SOUTHERN HORIZONS 



search directors now sit down together at the meetings 

 of the Industrial Fibers Institute. Under the chairman- 

 ship of John Elting of the Kendall Mills they toss back 

 and forth questions and answers. 



In spite of the clamps screwed down by war condi- 

 tions, out of all this yeasty ferment of research have 

 already come new materials and new methods. Good 

 worsteds can be made now on cotton machinery out of 

 wool tops or wool and rayon. The saving is a quarter of 

 the old costs. New machinery can handle fiber lengths 

 up to three inches. A new flat knitting, called tricot, 

 yields a big production of amazingly beautiful fabrics. 

 Spinning and weaving are wholly eliminated in a new 

 process by spreading out oriented fibers, then impreg- 

 nating them with a binder, and applying heat to pro- 

 duce a disposable cloth at low cost for table and bed 

 "linens" which have long been cottons. 



The Navy approved such a disposable white collar for 

 officers. They are made of layers of cotton-paper-cotton, 

 formed in great sheets. The collars are stamped out 

 complete with seams and button holes. Wear them a 

 day, turn, and wear another day, then toss them in the 

 wastebasket. Cost? sixty cents a dozen, a nickel apiece, 

 and laundering costs seven cents per collar! 



As for new fabrics the future belongs to specialized, 

 made-to-order materials. Cotton men pin their faith on 

 this cheap, strong, washable, versatile fiber to be the 

 base upon which the new combination will be built. 



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