Chapter IX: Part 9

BLAVATSKY, HELENA PETROVNA (1831-1891), Russian theosophist, was born at Ekaterinoslav, on the 31st of July (O.S.) 1831, the daughter of Colonel Peter Hahn, a member of a Mecklenburg family, settled in Russia. She married in her seventeenth year a man very much her senior, Nicephore Blavatsky, a Russian official in Caucasia, from whom she was separated after a few months; in later days, when seeking to invest herself with a halo of virginity, she described the marriage as a nominal one. During the next twenty years Mme Blavatsky appears to have travelled widely in Canada, Texas, Mexico and India, with two attempts on Tibet. In one of these she seems to have crossed the frontier alone in disguise, been lost in the desert, and, after many adventures, been conducted back by a party of horsemen. The years from 1848 to 1858 were alluded to subsequently as "the veiled period" of her life, and she spoke vaguely of a seven years' sojourn in "Little and Great Tibet," or preferably of a "Himalayan retreat." In 1858 she revisited Russia, where she created a sensation as a spiritualistic medium. About 1870 she acquired prominence among the spiritualists of the United States, where she lived for six years, becoming a naturalized citizen. Her leisure was occupied with the study of occult and kabbalistic literature, to which she soon added that of the sacred writings of India, through the medium of translations. In 1875 she conceived the plan of combining the spiritualistic "control" with the Buddhistic legends about Tibetan sages. Henceforth she determined to exclude all control save that of two Tibetan adepts or "mahatmas." The mahatmas exhibited their "astral bodies" to her, "precipitated" messages which reached her from the confines of Tibet in an instant of time, supplied her with sound doctrine, and incited her to perform tricks for the conversion of sceptics. At New York, on the 17th of November 1875, with the aid of Colonel Henry S. Olcott, she founded the "Theosophical Society" with the object of (1) forming a universal brotherhood of man, (2) studying and making known the ancient religions, philosophies and sciences, (3) investigating the laws of nature and developing the divine powers latent in man. The Brahmanic and Buddhistic literature supplied the society with its terminology, and its doctrines were a curious amalgam of Egyptian, kabbalistic, occultist, Indian and modern spiritualistic ideas and formulas. Mme Blavatsky's principal books were _Isis Unveiled_ (New York, 1877), _The Secret Doctrine, the Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy_ (1888), _The Key to Theosophy_ (1891). The two first of these are a mosaic of unacknowledged quotations from such books as K.R.H. Mackenzie's _Royal Masonic Encyclopaedia_, C.W. King's _Gnostics_, Zeller's _Plato_, the works on magic by Dunlop, E. Salverte, Joseph Ennemoser, and Des Mousseaux, and the mystical writings of Eliphas Levi (L.A. Constant). _A Glossary of Theosophical Terms_ (1890-1892) was compiled for the benefit of her disciples. But the appearance of Home's _Lights and Shadows of Spiritualism_ (1877) had a prejudicial effect upon the propaganda, and Heliona P. Blavatsky (as she began to style herself) retired to India. Thence she contributed some clever papers, "From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan" (published separately in English, London, 1892) to the _Russky Vyestnik_. Defeated in her object of obtaining employment in the Russian secret service, she resumed her efforts to gain converts to theosophy. For this purpose the exhibition of "physical phenomena" was found necessary. Her jugglery was cleverly conceived, but on three occasions was exposed in the most conclusive manner. Nevertheless, her cleverness, volubility, energy and will-power enabled her to maintain her ground, and when she died on the 8th of May 1891 (White Lotus Day), at the theosophical headquarters in the Avenue Road, London, she was the acknowledged head of a community numbering not far short of 100,000, with journalistic organs in London, Paris, New York and Madras.

Much information respecting her will be found in V.S. Solovyov's
_Modern Priestess of Isis_, translated by Walter Leaf (1895), in
Arthur Lillie's _Madame Blavatsky and Her Theosophy_ (1895), and in
the report made to the Society for Psychical Research by the Cambridge
graduate despatched to investigate her doings in India. See also the
article THEOSOPHY.

BLAYDES, FREDERICK HENRY MARVELL (1818-1908), English classical scholar, was born at Hampton Court Green, on the 29th of September 1818, being a collateral descendant of Andrew Marvell, the satirist and friend of Milton. He was educated at St Peter's school, York, and Christ Church, Oxford. He was Hertford scholar in 1838, took a second class in literae humaniores in 1840, and was subsequently elected to a studentship at Christ Church. In 1842 he took orders, and from 1843 to 1886 was vicar of Harringworth in Northamptonshire. During a long life he devoted himself almost entirely to the study of the Greek dramatists. His editions and philological papers are remarkable for bold conjectural emendations of corrupt (and other) passages. His distinction was recognized by his being made an honorary LL.D. of Dublin, Ph.D. of the university of Buda Pest and a fellow of the royal society of letters at Athens. He died at Southsea on the 7th of September 1908.

His works include:--Aristophanes: _Comedies and Fragments_, with
critical notes and commentary (1880-1893); _Clouds, Knights, Frogs,
Wasps_ (1873-1878); _Opera Omnia_, with critical notes (1886);
Sophocles; _Oedipus Coloneus, Oedipus Tyrannus_ and _Antigone_ (in
the Bibliotheca Classica, 1859); _Philoctetes_ (1870), _Trachiniae_
(1871), _Electra_ (1873), _Ajax_ (1875), _Antigone_ (1005); Aeschylus:
_Agamemnon_ (1898), _Choephori_ (1899), _Eumenides_ (1900),
_Adversaria Critica in Comicorum Graecorum Fragmenta_ (1890); _in
Tragicorum Graec. Frag._ (1894), _in Aeschylum_ (1895), _in Varios
Poetas Graecos et Latinos_ (1898), _in Aristophanem_ (1899), _in
Sophoclem_ (1899), _in Euripidem_ (1901), _in Herodotum_ (1901);
_Analecta Comica Graeca_ (1905); _Analecta Tragica Graeca_ (1906).

BLAYDON, an urban district in the Chester-le-Street parliamentary division of Durham, England, on the Tyne, 4 m. W. of Newcastle by a branch of the North-Eastern railway. Pop. (1881) 10,687; (1901) 19,617. The chief industries are coal-mining, iron-founding, pipe, fire-brick, chemical manure and bottle manufactures. In the vicinity is the beautiful old mansion of Stella, and below it Stellaheugh, to which the victorious Scottish army crossed from Newburn on the Northumberland bank in 1640, after which they occupied Newcastle.

BLAYE-ET-STE LUCE, a town of south-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Gironde, on the right bank of the Gironde (here over 2 m. wide), 35 m. N. of Bordeaux by rail. Pop. (1906) of the town, 3423; of the commune, 4890. The town has a citadel built by Vauban on a rock beside the river, and embracing in its enceinte ruins of an old Gothic chateau. The latter contains the tomb of Caribert, king of Toulouse, and son of Clotaire II. Blaye is also defended by the Fort Pate on an island in the river and the Fort Medoc on its left bank, both of the 17th century. The town is the seat of a sub-prefect, and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce and a communal college. It has a small river-port, and carries on trade in wine, brandy, grain, fruit and timber. The industries include the building of small vessels, distilling, flour-milling, and the manufacture of oil and candles. Fine red wine is produced in the district.

In ancient times Blaye (_Blavia_) was a port of the Santones. Tradition states that the hero Roland was buried in its basilica, which was on the site of the citadel. It was early an important stronghold which played an important part in the wars against the English and the Religious Wars. The duchess of Berry was imprisoned in its fortress in 1832-1833.

BLAZE (A.-S. _blaese_, a torch), a fire or bright flame; more nearly akin to the Ger. _blass_, pale or shining white, is the use of the word for the white mark on the face of a horse or cow, and the American use for a mark made on a tree by cutting off a piece of the bark. The word "to blaze," in the sense of to noise abroad, comes from the A.-S. _blaesan_, to blow, cf. the Ger. _blasen_; in sense, if not in origin, it is confused with "blazon" in heraldry.

BLAZON, a heraldic shield, a coat of arms properly "described" according to the rules of heraldry, hence a proper heraldic description of such a coat. The O. Fr. _blason_ seems originally to have meant simply a shield as a means of defence and not a shield-shaped surface for the display of armorial bearings, but this is difficult to reconcile with the generally accepted derivation from the Ger. _blasen_, to blow, proclaim, English "blaze," to noise abroad, to declare. In the 16th century the heraldic term, and "blaze" and "blazon" in the sense of proclaim, had much influence on each other.

BLEACHING, the process of whitening or depriving objects of colour, an operation incessantly in activity in nature by the influence of light, air and moisture. The art of bleaching, of which we have here to treat, consists in inducing the rapid operation of whitening agencies, and as an industry it is mostly directed to cotton, linen, silk, wool and other textile fibres, but it is also applied to the whitening of paper-pulp, bees'-wax and some oils and other substances. The term bleaching is derived from the A.-S. _blaecan_, to bleach, or to fade, from which also comes the cognate German word _bleichen_, to whiten or render pale. Bleachers, down to the end of the 18th century, were known in England as "whitsters," a name obviously derived from the nature of their calling.

The operation of bleaching must from its very nature be of the same antiquity as the work of washing textures of linen, cotton or other vegetable fibres. Clothing repeatedly washed, and exposed in the open air to dry, gradually assumes a whiter and whiter hue, and our ancestors cannot have failed to notice and take advantage of this fact. Scarcely anything is known with certainty of the art of bleaching as practised by the nations of antiquity. Egypt in early ages was the great centre of textile manufactures, and her white and coloured linens were in high repute among contemporary nations. As a uniformly well-bleached basis is necessary for the production of a satisfactory dye on cloth, it may be assumed that the Egyptians were fairly proficient in bleaching, and that still more so were the Phoenicians with their brilliant and famous purple dyes. We learn, from Pliny, that different plants, and likewise the ashes of plants, which no doubt contained alkali, were employed as detergents. He mentions particularly the _Struthium_ as much used for bleaching in Greece, a plant which has been identified by some with _Gypsophila Struthium_. But as it does not appear from John Sibthorp's _Flora Graeca_, edited by Sir James Smith, that this species is a native of Greece, Dr Sibthorp's conjecture that the _Struthium_ of the ancients was the _Saponaria officinalis_, a plant common in Greece, is certainly more probable.

In modern times, down to the middle of the 18th century, the Dutch possessed almost a monopoly of the bleaching trade although we find mention of bleach-works at Southwark near London as early as the middle of the 17th century. It was customary to send all the brown linen, then largely manufactured in Scotland, to Holland to be bleached. It was sent away in the month of March, and not returned till the end of October, being thus out of the hands of the merchant more than half a year.

The Dutch mode of bleaching, which was mostly conducted in the neighbourhood of Haarlem, was to steep the linen first in a waste lye, and then for about a week in a potash lye poured over it boiling hot. The cloth being taken out of this lye and washed, was next put into wooden vessels containing buttermilk, in which it lay under a pressure for five or six days. After this it was spread upon the grass, and kept wet for several months, exposed to the sunshine of summer.

In 1728 James Adair from Belfast proposed to the Scottish Board of Manufactures to establish a bleachfield in Galloway; this proposal the board approved of, and in the same year resolved to devote L2000 as premiums for the establishment of bleachfields throughout the country. In 1732 a method of bleaching with kelp, introduced by R. Holden, also from Ireland, was submitted to the board; and with their assistance Holden established a bleachfield for prosecuting his process at Pitkerro, near Dundee.

The bleaching process, as at that time performed, was very tedious, occupying a complete summer. It consisted in steeping the cloth in alkaline lyes for several days, washing it clean, and spreading it upon the grass for some weeks. The steeping in alkaline lyes, called _bucking_, and the bleaching on the grass, called _crofting_, were repeated alternately for five or six times. The cloth was then steeped for some days in sour milk, washed clean and crofted. These processes were repeated, diminishing every time the strength of the alkaline lye, till the linen had acquired the requisite whiteness.

For the first improvement in this tedious process, which was faithfully copied from the Dutch bleachfields, manufacturers were indebted to Dr Francis Home of Edinburgh, to whom the Board of Trustees paid L100 for his experiments in bleaching. He proposed to substitute water acidulated with sulphuric acid for the sour milk previously employed, a suggestion made in consequence of the new mode of preparing sulphuric acid, contrived some time before by Dr John Roebuck, which reduced the price of that acid to less than one-third of what it had formerly been. When this change was first adopted by the bleachers, there was the same outcry against its corrosive effects as arose when chlorine was substituted for crofting. A great advantage was found to result from the use of sulphuric acid, which was that a souring with sulphuric acid required at the longest only twenty-four hours, and often not more than twelve; whereas, when sour milk was employed, six weeks, or even two months, were requisite, according to the state of the weather. In consequence of this improvement, the process of bleaching was shortened from eight months to four, which enabled the merchant to dispose of his goods so much the sooner, and consequently to trade with less capital.

No further modification of consequence was introduced in the art till the year 1787, when a most important change was initiated by the use of chlorine (q.v.), an element which had been discovered by C.W. Scheele in Sweden about thirteen years before. The discovery that this gas possesses the property of destroying vegetable colours, led Berthollet to suspect that it might be introduced with advantage into the art of bleaching, and that it would enable practical bleachers greatly to shorten their processes. In a paper on chlorine or oxygenated muriatic acid, read before the Academy of Sciences at Paris in April 1785, and published in the _Journal de Physique_ for May of the same year (vol. xxvi. p. 325), he mentions that he had tried the effect of the gas in bleaching cloth, and found that it answered perfectly. This idea is still further developed in a paper on the same substance, published in the _Journal de Physique_ for 1786. In 1786 he exhibited the experiment to James Watt, who, immediately upon his return to England, commenced a practical examination of the subject, and was accordingly the person who first introduced the new method of bleaching into Great Britain. We find from Watt's own testimony that chlorine was practically employed in the bleachfield of his father-in-law, Mr Macgregor, in the neighbourhood of Glasgow, in March 1787. Shortly thereafter the method was introduced at Aberdeen by Messrs Gordon, Barron & Co., on information received from De Saussure through Professor Patrick Copland of Aberdeen. Thomas Henry of Manchester was the first to bleach with chlorine in the Lancashire district, and to his independent investigations several of the early improvements in the application of the material were due.

In these early experiments, the bleacher had to make his own chlorine and the goods were bleached either by exposing them in chambers to the action of the gas or by steeping them in its aqueous solution. If we consider the inconveniences which must have arisen in working with such a pungent substance as free chlorine, with its detrimental effect on the health of the work-people, it will be readily understood that the process did not at first meet with any great amount of success. The first important improvement was the introduction in 1792 of _eau de Javel_, which was prepared at the Javel works near Paris by absorbing chlorine in a solution of potash (1 part) in water (8 parts) until effervescence began. The greatest impetus to the bleaching industry was, however, given by the introduction in 1799 of chloride of lime, or bleaching-powder, by Charles Tennant of Glasgow, whereby the bleacher was supplied with a reagent in solid form which contained up to one-third of its weight of available chlorine. Latterly frequent attempts have been made to replace bleaching-powder by hypochlorite of soda, which is prepared by the bleacher as required, by the electrolytic decomposition of a solution of common salt in specially constructed cells, but up to the present this mode of procedure has met with only a limited success (see ALKALI MANUFACTURE).

_Bleaching of Cotton._

Cotton is bleached in the raw state, as yarn and in the piece. In the raw state, and as yarn, the only impurities present are those which are naturally contained in the fibres and which include cotton wax, fatty acids, pectic substances, colouring matters, albuminoids and mineral matter, amounting in all to some 5% of the weight of the material. Both in the raw state and in the manufactured condition cotton also contains small black particles which adhere firmly to the material and are technically known as "motes." These consist of fragments of the cotton seed husk, which cannot be completely removed by mechanical means. The bleaching of cotton pieces is more complicated, since the bleacher is called upon to remove the sizing materials with which the manufacturer strengthens the warp before weaving (see below).

In principle, the bleaching of cotton is a comparatively simple process in which three main operations are involved, viz. (1) boiling with an alkali; (2) bleaching the organic colouring matters by means of a hypochlorite or some other oxidizing agent; (3) souring, i.e. treating with weak hydrochloric or sulphuric acid. For loose cotton and yarn these three operations are sufficient, but for piece goods a larger number of operations is usually necessary in order to obtain a satisfactory result.

_Loose Cotton._--The bleaching of loose or raw cotton previous to
spinning is only carried out to a very limited extent, and consists
essentially in first steeping the material in a warm solution of soda
for some hours, after which it is washed and treated with a solution
of bleaching powder or sodium hypochlorite. It is then again washed,
soured with weak sulphuric or hydrochloric acid, and ultimately washed
free from acid. Careful treatment is necessary in order to avoid any
undue matting of the fibres, while any drastic treatment, such as
heating with caustic soda and soap, as used for other cotton
materials, cannot be employed, since the natural wax would thereby be
removed, and this would detract from the spinning qualities of the
fibre. In case the cotton is not intended to be spun, but is to serve
for cotton wool or for the manufacture of gun cotton, more drastic
treatment can be employed, and is, in fact, desirable. Thus, cotton
waste is first extracted with petroleum spirit or some other suitable
solvent, in order to remove any mineral oil or grease which may be
present. It is then boiled with dilute caustic soda and resin soap,
washed, bleached white with bleaching-powder, washed, soured and
finally washed free from acid. In these operations, a certain amount
of matting is unavoidable, and it is consequently necessary to open
out the material after drying, in scutchers.

_Cotton Yarn._--Cotton yarn is bleached in the form of cops, hanks or
warps. In principle the processes employed are the same in each case,
but the machinery necessarily differs. Most yarn is bleached in the
hank, and it will suffice to give an account of this process only. The
sequence of operations is the same as in the bleaching of cotton
waste, and these can be conducted for small lots in an ordinary
rectangular wooden vat as used in dyeing, in which the yarn is
suspended in the liquor from poles which rest with their ends on the
two longer sides of the vat. For bleaching yarn in bulk, however, this
mode of procedure would involve so much manual labour that the process
would become too expensive. It is, therefore, mainly with the object
of economy that machinery has been introduced, by means of which large
quantities can be dealt with at a time.

The first operation, viz. that of boiling in alkali, is carried out in
a "kier," a large, egg-ended, upright cylindrical vessel, constructed
of boiler-plate and capable of treating from one to three tons of yarn
at a time. In construction, the kiers used for yarn bleaching are
similar in construction to those used for pieces (see below). The yarn
to be bleached is evenly packed in the kier, and is then boiled by
means of steam with the alkaline lye (3-4% of soda ash or 2% caustic
soda on the weight of the cotton being usually employed) for periods
varying from six to twelve hours. It is essential that a thorough
circulation of the liquor should be maintained during the boiling, and
this is effected either by means of a steam injector, or in other
ways. As a rule low pressure kiers (working up to 10 lb. pressure) are
employed for yarn bleaching, though some bleachers prefer to use high
pressure kiers for the purpose.

When the boiling has continued for the requisite time (6-8 hours), the
steam is shut off, and the kier liquor blown off, when the yarn is
washed in the kier by filling the latter with water and then running
off, this operation being repeated two or three times. The hanks are
now transferred to a stone cistern provided with a false bottom, from
beneath which a pipe connects the cistern with a well situated below
the floor line. The well contains a solution of bleaching-powder,
usually of 2 deg. Tw. strength, and this is drawn up by means of a
centrifugal brass pump and showered over the top of the goods through
a perforated wooden tray, passing then by gravitation through the
goods back into the well. The circulation is maintained for one and a
half to two hours, when the yarn will be found to be white. The
bleaching-powder solution is now allowed to drain off, and water is
circulated through the cistern to wash out what bleaching powder
remains in the goods. The souring is next carried out either in the
same or in a separate cistern by circulating hydrochloric or sulphuric
acid of 2 deg. Tw. for about half an hour. This is also allowed to
drain, and the yarn is thoroughly washed to remove all acid, when it
is taken out and wrung or hydroextracted. At this stage the yarn may
be dyed in light or bright shades without further treatment, but if it
is to be sold as white yarn, it is blued. The blueing may either be
effected by dyeing or tinting with a colouring matter like Victoria
blue 4R or acid violet, or by treatment in wash stocks with a
suspension of ultramarine in weak soap until the colour is uniformly
distributed throughout the material. The yarn is now straightened out
and dried.

The bleaching of cotton yarn is a very straightforward process, and it
is very seldom that either complications or faults arise, providing
that reasonable care and supervision are exercised.

The _raison d'etre_ of the various operations is comparatively simple.
The effect of boiling with alkali is to remove the pectic acid, the
fatty acids, part of the cotton wax and the bulk of the colouring
matter, while the albuminoids are destroyed and the motes swelled up.
If soap be used along with the alkali, the whole of the wax is removed
by emulsification. In the operation of bleaching proper, the calcium
hypochlorite of the chloride of lime through coming into contact with
the carbonic acid of the atmosphere suffers decomposition according to
the equation, Ca(OCl)2 + CO2 + H2O -> CaCO3 + 2HOCl, and the
hypochlorous acid thus liberated destroys the colouring matter still
remaining from the first operation, by oxidation. At the same time the
motes which were swelled up by the alkali are broken up into small
fragments and are thus removed. In the operation of souring, the lime
which has been deposited on the fibres during the treatment with
bleaching powder is dissolved, while at the same time any other
metallic oxides (iron, copper, &c.) are removed.

_Cotton Pieces._--By far the largest bulk of cotton is bleached in the
piece, as it can be more conveniently and more economically dealt with
in this form than in any other. Though similar in principle to yarn
bleaching, the process of piece bleaching is somewhat more complex
because the pieces contain in addition to the natural impurities of
the cotton a considerable amount of foreign matter in the form of size
which has been incorporated with the warp before weaving, with the
object of strengthening it. This size consists essentially of starch
(farina), with additions of tallow, zinc chloride, and occasionally
other substances such as paraffin wax, magnesium chloride, soap, &c.,
all of which must be removed if a perfect bleach is to result.
Besides, mineral oil stains from the machinery of the weaving-shed are
of common occurrence in piece goods.

Cotton pieces are bleached either for whites, for prints or for dyed
goods. The processes employed for these different classes vary but
slightly and only in detail. The most drastic bleach is that required
for goods which are subsequently to be printed. For dyed goods, the
main object is not so much to obtain a perfect white as to remove any
impurities which might interfere with the dyeing, while avoiding the
formation of any oxycellulose. In bleaching for whites ("market
bleaching") it is essential that the white should be as perfect as
possible, and such goods are consequently invariably blued after
bleaching.

For small lots (1-20 pieces) the bleaching can be conducted on very
simple machinery. Thus many small piece dyers conduct the whole of
their bleaching on the jigger, a simple form of dyeing machine on
which most cotton piece goods are dyed (see DYEING). For muslins,
laces and other very light fabrics, which will not stand rough
handling, the operations are conducted mainly by hand, washing being
effected in the dash-wheel (fig. 1), which consists of a cylindrical
box, revolving on its axis. It has four divisions, as shown by the
dotted lines, and an opening into each division. A number of pieces
are put into each, abundance of water is admitted behind, and the
knocking of the pieces as they alternately dash from one side of the
division to the other during the revolution of the wheel effects the
washing. The process lasts from four to six minutes.

For velveteens, corduroys, heavy drills, pocketings and other fabrics
in which creasing has to be avoided as much as possible, the so-called
"open bleach" is resorted to, which differs from the ordinary process
chiefly in that the goods are treated throughout at full width.

The great bulk of cotton pieces is bleached in rope form, i.e.
stitched together end to end and laterally collapsed, so that they
will pass through a ring of 4 to 5 in. in diameter.

The first operation which the goods undergo on arriving in the
grey-room of the bleachworks is that of stamping with tar or some
other indelible material in order that they may be identified after
passing through the whole process. They are then stitched together end
to end by means of special sewing machines, the stitch being of such a
nature (chain stitch) that the thread can be ripped out at one pull at
the end of the operations.

_Singeing._--In the condition in which the pieces leave the loom and
come into the hands of the bleacher, the surface of the fabric is seen
to be covered with a _nap_ of projecting fibres which gives it a downy
appearance. For some classes of goods this is not a disadvantage, but
in the majority of cases, especially for prints where a clean surface
is essential, the nap is removed before bleaching. This is usually
effected by running the pieces at full width over a couple of arched
copper plates heated to a full red heat by direct fire. An arrangement
of the kind is shown in fig. 2, in which the singe-plates, a and b,
are mounted over the flues of a coal fire. The plate b is most highly
heated, a being at the end of the flue farthest removed from the
fire. The cloth enters over a rail A, and in passing over the plate a
is thoroughly dried and prepared for the singeing it receives when it
comes to the highly-heated plate b. A block d, carrying two rails in
the space between the plates, can be raised or lowered so as to
increase or lessen the pressure of the cloth against the plates, or,
if necessary, to lift it quite free of contact with them.

The pieces on leaving the singeing machine are passed either through a
water trough or through a steam box with the object of extinguishing
sparks, and are then plaited down. The speed at which the pieces
travel over the singe plates is necessarily considerable and varies
with different classes of material.[1]

In lieu of plates, a cast-iron cylinder is sometimes employed ("roller
singeing"), the heating being effected by causing the flame of the
fire to be drawn through the roller, which is carried on two small
rollers at each end and revolves slowly in the reverse direction to
that followed by the piece, thus exposing continuously a freshly
heated surface and avoiding uneven cooling.

For figured pieces which have an uneven surface, it is obvious that
plate or roller singeing would only affect the portions which project
most, leaving the rest untouched. For such goods, "gas singeing" is
employed, which consists in running the pieces over a non-luminous gas
flame, the breadth of which slightly exceeds that of the piece, or in
drawing the flame right through the piece.[2] The construction of an
ordinary gas singeing apparatus is seen in section in fig. 3. Coal gas
mixed with air is sent under pressure through pipe a into the burners
b, b, where the mixture burns with an intense heat. The cloth travels
in the direction of the arrows, and in passing over the small nap
rollers c comes into contact with the flame four times in succession
before leaving the machine.

Gas singeing is also used for plain goods, and being cleaner and under
better control has largely replaced plate singeing.

At this stage the goods which have been browned on the surface by
singeing are ready for the bleaching operations. A great many
innovations have been introduced in recent years in the bleaching of
calico, but although it is generally admitted that in point of view of
time and economy many of these processes offer considerable
advantages, the old process, in which a lime boil precedes the other
operations, is still the one which is most largely employed by
bleachers in England. In this, the sequence of operations is the
following--

_Grey Washing._--This operation (which is sometimes omitted) simply
consists in running the pieces through an ordinary washing machine (as
shown in fig. 5) through water in order to wet them out. On leaving
the machine they are piled in a heap and left over night, when
fermentation sets in, which results in the starch being to a large
extent hydrolysed and rendered soluble in water.

_Lime Boil._--In this operation, which is also known as _bowking_
(Ger. _beuchen_), the pieces are first run through milk of lime
contained in an ordinary washing machine and of such a strength that
they take up about 4% of their weight of lime (CaO). They are then run
over winches and guided through smooth porcelain rings ("pot-eyes")
into the kier, where they are evenly packed by boys who enter the
vessel through the manhole at the top. It is of the greatest
importance that the goods should be evenly packed, for, if channels or
loosely-packed places are left, the liquor circulating through the
kier, when boiling is subsequently in progress, will follow the line
of least resistance, and the result is an uneven treatment. Of the
numerous forms of kier in use, the injector kier is the one most
generally adopted. This consists of an egg-ended cylindrical vessel
constructed of stout boiler plate and shown in sectional elevation in
fig. 4. The kier is from 10 to 12 ft. in height and from 6 to 7 ft. in
diameter, and stands on three iron legs riveted to the sides, but not
shown in the figure. The bottom exit pipe E is covered with a
shield-shaped false bottom of boiler plate, or (and this is more
usual) the whole bottom of the kier is covered with large rounded
stones from the river bed, the object in either case being simply to
provide space for the accumulation of liquor and to prevent the pipe E
being blocked. The cloth is evenly packed up to within about 3 to 4
ft. of the manholes M, when lime water is run in through the liquor
pipe until the level of the liquid reaches within about 2 ft. of the
top of the goods. The manholes are now closed, and steam is turned on
at the injector J by opening the valve v. The effect of this is to
suck the liquor through E, and to force it up through pipe P into the
top of the kier, where it dashes against the umbrella-shaped shield U
and is distributed over the pieces, through which it percolates, until
on arriving at E it is again carried to the top of the kier, a
continuous circulation being thus effected. As the circulation
proceeds, the steam condensing in the liquor rapidly heats the latter
to the boil, and as soon as, in the opinion of the foreman, all air
has been expelled, the blow-through tap is closed and the boiling is
continued for periods varying from six to twelve hours under 20-60 lb.
pressure. Steam is now turned off, and by opening the valve V the
liquor, which is of a dark-brown colour, is forced out by the pressure
of the steam it contains.

The pieces are now run through a continuous washing machine, which is
provided with a plentiful supply of water. The machine, which is shown
in fig. 5, consists essentially of a wooden vat, over which there is a
pair of heavy wooden (sycamore) bowls or squeezers. The pieces enter
the machine at each end, as indicated by the arrows, and pass rapidly
through the bowls down to the bottom of the vat over a loose roller,
thence between the first pair of guide pegs through the bowls again,
and travel thus in a spiral direction until they arrive at the middle
of the machine, when they leave at the side opposite to that on which
they entered. The same type of machine is used for liming, chemicking,
and souring.

The next operation is the "grey sour," in which the goods are run
through a washing machine containing hydrochloric acid of 2 deg. Tw.
strength, with the object of dissolving out the lime which the goods
retain in considerable quantity after the lime boil. The goods are
then well washed, and are now boiled again in the ash bowking kier,
which is similar in construction to the lime kier, with soda ash (3%)
and a solution of rosin (1-1/2%) in caustic soda (1-1/4%) for eight to
ten hours. For white bleaching the rosin soap is omitted, soda ash
alone being employed.

The pieces are now washed free from alkali and the bleaching proper or
"chemicking" follows. This operation may be effected in various ways,
but the most efficient is to run the goods in a washing machine
through bleaching powder solution at 1/2 deg.-1 deg. Tw., and allow
them to lie loosely piled over night, or in some cases for a longer
period. They are now washed, run through dilute sulphuric or
hydrochloric acid at 2 deg. Tw. ("white sour") and washed again.
Should the white not appear satisfactory at this stage (and this is
usually the case with very heavy or dense materials), they are boiled
again in soda ash, chemicked with bleaching powder at 1/8 deg. Tw. or
even weaker, soured and washed. It is of the utmost importance that
the final washing should be as thorough as possible, in order to
completely remove the acid, for if only small quantities of the latter
are left in the goods, they are liable to become tender in the
subsequent drying, through formation of hydrocellulose.

The modern processes of bleaching cotton pieces differ from the one
described above, chiefly in that the lime boil is entirely dispensed
with, its place being taken by a treatment in the kier with caustic
soda (or a mixture of caustic soda and soda ash) and resin soap. The
best known and probably the most widely practised of these processes
is one which was worked out by the late M. Horace Koechlin in
conjunction with Sir William Mather, and this differs from the old
process not only in the sequence of the operations but also in the
construction of the kier. This consists of a horizontal egg-ended
cylinder, and is shown in transverse and longitudinal sections in
figs. 6 and 7. One of the ends E constitutes a door which can be
raised or lowered by means of the power-driven chain C. The goods to
be bleached are packed in wagons W outside the kier, and when filled
these are pushed home into the kier, so that the pipes p fit with
their flanges on to the fixed pipes at the bottom of the kier. The
heating is effected by means of steam pipes at the lowest extremity of
the kier, while the circulation of the liquor is brought about by
means of the centrifugal pump P, which draws the liquor through the
pipes p from beneath the false bottoms of the wagons and showers it
over distributors D on to the goods. By this mode of working a
considerable economy is effected in point of time, as the kier can be
worked almost continuously; for as soon as one lot of goods has been
boiled, the wagons are run out and two freshly-packed wagons take
their place. The following is the sequence of operations:--The goods
are first steeped over night in dilute sulphuric acid, after which
they are washed and run through old kier liquor from a previous
operation. They are then packed evenly in the wagons which are pushed
into the kier, and, the door having been closed, they are boiled for
about eight hours at 7-15 lb. pressure with a liquor containing soda
ash, caustic soda, resin soap and a small quantity of sulphite of
soda. The rest of the operations (chemicking, souring and washing) are
the same as in the old process.

A somewhat different principle is involved in the Thies-Herzig
process. In this the kier is vertical, and the circulation of the
liquor is effected by means of a centrifugal or other form of pump,
while the heating of the liquor is brought about outside the kier in a
separate vessel between the pump and the kier by means of indirect
steam. The sequence of operations is similar to that adopted in the
Mather-Koechlin process, differing chiefly from the latter in the
first operation, which consists in running the goods, after singeing,
through very dilute boiling sulphuric or hydrochloric acid, containing
in either case a small proportion of hydrofluoric acid, and then
running them through a steam box, the whole operation lasting from
twenty to sixty seconds.

Bleached by any of the above processes, the cloth is next passed over
a mechanical contrivance known as a "scutcher," which opens it out
from the rope form to its full breadth, and is then dried on a
continuous drying machine. Fig. 8 shows the appearance and
construction of an improved form of the horizontal drying machine,
which is in more common use for piece goods than the vertical form.
The machine consists essentially of a series of copper or tinned iron
cylinders, which are geared together so as to run at a uniform speed.
Steam at 10-15 lb. pressure is admitted through the journalled
bearings at one side of the machine, and the condensed water is forced
out continuously through the bearings at the other side. The pieces
pass in the direction of the arrow (fig. 9) over a scrimp rail or
expanding roller round the first cylinder, then in a zigzag direction
over all succeeding cylinders, and ultimately leave the machine dry,
being mechanically plaited down at the other end.

If the bleaching process has been properly conducted, the pieces
should not only show a uniform pure white colour, but their strength
should remain unimpaired. Careful experiments conducted by the late
Mr. Charles O'Neill showed in fact that carefully bleached cotton may
actually be stronger than in the unbleached condition, and this result
has since been corroborated by others. Excessive blueing, which is
frequently resorted to in order to cover the defects of imperfect
bleaching, can readily be detected by washing a sample of the material
in water, or, better still, in water containing a little ammonia, and
then comparing with the original. The formation of oxycellulose during
the bleaching process may either take place in boiling under pressure
with lime or caustic soda in consequence of the presence of air in the
kier, or through excessive action of bleaching powder, which may
either result from the latter not being properly dissolved or being
used too strong. Its detection may be effected by dyeing a sample of
the bleached cotton in a cold, very dilute solution of methylene blue
for about ten minutes, when any portions of the fabric in which the
cellulose has been converted into oxycellulose will assume a darker
colour than the rest. The depth of the colour is at the same time an
indication of the extent to which such conversion has taken place.
Most bleached cotton contains some oxycellulose, but as long as the
formation has not proceeded far enough to cause tendering, its
presence is of no importance in white goods. If, on the other hand,
the cotton has to be subsequently dyed with direct cotton colours (see
DYEING), the presence of oxycellulose may result in uneven dyeing.
Tendering of the pieces, due to insufficient washing after the final
souring operation, is a common defect in bleached goods. As a rule the
free acid can be detected by extracting the tendered material with
distilled water and adding to the extract a drop of methyl orange
solution, when the latter will turn pink if free acid be present.
Other defects which may occur in bleached goods are iron stains,
mineral oil stains, and defects due to the addition of paraffin wax in
the size.

_Bleaching of Linen._

The bleaching of linen is a much more complicated and tedious process than the bleaching of cotton. This is due in part to the fact that in linen the impurities amount to 20% or more of the weight of the fibre, whereas in cotton they do not usually exceed 5%. Furthermore these impurities, which include colouring matter, intracellular substances and a peculiar wax known as "flax wax," are more difficult to attack than those which are present in cotton, and the difficulty is still further enhanced in the case of piece goods owing to their dense or impervious character.

Till towards the end of the 18th century the bleaching of linen both in the north of Ireland and in Scotland was accomplished by bowking in cows' dung and souring with sour milk, the pieces being exposed to light on the grass between these operations for prolonged periods. Subsequently potash and later on soda was substituted for the cows' dung, while sour milk was replaced by sulphuric acid. This "natural bleach" is still in use in Holland, a higher price being paid for linen bleached in this way than for the same material bleached with the aid of bleaching powder. In the year 1744 Dr. James Ferguson of Belfast received a premium of L300 from the Irish Linen Board for the application of lime in the bleaching of linen. Notwithstanding this reward, the use of lime in the bleaching of linen was for a long time afterwards forbidden in Ireland under statutory penalties, and so late as 1815 Mr Barklie, a respectable linen bleacher of Linen Vale, near Keady, was "prosecuted for using lime in the whitening of linens in his bleachyard."

The methods at present employed for the bleaching of linen are, except in one or two unimportant particulars, the same as were used in the middle of the 19th century. In principle they resemble those used in cotton bleaching, but require to be frequently repeated, while an additional operation, which is a relic of the old-fashioned process, viz. that of "grassing" or "crofting," is still essential for the production of the finest whites. Considerably more care has to be exercised in linen bleaching than is the case with cotton, and the process consequently necessitates a greater amount of manual labour. The practical result of this is that whereas cotton pieces can be bleached and finished in less than a week, linen pieces require at least six weeks. Many attempts have naturally been made to shorten and cheapen the process, but without success. The use of stronger reagents and more drastic treatment, which would at first suggest itself, incurs the risk of injury to the fibre, not so much in respect to actual tendering as to the destruction of its characteristic gloss, while if too drastic a treatment is employed at the beginning the colouring matter is liable to become set in the fibre, and it is then almost impossible to remove it. Among the many modern improvements which have been suggested, mention may be made of the use of hypochlorite of soda in place of bleaching powder, the use of oil in the first treatment in alkali (Cross & Parkes), while de Keukelaere suggests the use of sodium sulphide for this purpose. With the object of dispensing with the operation of grassing, which besides necessitating much manual labour is subject to the influences of the atmospheric conditions, Siemens & Halske of Berlin have suggested exposure of the goods in a chamber to the action of electrolytically prepared ozone. Jardin seeks to achieve the same object by steeping the linen in dilute nitric acid.

Since the qualities of linen which are submitted to the bleacher vary considerably, and the mode of treatment has to be varied accordingly, it is not possible to give more than a bare outline of linen bleaching.

Linen is bleached in the yarn and in the piece. Whenever one of the
operations is repeated, the strength of the reagent is successively
diminished. In yarn-bleaching the sequence of the operations is about
as follows:--(1) Boil in kier with soda ash. (2) Reel in bleaching
powder. This operation, which is peculiar to linen bleaching, consists
in suspending the hanks from a square roller into bleaching powder
solution contained in a shallow stone trough. The roller revolves
slowly, so that the hanks, while passing continuously through the
bleaching powder, are for the greater part of the time being exposed
to the air. (3) Sour in sulphuric acid. (4) Scald in soda ash. (The
term "scalding" means boiling in a kier.) (5) Reel in bleaching
powder. (6) Sour in sulphuric acid. (7) Scald in soda ash. (8) Dip,
i.e. steep in bleaching powder. (9) Sour in sulphuric acid. (10) Scald
in soda ash. (11) Dip in bleaching powder. (12) Sour in sulphuric
acid. For a full white, two more operations are usually required, viz.
(13) scald in soda ash, and (14) dip in bleaching powder. Washing
intervenes between all these operations.

Pieces are not stamped as in the case of cotton, but thread-marked by
hand with cotton dyed Turkey red. They are then sewn together end to
end, and subjected to the following operations:--

Boil with lime in kier.

The pieces are now separated and made up into bundles (except in the
case of very light linens, which may pass through the whole of the
operations in rope form) and soured with sulphuric acid.

First lye boil with soda ash and caustic soda.

Second lye boil. For some classes of goods no less than six lye boils
may be required.

Grass between lye boils (according to their number).

Rub with rubbing boards. This is also a speciality in linen bleaching,
and consists of a mechanical treatment with soft soap, the object of
which is to remove black stains in the yarn.

Bleach with hypochlorite of soda.

Scald. The two latter treatments are repeated three to five times,
each series constituting a "turn." Grassing intervenes between each
turn, and in some instances the pieces are rubbed before the last soda
boil.

The pieces are next steeped in large vessels (kiers) in weak
hypochlorite of soda, and then in weak sulphuric acid, these
treatments being repeated several times.

Ultimately the goods are mill-washed, blued with smalt and dried.

_Bleaching of other Vegetable Textile Fabrics._

_Hemp_ may be bleached by a process similar to that used for linen, but this is seldom done owing to the expense entailed. _China grass_ is bleached like cotton. _Jute_ contains in its raw state a considerable amount of colouring matter and intracellular substance. Since the individual fibres are very short, the complete removal of the latter would be attended by a disintegration of the material. Although it is possible to bleach jute white, this is seldom if ever carried out on a large scale owing to the great expense involved. A half-bleach on jute is obtained by steeping the goods alternately in bleaching powder (or hypochlorite of soda) and sulphuric acid, washing intervening. For a cream these treatments are repeated.

_Bleaching of Straw._

In the Luton district, straw is bleached principally in the form of plait, in which form it is imported. The bleaching is effected by steeping the straw for periods varying from twelve hours to several days in fairly strong alkaline peroxide of hydrogen. The number of baths depends upon the quality of straw and the degree of whiteness required. Good whites are thus obtained, and no further process would be necessary if the hats had not subsequently to be "blocked" or pressed at a high temperature which brings about a deterioration of the colour. After bleaching with peroxide and drying, the straw consequently undergoes a further process of sulphuring, i.e. exposure to gaseous sulphurous acid. Panama hats are bleached after making up, but in this case only peroxide of hydrogen is used and a very lengthy treatment entailing sometimes fourteen days' steeping is required.

_Bleaching of Wool._

In the condition in which it is delivered to the manufacturers wool is generally a very impure article, even if it has been washed on the sheep's back before shearing. The impurities which it contains consist in the main of the natural grease (in reality a kind of wax) exuded from the skin of the sheep and technically known as the "yolk," the dried-up perspiration from the body of the sheep; technically called "suint," and dust, dirt, burrs, &c., which mechanically adhere to the sticky surfaces of the fibres. In this condition wool is quite unfit for any manufacturing purposes and must be cleansed before any mechanical operations can be commenced. Formerly the washing was effected in stale urine, which owed its detergent properties mainly to the presence of ammonium carbonate. The stale urine or _lant_ was diluted with four to five times its bulk of water, and in this liquor, heated to 40 deg.-50 deg. C., the washing was effected.

At the present day this method has been entirely abandoned, the washing or "scouring" being effected with soap, assisted by ammonia, potash, soda or silicate of soda. The finest qualities of wool are washed with soft soap and potash, while for inferior qualities, cheaper detergents are employed. The operation is in principle perfectly simple, the wool being submerged in the warm soap solution, where it is moved about with forks and then taken out and allowed to drain. A second treatment in weaker soap serves to complete the process. In dealing with large quantities, wool-washing machines are employed, which consist essentially of long cast-iron troughs which contain the soap solution. The wool to be washed is fed in at one end of the machine and is slowly propelled to the other end by means of a system of mechanically-driven forks or rakes. As it passes from the machine, it is squeezed through a pair of rollers. Three such machines are usually required for efficient washing, the first containing the strongest and the third the weakest soap.