IN PLACE OF WOOL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1102, 15 April 1911, Page 8

IN PLACE OF WOOL.

! SOME STRANGE SUBSTITUTES. i ' Referring to the efforts which are heing ; -'made to find a substitute for wool, the jSydney "Daily Telegraph" says:—"On i Sl . f lo of the world the hod of the ■. ocean is to be exploited to secure a fibre, . winch, it is foncily . hoped, will fill the ••.bill ill soma directions. Xf-'is somewhat tfitrange that ,f lie scheme which bids fair 1 fcU Pi ) ly' the greatest bulk of material — we say nothing for or against its adaptability,- which has .to .be proved by experience—should have originated so near :to the. seat of wool-production. It is hot generally ■ known that..wood-pulp has for somei. years been used for the production -of cloth,. This is, however, the ease in .several factories in liiigland. In one factory alone no fewer than 2000 tons ailfnually are spun intftyarn. Experiments 01 all important nature are being carried on elsewhere with a view .to still further extending the use of wood-pulp in the same direction, and in all likelihood the ■ near future v.*ill see wood-pulp largely used, more particularly in some of the ■ cotton factories. In soflie parts of Austria there arc mills making cloth from 'grass. It is poor stuff/at best, unhealthy, and, though of considerable thickncss, ; gives comparatively little warmth. The danger from fire with most of these substitutes is excessive, suCcient reallv to warrant the prohibition of their " use. i Cloth made from the coarsest or cheap- ; est wool would at all times be preferi able to the most attractive fabrics made S cither from most similar substitutes.".