132 CLOTHES AND HOW THEY PROTECT US 



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FIG. 54. Cotton fibers. (Courtesy of 

 Philadelphia Commercial Museum.) 



to escape from the body. Foi 

 this reason cotton materials 

 should be discarded in cold 

 weather and replaced by woolen 

 ones. In summer, when there 

 is no need to protect the body 

 against loss of heat to the atmos- 

 phere, cotton is superior to 

 wool. There are innumerable 

 different weaves of cotton ma- 

 terials of widely varied charac- 

 ter, such as muslin, lawn, calico, 

 gingham, dimity, mull, crepe, 

 canton flannel, sateen, and khaki. 

 Cotton garments are easier to 

 launder than woolen ones be- 

 cause they are not injured by boiling water and by hot irons. 

 Cotton fibers are readily pulled and torn from seeds (Fig. 55), 



but flax fibers are not easily removed from flax plants, because 



they are embedded in the 



stems and are closely con- 

 nected with useless woody 



matter. The stems must 



be soaked in warm water 



until they soften and loosen 



up ; the fibers are then 



separated from the useless 



materials by beating and 



combing. 



Flax fibers are strong 



cylindrical strands 12 to 20 



FIG. 55. Cotton bolls. 



inches long, but they are stiff and straight and have little elastic- 

 ity, and linen materials do not " give " or shape themselves to 



