[30] A linen fabric can be best told from cotton by holding it up to the light and examining the evenness of the threads. Cotton can be more easily spun level than flax, therefore threads that present considerable irregularities may be taken to be flax. In a union fabric the nap is usually cotton and the threads more regular than the filling (flax). The best linen is made from fine and fairly regular threads; common linen from coarse and irregular tow yarns. Linen is no more subject to weak places in weaving than cotton, although it is harder to bleach and may be weakened in this process. If each operation is not perfect the linen will become yellow in storage.
SOURCES OF SUPPLY
The author has found that very nearly all manufacturers are willing to supply schools with samples of their products. But the demand for samples has been so great that it is necessary in most cases to pay a small sum to cover the cost.
The following prominent firms dealing in textile supplies are named here to assist the teachers in writing for supplies.
The names of the leading textile papers are given so that teachers may obtain them. They contain a large number of names of dealers in textiles so that they may be used as reference books for supplies.
Catalogues of Cotton Machinery
Kitson Machine Shop, Lowell, Mass.—Cotton pickers.
Howard and Bullough, Pawtucket, R. I.—Cotton machinery.