Manawatu Evening Standard. THURSDAY, JAN. 28, 1932. NEW USES FOR WOOL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 49, 28 January 1932, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. THURSDAY, JAN. 28, 1932. NEW USES FOR WOOL.

It is. difficult to estimate in a monetary sense the .value of scientific investigation of the problems which beset, the Empire’s primary producers. Success, it has been reported from time . to time, has < come to the scientist in his' labbratory, with consequent benefit, £0 the branch of industry which has invoked the aid of science. Other researches, 'it. is known, have not yet achieved the desired result 1 . But the work of the scientists, generally speaking, has proved of great benefit,, and the progress made leads to the hope that problems which have not yet been solved will in time yield to persistent’ investigation. As part of the valuable work it is performing in the interests of the British Empire, grants are made by the Empire Marketing Board towards scientific research into a number of subjects. The British Research Association for the Woollen and Worsted Industries at Torridon,, near Leeds, has been assisted by the Board in its work on the standardisation of the qualities of wool. The director of research to the Association is Doctor S. G. Barker ; one of the foremost authorities on wool in Great Britain, who through the Board has published a remarkable text book on “Wool Quality.” From the brief review which we publish to-day the fact emerges with crystal clearness what a valuable servant science is to the firimary producer. / From knowedge gained it is forecast that the use of wool ah a raw material will be greatly extended. “We are only beginning to understand how wool can be exploited,” says Dr Barker, “and the Australian and New Zealand grower will see an expanding market for his product.” That is a ray of sunshine for the sheep breeder. The progress of the artificial silk industry has been almost wholly at his expense, and though good emerges from educating the public to use more wool in the manufacture of their clothing, unless the lesson is repeatedly hammered home they are apt to become unmindful of the benefits they could bestow upon a basic industry. Dr Barker’s latest discovery in the laboratories at Torridon is a secret process for making artificial leather ■■ from wool fibres. These are strong, soft, and beautifully finished according to the review we publish. Spine are suitable for making fishing boots and suitcases and others for golfing coats and gloves. Another of the patent leathers has the virtue of retaining . its smoothness when crumpled up. What an interesting vista for the wool producers these experiments open up, if it becomes a commercial proposition to adapt them to the uses for which they are suitable. A railway company and a motor manufacturing firm are placing the new material under,a practical test which should determine the point. But the discoveries do not stop :here. Wool is bejhg used in the. insulation of electri-

cal cables because it will smoulder and not burn, and experiments to convert wool fabrics into wallSapers are nearing completion. iast year the Imperial Wool Conference, held in London under the auspices of the Empire Marketing Board, urged that endeavours be made to discover new outlets for wool, and these successful experiments being recorded within such a short space of time is a distinct triumph for the laboratory worker. There are other features of Dr Barker’s book which will §rrest the attention of the woolgrower and the research worker. Not the least important of many notable conclusions is that the “skilled wool classer will, in point of time taken for results obtained, be difficult to replace by any mechanical method.” The development of a new marking fluid which will not harm the fleece, and a new process of bleaching are further valuable examples of the work at Torridon which is of benefit to the wool industry of the whole of the Empire.