ITALIAN MILK-WOOL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4951, 4 February 1937, Page 3

ITALIAN MILK-WOOL.

REPORT BY GERMAN EXPERTS. A recent London cable message said that the Italian Embassy staff in London had appeared at a function clothed in suits made of cloth containing a major proportion of Italy's new "artificial wool" the product of casein. In view of claims made for this "milk-wool," considerable interest attaches to a recent German report thereon. The German experts had made a very thorough test of the product. Their report stated that "milkwool" had but half the strength of natural wool when both were dry, but one-third the strength when both were tested in a wet condition. Its capacity to stretch was poor, being but 9.3 per cent, of length, compared to 39 per cent, for dry wool and 55 per cent, for wet wool. When bending strain was imposed, "milk-wool" broke at 80 bends, while natural wool stood 500 to 1000 bends. In summing up, the German experts state that this "wool" has a weakness in its foundation. Casein molecules aer short and lumpy and so can never produce a satisfactory fibre. The ultimate, or foundation fibres, of natural wool, cotton, linen, and even "artificial silk," are fine and long, as is necessary for the production of a good fabric.