The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-10-02
ChiIdfen's Clothes
May Be Fire Proof
With Little Trouble
Radical Development in Cotton
Fabric Manufacture DeScrib-
ed By English Chemist.

Atlantic City, N. J., Oct. 2
Children now may be dressed in fire.
proof clothing, actors may have their
costumes treated to resist fame, lace
curtains that usually are a menace in
homes lighted with gas or oil may be
made less hazardous. The problem
of making cotton a safe article of ap-
parel was explained to-day to the
members of the National Association
of Cotton Manufacturers in session
here by Prof. William Henry Perkin
of the University of Manch ester (Eng-
land) who made upwards of 10000
burning tests before solution was
found that would stand constant
washing with soap and other COM
pounds and remain non-combustible.
Professor Perkin demonstrated be
fore the manufacturers four speci-
| mems treated to resist fire. The first
was the material processed but not
washed, the second the treated ma
terial after being washed ten times by
hand; the third showed the material
| after being machine washed twenty
times in a laundry, and finally a por
| ton Of q. garment in actual use for
| two years, washed every week and
practically in rags. All resisted fire
and Professor Perkin asserted that no
amount of washing with hot soap and
water would remove the fire proof1ng
| agent The process was described as
follows:
1.-The cotton fabric is run through a
solution of sodium stannate of approx
| tmately 45 degrees Tw. in such a man
ner that it becomes thoroughly i'm
| pregnated. It is then squeezed to re-
move the excess of the solution, pass
| ed over heated copper drums in order
to thoroughly dry it, after which it
| is run through a solution of ammonia
| sulphate of about 5 degrees lTw. and
| again squeezed and dried. Apart from
| the rreoinifafQ6 STA nni1 oxide (fin)
| the material now contains sodium sui
phate and this is removed by passage
through water; the material is then
dried and subjected to the ordinary
process of finishing. A long series of
| trials, carried out under the most
stringent conditions, have conclusively
| proved that material subjected to this
process is permanently hreproofed
Most of the experiments thus far
made have been with hannelette be-
| cause that material is generally de-
manded for children's clothing. Speak
ing of the extraordinary property of
resisting soap and water that is pos
sessed by material SO treated, Profess
| sor Perkin said it seemed to indicate
| to him that the oxide of tin is not
| present merely as an insoluble prec1p-
itate in the cloth, but must have enter
| ed into some actual combination with
the fiber, yielding a compound which
is not broken down by the action of
|
the weak a1kaH of the soap. But q
the practical point of view is that the
material is not only permanently fire
| PROCEED by the process have just de-
scribed, but it also retains and ac-
fQuires properties which make it as
1 perfect a material in all other respects
as could be desired. In the first
place the treatment has no effect on
the delicate coIors which aresnow 50
generally employed in connection with
the manufacture of danne1ette and
experiments have demonstrated the
fact that the insoIuble tin compound
in the fiber has not the slightest dele
terious action on the most delicate
skin. In addition, the presence Of
the tin compound in the pores gives
the cloth a softer and fuller feel than
that of the original f1anneIette and
what perhaps is the most unexpected
result is the fact that the material
is considerably strengthened by the
process.
"a series of tests made by the Man
chester Chamber of Commerce proved
| that the tensile strength of hanneIette
is increased nearly 30 per cent. as the
result of the introduction of the tin
compound into the fiber.
cit seems to me that it is obvious
i.that, if this process or some other
process capable Of giving the same
the case of all inhammab1e cotton
goods and especially in the case OF
material used for garments, many dis
astrous fires and the appalling loss OF
life, especially among young children
might be avoided, and it is for this