Produced from_Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Fenton, Edward" to "Finistere" Volume 10, Slice 3

_Dicotyledons._ _Monocotyledons._

A. Seed hairs. D. Fibro-vascular bundles.

B. Bast fibres. E. Entire leaves and stems.

C. Bast aggregates.

In the list of the more important fibrous raw materials subjoined, the

capital letter immediately following the name refers the individual to

its position in this classification. In reference to the important

question of chemical composition and the actual nature of the fibre

substance, it may be premised that the vegetable fibres are composed of

cellulose, an important representative of the group of carbohydrates, of

which the cotton fibre substance is the chemical prototype, mixed and

combined with various derivatives belonging to the subgroups. (a)

Carbohydrates. (b) Unsaturated compounds of benzenoid and furfuroid

constitutions. (c) "Fat and wax" derivatives, i.e. groups belonging to

the fatty series, and of higher molecular dimensions--of such compound

celluloses the following are the prototypes:--

(a) Cellulose combined and mixed with "pectic" bodies (i.e.

pecto-celluloses), flax, rhea.

(b) Cellulose combined with unsaturated groups or ligno-celluloses, jute

and the woods.

ethers, cuto-celluloses, protective epidermal covering of leaves.

The letters a, b, c in the table below and following the capitals, which

have reference to the structural basis of classification, indicate the

main characteristics of the fibre substances. (See also CELLULOSE.)

_Miscellaneous._--Various species of the family Palmaceae yield fibrous

products of value, of which mention must be made of the following.

_Raffia_, epidermal strips of the leaves of _Raphia ruffia_

(Madagascar), _R. taedigera_ (Japan), largely employed as binder twine

in horticulture, replacing the "bast" (linden) formerly employed.

_Coir_, the fibrous envelope of the fruit of the _Cocos nucifera_,

extensively used for matting and other coarse textiles. _Carludovica

palmata_ (Central America) yields the raw material for Panama hats, the

_Corypha australis_ (Australia) yields a similar product. The leaves of

the date palm, _Phoenix dactylifera_, are employed locally in making

baskets and mats, and the fibro-vascular bundles are isolated for

working up into coarse twine and rope; similarly, the leaves of the

_Elaeis guineensis_, the fruit of which yields the "palm oil" of

commerce, yield a fibre which finds employment locally (Africa) for

special purposes. _Chamaerops humilis_, the dwarf palm, yields the

well-known "Crin d'Afrique." Locally (Algiers) it is twisted into ropes,

but its more general use, in Europe, is in upholstery as a stuffing

material. The cereal straws are used in the form of plait in the making

of hats and mats. Esparto grass is also used in the making of coarse

mats.

The processes by which the fibres are transformed into textile fabrics

are in the main determined by their structural features. The following

are the distinctive types of treatment.

A. The fibre is in virtually continuous lengths. The textile yarn is

produced by assembling together the unit threads, which are wound

together and suitably twisted (silk; artificial silk).

+----------------+-----------------+----------------------------+------------------------+-------------------------------------+

+----------------+-----------------+----------------------------+------------------------+-------------------------------------+

| | Yucca | do. |0.5-6 mm. 0.01-0.02. | do. |

| | Sansevieria |East Indies, Ceylon, East |1.5-6 mm. 0.015-0.026. | do. |

+----------------+-----------------+----------------------------+------------------------+-------------------------------------+

B. The fibres in the form of units of variable short dimensions are

treated by more or less elaborate processes of scutching, hackling,

combing, with the aim of producing a mass of free parallelized units of

uniform dimensions; these are then laid together and drawn into

continuous bands of sliver and roving, which are finally drawn and

twisted into yarns. In this group are comprised the larger number of

textile products, such as cotton, wool, flax and jute, and it also

includes at the other extreme the production of coarse textiles, such as

twine and rope.

C. The fibres of still shorter dimensions are treated in various ways

for the production of a fabric in continuous length.

The distinction of type of manufacturing processes in which the

relatively short fibres are utilized, either as disintegrated units or

comminuted long fibres, follows the lines of division into long and

short fibres; the long fibres are worked into yarns by various

processes, whereas the shorter fibres are agglomerated by both dry and

wet processes to felted tissues or felts. It is obvious, however, that

these distinctions do not constitute rigid dividing lines. Thus the

principles involved in felting are also applied in the manipulation of

long fibre fabrics. For instance, woollen goods are closed or shrunk by

milling, the web being subjected to a beating or hammering treatment in

an apparatus known as "the Stocks," or is continuously run through

squeezing rollers, in weak alkaline liquids. Flax goods are "closed" by

the process of beetling, a long-continued process of hammering, under

which the ultimate fibres are more or less subdivided, and at the same

time welded or incorporated together. As already indicated, paper, which

is a web composed of units of short dimensions produced by deposition

from suspension in water and agglomerated by the interlacing of the

component fibres in all planes within the mass, is a species of textile.

Further, whereas the silks are mostly worked up in the extreme lengths

of the cocoon, there are various systems of spinning silk wastes of

variable short lengths, which are similar to those required for spinning

the fibres which occur naturally in the shorter lengths.

The fibres thus enumerated as commercially and industrially important

have established themselves as the result of a struggle for survival,

and each embodies typical features of utility. There are innumerable

vegetable fibres, many of which are utilized in the locality or region

of their production, but are not available for the highly specialized

applications of modern competitive industry to qualify for which a very

complex range of requirements has to be met. These include primarily the

factors of production and transport summed up in cost of production,

together with the question of regularity of supply; structural

characteristics, form and dimensions, including uniformity of ultimate

unit and adaptability to standard methods of preparing and spinning,

together with tenacity and elasticity, lustre. Lastly, composition,

which determines the degree of resistance to chemical disintegrating

influences as well as subsidiary questions of colour and relationship to

colouring matters. The quest for new fibres, as well as modified methods

of production of those already known, require critical investigation

from the point of view of established practice. The present perspective

outline of the group will be found to contain the elements of a grammar

of the subject. But those who wish to pursue the matter will require to

amplify this outlined picture by a study of the special treatises which

deal with general principles, as well as the separate articles on the

various fibres.

_Analysis and Identification._--For the analysis of textile fabrics and

the identification of component fibre, a special treatise must be

consulted. The following general facts are to be noted as of importance.

All animal fibres are effectively dissolved by 10% solution of caustic

potash or soda. The fabric or material is boiled in this solution for 10

minutes and exhaustively washed. Any residue will be vegetable or

cellulose fibre. It must not be forgotten that the chemical properties

of the fibre substances are modified more or less by association in

combination with colouring matters and mordants. These may, in many

cases, be removed by treatments which do not seriously modify the fibre

substances.

Wool is distinguished from silk by its relative resistance to the action

of sulphuric acid. The cold concentrated acid rapidly dissolves silk as

well as the vegetable fibres. The attack on wool is slow, and the

epidermal scales of wool make their appearance. The true silks are

distinguished from the wild silks by the action of concentrated

hydrochloric acid in the cold, which reagent dissolves the former, but

has only a slight effect on Tussore silk. After preliminary resolution

by these group reagents, the fabric is subjected to microscopical

analysis for the final identification of its component fibres (see H.

Schlichter, _Journal Soc. Chem. Ind_., 1890, p. 241).

A scheme for the commercial analysis or assay of vegetable fibres,

originally proposed by the author,[2] and now generally adopted,

includes the following operations:--

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Fenton, Edward" to "Finistere" Volume 10, Slice 3 · 第 11 / 35 题