The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1901-06-28
WHY LINEN IS CALLED LAWN.
Recent Invention Which VIII Make 1t
Much More Popular for All Kinds
of ClOfhfuO

Very few women, probably not more
than ten in 100, and a still less pro-
portionate 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 it is made on a
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 is from
the German "bleichen," which means
ITO whiten;" the word in French be-
ing "blenchir," meaning the same
thing. In those early days bleaching
was 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
1749 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 still the
process, compared with the advance
in other lines. is slow, requiring two
weeks to properly bleach a piece Of
linen, and in bleaching it will lose
one-third of its weight, while cotton
loses but one-twentieth of its weight
In bleaching.
The greatest advance Of all, how
ever, has been made very recently,
in fact since the dawn of the twenti-
eth century. This is in the discovery
of starch which, after the linen is
properly bleached, will give ii any
degree of stiffness which may be de-
sired without making it brittle. 1t
has since being put on the market
been called the Defiance" starch.
Why 1t was given such name is not
known, unless II 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
as shirts, collars cuffs. or underwear.
has been that in order to give it
the required stiffness and finish, 1t
has been necessary to also make it |
brittle. And in addition to being I'M
pleasant, this fact has made the wear
ing of linen much more expensive |
than ii otherwise would be on account |
Of its breaking, particularly at button
holes or wherever il was creased. |
With this newly invented starch the |
brittleness and the |
breaking is done away with, thereby
making the linen last longer as we'll
rs being more pleasant to wear. Ow-
ng probably to the peculiar method
of manufacturing II the starch does
not require any cooking. but can be
mixed to any degree of thickness de-
'ired in cold water and still be per-
'ectly smooth and free from all Jumps.
L is strange, considering the many
experts who have worked on the prob
EN- for years. that such a starch was
lot discovered long ago. but like many
)ther things which are perfectly plain
md simple after once being known,
I remained for these latter years
o bring forth something for which
women especially. and men whenever
hey have found their shirts or collars
ull Of rough edges and cracks. have
'een wishing for several generations.