By Dr. THOMAS TAYLOR.
As Microscopist of the United States Department of Agriculture, I am
frequently called upon to make investigations as to the character of
textile fibers and fabrics, not only for the public generally, but also
for several departments of the Government.
Textile fibers are presented both in the raw and as articles of
manufacture. In the latter case they may have been dyed, stained, or
painted. It is obvious that under these conditions the fibers should be
subjected to chemical reaction to bring them as nearly as possible to
their normal condition.
Considering how well the structures of the common textile fibers of
commerce--cotton, flax, ramie, hemp, jute, Manila hemp, silk, and
wool--have been investigated and minutely described by able and exact
microscopists, I will in this paper confine myself chiefly to such
experiments as I have personally made with textile fibers, treating them
with chemical agents while under the objective.
While I am aware that this method is not wholly new, I am satisfied that
comparatively little work has been done in this direction, and that a
wide field is still open for future research.
As microscopists, we have to fortify ourselves in every way that will
sustain, by truthful work, the value of the microscope as a means of
research, sometimes conducting our experiments under the most trying
circumstances. Fibers may be so treated by experts as to make it
difficult to determine how their changed appearance has been effected,
and it may happen in this age of experiment and of fraud that important
decisions in commercial transactions and in criminal cases may depend on
our observations.