APPENDIX II. 



HOW TO DISTINGUISH ONE FIBRE FROM 

 ANOTHER IN ALL STAGES OF THEIR MANU- 

 FACTURE. 



NOWADAYS the finishers of textile fabrics, &c., have become 

 so expert that it is sometimes by no means easy for the man 

 in the street to say with any degree of certainty if a handker- 

 chief is linen or cotton or if hemp twine consists largely 

 of jute. 



The object of the present paragraph is to give a few tests, 

 which are not difficult to make, and which may be found 

 useful to our readers. 



Cotton is much more easily spun than flax, and in the 

 ordinary way produces a much more regular thread free from 

 the slubs and naps which are generally found in linen yarns. 

 Consequently if a handkerchief, &c., be held up to the light it 

 is generally pretty easy to judge from the appearance of the 

 warp and weft threads if one or both are linen or cotton. 

 When the cloth is a union, weavers generally prefer to use a 

 cotton warp and a linen weft, as the former yarn is more 

 elastic and weaves better. No matter how well a cotton 

 cloth is stiffened and glazed by the finisher, its linen-like 

 appearance disappears, and after the first washing it becomes 

 a cotton rag. 



An admixture of jute with hemp or flax yarn in cords, 

 ropes, or woven fabrics may be detected in the following 

 manner. Prepare a saturated solution of chloride of lime, 



