otton subsequently exposed to carbon disulphide. The product of
reaction was further treated as in the preparation of the ordinary
solution; but in place of the usual solution, structureless and
homogeneous, it was observed to retain a fibrous character, and the
fibres, though enormously swollen, were not broken down by continued
vigorous stirring. After large dilution the solutions were filtered, and
the fibres then formed a gelatinous mass on the filters. After
purification, the residue was dried and weighed. The American cotton
yielded 90.0 p.ct., and the Egyptian 92.0 p.ct. of its substance in the
form of this peculiar modification. The experiment was repeated,
allowing an interval of 24 hours to elapse between the conversion into
alkali-cotton and exposure of this to the carbon disulphide. The
quantitative results were identical.

There are many observations incidental to chemical treatments of cotton
fabrics which tend to show that the bleaching process produces other
effects than the mere removal of mechanical impurities. In the
sulphocarbonate reaction the raw cotton, in fact, behaves exactly as a
compound cellulose. Whether the constitutional difference between raw
and bleached cotton, thus emphasised, is due to the group of components
of the raw cotton, which are removed in the bleaching process, or to
internal constitutional changes determined by the bleaching treatments,
is a question which future investigation must decide.

_The normal sulphocarbonate (viscose)._--In the industrial applications
of viscose it is important to maintain a certain standard of composition
as of the essential physical properties of the solution, notably
viscosity. It may be noted first that, with the above-mentioned
exception, the various fibrous celluloses show but slight differences in
regard to all the essential features of the reactions involved. In the
mercerising reaction, or alkali-cellulose stage, it is true the
differences are considerable. With celluloses of the wood and straw
classes there is a considerable conversion into soluble
alkali-celluloses. If treated with water these are dissolved, and on
weighing back the cellulose, after thorough washing, treatment with
acid, and finally washing and drying, it will be found to have lost from
15 to 20 p.ct. in weight. The lower grade of celluloses thus dissolved
are only in part precipitated in acidifying the alkaline solution. On
the other hand, after conversion into viscos