The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-03
IMPROVE COTTON
 YARNS BY WATER SpinnerS' Process Was First
 Used to Defraud MOISTURE IS RETURNED "conditonng" of Yarns Show lm- provement of 10 Per Cent in
 strength-Water Part of
 Cotton Fibre.
MOISTURE IS RETURNED

Washington, June 2.-(speeial)-A re- port from Special Agent William Whit tam, Jr.. says that returning to cotton yarns the natural moisture which was driven from the raw material or cond tioning, as 1t is technically termed, is the invarlable practice of English and Eu- ropean spnners and doublers He de- scribes the methods and advantages of this as follows
 So firmly is this process fixed on the trade that if a purchaser of yarns insists for any reason on their delivery immedl ately after they are spun, he Is charged per cent extra foas he m96@saIal .''hot off the spindle" as it' Is locally known in Lancashire. Conditioning is a very apt term for the process, although when first instituted some forty or fifty years ago the only intention of the spinner was to deceive his customer and defraud him through the weight Of the added water. As matters stand in present practice, cumulative experience has demonstrated that yarns properly so treated improve HIS 10 per cent. Elasticity a most impor- tant attribute in subsequent manlpula ton, is also increased. The tendency of the yarn to kink and curl in after handling is almost entirely done away with, and the appearance of the yarn is decidedly helped. Now, granting all these gains in Nalue-and they are beyond question--it follows that to the purchaser 'condi- tioned" stuff is a superior article to that unconditioned. Nor can 1t be denied that filling so treated weaves with less stop pages of the loom from breakages hence less waste is made and greater loom production obtained besides producing a cloth with a better feel and more mer- ehantable appearance.
 Water Part of Cotton.
 So much for the buyer of the yarn The spinner or maker gains the weight of water added, as well as a better reputa- tion as a producer of high-class prod uct. Take raw cotton t, a normally dry condition, and it contains an important amount of water, the moisture of hydra ton, which Is just as much a part of the fibre as the carbon and other chemical constituents The spinner pays for this moisture when he purchases his raw cot lDni Dul Il percentage Ol iulS is driven off by the heat of the work rooms during the time the material is being carded and spun into yarn, figuring in the waste account as invisible loss unless afterwards replaced in the condi- tioning basement.
 Percentage of Moisture Lost.
 I have frequently taken 100 pounds of raw cotton. 10 pounds from each of 10 bales which had been stored sometimes for months in a dry warehouse inside the main mill building, and spread 1t out loose on the floor of the card room for twenty-four hours. After reweighing the lots they would show losses from to 4ls per cent.
 If more proof Is needed than that al- ready adduced that conditioning" does improve the weaving. spco'ing and warp ing qualities of the material, it is found in the fact that foreign weaving firms who spin their own yarns almost without exception condition" them before they enter any process after the spinning room.