MAKING CLOTHES OUT OF STONES, STICKS. AND METALS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 549, 12 March 1913, Page 6

MAKING CLOTHES OUT OF STONES, STICKS. AND METALS.

Except in the days "when knighthood was in flower" man has always worn garments made from vegetables and animal matter, and the armour of olden days could not really be classed as garments, as it was merely worn over the clothing for protection in battle. But to-day inventors are beginning to turn out splendid samples of cloth made from quartz, limestone, iron and other minerals.

For a long time men have been wearing iron collars, although they didn't know it. Tailors use an "iron cloth," which is literally correct, as it is made from steel, which comes from iron, as every ov.e knows. Thß steel is made into a fine woolly mass and spun into cloth and this cloth is used to make the collars of men's coats stay in place without sagging or wrinkling. But in Russia entire suits are made from a fibre of a filamentous stone, that is, a stone that can be stripped into a floss-like substance, like asbestos. It is in reailty a form of asbestos. The cloth is woven from these shredded filaments of stone and dyed various colours. It wears like iron and when it is dirty the Buit is tossed into the fire, not to be destroyed, but to be cleaned. "Purged as by fire" has, then, become a literal happening. This cloth comes from the fire clean and uninjured. It is practically impossible to wear out such cloth.

An Austrian haa succeeded in making cloth of spun gIaHS that has the sheen and the pliability of silk. A great deal has been written about the lost art of making glass pliable. This inventor claims to have done this and a member of royalty in Austria has worn a purle dress made entirely of the spun glass. Paper "cloth" is not new. We have long worn paper vests and such garments, and during the Russo-Japanese war the Japanese soldiers wore paper clothing, finding it much warmer than the other sort. But manufacturers are going even further now, making bath robes of a sort of blotting paper that are almost as strong as cloth from wool or cotton, and these garments have the added advantage of absorbing all the moisture as soon as one steps from the bath. Gloveß are also being made from paper in England which are said to be as durable as the kid gloves and also possess the quality of cleaning much more readily. An English manufacturer has taken old ropes and cordage and by a mecret method woven it into a most durable and not unattractive cloth or fabric. A large trade for this so-called rope-cloth has grown up, especially in the British colonies. Woollen clothing made from stones instead of sheep's covering is being manufactured extensively, and the remarkable thing about this mineral wool is that it comes from limestone. One would think that at least a fibrous stone would be needed, while limestone is of a granular nature. But the limestone fa powdered and mixed with chemicals, the secret of tha inventor, and thrown into a great fur nace when the limestone is blown out of! the furnace into fluffy wool.