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  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1943 
  

  

  of 
  the 
  above 
  company 
  brought 
  a 
  sample 
  of 
  peanut 
  protein 
  fiber 
  and 
  

   cloth 
  (made 
  of 
  50 
  parts 
  peanut 
  fiber 
  and 
  50 
  parts 
  wool) 
  to 
  this 
  

   country 
  in 
  1939. 
  

  

  I 
  am 
  informed 
  by 
  the 
  New 
  York 
  office 
  of 
  Imperial 
  Chemical 
  In- 
  

   dustries, 
  Ltd., 
  that 
  this 
  work 
  is 
  at 
  present 
  still 
  in 
  the 
  experimental 
  

   stage. 
  There 
  has 
  been 
  no 
  commercial 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  fiber 
  in 
  

   England 
  or 
  in 
  any 
  other 
  country, 
  neither 
  could 
  they 
  state 
  when 
  such 
  

   commercial 
  development 
  is 
  likely 
  to 
  be 
  achieved. 
  

  

  The 
  only 
  public 
  knowledge 
  of 
  this 
  work 
  is 
  in 
  United 
  States 
  patent 
  

   No. 
  2,230,624, 
  applied 
  for 
  on 
  February 
  4, 
  1939, 
  and 
  granted 
  on 
  Febru- 
  

   ary 
  4, 
  1941, 
  to 
  Andrew 
  McLean, 
  Saltscoats, 
  Scotland, 
  and 
  assigned 
  

   to 
  Imperial 
  Chemical 
  Industries, 
  Ltd., 
  England. 
  There 
  are 
  seven 
  

   claims. 
  

  

  From 
  what 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  in 
  very 
  small 
  samples 
  the 
  fibers 
  have 
  an 
  

   excellent 
  appearance, 
  are 
  softer 
  than 
  wool 
  and 
  fine, 
  and 
  take 
  dyes 
  

   even 
  better 
  than 
  wool. 
  It 
  might 
  be 
  stated 
  also 
  that 
  the 
  above 
  

   company 
  has 
  produced 
  satisfactory 
  fiber 
  from 
  castor 
  seed 
  and 
  edestin, 
  

   a 
  crystalline 
  globulin 
  found 
  in 
  many 
  edible 
  seeds 
  such 
  as 
  wheat, 
  

   rye, 
  maize, 
  etc. 
  This 
  indicates 
  that 
  we 
  may 
  see 
  more 
  of 
  these 
  

   protein 
  fibers 
  after 
  the 
  war. 
  

  

  PLASTIC-COATED 
  TEXTILE 
  YARNS 
  

  

  Another 
  unusual 
  development, 
  which 
  has 
  gone 
  forward 
  quietly 
  and 
  

   is 
  now 
  assuming 
  considerable 
  proportions 
  and 
  importance 
  in 
  the 
  war 
  

   effort, 
  is 
  the 
  coating 
  of 
  cotton, 
  rayon, 
  and 
  fiber-glass 
  yarns 
  with 
  in- 
  

   finitely 
  fine 
  coatings 
  of 
  plastic 
  solutions 
  to 
  give 
  them 
  added 
  and 
  almost 
  

   unlimited 
  strength, 
  brightness 
  or 
  dullness, 
  color, 
  to 
  make 
  them 
  com- 
  

   pletely 
  waterproof 
  and 
  moisture-resistant, 
  flame-retarding 
  or 
  self-ex- 
  

   tinguishing, 
  or 
  to 
  make 
  them 
  resistant 
  to 
  mild 
  acids, 
  perspiration, 
  oil, 
  

   and 
  grease, 
  as 
  desired. 
  This 
  may 
  seem 
  difficult 
  of 
  accomplishment 
  but 
  

   is 
  now 
  a 
  reality 
  and 
  has 
  found 
  many 
  interesting 
  and 
  technical 
  applica- 
  

   tions 
  in 
  the 
  textile 
  industry. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  the 
  invention 
  of 
  two 
  Frenchmen, 
  Koumazeilles 
  and 
  Girard, 
  and 
  

   was 
  patented 
  in 
  France 
  in 
  1925 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  in 
  1930. 
  The 
  

   American 
  patent 
  rights 
  to 
  the 
  now-called 
  Plexon 
  Process 
  were 
  pur- 
  

   chased 
  by 
  Freydberg 
  Bros.-Strauss 
  in 
  1938. 
  The 
  first 
  Plexon 
  yarns 
  

   were 
  introduced 
  here 
  in 
  1939 
  after 
  making 
  many 
  improvements 
  in 
  the 
  

   methods 
  and 
  machinery 
  required. 
  At 
  first 
  quite 
  expensive, 
  the 
  speeding 
  

   up 
  of 
  the 
  process 
  and 
  finding 
  suitable 
  and 
  practical 
  plastic 
  formula- 
  

   tions 
  resulted 
  in 
  price 
  reductions, 
  which 
  now 
  brings 
  these 
  yarns 
  within 
  

   reach 
  of 
  many 
  new 
  applications. 
  

  

  In 
  1942 
  the 
  entire 
  procedure 
  was 
  revamped 
  again, 
  both 
  as 
  to 
  ma- 
  

   chine 
  construction 
  and 
  speed 
  of 
  production, 
  so 
  that 
  today 
  these 
  yarns 
  

  

  