Textile Research Journal

Dr. Hardy is senior animal fibre technologist of the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, and is the author of the chapter on "Wool Fibre Research" in U. S. Institute's book Textile Research: A Survey of Progress. The novel device which he invented and is here described, was developed for wool, but seems equally well adapted to similar measurement of groups of other fibres.

A GENERALLY applicable, rapid, and convenient method for the determination of the amount of pure silk fibre in silk textiles is described. Weighting and finishing materials are removed by repeated extractions with hot water, 2 per cent sodium carbonate solution and a solution containing 2 per cent of hydrochloric and 2 per cent of hydrofluoric acids. Results of analyses of samples of known composition are presented which indicate that the results are correct to within 1 per cent of the weight of the dried finished material. Results obtained by inexperienced analysts working in different laboratories have been in good agreement when samples of the same silk were analyzed. Qualitative methods for the identification of the following weighting materials are given: Aluminum, lead, phosphate, silica, tin, zinc.

T HE TEXTILE FOUNDATION is making available for general publication descriptions of the character and purpose of researches that it is financing, these being written by men engaged in these studies, and in sufficiently non-technical language to inform the general public of what is being done for their benefit through scientific textile research. The more technical portions of these stories should be equally informative to all textile men, and will be published as they become available.