ARTIFICIAL WOOL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 11 March 1926, Page 9

ARTIFICIAL WOOL.

NO NEED FOR ALARM. Having seen the Italian samples of so-called artificial wool, the same material combed and- spun into yarn, and woven into cloth, I believe that, no one in Australia should be in • the least alarmed (writes the Bradford corresponded. of the Sydney Morning Herald). Australia can carry on its great wool trade without the least hesitation.

The' products: of this Italian company are simply disintegrated artificial silk waste blended with wool, and some forecast that it will meet the same fate as China grass ami. South Australian seaweed, about which there was some excitement a few years ago. Instead of mungo and shoddy, that is, pulled up old rags, suits, underwear, stockings and the. vest, artificial, silk waste has been used, and unless it is found to be- cheaper than wool it will be used! in very small quantities indeed, nud then only to give lustre or for decorative purposes. The scare will die down like all others. Indeed, woollen, manufacturers here have not. been at all disturbed. Let us draw attention to another experiment which is proceeding in England, and which, has long got beyond the experimental stage in Belgium. A company there is using big weighlts of a new vegetable fibre, which, when treated and blended with wool in the proportion of 50-50, is making really good fabrics. It is likely tfaat. before long a new company will. he. started for the carrying out of the production of yarns and pieces, as in Belgium, where unique success has attended the spinning and mamifacturo of this material. The firm has been engaged on the article for many years, and the samples from this new vegetable fibre greatly impressed the writer. They are good cloths, and I forecast considerable use of this material along with wool. It is useless by itself, because it possesses no elasticity and no spinning property. What impresses the. writer most is Hie attention which is being given by the wool trade to various vegetable fibres, and which, when treated,'seem td lend themselves for use in the textile trade. ft- is my firm conviction that any vegetable fibre possessing any length af. all can be used, even fullygrown nettles. We give this idea for what it is worth. Can the prickly pear be dried, treated and used in connection with wool for the production of textiles? The suggestion to some may appear farcical; perhaps it would not be if they saw a sample, and had the privilege of testing vegetable fibre, as I have done. Some very queer looking stuff, when blended with wool in t.nc proportion of 50 per cent of fibre and 50 per cent, of wool, has produced some excellent fabrics.

When mungo and shoddy were first blended with wbol there wore a large number of sceptics, but success was achieved, and a similar thing has happened more recently with wood pulp. I have never seen any prickly pear, and would welcome a few pounds that had been dried in the sun. If there is any length of fibre at all, T do not. see any reason why even that cannot, be, turned to good account. In conclusion, let no one engaged’ in the wool trade of Australia he the least disturbed at these vegetable fibres coming within the realms of textile use.