Hutchinson gazette., 1901-06-27
way LINEN is CALLED LAWN.
A Recent Invention Which VIII Mako IL
Much More Popular for All Kinds
OF Clothing,

Very few women, probably not more
than ten In 100, and still less pro-
portonate number OF men, could an
swer off.hand the question why fine
linen has for several generations
been called "lawn." The child might
answer, Because II is made on n
lawn" which is not only the simplest,
but absolutely the correct answer to
the question,
During the middle ages Holland
was the seat of the bleaching in
dustry, the season lasting from
March to September, and the rough
linen being sent from England Scot
land and other countries to be whit-
ened. For the word bleach Ia from
the German "bleichen," which means
ito whiten;" the word In French be-
ing "blenchlr" meaning the same
thing. In those early days bleaching
was a very slow process, consisting OF
giving the dark brown and rough
linen, filled with impurities, alternate
baths in alkaline and acid liquids,
with long exposures between them to
the sun and air. Some pieces were al
ways selected for special attention,
including the laying of them on well
kept grass plots, or lawns" from
which custom comes the name. In
l7d9 the canny Scotch concluded that
they could do their own bleaching
considerably cheaper than the long
and very expensive Dutch way They
introduced the use Of sulphuric acid
in place Of buttermilk, and few
years later commenced to use chlorine.
But the greatest step forward In that
day was made by Charles Tenant Of
Glasgow, Scotland, when he intro
duced chloride Of lime, which has
been used ever since. But stll the
process, compared with the advance
In other lines, is slow, requiring two
weeks to properly bleach piece OF
linen, and in bleaching It will lose
one-third Of its weight, while cotton
loses but one-twentleth Of lis weight
In bleaching
The greatest advance Of all, how
over, has been made very recently,
In fact since tho dawn OF TIC twasti-
9th century This ls IN the discovery
Of starch which, after the linen Is
properly bleached, will give It any
degree OF stiffness which may bo de-
sired without making 1t brittle. II
has since being put on The market
been called the Defiance" starch
Why II was given such 4 name is not
known unless It was on account OF
Its rendering defiance" to old meth
DDS. The process of manufacturing
this starch has not been patented, but
is being kept secret by the inventors
and manufacturers. One Of the great
est objections to linen, whether used
rs shirts, collars, cuffs, or underwear,
hls been that in order to give It
W. required stiffness and finish, It
has been necessary to also make It
brittle. And In addition to being un-
pleasant, this fact has made the wear
Ing of linen much more expensive
than 1t otherwise would be on account
OF Its breaking, particularly at button
holes or wherever II was creased.
With this newly invented starch the
Objectionable brittleness and tho
breaking Is done away with, thereby
making the linen last longer as we'll
as being more pleasant to wear. Ow-
Ing probably to the peculiar method
of manufacturing It the starch does
not require any cooking, but can be
mixed to any degree OF thickness de-
sired In cold water and still be per-
fectly smooth and free from all Jumps.
1t Is strange, considering the many
experts who have worked on the prob
lem for years, that such starch was
not discovered long ago, but like many
other things which are perfectly plain
and simple after once being known,
II remained for these latter years
to bring forth something for which
women especially, and men whenever
they have found their shirts or collars
full OF rough edges and cracks, have
been wishing for several generations