The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-01-04
,Scicntinc An,ericanl

You canuo, make a silk purse out
"f a sow's ear is a familiar quota
ton. It's use, however, will probably
hc discontinued by the next gcncra-
ton, AS silk is now made arti1rially
by mechanical means out of material
which. if not u product of the pork
packers slaughter house. is abon as
low down in the aesthetic scale. Wood
pulp--made from spruce trees, or IN
fact from n variety of woods dis
solved in various chemicals and the
solution ia spun into Il beautiful 1us-
trous yarn. the sheen II gloss OF
whirh outriva|s the most costly COO
silk. An industry of enormous pro-
portions has been built w with the
development of this new product, fac
tories in Austria, Franco. Germany
and moro recently in England. turning
ont many thousands of pounds Of the
yarn every day.
And at tho present time an cnorm-
GUS plant is just starting to nlanufac-
tirc in this country (ncar Chester.
Pn..) making the same product. In
and trimmings for womcn's dresses
and hats and in knitted neckties. the
artificial silk OF wood silk as il is
sometimes called has practically re-
placed tho real article. Probably
ninety per cent of tho braids and
passc1menteric now manufactured +
wood silk. though the retail consumer
seldom realizes this fact. Tho yarn
is ais" used largely in tapestries and
curtains n dress goods, while rib
IONS and various other fabrics supply
an almost limitlcss field which is being
invaded ny this latest triumph of
mans ingenuity. True synthetic silk
has been made ly chemists. it is
claimed. the product Of the cocoon he
inv nhc,1,,to1,, f1,,ylic,tnl IL, a..nr,- 40
spcct, chemical and physical. nut this
achievement, successful as il was as
n scientific laboratory experiment, had
no commercial aiu on account of
the enormous cost of production.
a Frcnchn,an. Hilairc dc Chardon-
not by name. was the first TO mako
wood silk on a commercial basis: and.
although he is now very wealthy. 1t is
aid that he wont into bankruptcy
several times before he was finally
successful. C'hardonnet used a solu-
tinn of nitro-cellulosc in which sui
phuric ether is the solvent, and sew
cral of tho largest of the European
mills arc still using this process or
notifications Of it. Tho second pro-
cess +" he developed commercially was
based on the use OF what is known
as tho rnpramlnonium solution of cell
lulose. in which copper salts and am
monia arc the solvents. a third cel-
lulous solution was discovered about
twenty years ago by tho English chem
lists. Cross ami Rcvan. and ''vicosc."
as it is called. is now rated AS the
hest of them all for making the ar
titicial filamcnts.
The nitro-cellulose process depends
on the use Of the same solution that
is used for making cclluloid and gun
cotton. ana tn" first yarn made from
it was highly explosive aud dangerou.
TO handle. being. therefore. imprarti-
cable as a commercial article. After
numerous failures. however. the
French inventor discovered a WAY of
1enitrating tho finished yarn, and thus
made it no moro explosive or infam-
,nable than so much cotton or paper.
\ German chemist ny the name of
1%.chner made further improvements
i'm the Chardonn"t process. and now
there are great factories at Besancon,
in France: at Frankfort. Germany.
and Zurich. switzerland where thou
sands of pounds of C%hardonnet silk
are manufactured daily. The nitro
cellulrse solution. made ny dissolving
the wood pulp in ether. is squirtcd
through exceedingly fine jets or capil-
larry tubes of glass. AS it cmergcs
either into a water bath or into the
air the eellnlosc originally held in
solution partially solidfies and n gum
my filnment is the result. 4 number
"f these tilaments. twelve to twenty.
ar" gathered together and twisted into
a yarn in the same way that cocoon
SILK threads arc spun or thrown to-
getlier. The artificial silk threads.
while still soft and gumlny. arc then
stretched on drums or reels and dried.
during which process they take on
the beautiful luster so eagerly sought
for by silk manufacturers.
The process of making visroe silk
starts from an alkaline solution Of
c"llulosc. The wood or cotton pulp
is treated with caustic soda until a
mcrccrizati"n somewhat similar to the
chemical reaction in mercerizing cot
ton yarns has taken place. Rut the
decomposition is carried much further
IN makin ~viscosc. Bisulphide of car
hon is then added to tho partially de-
composed pulp and the fibrous nature
of Il material disappears altogether.
leaving a Eumlny mass which passes
lnfo a perfect solution when weak
caustic liquor is added. For spinning
tho vicose solution somewhat differ