Abstract
THE book is precisely described by its title. It is the result of a literature survey which Dr. Howitt undertook after his appointment as head of the Silk Section of the British Cotton Industry Research Association in 1936. At that time there was no systematic review of the widely scattered scientific and technological literature on silk, but Dr. Howitt has now made it possible to claim that the literature on silk is better documented than that relating to any other textile fibre. Starting with the cultivation of silk, he proceeds to discuss the properties of raw silk, sericin and fibroin. Then follow chapters on the preparation of nett silk yarns, degumming, weighting, dyeing, weaving, knitting and finishing. The book ends with a survey of testing methods and a brief reference to non-textile uses of silk. So thorough is Dr. Howitt‘s treatment of his subject—there are 528 references in the fifty-six pages devoted to the properties of fibroin—that reading would have been difficult if the information had not been so well co-ordinated. The author can be congratulated on his contribution to the newer scientific literature on textile materials and processes.
Bibliography of the Technical Literature on Silk
By Dr. F. O. Howitt. Pp. xxiv+248. (London: Hutchinson‘s Scientific and Technical Publications, 1947.) 21s. net.
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SPEAKMAN, J. Bibliography of the Technical Literature on Silk. Nature 161, 790 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/161790d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/161790d0