THE STORY OF ARTIFICIAL SILK 
very daringly, held an Exhibition in Man- 
chester—the home of the cotton trade. It 
was an eye-opener for the cotton men. There 
has been no scoffing since. The beauty and 
the durability of the new cloths amazed the 
cotton men. So did the prices. They found 
that Artificial Silk is now the cheapest of all 
fabrics, considering the value, in both appear- 
ance and durability, received by the wearer. 
All wise textile manufacturers are now 
realizing that Artificial Silk is in reality a 
godsend to them. It gives them a new yarn 
that is not at the mercy of the weather and 
of foreign trade conditions. 
There is to-day a shortage of cotton, wool 
and flax. There are 15 per cent. fewer sheep 
in the world than there were in 1913. There 
is only half enough flax. Half of it formerly 
came from Russia, and this source of supply 
is now cut off. As for cotton, it is apt at 
any time to be reduced by boll weevils or 
restriction of output. It is not a dependable 
crop. 
The woollen manufacturers are still scepti- 
cal, but they must face the following facts. 
There are 90,000,000 fewer sheep in the world 
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