Textiles and Clothing | Page 7

by scutching.
[Sidenote: Hackling]
Hackling or combing still further separates the fibers into their finest
filaments--"line" and "tow." The "flax line" is the long and valuable
fiber; the tow, the short coarse tangled fiber which is spun and used for
weaving coarse linen.
[Illustration: FLAX
A, Unthrashed Straw; B, Retted; C, Cleaned or Scutched; D, Hackled
or Dressed.
(Photograph of C. R. Dodge).]
[Illustration: HACKLING FLAX BY HAND
The "Tow" Is Seen at the Left and a Bunch of "Flax line" on the Bench.
(Photograph of C. R. Dodge, Special Agent U. S. Department of
Agriculture.)]

[Sidenote: Characteristics of Linen]
When freed from all impurities the chief physical characteristics of flax
are its snowy whiteness, silky luster and great tenacity. The individual
fibers may be from ten to twelve inches in length; they are much
greater in diameter than cotton. It is less pliant and elastic than cotton
and bleaches and dyes less readily. Linen cloth is a better conductor of
heat than cotton and clothing made from it is cooler. When pure, it is,
like cotton, nearly pure cellulose.
[Sidenote: Ramie]
Besides the linen, there is a great number of bast fibers fit for textile
purposes, some superior, some inferior. India alone has over three
hundred plants that are fiber yielding. One-third of these furnish useful
fibers for cordage and fabrics. The next in importance to linen is ramie
or rhea, and China grass. China grass comes from a different plant but
is about the same as ramie. The staple is longer and finer than linen.
The great strength of yarn made from it is due to length of the staple.
The variety and great value of the ramie fibers has long been
recognized, but difficulties attending the separation and degumming of
the fibers have prevented its employment in the manufactures to any
great extent. The native Chinese split and scrape the plant stems,
steeping them in water. The common retting process used for flax is not
effective on account of the large amount of gummy matter, and
although easy to bleach it is difficult to dye in full bright shades
without injuring the luster of the fibers.
[Sidenote: Jute and Hemp]
Jute and hemp belong to the lower order of bast fibers. The fiber is
large and is unfit for any but the coarsest kind of fabrics. Jute is mainly
cultivated in Bengal. The fiber is separated from the plant by retting,
beating, etc.
[Illustration: JUTE GROWING IN LOUISIANA.

From Culture of Hemp and Jute, Report of U. S. Department of
Agriculture.]
[Illustration: DRYING HEMP IN KENTUCKY
From "Culture of Hemp and Jute."]
[Sidenote: Olona]
Olona, the textile fiber of Hawaii, is found to have promising qualities.
This plant resembles ramie and belongs to the nettle family also, but it
is without the troublesome resin of the ramie. The fiber is fine, light,
strong, and durable.
The Philippines are rich in fiber producing plants. The manila hemp is
the most prominent, of which coarse cloth is woven, besides the
valuable cordage. The sisal hemp, pineapple, yucca, and a number of
fiber plants growing in the southern part of the United States are
worthy of note. These fiber industries are conducted in a rude way, the
fiber being cleaned by hand, except the pineapple.
SILK
The silk fiber is the most perfect as well as the most beautiful of all
fibers. It is nearly faultless, fine and continuous, often measuring from
1000 to 4000 feet long, without a scale, joint, or a blemish, though not
of the same diameter or fineness throughout its entire length, as it
becomes finer as the interior of the cocoon is approached. Silk differs
from all other vegetable or animal fibers by being devoid of all cellular
structure.
[Sidenote: Where Produced]
Southern Europe leads in the silk worm culture--Italy, southern France,
and Turkey, with China and India. Several species of moths, natives of
India, China, and Japan, produce the wild silk. The most important of
the "wild silks" are the Tussah. Silk plush and the coarser varieties of
buff colored fabrics are made of this silk. While manufacturers do not

favor the wild silk, the coarse uneven weave and softness make it a
favorite with artists and it is being used for interior decoration as well
as for clothing.
[Sidenote: Silk Worm]
The silk of commerce begins with an egg no bigger than a mustard seed,
out of which comes a diminutive caterpillar, which is kept in a frame
and fed upon mulberry leaves. When the caterpillars are full grown,
they climb upon twigs placed for them and begin to spin or make the
cocoon. The silk comes from two little orifices in the head in the form
of a glutinous gum which hardens into a fine elastic fiber. With a
motion of the head somewhat like