PERMANENT FIREPROOFING OF COTTON GOODS 401 



once the great difference in the feel between the comparatively hard 

 flat surface of the calico and the raised surface of the flannelette. 



Flannelette is indeed little, if at all, inferior to flannel as a non- 

 conducting material and as it is very cheap and does not shrink in the 

 wash, it has become very popular and is manufactured in enormous 

 quantities and almost universally used for the clothing of children, 

 especially in the homes of the poorer classes. 



But it was not long before its increasing use showed unmistakably 

 that it has one terrible drawback — the nap, which is its peculiar 

 feature, makes it highly inflammable and much more so than the calico 

 from which it was manufactured. 



Flannelette is in fact, as I have already said, very much like calico 

 on the surface of which a thin layer of cotton wool has been spread 

 and this layer is, of course, highly inflammable. 



I can easily demonstrate the difference in the inflammability of 

 calico and flannelette by applying a light to strips of each, when it 

 will be seen that while calico burns in the ordinary way, in the case of 

 flannelette, the flame flashes over the whole surface of the fluffy cotton 

 layer and travels with extraordinary rapidity. 



It is, of course, this property which makes flannelette one of the 

 most dangerous of materials for clothing purposes. The alarming 

 frequency of deaths by burning due to the wearing of flannelette 

 became common knowledge, the coroners all over Great Britain repeat- 

 edly called attention to the matter and by degrees the agitation against 

 its use for clothing became so persistent that the Coroners' Committee 

 of the Home Office was directed to inquire into the matter. 



The committee recognized that whilst, to quote the words of their 

 report, " We think the common opinion attributing to it (flannelette) 

 a large share of the blame (of burning accidents) is not far wrong" 

 that it was impossible to prohibit its use without causing great hard- 

 ship, especially to the poor. Several years before this inquiry was 

 held, one of the largest firms of flannelette manufacturers in Man- 

 chester, Messrs. Whipp Bros, and Tod, becoming alarmed at the fre- 

 quent occurrence of fatal burning accidents and fearing lest these 

 might lead to the prohibition of the sale of the material, came to me 

 and asked whether I would undertake a series of experiments with the 

 object of endeavoring to find a remedy for this state of things, and, 

 after looking carefully into the matter, I consented to do what I could. 

 That the problem was a difficult one from many points of view will be 

 readily understood if I briefly state the conditions which had to be 

 kept constantly in mind while the experiments were being carried on. 

 A process to be successful must in the first place not damage the feel 

 or durability of the cloth or cause it to go damp as so many chemicals 

 do, and it must not make it dusty. It must not affect the colors or 



