ARTIFICIAL SILK 1 



BY JOSEPH CASH 



IT is a trite saying that all inventions are creatures of 

 evolution. I shall give a short description, therefore, of 

 a few attempts to produce the appearance of silk before 

 the perfected artificial article of to-day became an estab- 

 lished fact. Some were partially successful in effect and 

 others have been a pronounced commercial success, adding 

 greatly to the variety of the cheaper textile fabrics. 



SPUN GLASS is probably the earliest production which 

 resembles natural silk. The thread is perfectly flexible, 

 possessing great brilliancy, and is produced in a variety of 

 colors. The feel to the touch is soft and smooth ; it can be 

 woven into many textiles, and is specially useful in milli- 

 nery articles where warmth is not a necessary adjunct. 



POLISHED OR DIAMOND COTTON is a lustrous-looking arti- 

 cle, and in the fine sizes, or counts as it is called in the 

 trade, is silky in appearance and soft to the touch. An 

 enormous trade is done in this article for dress goods, as 

 it is often used in combination with silk. The process of 

 producing it is very simple, waxy and starchy substances 

 being put on the thread in a liquid emulsion ; the yarn is 

 then transferred to a polishing machine with rapid-revolv- 

 ing brushes, which completes the process. 



MERCERIZED COTTON. A process for giving a silky ap- 

 pearance to cotton has lately been brought to the notice of 

 manufacturers with very satisfactory results. The process 

 is practised by most cotton dyers, there being no valid 

 patent. The name is derived from the inventor, John 

 Mercer, 2 who discovered the process in 1844. The cotton 



Abstract, published in the Journal of the Society of Arts, 1899. 

 2 Note the coincidence that a silk merchant is called a mercer in 

 England. ED. 



