New Britain herald., 1930-07-29
SCIENTISTS STUDY
 SWEET POTATOES
Research Work in South May
 Dispose of Crops

New York, July o9 CP-Clothes containing dash of the American sweet potato are next on the list of prospective scientific wonders.
 New United States bureau of standard researches which aim 70 put sweet potatoes and other south ern agricultural crops into the tex tile industry and boost the southern pine as a source of paper, were an- nounced today by Theodore Swami of Birmingham, Ala, vice chairman of the Alabama industrial develop ment board.
 The bureau begins work next month on both projects. cooperating with Alabama Polytechnic Institute for textiles and the University of Alabama for paper.
 Starch is to be the sweet potato contribution to what the well dress ed man will wear. Known principal ly in collars as something that melts starch also is a chemical with many other qualities, from food anl glue-llke adhesive to explosives ani artificial silks, and it is particularly Indispensable in weaving.
 Is Protective Coating
 + serves first as q protective coat ing, called sizing. which guards threads from wearing or losing then nap as they rub in the weaving process. In some goods the starcn ls removed after weaving by using chemicals But it also may he it, tained in the finished products tc enrich color enhance sheen. make threads full-bodied by filling in the microscopal hicks and holIows oI produce a texture more agreeable ( the sense Of touch.
 American textile mills use 250 mil, lion pounds of starch annually mainly made from Irish potatoes wheat and corn. Millions Of dollaTs worth of this starch IS imported The American sweet potato, with q 2N to 25 per cent starch content offers the south another economic opportunity if it can be made intc the textile starch.
 There may develop also sweet p0- tato Christmas cards and sweet IG- tcto correspondence notes, for starch iS>used in the finishing process ot these and many other grades of paper.
 Will study starch
 This investigation, says 2 pros pecrus Of the bureau of standards will have to do primarily with the starches found in the crops grown in the south. l. is proposed to make 2 study Of the uses Of starch in thl manufacture Of textiles and tLt properties required in a starch fol each use. Further it is planned tc determine whether starch fhom on. source is superior 10 that from all. other for given purposes, and if spe' cific Starches may he modified so q: better to adapt them for particular uses"
 Concerning the paper making plans the prospectus says: "A fundamental study Of the chemlca reactions involved in the sulpha' pulping process is being initiated Ths process is used for the produ2 tion of the southern kraft paper which has attained huge proportlon' in recent years. More definite r. formation on. the complicated Cheml cal reactions of this process i sought to extend it's field of useful! ness. Such information should l. beneficial in several respects such q i7 the production Of by-products, 0 fibers having a greater variety ( usef in the use of wider varlet, O. fibrous materials. and in mo" complete recovery of the pulp-nj chemicals"
 At present each ton Of paper pro duced is accompanied by the loss 0 $50 pounds of sodium sulphate or 5 pounds of sulphur.
 Both research projects were un dertaken at the request of Governo Bibb Graves of Alabama. chairma' or the Alabama industrial develop mnnt board.