FELT. 193 



FELT, OR VEGETABLE LEATHER. 



This fabric is very similar to the other fibrous fabrics. It 

 however differs from them inasmuch as it is made of a greater 

 variety of fibrous materials which are put together in a different 

 way ; it is also applied to some uses to which the other fibrous 

 fabrics are not applied, such as sole leather, different kinds of 

 packing, foundation of carpeting, &c. The fibrous materials 

 of which it is made, such as cotton, cotton waste, flax, hemp, 

 hair, wool, rags, waste leather, &c., separately or combined with 

 one another, are first picked and then thrown together in bats 

 or sheets of a suitable thickness, instead of being carded in 

 alternate layers, as in the other fibrous fabrics ; consequently 

 the fibres of the bat or sheet are more entangled and not so 

 likely to split. When this fabric is used as a substitute for sole 

 leather, to be used on shoes and for some other purposes, one- 

 fourth to one-half its thickness is made of caoutchouc whale- 

 bone, in order to give greater firmness and hardness. 



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