. 



HAIR-CLOTH. 



387 



others read at the Conference, and consti- 

 tutes not the least important in that collec- 

 tion. Prof. Guyot occupied a part of his lei- 

 sure in preparing for the Academy of Sciences 

 a memoir of his friend and associate, Louis 

 Agassiz, who died in 1873. A part of this mem- 

 oir was read, in October, 1877, at the semi- 

 annual meeting of the Academy in New York. 

 He also co- operated with President Barnard, 

 of Columbia College, in editing Johnson's Cy- 

 clopaedia. His last work was on " Creation," 

 and was finished just before his death. In this 

 he presents, with great force, the arguments 

 that go to show the harmony of the Mo- 



saic records with the acknowledged facts of 

 modern science. Prof. Guyot received the de- 

 gree of Doctor of Laws from Union College, 

 and was one of the original members of the 

 National Academy of Sciences when it was 

 created by Congress. He was also elected a 

 corresponding member of numerous foreign 

 academies and learned societies. He was 

 noted for his gentle manners, his sincere piety, 

 his kindness to students, and his marvelous 

 success in giving life and interest to the stud- 

 ies that were pursued in his department. Prof. 

 Guyot married ex-Governor Haines's daughter, 

 who survives him. 



H 



HAIR-CLOTH. A fabric for upholstering fur- 

 niture. It is desirable because of its cleanli- 

 ness and durability. The warp is of cotton or 

 linen, usually dyed black. American manu- 

 facturers prefer cotton because of its flexibility. 

 English and Germans prefer linen. The filling 

 is of hair from the tails of horses. The hair is 

 obtained from Russia and South America. 

 The most desirable hair, because longest and 

 finest, is from Russia. 



Manufacture. The hanks and masses of hair 

 are partially hackled and washed, and then 

 dyed black, excepting small portions of the 

 white and gray, which are selected and woven 

 in the natural color. After being dyed, the 

 hair is drawn. The mass, after being thor- 

 oughly hackled, is placed on a set of steel points, 

 a similar set being inverted upon them, form- 

 ing a kind of rack and clamp. From these sets 

 of points the workmen draw out the hair in 

 small wisps, seizing them between the thumb 

 and the blade of a dull knife. By the first 

 drawing the hairs are straightened, and all 

 brought evenly together at one end. They are 

 then placed on the racks a second time, now 

 with the uneven ends toward the workmen, 

 and by the second drawing are assorted ac- 

 cording to their length and arranged in bun- 

 dles of about half an inch diameter, with one 

 end secured by a rubber hand. A machine has 

 been invented for drawing hair, hut it has not 

 been used to any great extent. The drawing, 

 besides straightening and assorting the hair, 

 gives it a glossy luster, which adds much to the 

 elegance of the cloth. The hair is assorted into 

 twenty-six different lengths, varying from six- 

 teen to forty inches. Hair long enough to weave 

 cloth thirty-six inches wide is very scarce ; a 

 factory producing over half a million yards 

 annually will not weave more than about one 

 hundred yards of that width. Hair- seating is 

 commercially rated, as to width, by measure- 

 ment within the selvedge ; the hair used being 

 in length four inches more than the rated width 

 of the cloth produced. This surplus has to 

 provide not only for the selvedge, but also for 

 the fact that the switch end of the hair is so 

 fine, and often so weak, that it can not be fully 



relied upon for utility. Hair from six to six- 

 teen inches in length is sold to brush-makers, 

 and the very short is curled for mattresses. 



The modern hair-cloth loom resembles an 

 ordinary cotton or woolen cloth loom in its 

 general appearance. But instead of a shuttle 

 carrying the woof, a rod is shot between the 

 threads of the warp, provided at the end with 

 a pair of nippers, which, working automati- 

 cally, seize the hairs that are individually pre- 

 sented to it by the selecting instrument. This 

 instrument is a very ingenious device. It con- 

 sists of a tiny pair of forceps capable of holding 

 but a single hair. Two wires, with a micro- 

 scopic groove in the end of one of them, shut 

 together somewhat like the bill of a bird, one 

 hooking slightly over the other, and giving the 

 points a sliding motion as they close, thus ef- 

 fectually separating the hairs so that only one 

 is retained. This instrument is adjusted some- 

 what after the manner of the needle-bar of a 

 sewing-machine, over a bundle of hair, so as to 

 drop into it, opening as it descends and closing 

 as it rises. By a delicate adjustment, it is so 

 arranged, that if it fails to get a hair by the 

 first movement, itciin make three efforts before 

 the return of the nippers. If it gets one by 

 the first effort, as it almost invariably does 

 when the hair is properly prepared for the 

 loom, it makes no other descent until the hair 

 i-5 taken away by the nipper. If from any 

 cause no hnir is presented, the harnesses remain 

 stationary, so that no damage is done to the 

 cloth, although the loom continues in motion 

 without any hair being fed. As soon as a hair 

 is fed in, the harnesses resume their motion. The 

 reed of the loom is slightly curved, to allow for 

 the contraction of the hair, which is woven in 

 with a slight tension, and, being very elastic, 

 stretches somewhat under it, and contracts 

 when free. The daily product of one loom is 

 from five to eight yards, the difference being 

 due to the differing quantity of hair used in 

 light or heavy cloth. A skillful operative can 

 attend ten looms. A loom has been invented 

 which feeds hair from both sides, thus nomi- 

 nally doubling the producing capacity, but it 

 has not yet been brought into commercial use. 



