412 



NATURE 



[November 25, 1920 



Mr. H. R. Armitage, of the Bradford Dyers' Asso- 

 ciation, who was most unfortunately compelled to 

 resign owing- to ill-health after a few months' 

 activity. His place has been taken by Mr. 

 Kenneth Lee, of the Tootal Broadhurst, Lee Co., 

 Ltd. The council of the association is composed 

 of men representing all sections of the industry, 

 and is strengthened by the inclusion of some men 

 ■ of science and leaders of the following great 

 operatives' organisations : the Amalgamated Asso- 

 ciation of Operative Cotton Spinners, the Card 

 and Blowing Room and Ring Frame Operatives' 

 Association, the Amalgamated Weavers' Associa- 

 tion, and the Operative Bleachers', Dyers', and 

 Finishers' Association. 



In November, 1919, the council appointed the 

 present writer, then Daniell professor of chemistry 

 in King's College, University of London, director 

 of research. He was unable to take up his full 

 duties until April of the present year, and in the 

 meantime plans for the future development of the 

 association's activities were discussed. It was 

 decided that individual scientific effort would not 

 give the desired results, which could only be ob- 

 tained by establishing an institute worthy of the 

 great cotton industry, where all the sciences in- 

 volved in that industry would be found represented 

 and working in the closest co-operation. Apart, 

 therefore, from the annual income of the associa- 

 tion, the council has decided to raise a special 

 building fund of 250,000^. A property with more 

 than 13 acres of ground has been purchased in 

 Didsbury, and the existing house adapted to 

 serve as the administrative block, with accom- 

 modation for offices, library, council room, etc., 

 as well as dining rooms, rest rooms, and some 

 living rooms for the research workers. Owing to 

 the housing difficulty, it has also been decided to 

 build a certain number of houses in the grounds, 

 where the first portion of the laboratories and 

 workshops is also in course of construction. The 

 whole will be known as the Shirley Institute. 



The heads of the following departments have 

 been appointed : Information and records bureau ; 

 botany ; colloid chemistry and physics ; general 

 chemistry ; organic chemistry ; and physics ; and, 

 pending the completion of the new laboratories, 

 accommodation has been placed at their disposal 

 by the Manchester University and the College 

 of Technology. The information and records 

 bureau will have for its main object the acquiring 

 of all information regarding cotton, which will 

 be available for the members of the association. 

 In addition, current literature will be abstracted 

 and indexed, and reports on previous work on 

 cotton will be prepared. This naturally means the 

 gradual acquisition of an extensive library, and it 

 is hoped that, in accordance with the suggestion 

 contained in the Report on Libraries and Museums 

 of the Adult Education Committee of the Ministry 

 of Reconstruction (Cmd. 9237), this will become a 

 central library organisation for the cotton industry. 



The council has taken a very broad view regard- 

 ing the nature of the research work to be under- 

 taken, which is necessitated by the almost com- 

 NO. 2665, VOL. 106] 



plete interdependence of the various sections of 

 the industry. Work which will benefit one section 

 must of necessity exert an influence on the whole 

 industry. Hence, as shown by a programme of 

 research drawn up by the research committee for 

 the general guidance of the director and research 

 staff, the work will be mainly of a fundamental 

 nature. For the future development of the in- 

 dustry it must be left to science to find out more 

 of the life-history and properties of the cotton 

 fibre, and to carry out fundamental research into 

 the chemical and physical changes introduced 

 during manufacture, before the users of the fibre, 

 in conjunction with the research staff, can make 

 suggestions for the improvement of existing pro- 

 cesses and machinery. For example, the study 

 of the properties (botanical, chemical, and physical) 

 of the single cotton fibre is fundamental to the 

 whole industry. The fibre is of a complicated 

 nature, consisting of differing chemical products 

 enclosed in an outer skin or cuticle, and it is not 

 known certainly whether some bleaching processes 

 rernove the cuticle, or how its presence or absence 

 affects the feel, lustre, dyeing, and wearing pro- 

 perties of fabrics. The botanical side will also 

 be concerned with the conditions of growth and 

 breeding of the cotton plant, in so far as these 

 affect the quality of the raw material, and it is 

 hoped that this work will be carried out in the 

 closest conjunction with the research department 

 of the Empire Cotton Growing Committee. 



The general purpose of research in cotton spin- 

 ning will be to connect the properties of the raw 

 cotton with those of the yarn it produces. Even- 

 ness of yarn is of importance to both the spinner 

 and the weaver, but methods for improving this 

 and other qualities demand in the first place- 

 accurate methods of testing them. During the 

 exploration of this field precise information should 

 be obtained as to the manner in which each exist- 

 ing machine carries out its various functions, and 

 as to the effect of different properties of the raw 

 cotton and of mixings thereof on these functions. 

 Such measurements and information require the 

 invention of special scientific instruments and 

 methods for measuring the properties of raw 

 cotton — e.g. length of staple, the diameter, 

 strength, and elasticity of yarns and fabrics, and 

 the effect of temperature and humidity on the 

 spinning properties of the fibre. 



The sizing problem is also one of great import- 

 ance. It is not known, for example, why sizes 

 prepared apparently in the same way should pro- 

 duce in some cases hard, and in others soft, 

 warps, or what is the effect on the size of adding 

 waxes, fats, and other substances, or how these 

 affect the penetration of the threads, strength, and 

 resistance to rubbing ; nor is it possible in 

 many cases to trace the cause of defective sizing 

 to its ultimate chemical or physical source, or to 

 predict from an analysis the exact sizing qualities 

 of a given sample of material. 



Many other problems could be alluded to — e.g. 

 the effect of water and of steam at high and low 

 pressures on the fibre, and the tendering of fibres 



