In all previously published methods for the determination of the pH of leather, paper, and textiles, a single-extraction operation has been used on the assumption that the amount of water per unit weight of sample is relatively insignificant. The results of the present investigation, however, show that for textiles the pH of the extract solution is a function of the quantity of water used in the extraction process. An extrapolation method based on this fact is described for the determination of the pH of a fabric. The pH of a textile is defined as the pH of the water present in the cloth under A. S. T. M. standard conditions of temperature and

This paper is a review of the literature published during 1950 in the field of textile science and technology. The breadth of the subject matter in pure science and in technology represented by the extensive bibliography indicates the many important fields in which the textile industry is now devoting effort and which it must follow closely if improvements in processing operations and in materials are to be translated into more useful products for the con-sumer.Papers in the field of research have been concerned with studies of the structure and properties of natural and synthetic fibers, with the chemistry of cellulose and starch, with the microbiological degradation of cellulose and wool, and with the processes of adsorption, swelling, diffusion, dyeing, and detergency. Certain general papers in the field of high polymers have been included because the techniques are important in textile research. Methods for determining molecular weight by viscometry, osmotic pressure, light scattering, and centrifugation have been reviewed. New equipments and techniques for the control of processing and laboratory equipment and for the test, identification, and examination of textile materials have been considered.In the field of development, the papers in the literature have reported on improved processes for opening and blending, carding, drafting, spinning, winding, weaving, and knitting. In wet processing attention has been given to scouring, sizing, dyeing, and printing, bleaching, and stripping. The literature on finishing includes studies of dimensional stabilization of fabrics, flame-resistance, waterproofing, resin finishes, and coating materials.II. Introduction ' The material reviewed in this paper has been selected from the scientific and technical journals published in the United States and abroad, and from certain standard abstract journals. It is believed that this review covers the important contributions in the fields of textile research and development during 1950; however, certain papers assembled at the outset have been omitted because they were considered inappropriate. The material in the text has been divided somewhat arbitrarily into the fields of research and development, and into sub-classifications of these divisions controlled principally by the published literature.The bibliography has been arranged to conform with the main divisions and their sub-classifications. The individual papers cited are numbered consecutively in the bibliography; the papers in each of the principal sections in research and development are arranged in alphabetical order by first author. The numbers in brackets in the text refer to the appropriate papers in the bibliography. III. Review Papers of General InterestThe general literature on textiles during the past year includes the publication of many books and scientific papers which are not concerned with particular materials or processes but deal in a broad way with the textile field. These publications treat such subjects as the general progress in research and develop...