MAN AND HIS CLOTHES

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 15, 5 September 1929, Page 2

MAN AND HIS CLOTHES

, "Clothes" formed the subject of :iri address delivered by Professor Leonard Hill (reports t-he f'.Morning Post"). The natural 'garment of the body, he said, was the skin and the hair. The hair dk] not help men much, Imt in the case of the lower animals it was an exceedingly light and efficient garment. Thus the dog carried only two or three ounces of hair, while man carried many pounds of artificial garments.

Man jpro'bably. originated in tropical regions, but had soon found the comfort of clothes, using- cotton, wool, camel hair--and so forth. There, was 'evidence'that -he clothed himself 5000 years ago. • ' . ..Thx. 1 heat-retaining power of clothes did nc-+ depend on the fibres themselves but on their power of entangling the air. It was essential that the captive aii 1 should be^ kept stationary. A cold' piercing stream of air defeated the object of clot-hes by removing the stationary coating of warm air, and birds ana other animals always faced the wind so as to a.void "their fur or feathers being ruffled and the warm, cap'tjye air escaping.

In the case of fur only, two per cent ' was -'solid- matter, .the rest was captive air. In the case of the ordinary overcoat 75 per cent was air mid the re&i. solid matter, while leather .contained about 40 per cent. 6f. air. Smooth linings-to clothing reduced the •permeability of the fabric. 'Naturally clothes had to be considered from the standpoints- of their wearing, of their /resistance to washing, and of fas-hion. A cd'cssnl amount of monvy was .spiTnf for pure, vanity without any consideration ot keeping tho body Avarm. .

'• Wrol," being very ■ elastic, did not cling to the body like cotton or.lifipn, an 3 eorisequcntly by entangling the :. ir was warmer. Further, dry woollens en taking .up moisture actually became

■■.■•" i - ■ - ' wanner. ,• Thus in absolving perspirar tion from the body,they took up heat* This, could be demonstrated by coating a ■■thermometer, bulb, wit-h wool ' inoistening it. The .thermometer showed a rise of tempcratiure.

Jhioynious quantities" of moisture could be absorbed. Thus a soldier's tunic, on being exposed to mist for •four hours, gained 3* ounces by-.means of the water incorporated. ■

Clot Ties also, if clean, warded the attack;; of insects. /. They' protected from over-exposure, to -the sun, but— if white—they robbed us of the rays which we ought to get.

The- effect of different colours could b.e shown by exposing strips of blacky red, green, and white fabrics to the ["Sun's rays while lying on snow. The black, whic-h absorbed the sun's rays

quickly sank into the snow, the red rather less- quickly, while the green aT.cl •white (which reflected the sun/s rays;, hardly sank in at all. As regarded: ■radiation at body tempei'ature, this .was no more marked in the case of blar-.k t-han. in that of Vhite coverings.