METHODS OF INVESTIGATION 189 



found namely, for length a probable error of about 

 10 per cent., and for breaking strain about 15 per cent. 



O'Neill used a cylinder floating in water which could 

 be withdrawn from a stopcock, thus increasing the strain 

 on the fibre fastened to the top of the cylinder. Subse- 

 quent workers have modified his apparatus, notably Yves 

 Henry; but the method remained slow about fifteen 

 minutes per test and required the use of skilled labour 

 throughout. Mr. F. Hughes made a great advance in the 

 method by mounting the fibres across a hole in a piece of 

 black paper with sealing-wax; this paper could then be 

 hooked into the testing apparatus, the sides of the hole 

 cut through, and the fibre was then free to be strained; 

 we subsequently found that this device had been em- 

 ployed independently by other workers, but the merit of 

 it from our point of view was that all the preparation could 

 be put into the hands of a native lab-boy, and only the 

 actual testing done by skilled labour, at the rate of about 

 five minutes per test. Mr. Hughes further arranged that 

 the load should be applied at a fairly constant velocity, 

 by putting a fine-drawn tube in the stopcock outlet, and 

 thus obviated one of the main objections to the old form 

 of the appliance. 



The immediate cause of this strength- testing work was 

 our mild dissatisfaction with the spinning industry, who 

 complained that Egyptian cotton was not so strong as it 

 used to be, but could not produce sufficient figures to 

 carry conviction to the growers and official bodies con- 

 cerned, although many were prepared to believe it. It 

 was felt, quite rightly, that some beginning must be made 



