Thus the short-staple wool or fur
felts itself on to the fibres already forming part of the hat bodies,
and a new layer of pure, unproofed wool or fur is gradually wrought on
to the proofed surface. The hat-forms are then taken out and washed, and
can be dyed with the greatest ease and with excellent results, as will
be seen from the accompanying illustration (see Fig. 15). This
successful invention emphasises the value of the microscope in the
study of processes connected with textile fibres. I would strongly
advise everyone interested in hat manufacturing or similar industries to
make a collection of wool and fur fibres, and mount them on microscope
slides so as to form a kind of index collection for reference.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.
1. Natural wool fibre unproofed.
2. Wool fibre showing proof on surface, filling up the cells
and rendering the same dye-proof.
3. Fur fibre from surface of veneered felt, showing dye
deposited in cells and on the surface, bright and lustrous.
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