r
cold. When applied hot it penetrates into the interior, filling up
every space between the fibers, binding all together, and forming a
hard coating on the surface of the thread. A thorough washing or
steaming serves to remove all the size from the woven fabric.

[Illustration: FINISHING ROOM]

=Cotton Finishing.= Cotton fabrics, like other textiles, after leaving
the loom must be subjected to various finishing processes so as to
bring them into commercial condition. On piece-dyed goods part of the
finishing is done before and part after the dyeing process. Each class
of fabrics has definite finishing processes. In some cases weighting
materials are added to the fabric so as to hide more or less its
actual construction. Cotton fabrics just from the loom present a soft
and open structure, more so than other textiles. Therefore it is
necessary to use proper finishing materials and processes which will
fill up the openings or interstices as produced in the fabric by the
interlacing of warp and filling, and at the same time give to the
fabric a certain amount of stiffness. Of course this finish will
disappear during wear or washing, it having been imparted to the
fabric to bring the latter into a salable condition.

Cotton fabrics after weaving may be subjected to the following
sub-processes of finishing:

Inspecting, Burling and Trimming, Bleaching, Washing, Scutching,
Drying.

After the cloth leaves the loom it is brushed; then it passes over to
the inspection table in an upward receding direction, so that the eye
of the operator can readily detect imperfections. The ends of two or
more pieces as coming from the loom are sewed into a string for
convenient handling in the bleaching.

=Bleaching.= The object of bleaching is to free the cotton from its
natural color. The ancient method of bleaching by exposure to the
action of the sun's rays and frequent wetting has been superseded by a
more complicated process involving the use of various chemicals.
Pieces of cloth are tacked together (sewed) to form one continuous
piece of from three to one thousand yards in length. The cloth is next
passed over hot cylinders or a row of small gas jets to remove all
the fine, loose down from the surface. The goods are then washed and
allowed to remain in a wet condition for a few hours, after which they
are passed through milk of lime under heavy pressure, followed by
rinsing in clear water. The goods are next "scoured" in water