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Hokitika Guardian, 29 January 1932, Page 2

DOMINION CHAMPIONSHIPS. N.S.W. UNDIES DO WELL.

By Telegraph—Per Brest Association)

AUCKLAND, January 28. Beautifully fine weather prevailed to-day for the fourth day’s play in the Netv Zealand Lawn Tennis Championships. The big features of the, day’s play .were the elimination of the title holders, Stedman and- 'Mrs Dykes, and the success.of all the four members of the New 'South Wale s ’team in the ladies’ jingles, and <the .semi-finals and final will now be contested between them. Their -nil-round play proved too much for the New Zealanders. Play in the men’s singles saw H. A. ((Canterbury), N. R. C. Wilson (Wellington), lE. 'L. Bn-rtleet (Auck- ■ land) and O. Angas (Canterbury) remain in to contest the semi-finals today. ' Barnett and Angas were responsible for the -elimination of two strong contenders In Steelman (Auckland) and France (Wellington), respectively. Four .seeded pairs still remain in the men’s doubles, and the final of the •ladies’ doubles will be contested between the Australians, Misses Valkenburg and Hall, and Mrs Dykes (Wellington) and Miss Knight (Auckland). The last-named pair eliminated two other Australians, M-isSes Lloyd and IHartigan. Additional results are : Men’s Singles.—Fourth round : Bartleet beat (Laurenson I—6, 6—4, 6—3, (6—l. Men’s Doubles,—Third round : France and France beat Charters and Robinson ,3—6, 6—2, 6—3, 7—5; Angas and Barnett beat Robinson and Deaker 6—l, 16—4, 4—6, 6-- 0 ; Bartlcet and Laurenson beat Court and Lnmpe 6-—4, 7—5, (6—2.

Ladies’ Doubles : Semi-final : Misses Valkenburg and Hall beat Mrs Melody and Mi Sc- Nil bolls 6—2, 6—4; Mrs .Dykes and Miss Knight neat Misses ■Lloyd and llartigan (X.N.W.) 7—5, 16-4. ■ Combined Doubles;—Second round: (Miss Hall and Johns beat Miss EocJes and Pickmere 7—5, 6-—2. Third round: Miss llartigan and Stedman beat Mrs Thomson and Wilson J6 —4, ,2—6, 6—4; Miss Xieholl* and A. L. (France beat Miss Howell and Court 6—o, 6—4; Miss Valkenburg and (Morrison beat 'Mrs Molesworth and 'Griffiths 6—-2, 3—6, 6—l ; Miss MacFarlane and Sturt beat Miss 'Hall and Johns 6—3, 2—6, B—-6. AUSTRALIAN DAVIS CUP TEAM. MELBOURNE, January 28. J. ChemengeF has been appointed Captain and Manager of the Australian Davis Cup team.

Another new use for wool discovered at Torridon is in the insulation of electric cables. Cotton always used to be employed, but it was, of course, inflammable. Now several big firms of cable makers are using a wool insulation, which gives a danger warning by smouldering and which will not burn. WOOL CONFERENCE! RESULT. These successful experiments follow closely on the recommendations of the Imperial Wool Conference which was summoned in London by the Empire j Marketing Board only last year and passed a resolution urging that ‘’the - question of finding new outlets for wool should be explored. Dr. Barker suggests in his boon fliat just as no two fingerprints are alike so on two wool fibres are exactry tire same. Each strand is different, he believes, in many essential properties. Practically, every fibre, for instance, takes a different shade ■ -of dye, although the variation may bp.- ; so -slight as to be invisible to the Untrained eye. - - : - .Finding out just what an individual fibre weighs is one task of the modern scientist. The- Weight, says the report, “varies enormously,” the lightest fibre being Australian merino and the heaviest Border Leicester. An electrical weighing machine can detect a change in weight of 0.00000007 orifices. Wax models of individual fibres, which vary .with different breeds of sheep, have been made. MEN BEAT MACHINES, A thorough study of the relationship between,'the diameter and shape of the fibre, and the quality, has been occupying the attention of the Torridon scientists for the past three years. This lias been financed by the JEjiripire Marketing Board. The technique of the wool-classer arid the wool-sort- !

er has ben analysed scientifically, and it has been found that woolmen in

j all countries of the world unwittingly follow a definite mathematical law in their systems of grading. As a re--1 suit an Hternationn] rule for sort--1 ing, which brings all the systems into | relation with one another, has-been _laid down. Dr. Barker’s conclusions are a I great tribute to the skill of the woolj elasser and sorter who, although guided only by hand and instinct, sorts the fibres almost as accurately as an infallible scientist instrument;. Dr. Barker described an experiment designed to test the accuracy of the sorter’s definition of quality. A wool elasser in New South Wales was asked to- divide wool into three typical qualities. These -were then measured under the microscope, which almost exactly confirmed the classer’s relative qualities. “Various attempts have been made to reduce the practice of wool-classing to a mote or less pregisg,.,. technique, buit it is obvious that the skilled classes will, in point of time taken for (result obtained, bp difficult to replace by a mechanical method,” Dr, Bavker concludes.

TEA)M-WORK DEVELOPMENTS.

Co-operation with the Dominions has always been a key part of Torridon’s policy. Work in which Torridon is cooperating with the wool experts of the Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is now

being done, for instance to find

exactly how differences in feeding of sheep affect qualities of the wool, such as. elasticity and dyeing properties. Another example of Empire teamwork is the working out at Leeds of a new marking fluid for sheep which, while resisting wind and weaither, will not permanently cling to the fk«Cc«, as is the case with tar. To illustrate the harm which can be -done bv tar, I was shown a number of unfinished hats. Each one was pockmarked with a series of brack spots, and could only be scrapped by the manufacturer. Each t-ipot represented a tiny grain of tar which did not make itself visible, I was torn, until the felt was rolled.

The new fluid is founded largely on the sheep’s own grease. lit can be completely removed in scouring, leaving no trace in the final cloth, even when “marked” wool is used. This fluid is being used more and more in Australia and South Africa. NO MORE YELLOW FLANNELS.

I was shown round the chemistry department by Mr A. T. King, who has invented an entirely new principle of bleaching- It all arose, he explained, because a woman who had been cooking over a gas stove complained that her woelJon jumper had faded. An investigation was started, and it was found that sulphur dioxide, the principal gas -used for bleaching, forms certain hitherto unknown chemical substances when it is combined with a certain amount of alkali. These compounds may bo of quite different shade to the original dvo.

The upshot of this investigation was that the well known habit of white flannels and other white (blenched) cloth to go yellow after several washings has been completely overcome. A new method of bleaching lias been worked out whereby washing only makes the cloth go whiter. There is no chance of a tjngle of yellow creeping in, because the chemicals which were responsible for yellowing are completely eliminated from (lie cloth. A Yorkshire firm has adopted this new bleaching process for all their cloth with very marked success.