with chlorine gas at a temperature below 60° C. The amount of chlorine passed in is about 6 per cent, of the weight of starch. C. Carbamylethyl Cellulose Ester: Production. Rohm X: Haas Co. U.S.I’. 2,338,681. Cellulose is caused to react at o — 40° C. with acrylamide in the presence of a strong base (10-40 per cent, aqueous solution) until carbamyl­ ethyl groups are introduced into the cellulose and some part of them have been further hydrolyzed to carboxyethyl groups. At least 0 2 mol. of acryl­ amide is used for each glucose unit. C. Cotton Plant: Metabolism. F. J. Riclinrds. Ami. Botany, 1944, [New Ser.], 8, 43-55. The methods used by Mason and Phillis in analysing their data are examined and it is shown that many of their conclusions and theories are not supported by the data. Without further experimental evidence, supplemented by adequate statistical analysis, both the water-content relations and the partitioning between soluble and insoluble fractions of N, P and carbohydrate are more complex phenomena than envisaged by Mason and Phillis. C. Inter-specific Cotton Hybrid: Fertility. S. Nakatomi. Plant Breed. News. 1934, 9, 548-549 (through Plant Breed. Abstr., 1944, 14, 226). An F , plant from the Egyptian Ashmouni (« = 26)xa Manchurian variety (G. herbaceum. «= 13) bore no seed when selfed, but on being pollinated by Kings Improved 9— Pure Science A 5 3 0

(G. hirsulum, n = 26) gave a few seeds. A plant raised from among these flowered abundantly and was partly fertile, selfed or crossed. It had 11 = 26 chromosomes. C. Polyploid Cottons: Cytology. A. J. T. Mendes. Bragantia, Sao Paulo, 1942, 2, 101-no (through Plant Breed. Abstr., 1944, 14, 226). In a study of poly­ ploid cottons obtained by colchicine treatment, immersion of delinted seeds in a 0-15 per cent, solution for 16 hours was found to be most effective. Some plants of G. hirsutum failed to react at all, whereas in G. herbaceum all plants reacted equally. Most of the roots of the abnormal looking plants of G. 'hir­ sutum proved to contain a mixture of tissues with 271 = 52 and 2«= 104; flowers with mixed tetraploid and octoploid tissue were also encountered. At anaphase I in the octoploids 52 chromosomes generally went to each pole, but various deviations were also occasionally observed. Secondary association was of frequent occurrence. Pollen formation was more or less normal but the anthers mostly failed to dehisce. The pollen was larger and more variable in size than in normal plants. No seed was obtained either from self-pollination or from cross-pollination with either octoploid or tetraploid. Occasional fruits were formed from open pollination; the seeds obtained, which were usually abnormally large, could often be induced to germinate only by incision of the testa. The plants produced frequently had 211 = 52 chromosomes. C. Mechanical Wood Pulp: Attack by Fungi. E. Rennerfelt. Svensk botan. Tid., 1942, 36, 301-311 (through Chem. Zentr., 1942, ii, 1194, and Chem. Abstr., 1944. 38- 3469s). Mechanical wood pulp was inoculated with 20 different species of fungi. Only some, as Fomes annosus, Lenzites betulina and Polyporus vaporarius (Eberswalde), markedly attacked the wood pulp with a brown coloura­ tion and loss of weight of 19-25 per cent. Others, known as typical pests on dead conifers, such as Lentinus lepidens and Lenzites abietina, had scarely any notice­ able action on the pulp. If the entrance of the fungi is parallel to the pulp sheet, the action is greater than if it is perpendicular. Pulp from 8 different wood pulp plants showfed variation of 12 up to 25 per cent, loss of weight upon inoculation with Polyporus versicolor; material put through a hydraulic press was attacked more rapidly than that which had been kamyr dried. C. Acetone: Micro-determination. L. A. Greenberg and D. Lester. J. Biol. Chem., 1944, 154, 177-190. A rapid, sensitive and accurate method for deter­ mining acetone in air and biological fluids is based upon the reaction of acetone with 2:4-dinitrophenylhydrazine to form the corresponding hydrazone, the separation of the hydrazone by extraction with carbon tetrachloride, and its colorimetric determination in this fluid. Applications of the method, and modi­ fications, to the determination of total and individual ketone bodies (acetone, acetoacetic acid and /8-hydroxybutyric acid) in blood and urine are also described. C. Alkanolamines: Volumetric Determination. J. H. Jones. J. Assoc. Offic. Agric. Chemists, 1944, 27, 309-317. In a semi-micro volumetric method for the determination of alkanolamines in emulsions the amine is extracted with hydro­ chloric or hydrobromic acid, excess acid is removed by evaporation, and the amine is liberated by treatment with silver ovide, filtered and titrated with standard acid. The necessary correction for dissolved silver oxide is easily determined by titration with potassium iodide solution and starch-iodine indicator. When an inorganic base is also present the method may be used to determine the total base. Details of the procedure and typical results are given. C. 2-Aminoanthraquinone: Determination and Identification. O. L. Evenson. J. Assoc. Offic. Agric. Chemists, 1944, 27, 317-319. A colorimetric method for the determination of 2-aminoanthraquinone in D. & C. Blue No. 9 (3:3'- dichloroindanthrene) comprises removing the intermediate from the dye, treat­ ing with bromine to form 2-amino-1 :3-dibromoanthraquinone and comparing the latter colorimetrically with standards. A 95 per cent, recovery is indicated. The preparation of 2-amino-1; 3-dibromoanthraquinone and its acetyl derivative for identification of the intermediate is also described. C. Fats: Spectrophotometric Analysis. B. W. Beadle and H. R. Kraybill. /. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1944, 66, 1232. In the examination of animal fats con­ taining small amounts of arachidonic acid by the method of Mitchell, Kraybill A54° 9— Pure Science and Zscheile, it is not possible to make a quantitative analysis for the arachidonic acid without a reference standard. Purified methyl arachidonate was therefore subjected to the alkali isomerization procedure and absorption coefficients were determined at or near the principal maxima, with a photo­ electric spectrophotometer and ethanol as the solvent. Specific absorption coefficients at 2340, 2680, 3010 and 3160 A. are given, together with coefficients at 2340 and 2680 determined with purified linolenic and linoleic acids. C. Hypochlorite Solutions: Oxygen Evolution. P. Pierron. Compt. rend,., 1942, 215, 354-355 (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 32106). The evolution of oxygen in the dark from dilute and concentrated solutions of K, Na and Li hypochlorites at 20° and ioo° was studied as a function of pH. Loss of oxygen due to evolution as gas and formation of chlorate increases with alkalinity and is greatest for the potassium and smallest for the lithium salt. In concen­ trated solutions decrease in pH is accompanied by decrease in loss of oxygen to a minimum at neutrality, followed by a second maximum with increased acidity. This behaviour can be explained by intermediate formation of per­ oxides; these can be detected. C. Barley Starch: Dextrinization. K. Myrback and <. Steulid. Svensk Kem. Tid., 1942, 54, 103-115 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 521 and Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38, 3507'). The dextrinization of barley starch by amylase follows exactly the same course as previously reported for potato, corn and arrowroot starches, although these four starches differ in several respects and especially in their phosphorus content. The mechanism of starch hydrolysis is discussed. C. Corn Starch Linear Component: Fatty Acid Adsorption. T. J. Schoch and C. B. Williams. /. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1944, 66, 1232-1233. The adsorption of iodine by com starch is markedly repressed by the presence of fatty acid. This effect appears to be due to preferential adsorption of fatty acid by the presumed linear component of the starch, viz., that component which is selectively precipitated by butanol and which is responsible for the blue colour with iodine. The higher fatty acids likewise act as selective precipitants for the linear-chain component of com starch. By the treatment of a defatted com starch paste with oleic acid the linear-chain fraction was separated as a microcrystalline floe in an amount equivalent to 29 per cent, of the original defatted com starch. After prolonged Soxhlet extraction with methanol, its iodine affinity was 14 5 per cent. The non-precipitated fraction (presumably of branched molecular configuration) was isolated by treating the centrifugate with several volumes of methanol. After extraction with methanol, its iodine affinity was less than 0-2 per cent. Since traces of higher fatty acid will reduce the iodine adsorption, cereal starches must be exhaustively defatted before potentiometric evaluation of iodine affinity. The proportion of linear-chain component in corn starch can be determined approximately by dividing the iodine affinity of defatted com starch by that of the repeatedly recrystallised butanol-precipitated fraction. This gives a calculated amount of 28 per cent, linear-chain component in corn starch, substantially higher than the amount previously reported by selective precipitation with butanol, but in excellent agreement with values more recently obtained by improved precipitation methods with certain of the amyl alcohols. C. Polysaccharides: Chemistry. W. Z. Hassid. Ann. Rev. Biochem., 1944, 13, 59-92. A review, with 110 citations, of work published during the past year or two on the structural chemistry of starch, glycogen, cellulose, the galactans, and other polysaccharides. C. Starch: Fine Structure. P. Jaloveczky. Bot. KózlemSnyek, 1942, 39, 601-619 (through Schweiz. Brav. Rund., 1943, 54, Kart, der Brau.-Lit., 835/82, and J. Inst. Brewing, 1944, 50, 155-156). If dry potato- or canna starch granules are treated with a concentrated solution of ferric chloride, swelling starts at once, and is complete within 10 min. With nickelous chloride solution the action starts after 1 min., and is finished after 1 hour; with cobalt chloride solution swelling is first observed after 30 min., and whole granules can be seen on the following clay. The finely-porous structure of the starch granule may be demonstrated by rapid penetration of the granule by iodine solution, followed by equally rapid decolorisation with sodium thiosulphate solution. If starch is treated with a <>• 5 per cent, solution of potassium hydroxide it is possible to distinguish under 9 — Pure Science *541 the microscope the small, clearly-defined nucleus; occasionally more than one is visible. A starch granule which has undergone a process of dry distillation develops an appreciably enlarged nucleus. Further details are given of the modi­ fications in microscopic structure, optical properties and stratification effects which result from treatment with i per cent, sodium or potassium hydroxide solutions, ptyalin, 7 • 5 per cent, hydrochloric acid, zinc chloride solution, or from heat treatment, etc.; the appearance of the granules in polarized light is also discussed. The fine structure of the granules can also be rendered visible by treatment with dyes or with chromic acid, or, after heating in a bath of paraffin wax, with alcohol. C. Starch Substances: Acid Hydrolysis. M. Samec and M. Dermelj. Kolloid Z., 1942, ioi, 123/126 (through Chem. Zentr., 1943, i, 1274. and Chem. Abstr.. 1944, 38, 3507s). In the course of the acid hydrolysis of amyloamylose, erythro- amylose and erythrogranulose changes in reducing power and optical activity are hardly discernible. Greater differences are observed by applying the unimolecular reaction constant to the rate of hydrolysis of maltose linkages in the maltose. C. Gelatin: Preparation. W. M. Ames. /. Soc. Chem. Ind., 1944, 63, 200-204. The work of various investigators on the preparation of gelatin and the influence of the type of precursor and method of extraction on the properties of the pro­ duct is reviewed and a report is given of experimental studies of gelatins prepared from pigskin, sinews, ossein, and rabbit skin with different treatments. Time of extraction, yield, jelly strength, and iso-electric acidity and pH are tabulated. The data show that the gelatins fall into three groups, distinguished by the pH value at their iso-electric point, which does not depend on the type of precursor but on the pre-treatment before extraction. The iso-electric points were 6-0 for gelatin extracted with water, 8 ■ 9 for gelatin prepared by the acid process, and between 4 -75 and 4-83 for the alkaline preparation. Use of acid, before or after a lime soak, did not appear to have any appreciable bearing on the extraction. All the gelatins, except those extracted with water, were of very good quality, os measured by capacity to form firm jellies. In further experiments gelatin was prepared from hide which had been soaked for different periods in milk of lime. It was found that gelatins could be prepared with iso-electric points gradually rising from an acidity of 0-24 per cent, to 1-4 per cent, or falling in phi from 6 0 to 4 77. The jelly strength and the time of extraction approximately fol­ lowed the movement of the iso-electric point, the jelly strength gradually increasing and the time of extraction falling with falling pH. The yield of good gelatin also increased. These results afford an explanation of the variation in the position of the iso-electric point of commercial gelatins. In practice, extrac­ tion is carried out whenever the stage reached corresponds with good jelly strength irrespective of the position of the iso-electric point, which may fall anywhere between pH 6 and pH 4-77. C. Isinglass: Production. F. G. S. Procter. J. Inst. Brewing, 1944, 50, 117-118. The effects of the war on the isinglass trade are discussed and the methods of preparing the different types are briefly described. C. Milk Casein: Composition. G. A. Ramsdell and E. O. Whittier. /. Biol. Chem., 1944, 154, 413-419. A procedure for determining the composition of casein as it exists in the caseinate-phosphate complex in milk is described which involves isolation of the complex by means of the supercentrifuge, its analysis, and calculation of the percentage content of the elements of the casein. Such a procedure avoids separation and alteration of the casein by chemical means and in consequence, prevents loss of P and S. Increase in alkalinity of the complex by the addition of neutral K oxalate indicated the presence of tricalcium phosphate rather than dicalcium phosphate in the complex. On this basis the complex was found to contain 4-80 per cent, calcium phosphate and 95-20 per cent, calcium caseinate. The latter fraction contained 1 ■ 18 per cent. Ca. A series of calcium caseinates was prepared from grain curd casein and the per­ centages of Ca were plotted against the pH of 3 per cent, dispersions prepared from them. The curve indicated that a caseinate of 1 • 18 per cent. Ca content would yield a pH of 6-40, which is only 0 07 pH more acid than the pH of the milk from which the complex was obtained. The results for the composition of casein obtained by this method check well, as a whole, with analyses of casein obtained by acid precipitation, thus indicating that the changes in physical A 5 4 2 9— Pure Science character through the action of acid are not accompanied by a pronounced altera­ tion in its percentage elemental composition. C. Proteins and Amino Acids: Chemistry. H. Neurath and J. P. Greenstein. Ann. Rev. Bichem., 1944, 13, 117-154. A review, with 261 citations, of recent work on (1) the preparation and identification of proteins, (2) protein hydrolysis, (3) isolation and determination of amino acids, (4) amino acid composition and distribution, (5) physical properties of proteins, (6) internal structure, and (7) denaturation. C. Silk 'Fibroin: Partial Hydrolysis. W. H. Stein, S. Moore and M. Herr­ mann. J. Biol. Chem., 1944, 154, 191-201. The use of aromatic sulphonic acids as reagents for the isolation of peptides is discussed and approximate solubility products of arylsulphonates of several peptides and amino acids are tabulated. Data 011 the course of the hydrolysis of fibroin by concentrated hydrochloric acid at 40 °, measured by nitrous acid and ninhydrin methods, are presented and dis­ cussed. The method of calculating the average peptide chain length at any given time during the hydrolysis is explained. From a partial hydrolysate containing dipeptides, glycyl-Z-alanine and Z-alanylglycine have been isolated by the suc­ cessive use of 2:5-dibromobenzenesulphonic acid and 2:6-di-iodophenol-4- sulphonic acid. The amino acid composition of fibroin is discussed; several lines of evidence point to the probability that silk fibroin contains 30-35 per cent, of alanine. Preliminary analyses for /-tyrosine indicate a value of 11-g per cent. C. Pectin Solutions: Viscosities. H. S. Owens, H. Lotzkar, R. C. Merrill and M. Peterson. /. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1944, 66, 1178-1182. The relative viscosity of pectin solutions varies with concentration in a manner similar to that of other ionizable hydrophilic colloids and certain salts. The viscosity of dilute pectin solutions increases to a maximum as the /;H is adjusted to a value near 6. The viscosity can be reduced to a minimum value by the addition of acid or sodium chloride. As the concentration of pectin is increased above 0 5 per cent., the relative viscosity is practically unaffected by changes in in the range of 1 to 7. Urea up to 0-5 molal concentration has little effect on the relative viscosity of pectin solutions. The relative viscosity / concentration curve follows the Arrhenius equation to a concentration of pectin of about 0 1 per cent, or more, depending upon the value for the intrinsic viscosity, when the solution is at pH 1-2 or when o-g per cent, or more of sodium chloride is present. This makes it possible to calculate values for the intrinsic viscosity which may have some relationship to the molecular weight. The viscosity/ concentration curves for the pectinates of sodium, trimethylammonium, ethylenediammonium, 2 : 2-dihydroxymethylpropylammonium, and tetraethylammonium ions are prac­ tically identical. Changing the temperature from 0-50° has little influence on the relative viscosity of pectin solutions at concentrations below 0-05 per cent. Above that concentration the relative viscosity decreases with increase in tem­ perature. Tentative explanations of these results are discussed. C. Macromolecules: Structural Analysis. R. Lepsius. Kunststoffe, 1943, 33, 133"13^ (through Chem. Abstr., 1944, 38. 31838). Physical methods of investigating the structure of high polymers are surveyed. Examples are given of the application of X-ray methods, Raman spectroscopy, ultra-microscopy, streaming birefringence, polarised light, electron microscopy, and ultrasonic waves. C. Oxidation-Reduction Potentials: Significance and Applications. H. I. Stonehill. J. Soc. Dyers &■ Col., 1944, 60, 176-183. The significance of 1 ixidation-reduction potentials is explained, methods of determining standard :edox potentials are described, and applications to analysis, potentiometrie redox titrations, redox indicators, the rH value of a redox solution, and miscel­ laneous applications of redox potentials are discussed. C. Hem icellulose: Photometric Determination. C. J. l-iarton and A. J. Prntton. Ind. Eng. Chem., Anal. Edn., 1944, 16, 429-430. For the determination of jemicellulose dissolved in sodium hydroxide solution, K dichromate solution is added and the solution is acidified with concentrated sulphuric acid, boiled for about 30 sec. and then cooled. The transmittance at 600 mu is measured and rhe hemicellulose concentration is determined from calibration curves based on odometric determinations of hemicellulose concentration. Experimental details ■ rad transmittance curves are given. io — Economics ii — Jud ust rial Welfare, tic. A543

Physico-chemical Studies on the Water-soluble Fraction of Powdered Wool. T. U. Marron and J. I. Routh. Archives of Biochem., 1944, 4, 319-332. Aqueous extracts of wool which had been ground for varying lengths of time in a steel ball mill were studied with respect to the physical and chemical nature of the resulting soluble fraction. Precipitation data showed that only relatively few of the soluble particles were large enough to be precipitated by trichloroacetic acid. Tungstic acid removed less than half the biuret nitrogen from solution. The different fractions obtained on electrophoresis were characterised by variations in acidity, in biuret and tyrosine nitrogen content, and a change in response to the above protein precipitants. Polarographic studies indicated the heterogeneous nature of the soluble material. The polarographically active material accumulated in the electrophoresis cells at pH 3 and contained the major portion of the precipitable nitrogen. W. Wool: Structure and Reactivity. A. Schoberl. Forsch.-Ber. Zellwolle-u. Kunstseide-Rings. G.m.b.H., 1941, No. 1, 283-287 (through Chem. Zentr., 1942, II, 2327 and Chem. Abs., 1944, 38, 3137). Wool of uniform grade con­ tained cystine 10-78, dicarboxylic acids 28-98 and hexonic bases 15-62 per cent, by wt. As compared with the results of Elód, Nowotny and Zahn (these Abs., 1941, A601), wool treated for 8 days with water of 80° and mercury still contained 54 per cent, of the original cystine. The heavy metals are indicators for the hydrogen sulphide evolution from wool by the action of hot water. Wool can be coloured intensively and uniformly yellow by treatment at 8o° with water containing cadmium. The fibre can be coloured black by means of metallic lead or iron. These metals are better than mercury for producing colour effects and form metallic sulphides more quickly on the surface of the fibre. Elód, Nowotny and Zahn have not disproved the significance of sulphur for the strength and properties of the wool fibre. W. 10—ECONOMICS Chinese Textile Industries: Reconstruction. Clia Chi-Min. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 85-87, 182-184. ‘937 the Chinese textile industry had 5 million spindles, 100,000 looms, and bleaching, dyeing, printing, finishing and knitting plant, all of modern types. About 60 per cent, of the spinning and weaving was under the sole control of Chinese people and the rest was almost all in Japanese hands. About 90 per cent, of the industry is now destroyed. Future prospects are reviewed and a Five-years Plan for rebuilding the industry with the help of American plant and money is discussed. C. Bombay Cotton Wages, 1914-1919 and 1939-1943. Indian Textile ]., 1944, 54, 356-357. Available statistics are analysed in a comparison of cost of living and wage trends during the two World War periods. In both periods the great rise in costs occurred in the fourth year, but the operative is in a much better position now than in 1919, because wages and bonuses have not lagged so far behind. There have been much greater rises in the index for costs and wages in India than in England since 1942. C. Surat Weaving Industry: Organisation. M. C. Munshi. Indian Textile J., 1944, 54, 352-355. A brief history is given of the weaving industry of Surat from the early 16th century. In 1682 the export of cotton fabrics was 1,436,000 pieces. A characteristic feature in modem times is the large number of small establishments with about 3-5 power looms each. In 1942-43 a survey of 649 such places accounted for 4,108 looms, of which 3,645 were power looms, including many by Hattersley. The author discusses the reactions of this kind of establishment both on the hand-loom industry and on the large mills. C. 11—INDUSTRIAL WELFARE, INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION American Cotton Operatives: Employment on Three Shifts. Textile World, 1944, 94, No. 6, 92-94. A number of opinions on working a third shift in American mills are reported. It appears to be general practice to use the third shift as a training ground for workers who are being prepared for promotion, but it is believed in many quarters that production would not suffer if the third shift were abandoned and the first and second shifts worked more efficiently. C. A544 11— Industrial Welfare, Industrial Psychology and Education

Cotton Spinners: Training. Nell Woodward. Cotton (U.S.), 1944, 108, No. 7, 89-91. An account is given of the experiences of an American university woman in learning the work of a spinner in order to train recruits. She emphasises (1) the bad tendency of old employees to discourage learners, and hence the value of using trained instructors, (2) the difficulty of imparting the names for machine parts and spinning products, and (3) the importance of persuading operatives to take adequate meals. C. Weaver’s Wage: Calculation on Time-study Basis. W. M. Fanning. Tex­ tile World, 1944, 94, No. 7, 51-55. The writer holds that wage incentives to increase production will be assisted if the wage system is based on accurate knowledge of the working conditions derived from time studies. The essential feature is to calculate the “ standard minute ” for a job, that is the amount of work done in one minute by the “ standard operative.” Thus, from observations of loom stops it is calculated that a weaver on looms running at 160 r.p.m. and 85 per cent, efficiency, should put in 0-31 standard-minutes per 1,000 picks. Her actual pick reading (from the clock) would then give her “ standard time e.g. if she put in 2,077 picks in the 8-hour shift she would be credited with 2077 x 031 = 10 73 hours. To this would be added compensa­ tion for loom idleness for which she was not responsible, say, 0-13 hour. At the basic rate of 63 cents her wage would then work out at (10 ■ 73 + o ■ 13) x 63 cents = 6-85 dollars. The same figure of 0-31 standard-minutes per 1,000 picks would also be used to calculate how many looms to assign to a weaver to give her the chance to earn more, say one-third more, that is to put in 80 standard- minutes per hour. Thus, supposing she runs looms at 160 r.p.m. and achieves an efficiency of 90 per cent, she would put in 160x60x0-9 = 8-64 thousand picks per loom-hour and could manage 80/(8'64x0-31) = 30 looms to secure one-third above the basic pay. Such reasoning is set oiłt in detail for (a) “ cal­ culating a weaver’s job,” (b) battery-hand assignment and (c) the tackler’s assignment. Thus, under (b) the job of replenishing bobbins is calculated to take 0-113 standard-minutes per bobbin, and under (c) the " standard minute " for loom tackling is o-8oo per loom-hour. C. Chlorovinyl Resins: Toxic Effects and Conditions of Use. N. M. Pietro- pavlovsky. Gigiena i Zdorov’ e, Moscow, 1942, No. 10, 14-20 (through Bull. Hygiene, 1944, 19, 450-451). It is believed that exposure for 3 minutes to an atmosphere containing 64 mg. of vinyl chloride causes in man giddiness, loss of orientation and headache, which lasts for about i£ hours after return to the fresh air. White mice exposed to vapours from heated samples of vinyl resins containing about 53-7 per cent, chlorine showed (1) irritation of the visible mucous membranes, (2) hyperaemia of the extremities, ears and tails, (3) dis­ turbances of coordination movements and disappearance of reflexes, (4) death from respiratory failure, sometimes with convulsions of the extremities and head. A post-mortem examination showed irritation of the respiratory tract, considerable oedema and necrosis of the tissues and degeneration in the liver, kidneys and heart. The main toxic substance was hydrochloric acid. To ensure hygienic conditions in the use of such resins it is essential that the decomposition temperature should be 20° higher than the maximum tempera­ ture reached in manufacturing processes. The heating of mixtures should be regulated by safety devices. A good local ventilation is essential. Medical supervision of all workers must be compulsory; personal hygiene must not be neglected. ' C. American Textile Schools: Organisation for Textile Research. M. E. Camp­ bell. Amer. Dyes. Rept., 1944, 33, 313-315- Textile research in textile schools is discussed and it is pointed out that, although only a small proportion of the students will take up research work, a school should endeavour to acquaint all its students with the possibilities and limitations of the tools of textile research, with the most modem methods of analysing and interpreting the results of research, and with the identity, scope and objectives of the different organisa­ tions conducting textile research. An account is given of the staff, equipment, facilities and advantages for research of the Textile School at North Carolina State College. The two general types of research, fundamental and applied, are briefly discussed, and it is suggested that, in general, the greatest returns from research can be expected in a textile school if the programme centres around the application of principles to commercial production. The financing of research at a textile school is briefly discussed. C.