In the enormous plant were immense tanks in which the raw materials were first cooked and then treated by chemicals until the fibers issued in fine microscopic streams from nozzles under hydraulic pressure, the threads were then wound on huge reels. From here the hanks were sent to the spinneries and cloth-weaving mills.
Of particular interest was the new kind of cloth, which was much fighter than wool or cotton, and, at the same time, cooler in summer and warmer in winter. This material was made from cork, which was first pulverized and then afterwards digested by means of chemicals. Under hydraulic pressure, a somewhat thick thread was obtained, which had all the good properties of cork, but none of its poor ones. This cork thread, when woven into cloth, made a texture both light and durable, had a velvety touch to the fingers, and being a poor heat conductor, protected the wearer from heat in the summer and cold in the winter.
A number of combinations were made whereby cork thread and silk thread were spun together, giving an entirely new product, with all the virtues of silk as well as those of cork.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] When this was written gold coins were legal tender. Gold payments were outlawed by Congress in 1933.
THE MENACE OF THE INVISIBLE CLOAK
Leaving the Pennsylvania mills the aeroflyer, traveling at high speed landed the party within a very short time on one of the tall landing buildings in New York. Ralph and Alice made their way down to the elevated roadway, where, at Ralph's suggestion they put on their power skates, for, as he explained smilingly, it was but a short distance to his home and the exercise would do them both good and give them an appetite for luncheon.