Kb) -REPORT ON SECTION OF TEXTILE INDUSTRIES IN THE 

 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1884. 



By Romyn Hitchcock, Acting Curator. 



The collection of textile fibers and fabrics was placed under my charge 

 in "November, 1883, at which time there was a large accumulation of ma- 

 terial in the Museum pertaining to this department, which was stowed 

 away in drawers and boxes. Much of this material was of value, some 

 of it worthless, and it required no little labor to classify and arrange it 

 for display. When this work was begun there was scarcely a single 

 case of textiles on exhibition properly arrranged and labelled. There 

 are now not less than thirty sliding-screen cases completely filled with 

 specimens, each one of which is labelled either with a permanent printed, 

 or a temporary written, label. By far the greater number of these have 

 been mounted during the year 1884. In the beginning of work in this 

 department many difficulties were encountered. It was necessary, first 

 of all, to devise a system of classification for fibers and fabrics which 

 would be comprehensive. As regards vegetable fibers, various systems 

 were considered, in the hope that a scientific classification might be 

 found which would serve well for industrial purposes ; but a brief study 

 of the subject clearly showed the impracticability of such a scheme. 

 Turning then to purely artificial systems, it is not necessary to refer to 

 the merits and demerits of those which have been proposed from time 

 to time, but merely to say that the system which has seemed best for 

 museum purposes is based upon the position of the fibers in the plants. 

 The plan of classification adopted for textile fibers is as follows : 



Type. 



Mineral fibers Asbestos. 



Vegetable fibers: 



Grasses, stems, barks, &c., used in the natural condition Esparto. 



Stem, leaf, and root fibers: 



Bast fibers Flax. 



Foliaceons fibers New Zealand flax. 



Seed fibers Cotton. 



Animal fibers : 



Wool Sheep's wool. 



Hair Cow's hair. 



Silk , „ Silk. 



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