SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 



43 



leaving us with the cellulose we started with, but a cellulose pos- 

 sessing practically all the properties of natural silk. 



At present artificial silk is manufactured for the most part in 

 France. A recent article states that in that country the daily pro- 

 duction amounts to 44,000 pounds, which is exported chiefly to Ger- 

 many, the United States and Japan. The cost of production is about 

 one dollar per pound by the viscose process. This artificial silk is 

 used for lining scarfs and skirts, for mixed cottons, upholstery, in 

 taffetas, and even in umbrella covers. Its use is rapidly growing, 

 and it will not be surprising if it supplants the natural article in the 

 near future. 



The foregoing brief description of a few of the industries de- 

 pending upon cellulose as the raw material, and which have tre- 

 mendous commercial importance, will show that these industries 

 have been developed upon a very slender knowledge of the raw mate- 

 rial. It should also show plainly that cellulose offers a rich field for 

 research, for if such large industries can be built up upon such a 

 meagre knowledge of the material worked with, what might not be 

 accomplished in industrial lines were we to know cellulose as we 

 know the majority of common substances? 



W. O. W. 



