Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1913-02-06

finest linen. The linen manufactured
in the United States is OF a coarser
grade. There are certain standard de-
signs in table linen for example, the
Scotch linen is woven in checks; the
shamrock is the %favorite Irish design,
the characteristic French design is the
snow flake pattern and the German
the polka dot.
There are two classes of linen
fabrics, the flat thread and the round
thread. The latter is found in some
crashes, especially the Austrian crash,
the former is characteristic of linen
sheeting. The quality of linen may be
affected by impoverished soil on which
it is grown, by authorizations such as
mixing with other fibers, by tibers
which have not been entirely separat.
ed from the tow and by the use of
chemicals in the rotting process.
1t is not my purpose to discuss the
raising of flax nor the manufacture of
linen cloth, but rather to give the
methods by which the shopper may
recognize the genuine article from the
adulterated and also to state a few of
the uses for linen fabrics as we'll as
the advantages and disadvantages.
Among the advantages Of linen as d
fabric should be mentioned it's GOODNESS,
it's absorbent qualities, ease of clean.
ing and it's durability. Among it's dis.
advantages should be mentioned it's
cost and liability to fade, as it does
not readily take the dye. While linen
does not soil easily still it has the dis
advantage of wrinkling, which gives
it a mussed appearance.
While cotton has apparently sup,
planted linen, still it can never wholly
replace it. Table wear will probably
always be real linen, as it is much
easier to remove stains from linen
than cotton; then, too, being a smooth
fiber dirt does not lodge on it readily
For summer bedding sheets of linen
are cool and clean, but for winter use
are very undesirable. On the whole
the wrinkling of linen makes it rather
undesirable for bedding either winter
- LIZ GIL 10 ol"oy .
desirable because it absorbs moisture
readily. For summer clothing linen is
ideal because of it's absorbent proper
ties and also because it dries quickly.
this latter property makes the wearer
feel cool because of rapid evaporation.
Linen is useful for hospital purposes
because dirt and bacteria do not cling
to it readily. The lint from linen was
very commonly used for wounds be-
fore absorbent cotton came into use.
The so called union" is composed OF
a cotton warp and a linen weft.
Linen is most commonly adulterated
by the substitution of cotton for linen,
or the mercerizing of cotton, or it is
often loaded, that is, starch is applied
to the linen cloth to make it weigh
more, as linen is usually sold by
weight.
Perhaps the most common test IS
the finger test. Moisten the finger
| and place it OH the cloth, if the goods
moistens quickly and evenly, becoming
semi-transparent, it is an indicator Of
linen. The moist spot should dry
quickly to prove the test. The shrewd
, manufacturer has found methods of
making cotton respond to this test, so
that even this long used method is not
wholly reliable. Linen threads are
usually l%ustrous, strong and rather un.
even.
Linen has a tough leathery feel. 1t
does not get fuzzy like cotton.
Linen does not take the dye readily.
Linen fibers swell when treated with
alkalies.
Linen lbers turn yellow when treat
cd with hydrochloric acid.