The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-03-03
Frederic Haslkin's Letter
Il tspsaIa osnsupealno q n Asym,
Nelz, Fabrics.

~ %s .nUs snss gave them tAsi,
According to q statement a, a.
bureau Of foreign and dom.' ne
commerce. the new vegetabls sSa
industry was established Al ~. s
stenberg. Germany, in 1919 n.
ing the first year in which thu n Tu'.
was operated It confined its ,s c.Sa'
ties merely to the manufactu,s ~,
sale of fibers-the raw product guy
I'm 1918 spinning MACHINERY -.
set up. and since then the sn;n M
ming Of yarn from these f,S rI'.
has been carried on on N AZ.
increasing scale. In the ei..,
years Of its existence the prodr.,.
Of this concern have coyer,d
wide range Of vegetable fibers IN
GLIDING China grass, Austra,;s,
seaweed. jute. old jute raxs ana
shoddy worsted yarn. A numh..
of others were worked up dp,,r.
the war and extensively used in M
textile industry. Some Of tbs,s
fibers were abandoned after n.
var, owing to the fact that the .nn'
ply in Germany was not sufBciss,
to warrant their permanent u,e
Cloth from Grass,
"The vegetable fiber deriv1
from China grass is known al nj.
idonia. 1t is similar to ramie, vhh,
is known and used in the Unta
States. The German fiber companv
by means of special process, pro.
duces a long, fine, soft and cur,v
fiber. 1t looks very much like vool
and mixes readily with that pro.
duct, thus opening a wide fed
for its use in the wolen industry
Solidonia gained a wide use on
account of shortage of wool durin,
the war. AS substitute for linen
solidonia has been used in Germany
for the manufacture Of table linen
of beauty and strength. 1t has also
been used for machine betting. Hos.
iery mills and underwear mills
have produced from it stockings
which are difficult to tear; IN.
shrinklable underwear and sport.
ing jackets of fine quality and
strength.
The German wooden mills have
also manufactured an army CLOTH
which, composed Of rs per cent
wool and Is per cent solidonia, sur.
passes, it is asserted in tensile
strength any pure wool cloth. wo-
mems clothing and mems clothing
of half solidonia and half wool CT
shoddy cloth is likewise proving
| highly successful.
Another fiber from which has
been obtained splendid results
the bureaus report continues. lis
the fiber known as posidonia-also
a vegetable product. 1t is derived
from seaweed dredged in Australia
/ and washed in sweet water
Brought to Germany, the fiber is
subjected to a chemical treatment
to soften it and make 1t resilient
the original fiber being stiff and
! harsh.
Tho staple of this fiber Is de-
clared to be equal to a medium
staplewool. and it is spun on the
| worsted and wooden system. The
| fiber ia characterized by an elastc-
ity and springiness, and the cloth,
which is made out Of pure posi-
| donia appears to show scarcely any
creases. Posidonia is expected TO
fill a particularly large demand
/ in the carpet industry.
E, 1.-THE chief way in which juts Is
employed in the United States 10
in the form of cheap lining and
burlap. This German company has
accomplished some unusual re-
suits with jute. BY a special pro-
cess of chemical treatment, a long
fine fiber has been produced. which
can be spun into pure fabric OF
mixed with wool. From the old ju'e
rags the company also makes
good grade of shoddy cloth, VINCE
is being used with such amazing
results in women's costumes, over
coats, and sports jackets that man!
experienced textile men have oeei
unable to tell it from ali-Wo0
CLOTH"
The exhibit Of the bureau VIZ
planned chiefly for the beneflt 0
American textile makers. who nav
been much interested in the yer
man products. II German chemist
can produce materials from gras
and seaweed and nettles, there u
every reason to believe that Amer
lean chemists can also, and mus
in time, perhaps even that pale
full plant, the true ragweed. ina'
be converted into neat and U.s.
f,,I fo hrio