98 REPORT OF NATIONAL, MUSEUM, 1921. 



The silk collection was increased by seven specimens of novelty 

 silk fabrics woven at Hazelton, Pa., the gift of the Duplan Silk 

 Corporation, New York City. These comprise beautiful piece and 

 cross-dyed combinations of silk and artificial silk, woven with 

 hard-twisted crepe yarns and slack-twisted novelty yarns in plain, 

 satin, and twill weaves. 



In accordance with the plan of preserving as an historical record 

 all types of equipment and apparatus used in the War with Ger- 

 man3% the Museum obtained by transfer from the Director of Air 

 Service, specimens of the airplane fabrics used in the construction 

 and equipment of airplanes for military use. These included two 

 grades of imported Irish linen manufactured in accordance with 

 British Air Board specifications, and the best grades of cotton 

 airplane cloth and balloon cloth. These wonderful fabrics were 

 made in America from sea-island cotton of not less than one 

 and one-half inch staple. The airplane cotton weighs about 4 

 ounces to the square yard, is mercerized, and looks like fine silk 

 poplin. The Director of the Air Service, through the Material 

 Disposal and Salvage Division, sold a surplus of these fabrics, 

 amounting to many hundred thousand yards, to the public and to 

 manufacturers. In order to demonstrate to the drj^-goods trade 

 how the cotton airplane and balloon fabrics could be used, some of 

 it was " converted " into dress and drapery fabrics by bleaching, 

 dyeing, or printing. The converted airplane fabrics were also sold 

 to the public, and samples of these were included in the specimens 

 transferred to the Museum. 



The Museum is indebted to Mr. T. J. Keleher, of Washington, 

 D. C, for a Riker mount of a series of entomological specimens 

 exhibiting the life cycle of the silkworm moth. 



The collection of hand-woven and hand-worked textiles was aug- 

 mented by a number of interesting specimens acquired by gift, loan, 

 or purchase. To Miss Em-Sidell Schroeder, of Washington, the 

 Museum is indebted for the gift of a fine specimen of tied and dyed 

 work in the shape of a " Shikar Chundri," made in Rajputana, 

 India. This has only a part of the strings removed, and shows the 

 method of tying the cotton fabric to enable portions of it to resist 

 the dye and so develop the intended pattern. Miss Schroeder also 

 contributed two specimens of hand weaving done at the Washington 

 Handicraft School, and a bark cloth pillow cover. An old blue and 

 Avhite double-woven coverlet was received by exchange from Mrs. 

 M. W. Gill of Washington, D. C. Two patchwork quilts, repre- 

 senting a form of needlework which was once a popular household 

 art, but is now fast passing away, were received during the year. 

 One, of silk, loaned to the collections by Mrs. A. F. Graham, of 

 Washington, D. C, presents good examples of patchAvork, quilting, 



