WATER-PROOFING PROCESS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17264, 4 September 1916, Page 3

WATER-PROOFING PROCESS.

FOR, TENTS AND GREATCOATS. Some highly interesting as well as valuable experiments in water-proofing military tents and soldiers' greatcoats are being conducted at Fcatherstoa Camp, under the direction of Professor F. P. Worley, Professor of Chemistry at Auckland University. Professor Worley, accompanied by Surgeon-Gen-eral Henderson, Director-General of Medical Services, paid a special visit to Featherston Camp on Thursday for tho purpose of ascertaining how the tents and coats treated had fared. Tire results were found to be satisfactory as far as the experiments had gone. Interviewed by a "Post" representative on Friday. Professor Worley stated that tho water-proofing process and arrangements made at Featherston proved quite satisfactory. Ho had made similar experiments with the old, leaky bell tents at Narrow Neck Camp, Auckland, during the winter, and had obtained satisfactory results. The experiments at Featherston were being conducted on the same lines, only the tents were subjected to severer weather conditions. He hoped, as a result of what had been achieved up to the present, that before long the difficulty of leaky tents at Featherston and Tauherenikau would he greatly reduced. The tents were immersed first in a solution of common soap and then in one, of alum. This had the effect of' coating tho .fibre with an insoluble substance, which turned the water without destroying tho porosity of the material. Soldiers' overcoats were being treated, to the same process, and scTfar the experiments made promised to be thoroughly satisfactory. The coats would not be thoroughly waterproof like oilskins, but their tendency to become wet would be much reduced, and the coats when wet would contain much less water. A similar water-proofing process was used in the case of miners' overalls, the only difference being the use of Milestone in place of alum. It may also be mentioned that all soldiers' boots being sent out from the Defence Stores, Wellington, are now water-proofed by being soaked in a special solution prepared at the Defence Stores. This water-proofing of boots ac tho Defence Stores has been going on for some months now, and the remits up t<? the present are reported to have be-?n distinctly good.