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 crépe yarns and slack-twisted novelty yarns in plain, 
satin, and twill weaves. 
Tn accordance with the plan of preserving as an historical record 
all types of equipment and apparatus used in the War with Ger- 
many, 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 dry-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 
white 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 patchwork, quilting, 
