The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-17
Opening the kapok pods.

McAdoo and in the course or the leUter
said:
Lieut.. S. p. Edmonds, United States
Revenue Cutter Service, retired, has
rendered to this Department the privi-
lege Of making for use on naval vessels
life preserving equipment covered by
letters patent. The pillow type of kapok
life preserver manufactured in accord
ance with his patent has been tested
extensively for vessels of the navy and
it is believed to be superior TO the
present standard cork life jacket 1t
has accordingly been approved for the
naval service"
Kapoll is not a new material nor an
invention. It is found in the seed pods
of the kapok tree growing in tropical
countries-the East and West Indies,
Central America and the Philippines.
The pods are FIVE or six inches long,
filled with a silky, fluffy cotton fibre, in
which are embedded the seeds-hard,
round pellets the size of pea.
In the East Indies, in Java particu-
larly, and in the Philippine Islands the
best kapok is grown. 1t has the finest
silky fibre is whittier and nicer looking
than any other variety. and is the
only life saving kapok we have. 1t is
impregnated with a vegetable oil so
that 1t does not itself absorb water
readily; and a mass of the kapok fibres
will keep out water because of the sur
face tension of the water itself. The
fibres are so small and so close together
that the water closing in on the air
inside the mass of kapok presents a
myriad of little surfaces On each OF
which the surface tension Is great
enough to Withstand the pressure. Thus
the air keeps the mass afioat.
"As a stufiing for life preservers,"
says F.. c. Coburn, Naval Constructor,
United States navy st cannot be eX-
celled: 1t is much lighter than cork,
and while bulky is very compressible,
so that the life preserver can be com
pactcd into small compass for stowage'
And by proper choice of construction OF
the life preserver 1t can be made
superior to the cork belt
Kapok has been used for many years
for stuffing mattresses, pillows and
cushions, being known as silk floss. 1t
is commonly in use as stuffing for boat
cushions. The silk floss is frequently
adulterated with cotton, especially Tor
cheap mattresses. and only a small part
of all the silk floss Is Java or Philippine
kapok. So that all silk floss is not
kapok and not all kapok is suitable for
life saving, wherefore It becomes neces-
sary to find means for distinguishing
between kapoks.
This it is not easy to do. All kapoks
look alike and feel the same, except
some of the very low grades, such as the
dark India kapOk; and when well
cleaned and fuffed after long travel
across the ocean in bales there is but
| little choice between them as to appear
ance. But when tested as to buoyancy
the differences appear. This Is the acid
test for kapok, and is the one on which
the Navy Department relies when pur-
chasing the material for its uses.
In testing kapok mattress the Navy
Department loaded one with 200 pounds
Of cast iron CRATE bars, and the shin
making the test reported that at the end
of eight hours the mattress had sunk
so far that the top was just awash.
Had the Titanic been equipped with
these mattresses all hands could have
been saved" said Naval Constructor Co
burn recently. "Those for whom there
was no room in the boats could have
foated about, each on his own little
raft, until picked up, wrapped In steamer
rugs and clear of that freezing colo
water.
The problem to-day, In case Of ship
wreck or fire at sea involving abandon