FoodNet

A manual of home-making

1919

Page 178

Presented as published in 1919. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
dried, the fibers interlock more firmly ttiiiii under ordinary conditions.* Adidteration. Since the demand for woolen cloth far exceeds the ?*upply of new wool, there are man}^ devices for making the supply go a long way, am! consequently many metiiods for deceiving the byyer. The manufacturer seeks a material cheaper tJian the fil>er he wishes to adulterate, one which can be concealed readily. Wool when combined with the cheaj>er cotton fiber makes a material which wears welt, but does not keep its shape as well as all-wool cloth, is less warm, and should of course demand a lower price than all-wool. Because of the felting property of wool, it is quite possible to conceal a good deal of cotton under the surface of the woolen clotli, and when t!ie fibers are mixed hK^fore the threads are spun, the task of detecting them becomes doubly difficult. t By the modern methods of manufacturing, cotton and wool mixtures are becoming much more satisfactory, and for certain types of garments, such as ih'esses and caps, where there is no particular strain on any part, the mixture has proved satis- factory. Only by comiiioing filx*rs is the manufacturer able to meet the great demand for material. For an outer suit and an overcoat, nothing has been found more satisfactory' than the all-wool materiah The most rehal>le tests for a mixture of cotton and wool are chemical or microscopic, but as these are not practicalJe for the average buyer, othem must l>e sought. Wool has luster and kinks; the ends of the threads are stiff and look rather wiry. When a sample is cairitxl home, burning will serve to distinguish l)e- tween the two. Wool burns slowly, chars, has an odor of burnt feather, goes out easily, and leaves a crisp ash; cotton burns quickly with a flame, with little odor, and leavas no ash. A little practice in breaking the threads will help one to distin- guish between the two; the difference is not one that can l>e easily explained, but the experienced hou.sewife knows it wellt • Univ. of 111, Bull. 15. t Opua cU. t Opus cU, I 318 A MANUAL OF HOME-MAKING Woolens and worsteds. Two classes pf cloth are manJifactorod from wool: wool and worsteds, Wooleas are made generally of short w« carded and spun into yarn in whkh the fibers lie in all direc- tions. This is woven into cloth, the surface of which usually is heavily feltc^d, a.s in flannel blankets, s<> tliat all of the inter- sections of threads in weaving are covered. In materials of this class the manufacturer has great opixjrtunity to introduce either shoddy or cotton, for the fil>ers may easily be covered by surface felting. Worsteds are made from longer staple wool, combed and drawn until the filjcrs are parallel, then hard twisted. When woven, the ends of the fibers Ho not project on the surface, and the finish is not intended to cover the weave; hence it is more difficult to adulterate unless entire cotton threads are woven with the worsted, and these are more easily detected than either a mixture of cotton and wool, or shoddy in woolen cloth. Com- mon examples of woolens are flannel, broadcloth, and Venetian cloth; of worsteds, serge, challie, men's suitings, and voile. Mohair is a worstetl cloth woven of the wool of the Angora goat, with a warp usually of cotton or silk.*