The structure of the wool fibre : and its relation to the use of wool for technical purposes

Front matter

FRANKLIN INSTITUTE LIBRARY

PHILADELPHIA, PA.

THE STRUCTURE

Chapter I Page

Introduction ........ 1

Advantages of Technical Education — Rapid strides made by competitors — Progress in education in Germany and its results — Awakening in the East — Japan — China — Britain's advantage in geographical position — General principles of manufacture — Mistakes from want of knowledge — Neglect of precautions — French v. British methods of treating wool — Importance of early stages — Use of the microscope— Attention to breed in sheep — Importance of selection of raw material — Care in chemical treatment.

Chapter II

Variety now required — Sources of raw material — Vegetable fibres — Cotton — Flax — Hemp — Jute — Ramie fibre — China grass — Silk — Animal fibres — Microscopical and chemical distinctions — Carbohydrates — Albuminoids — Proteids — Method of microscopical inquiry — Microscope and range of power — Characteristics and growth of cotton fibre — Variation in length and diameter — Flax, its nature and treatment — Variations in length and diameter — Silk — Varieties— Strength — Chemical composition.

xi

Chapter III Page

Physiological inquiry — Wool- and hair-beariiig animals — Hair — Wool — Tlie skin — Structure — Epidermis — Dermis or cutis vera — Section of the skin — Appendages of the skin — Sweat or sudoriparous glands — Sebaceous or oil glands — Hair follicles — Characteristics of hair — Structure of hair — Variations in length and diameter — Microscopical appearance.

CHAPTER IV Origin and Development of the Hair . . .61

Structure of hair follicle — Development of follicle — Evolution and involution — Fcetal hair — Bed -hair — Modifications of hair — Felting of hair — Typical wool fibre — Variation in wool and hair — Microscopical character of wool.

CHAPTER V Variations in Hair Structure . . . .79

Classification of hairs — Bristles — Bristle-hairs — Beard-hairs — Wool — Characteristics of wool — Curl in wool — Variation in curl — Variations in hair of difi'erent animals — Classification of wool fibres — Animal hair — Alpaca — Mohair — True wool fibres— Examples of fibres— Solid structure — Kemps — Atrophy in fibres — Hypertrophy in fibres — Examples of normal and abnormal forms.

CHAPTER VI History, Classification, and Varieties of Sheep

History— Wild and cultivated animals — Goats— The Aoudad — Varieties of sheep — Ovis ammon or Argali — Ovis

CONTENTS xiii musimon or moufflon — Ovis arics — 0ms montmm or Big Horn — Classification of sheep — Europe — Asia — Africa — America — The Argali — Rocky Mountain sheep — Musmon — -Highland sheep — Welsh sheep — Irish sheep — Exmoor or Dartmoor sheep — Black-faced heath, sheep — Cheviot sheep — Herdwick sheep — Ancient upland breed — Old Norfolk sheep — Dorset sheep — Somerset sheep — Portland sheep— Old Wiltshire sheep — Old Hampshire sheep — Old Berkshire sheep — Hampshire Down sheep — Improv^ed Hampshire sheep — Southdown sheep — Shropshire sheep — Ryeland sheep — Long-^voolled sheep — Lincoln sheep — Romney Marsh sheep — Teeswater sheep — Warwickshire sheep — Bampton Nott sheep — Devonshire sheep — Cotswold sheep — New^ Oxford sheep — Leicester sheep — Border Leicester sheep — Statistics of sheep in Great Britain.

CHAPTER VII Classification and Description of Foreign Sheep . 144

European sheep — Merino sheep — Stationary merinos — Migiatory merinos — Austrian merinos — English merinos — Spanish merinos : Statistics — French sheep : Statistics — Swiss sheep : Statistics — Italian sheep : Statistics — German sheep : Statistics — Holland and Belgian sheep : Statistics — Russian sheep and goats : Statistics — Danubian Principalities — Turkey in Europe sheep — Montenegro — Albania — Greek sheep — Norway, Sweden, and Denmark sheep — Asiatic sheep — Tibet slieep — Indian sheep and goats: Statistics — Chinese sheep — African sheep — Cape Colony and Natal sheep : Statistics — Australia and New Zealand sheep : Statistics — American sheep — United States sheep : Statistics — South American sheep — Alpaca — Angora goat — Mohair : Statistics.

Chapter VIII

Classification of wools — Short wool — Middle wool — Long wool — Desiderata in wool — Selection of breed — Character

PFOOL FIBRE of breed — Scientific slieep culture — Maintenance of breed — Regularity in clip — Parasites — Slieep dips — Injurious smears — Arsenical dips — Time for dipping — "Washing of sheep — Shearing — Preparation of wool for market — Farmers and home-grown wool — Foreign competition in wool — Chamber of Commerce recommendations — Vegetable matter in wool — Cause of mischief — Remedies for the evil — Care in shearing sheds — Packing and in warehouse.

CHAPTER IX Mechanical Structure of the Wool Fibre . . 200

Difference between hair and wool — Structure of wool — History of structure — Scales on wool fibre — Cortical structure— Strength of fibres — Relation of strength to elasticity and diameter of fibre — Felting of wool — Cots — Felted cloth — Kemps.

CHAPTEE X

Albuminoids — Horny tissue — Analysis of wool — Keratin — Formulae for cotton, silk, and wool — Acidity and alkalinity of wool — Moisture in wool — Testing-house allowances— Mechanical composition of wool — Suint — Composition of Suint — Cholesterin — Stearerin — Elairerin — Lanolin — Wool- ash — Composition of ash — Sul])hur in wool — Colouring matter in wool.

Chapter XI

Influence of temperature — Action of water on wool — Action of alkalies on w^ool — Mercerising of wool — Heat of combination— Use of soap in washing — Wool -washing — Lanuginic acid — Carbonising of wool — Kitric acid —

CONTENTS

XV

PAGE

Hydrochloric acid — Chlorine gas — Chlorinated wool — Bleaching wool — Hydrogen di- or per-oxide — Action of acids on wool — Sulphuric acid — Nitric acid — Nitrous acid — Chromic acid — Organic acids — Action of salts upon wool.

CHAPTER XII Qualities and Varieties of Wool and their

Distinctions ....... 299

Variations from type structure — Grown at the same time — Grown in different years — Grown under different climatic conditions — Derived from different breeds of sheep — Sorting — Selection of qualities — Rankness — Diameter of fibres— Analysis of fleeces — Quality analysis of English wools — Diseased wool — Animal variation — Change of environment — Variation caused by climate — Alpaca — Mohair — Southdown wool — Merino wool — Cross-bred wool — Rules for wasliing wool — Wool drying.

CHAPTER XIII Strength and Testing of Worsted Yarns . . 357

Classification of yarns — Wool quality in relation to yarn — Counts of yarn — Weight of various counts — Testing of yarn — Method of testing — Tables of variation in strength and counts — Single yarns — Twofold yarns — Variation in twist — General results.

CHAPTER XIV Theory of Dyeing and Colour .... 399

Chemical composition of wool — Cell - contents — Inertness of cotton — Molecular constitution — Activity of wool — Cause of colour — Composition of colour — Analysis of colour — xvi

PAGE

Theory of Dyeing — Chemical Theory — Physico-chenncal theory — Mechanical theory — Chevreul's theories — Classification of dyes — Natural dyes — Artificial dyes — Substantive dyes — Adjective dyes — Classification of dyes based on their action — Relation of dyeing materials — Process of dyeing — Law of distribution — Receptivity of Wool — Penetration of dyes — Cotton dyeing — Wool dyeing — Arsenic in wool — Temperature in dyeing — Temperature and absorption — Distribution of dyes — Pure water — Indigo dye — Mordant dyeing — Chroming — Reducing action of wool — Logwood dyeing — Finishing — Cleanliness — Conclusion.

CHAPTER XV Method of Analysis and Detection of Various

Method of testing — Mechanical — Chemical — Microscopical analysis — Cotton — Flax — Hemp — Jute — Wool — Hair — Silk — Lustra-Cellulose — Table of chemical colour tests — Igneous tests.

ILLUSTKATIONS

FIG. PAGE

Old and New Merino Sheep and Ewe (Coloured) Frontispiece

1. Cotton Fibres 23

2. Cotton Fibre (Longitudinal Section) 24

3. Flax Fibres 29

4. Silk Fibres 36

5. Skin (Vertical Section) 43

6. showing Appendages ... 46

7. Human Hair (Longitudinal Section) .... 53

8. (Transverse Section) ..... 54

9. (Constituent Parts) ..... 56

10. (Treated with Caustic Soda) ... 58

11. Hair Follicle (Vertical Section) 62

12. (Transverse Section) ..... 64

13. showing Genesis and Development . . 68

14. Wool Fibres (Felting) 75

15. Wool Fibre (Typical) 76

16. Various Animal Hairs ....... 84

17. Asiatic Sheep's Hair (Surface and Section) ... 86

20. Pacpathian Sheep's Hair . . . . . . . 89

21. and Afghan Sheep's Hair .... 90

22. Lincoln Wool Kemp 93

23. Highland Wool Flat Kemp 96

24. Wool Fibres, Leicester Botany ...... 97

25. Australian Merino ..... 98

26. Oxford Down showing Atrophy . . . 100

27. ,5 Hypertrophy . . 101

28. Merino Ewe 102

29. Lincoln Ewe 103

xvii

XVlll

FIG. PACK

30. Black-faced Mountain Ram . . . . . .117

31. Welsh Mountain Ram 118

32. Lonk Ram 120

33. Dartmoor Long-woolled Ram . . . . . .121

34. Cheviot Ram 123

35. Herd wick Ram 125

36. Hampshire Down Ram . . . . . . .129

37. Southdown Ram 131

38. Shropshire Ram 133

40. Kent or Romney Marsh Ram . . . . . .137

41. Cotswold Ram 139

43. Border Leicester Ram . . . . . . .142

44. Persian Fat-tailed Sheep 162

45. Alpaca Goat 173

47. Wool Fibre (Transverse Section) 205

48. Fibre Testing Machine 213

49. Wool Fibres (Kempy) 235

50. Fleece of Leicester Wool showing Qualities . . . 305

51. Wool Fibres, Fine Lincoln 310

52. (More Enlarged) ... 311

54. (More Enlarged) .... 312

55. Cotswold showing Medulla . . . .313

56. ,\ Diseased 326

57. Alpaca Fibres 333

58. Wool Fibres, Pacpathian ....... 335

59. Chinese 337

60. Indian Cashmere . . . . . .337

61. Mohair Fibres 338

62. Wool Fibres, Leicester 339

64. Half-bred Mohair 341

65. Southdown 343

66. ,, 343

67. Oxford Down 344

68. Cheviot 345

69. ,, American Merino . ..... 345

70. „ „ 346

71. French 347

ILLUSTRATIONS xix

FIG. PAGE

72. Wool Fibres, Merino, German Saxony .... 347

73. ,, Australian 348

74. Cross-bred with Leicester . . 349 75; Lincoln . . 350

76. Dyed Azo-red (Coloured) . . . Facing 434

77. Dyed Azo-yellow (Coloured) . . 436

78. Dyed with Synthetic Indigo . . 440

LIST OF BOOKS CONSULTED BY THE AUTHOR

Calico Printing, BleacliiDg, and Dyeing. C. O'Neil.

Chemistry and Physics of Dyeing. W. P. Dreaper. Churchill, London, 1906.

Chemistry and Practice of Finishing. Percy Bean. Kirkham and Pratt, Manchester, 1905.

Chemistry. Thomson and Bloxam. Churcliill, London, 1903.

Chemistry, Organic. Perkin and Kipping. Chambers, Edinburgh, 1907.

Cotton Fibre, Structure of. F. H. Bowman. Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London, 1908.

Dyeing, Manual of. Knecht, Rawson, and Loewentliall. Palmer and Howe, Manchester, 1893.

Dyeing of Textile Fibres. J. J. Hummel. Cassell, London, 1885.

Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry.

Journal of the Society of Dyers and Colourists.

Technology of Textile Fibres. Georgievics. Scott, London, 1902.

Testing House, Laboratory Xotes. J. H. Lester. Blacklock, Manchester, 1903.

Textile Fibres. J. M. Matthews. Chapman and Hall, London, 1907* Thorpe's Dictionary of Applied Chemistry. Longmans, London. 1905. Various Current Technical Journals.

Wool Fibre, Structure of. F. H. Bow^man. Palmer and Howe, Manchester, 1885.

XX

Chapter I

The advantage of Technical Education is now universally recognised, and all our towns and cities are equipping themselves with large technical schools and colleges, where a staff of highly trained teachers are expounding the principles of scientific knowledge, upon which in the future all our manufacturing and other industries must be based if this country is to hold its own in the race for commercial supremacy. The rapid strides which are being made by our competitors on the Continent of Europe, and in the United States of America, and the readiness with which they are calling into requisition all the resources which modern scientific investigation and research have placed at their disposal, is an additional reason why every effort should be put forth to enable the young men of this country to enjoy equal advantages.

There is no doubt but that during the middle of the last century the unparalleled advantage enjoyed by Germany, in the possession of a complete system of graduated education, and the foundation of large and well - equipped poly technical institutions, with research laboratories both for physical and chemical instruction,

I B

CHAP.

laid the foundation of the surprising development of the trade and commerce of that countr}^, and which especially has enabled Germany to take a leading position in the steel and chemical industries, and all those which depend for their success upon a knowledge of exact science. Fortunately, these advantages are now to be obtained in this country also, and, although somewhat late in the field, we are now possessed of similar institutions which are second to none, and which, if full advantage is taken of them, will enable our countrymen, who are not behind other nations either in intellectual attainments, energy, determination, or inventive faculties, to keep abreast of the times, and carry into our workshops and manufactories the knowledge and skill which will not only enable us to maintain our position but to take the lead in every industry for which we are fitted, whether it be in articles of utility or taste.

Another element must also now be taken into consideration, viz. the awakening of the Eastern nations, led by the Japanese, who, fully aware of the advantages which knowledge has given to the Western nations whether in the arts of war or peace, have presented a wonderful renaissance, and within the space of two generations have sprung from a comparatively humble position to one of deserved recognition, and taken their place amongst the comity of nations. Their skill in art and metallurgy, especially in bronze casting and handicraft manipulation, such as the production of glazes, and the use of enamels in ornamental work and pottery, have always been remarkable, and they are now actively entering into competition with the Western world in almost every branch of commerce, such as cotton spinning, weaving, and various branches of engineering, and will contest with

I us in all the markets of the East. The same may also be said of the industrial activity which is now beginning to stir the latent energies of China, and which, with its enormous, docile, and industrious population, will before very long certainly enter the competition for her own market, with all the advantages of our most recent improvements in machinery, and with the cheapest labour in the world. Fortunately for us, our rivals, at any rate in Europe, so far as textile manufactures are concerned, have to work with the same raw materials as ourselves, and our insular position which gives us a sea -board on every side, and the fact that we are, thanks to our Free Trade policy, the great ocean carriers of the world, makes our country the great central emporium through which the raw materials for the world's use must pass, and gives us facilities for comparison and selection which are enjoyed by no other nation. In addition to this, " the island gem set in the silver sea," enswathed by the ocean waters, gives us a climate more equitable than the continental nations, and fosters the energy which might otherwise be enervated and paralysed by wider ranges of temperature. The fact that this country is the great market of the world's raw material enabled such men as the late Sir Titus Salt and Lord Masham, both of Bradford (Yorkshire), to secure supplies of alpaca wool and silk waste, which could not be used by others, and upon which they founded large and flourishing industries ; and it is not improbable that in the future analogous opportunities may be afl'orded which the higher technical knowledge and skill that is now available may be able to turn to good account.

In considering the general principles upon which successful industrial progress must be made, it is easy to see that we must, as a first instance, make ourselves

CHAP.

thoroughly masters of the great principles and laws that underlie all processes and reactions, whether mechanical or chemical, which the raw material must undergo in its transformation into the finished article.

Unless this is done we can never expect to attain the best results, because we shall be sure to treat the raw material either too little or too much, or subject it to processes which are either unnecessary or unfit for obtaining the object which we have in view.

To gain this end it is quite essential that, at the very outset of all our textile manufactures, we must have a clear and distinct knowledge of the true nature of the raw material upon which we have to work. Xo comprehension of general principles can obviate the necessity for this knowledge, because this alone can enable us to select the raw material that will best serve the purpose which we have in view, and then enable us to select our various transforming processes, so as to suit the raw material, by bringing into play all its peculiar properties without injury or detriment to its structure.

Attention to this will always enable us also to use the least expensive raw material for the purpose, because, if tlie material is not treated exactly as it should be in our mechanical and chemical operations, we shall be obliged to use a better raw material than we otherwise should, and so give an advantage to competitors who have a better knowledge than ourselves. The author has known of several instances where, in consequence of a want of chemical knowledge, the colour of a textile fibre was deteriorated in one process, and to overcome this a much better grade of raw material had to be employed, which, in consequence of its not containing a certain constituent, did not darken : while another man, who possessed the necessary knowledge

I to prevent the fibre from darkening, could use the lower grade which otherwise possessed all the qualifications required.

The neglect of these precautions, which have in most instances resulted from a want of knowledge, has in the past been a source of great annoyance and loss to the trade, and numerous cases have arisen in the worsted trade where the lustre of the wool has been destroyed by the chemical means used to cleanse it, or the staple broken and rendered less in strength and uniformity by the use of imperfect machinery, or imperfect setting of the machinery through which it was passed. Nor is this all, for it frequently happens that the raw material may be spoilt at the very outset and rendered less fit for manufacture, as in the case of saw-ginning in the cotton, or the neglect of the farmer in the care of his flock, or the injudicious use of detrimental sheep-dips and the use of tar or other smearing material, even before it comes into the hands of the manufacturer. Even the wrapping up of the fleece when in a damp condition may lead to tendering of the wool ; or folding it up in such a manner that the best parts of the wool come in contact with those where natural staining has occurred may render it unsuitable for certain purposes and less valuable to the manufacturer. Then, when it comes into his hands it frequently happens that the means employed in some of the earlier stages of the manufacture are absolutely detrimental to those which follow after, and which render it quite impossible to attain the results desired, at any rate in the best possible manner. It is well known, for example, that the spinner and weaver, who are usually quite distinct from the dyer and finisher, very seldom know or consider the processes to which the yarn or cloth will be subjected during the dyeing or

CHAP.

finishing process, and hence it frequently happens, as a result of this want of co-ordination, that the latter have to remove defects which might be avoided by care and forethought in the earlier stages of manufacture.

On this point the author need only instance such a case as the result of the influence of temperature on the wool fibre, which we shall afterwards see is a very important matter in determining both the after-strength and lustre of the wool as well as the power which the fibre possesses to receive the dye. In bygone days the thermometer was seldom called into requisition, in the washing process, to determine the heat of the water. Usually it was considered quite sufficient to guess the heat by immersion of the hand or the haphazard turning in of the steam, a process which, between two difierent conditions of the body or two different individuals, will not be the same within a very much wider range than any person would believe possible without trying the experiment.

Take another case, viz. the use of oil, after the washing of the wool has taken place, in the process of combing, carding, or spinning, where the yarn is afterwards to be used for the production of fabrics which have to be dyed into light and delicate shades, and requiring an even distribution over the whole surface, as well as where the wool is required to retain its soft and pliable condition. One of the secrets of the great success of the French dyers in certain classes of dress goods arises from the fact that, after the wool has been carefully washed with the right kind of feeding soap, it is afterwards worked dry and without the use of any artificial oiling, and thus the natural condition of the fibre is retained, and the surface of the fibre and its constituent cells are better fitted both for the preparatory cleansing and after-dyeing process.

For the most perfect manufacture there must be an intelligent understanding of every process, and the co-ordination of each to the after-treatment of the fibre, so that every step will be a step in the right direction, and each process, whether mechanical or chemical, while perfectly performing its appointed function, not in any way interfering with any which follow it.

It may seem at first sight as if this was a comparatively easy thing to accomplish, and one which a very little practice would enable us to settle in such a way that very few mistakes would be made. Experience, however, teaches us otherwise, and it would not be difficult to instance very many cases where up to a recent period, and indeed in some cases even now, in our process of manufacture we have to undo or at any rate put right in a subsequent process what has been put wrong in a former one. For example, it is often found in the spinning of yarn that with the desire to produce solid bobbins, in the preparing machinery, an excessive twist is put into the rovings, which in the spinning prevents the drawing out of the fibres, and thus causes serious breakage in the raw material and irregularity and roughness in the yarn which can never afterwards be removed. This excessive twist is often rendered necessary because of an improper adaptation of the size and weight of the preparing bobbin to the quality and counts of the yarn to be wound on to it, or the endeavour to spin on the machinery counts for which it was not adapted. As another instance in a different department, the author had placed in his hands a sample of wool that originally had a high lustre, but which was almost entirely removed from the yarn during the process of manufacture and before it was finished, in consequence of the improper treatment in the washing of

CHAP.

the wool, and several ingenious devices were called into requisition to endeavour to restore the lustre, without any satisfactory result.

The same wool in the hands of another manufacturer, only a short distance away, presented a very different appearance, and came up in the yarn bright and shining ; but even in this case there is no doubt that by the use of a different liquor in washing, and a proper regulation of the temperature, a still better result might have been attained.

Perfection in manufacture is indeed only possible when the best possible results are attained in each stage of the progress, and to do this each process must be worked out with the most careful detail in every part, and with constant and consistent reference to the end desired, and throughout the whole there must be constant vigilance to see that the best possible is always being achieved.

As a first principle it may be laid down that the raw material must be suited for the purpose to which it is to be employed ; and frequently it happens that through want of knowledge in this respect serious blunders are made, and materials used are not those best adapted to the purpose. Thus much of the failures in the use of such a fibre as that furnished by the ramie or China grass has resulted because it has been employed for purposes for which it was entirely unfitted as a result of its mechanical structure, although as regards its high lustre it might have been otherwise used, the fibres lacking the necessary elasticity and accommodation to flexure as compared with cotton or silk.

The investigation of the principles of structural economy, that is, of the fact that the same weight of material may be made to stand varying degrees of stress

I depending upon the method in which the material is disposed in the structure, and thus withstand a greater strain when arranged in one way than in another, has enabled the engineer to arrange his chief building materials, cast-iron and steel, in such a way that the members, say in the construction of a lattice girder, shall be disposed in it so that the cast-iron shall always be in compression and the steel in extension, and thus their respective advantages used in the best and most efficient manner. By this means the same strength can be obtained, and the weight much reduced. For example, the celebrated Britannia Tubular Bridge over the Menai Straits between the Welsh coast and the Island of Anglesea, and w^hich was the crowning work of Robert Stephenson, could to-day, by the application of the above principles, be made a much lighter structure, and yet equally solid and safe.

The microscopical examination of the principal fibres used in the textile trades has conclusively shown that these fibres are marvellous mechanical structures in which the material composing them is arranged in an almost endless variety of methods, and that this sti'ucture ought to be taken into account when selection is being made of them for any particular fabric. So also it reveals a conclusive reason why the methods and machinery employed in transforming them must differ in each case so that the structural peculiarities shall be used in the best manner, and therefore the best value obtained in every case. This work is intended to deal with this department of technology, especially both in its mechanical and chemical aspects.

The wide range which such an inquiry must necessarily take will prevent the consideration of the specific methods of manufacture, except in as far as they are conditioned lO

CHAP. I by the nature of the raw material being used and the reciprocal action of the machines upon the raw material. In the same way the inquiry into the origin and development of the wool and other allied fibres will be guided by the endeavour to subserve the knowledge so obtained to the considerations of methods and processes, which may tend to improve the raw material so as to better fit the wool for the purposes of the manufacturer, such as the improvements in the breed of sheep, and the methods of scientific agriculture in relation to their feeding and maintenance in health and condition, all of which react upon the nature and structure of the wool.

Before pursuing these inquiries it is necessary to consider shortly the nature and structural peculiarities of the different classes of raw material which are used in textile manufacture, as these are often used in combination. To do this successfully necessitates a knowledge of their difterences as well as their structural agreements, so as to enable the manufacturer to select those which are most suitable for combination along with wool, and treat the raw material when combined so as to bring out the best qualities of each.

This is specially necessary when the mixed fabric has to undergo any chemical treatment, because the chemical peculiarities and affinities of the different classes of raw material are essentially diverse.

Chapter II

The raw materials which are used in the manufacture of textile fabrics are derived from a great variety of sources, and our complicated civilisation now demands a continually widening range of new fibres, so as to satisfy these requirements.

Every source of supply from the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms are now being drawn upon, and the resources of the chemist and mechanician are being called into operation to supplement even this abundant variety by the production of artificial fibres possessing new properties and advantages. This is necessitated by the fact that in the clothing of our bodies, the furniture of our houses, and the various articles for decoration and utility, which are now deemed indispensable in all civilised countries, there is an increasingly wide demand ; while the quickening impulse of competition in business necessitates the employment of new forms and combinations as well as, if possible, the discovery of new materials which can be utilised in the manufacture of textile novelties.

Notwithstanding any of these new materials, by far the largest supply comes from sources with which manufacturers have been familiar from the remote past in the

CHAP.

countries from which they are respectively derived, and the facilities that are now given by means of improved transport have greatly widened the area w^hich can be relied upon for supply. Cotton is now coming in inci^easing quantities from parts of the world such as Africa, Australia, and the Australasian Islands, and from all parts of the British Empire within the Cotton belt, which, if the supply continues, will probably render this country independent of the United States. And wool is now being derived from sources which a few years ago did not supply a fleece, and in increasing quantities from the Argentine and other South American States, where the vast wellwatered plains form an ideal feeding-ground and the sheep flourishes amidst a congenial environment.