An Important Discovery

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXII, Issue 289, 21 November 1928, Page 7

An Important Discovery

ARTIFICIAL COTTON. WORK BY ENGLISH' SCIENTISTS. Australian and N.Z. Press Association. RUGBY, November .IS. An important development of the Lancashire cotton trade is expected as a result of the cultivation on a commercial basis of a new artificial cotton fibre product. The valuable qualities of the new plant were discovered by two English scientists, who in South. America were- attracted by the singular construction of certain birds’ nests. They watched the bird collect what appeared to be a common weed, soak it in a pool of water and weave it with its beak. Tests showed it to contain an iron compound, and scientists, after eight years’ experiments, have succeeded in producing it on marketable lines. Between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000 pounds of this artificial cotton are now being grown in Essex and Sussex to be available in July to cotton spinners at a fixed price of Gd per pound, representing an immediate saving of at least 4d per pound on what they are now paying.

Weaving houses in the North and the Midlands, who arc reported to have tested the new product, are satisfied it possesses a soft and lasting sheen and lustre. It is claimed that the low price is possible owing to the many valuable by-products that are obtained, including parchment, light building material and. drug from the stems, leaves and roots of the plant. A corporation has been formed to market the product. That dehorning of dairy cattle is becoming universal in the Te Awamutu district is indicated by the fact that recently 2700 cows were dehorned, under an arrangement with the To Awamutu branch of the Farmers’ Union. ! J