COTTON FIBER SCIENCE — PALMER 491 



man of the U.S. Committee of Color Rendition for tJie U.S. National 

 Technical Committee of the International Commission, and as one 

 of three Special Tnistees of the Munsell Color Foundation. 



One of Webb's earliest staff members and closest coworkers was 

 T. L. W. Bailey, Jr., who perfected a highly skilled technique for 

 studying the cross-sectional conformations of cotton fibers, and who 

 accimiulated the first larf^e volume of data from the measurement of 

 a wide range of commercial and experimental cottons. His contribu- 

 tions of methodology and data and his illuminating cross-sectional 

 diagrams proved to be of extraordinary value to scientific workers 

 in cotton agriculture and the textile industry. Subsequently, Bailey 

 continued and expanded his scientific work on cotton fibers at the De- 

 iDartment's Southern Regional Laboratory in New Orleans, and later 

 at the Institute of Textile Technology in Charlottesville, Va. Now 

 with the Foreign Agricultural Service of USDA, he is carrying on 

 important technical liaison work between research agencies of the 

 United States and spinners of American cotton abroad. 



Dr. Carl M. Conrad, early recruited by Webb as a chemist, first 

 did invaluable work with his group of assistants in. calibratuig, im- 

 proving, and stantlardizing the methodology involved in four prom- 

 ising physical tests, namely, fiber length array, fiber strength (Chan- 

 dler wrapped round bundle), fiber weight fineness (array method), 

 and fi.ber maturity and immaturity. Much of the later success of 

 Webb's research and testing program was due to tlie many solid con- 

 tributions that Dr. Conrad and his assistants made toward perfecting 

 and standardizing the techniques and apparatus used in those four 

 tests. Later, Dr. Conrad and his staff made extensive analytical 

 studies on the chemical composition of cotton fibers and on the sound- 

 ness of their cellidose, the latter of which was done by fluidity, 

 methylene blue, and alkali-solubility tests. Many of the samples rep- 

 resented different varieties, growth conditions, ages, and degrees of 

 v/eathering and wear. Thus, a large body of interrelated data was 

 developed from these studies which served many useful and prac- 

 tical purposes. Subsequently, Dr. Conrad continued and expanded 

 his research along these liues in the Departm.ent's Southern Regional 

 Laboratory at New Orleans. Now he is Head of the Cotton Fiber 

 Pioneering Research Laboratory of that institution and the labora- 

 tory staff under his guidance is doing fundamental exploratory work 

 of the first order of importance. Over the years Dr. Conrad has 

 taken an active and responsible part in the work concerning national 

 and international standardization with respect to cotton fiber testing, 

 measurements, and evaluations, as sponsored by the American So- 

 ciety for Testing Materials, by the American Standards Associa- 

 tion, and by the International Standardization Organization. 



