444 



NATURE 



[December 2, 1920 



industry with which they are intimately ac- 

 quainted. 



In addition to conducting the ordinary labora- 

 tory research work, provision has been made for 

 entering- into agreements with mills and works for 

 carrying out any experiments on the manufactur- 

 ing scale which have, or may, become necessary. 



Considerable progress has been made towards 

 the establishment by the association of a wool 

 textile library, where literature relating to the 

 industries is being indexed, abstracted, and ar- 

 ranged. In this connection it is hoped to work in 

 close co-operation with the university and com- 

 mercial libraries "already in existence, so that there 

 shall be a minimum of overlapping. 



There is also being established a bureau of infor- 

 mation, to which any member of the association 

 can apply for assistance in the technical and other 

 difficulties which he may encounter in his business. 

 If the information necessary for the solution of his 

 difficulty is available, it will be supplied to him ; if 

 this information is not available, the member will 

 be able to rely on attempts being made to 

 procure it. 



Besides the scheme of co-operative research for 

 the common good of members of the association, 

 it is proposed to make provision for carrying on 

 investigations at the request of individual mem- 

 bers, at their own cost and for their own benefit. 

 In such cases the work will be done under the 

 supervision and control of the Director of 

 Research, and fees will be charged to cover the 

 cost of the investigation. 



The association has purchased a large mansion 

 in about four acres of ground, which is at present 

 being converted into physical, chemical, and 

 mechanical laboratories, with rooms specially 

 adapted for photographic and photomicrographic 

 work. A feature is being made of the possibility 

 of modifying and improving testing machines and 

 devices for fibres, yarns, fabrics, etc. 



In the basement of the premises a room is 

 being fitted up, the atmosphere of which can be 

 automatically controlled as to temperature and 

 humidity. The chamber is of sufficient size to 

 enable experiments to be conducted within it 

 under known and controllable conditions. Kx. 

 least two such rooms exist in the U.S.A. for use 

 in testing paper and textiles, but, so far as is 

 known, there are none in this country, apart from 

 arrangements for increasitif; humiditv. A small 

 experimental plant is also being installed for the 

 investigation of problems of scouring, milling, and 

 finishing, and, as necessity arises, small-scale 

 plants will be installed for other experiments. 



As regards the programme of research, a 

 number of " practical " problems have been for- 

 mulated, among which may be mentioned the 

 effect of "condition" (i.e. percentage of moisture), 

 strength, finish, handle, waterproofing, efficiency 

 and suitability of machinery, etc. For the 

 solution of these problems a large amount of 

 work is required on the ultimate properties, 

 physical, mechanical, chemical, etc., of the fibre. 

 Even for the commoner processes and reactions 

 NO. 2666, VOL. 106] 



the information available is by no means complete 

 or convenient. The early work of the association 

 is bound, therefore, to include a great deal of 

 former work by way of review and amplification. 

 There are very many branches of the subject that 

 have been worked at many times, but not com- 

 pleted. This particularly applies to the absence 

 of micrographic and often of physical tests. 



Kor example, some information is available on 

 the swelling and elongation of fibres with water 

 and reagents, on the manner in which the 

 strength and elasticity of fibres are affected, and 

 how they stiffen, soften, etc. The information at 

 present available on those points is, however, 

 neither sufficiently authoritative nor complete. 

 Again, similar investigations will require to hi- 

 extended to yarns, etc. Then there is the whole 

 question of the effect of tension on the measurini; 

 and winding of yarn. Also, there is no accurate 

 method of standardisation of qualities or descrip- 

 tions in the trade, and the possibility of establish- 

 ing accurate standards is to be investigated. 

 Experiments have been going on- for some timt- 

 into the matter of the electrification of fibres 

 during certain processes, and the better control 

 of this factor would be of great commercial 

 importance. 



It is on the basis of such information as is 

 indicated above that manufacturing processes 

 ultimatelv depend, ^^'henever a problem in manu- 

 facturing arises, it is nearly always found that the 

 investigation leads back to questions of a fun- 

 damental character. 



Appointments of staff have already been made 

 to cover the sections relating to physical, 

 chemical, and mechanical problems. On the 

 physics side an analysis will be luidertaken of the 

 ultimate physical conditions which distinguish wool 

 from other fibres. This will lead up to a definition 

 of the properties of any substitute. Many experi- 

 ments will be made in the special humidity-con- 

 trolled room, and tests carried out during and after 

 the various processes through which the fibre 

 passes before becoming finished fabric. 



A wide field is opened up on questions of the 

 effect on strength, elasticity, etc., of numerous 

 reagents, and in this connection very many notes 

 have been made of the action of various reagents, 

 which require further investigation. It is intended 

 to examine the many proposals for the prepara- 

 tion of wool substitutes, and to compare the 

 actual properties of the resulting products. 



Attention will also have to be paid to the elim- 

 ination of waste in the various processes and to 

 the recovery of grease, soaps, etc. This might be 

 done more by way of demonstration than by in- 

 vestigation, as many processes are known but are 

 not in regular use. Comparisons will be made of 

 the detergent power of soaps and other detergents, 

 and also of the soaps of various fats as between 

 themselves. 



On the biological side it is emphasised that 

 there is much scojje for improving the quality of 

 British wools, and several conferences have 

 been held at which all interested bodies and 



