THE STORY OF ARTIFICIAL SILK

“It introduced me into a new world,” he
said. ““ I devoured it.’ It almost made him
forget his wedding.

At 27, he became the chemist of the
Oakenshaw Print Works. His salary, to
begin with, was only 30s. a week. But he
soon made it larger. He created new colours
and new styles. His mill was soon over-sold.
His employers were afraid of losing him, so
they wisely made him a partner. The owners
of the mill were two brothers named Fort.

John Mercer had one of the most creative
brains in Lancashire, which, in those days,
was saying a good deal. He began to take
out patents for all manner of things connected
 with the dyeing industry.

In 1849 he sent a paper to the Royal
Society. Then he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society. He had become one of the
ablest chemists in Europe.

At 57, his firm was dissolved. He had
made a fortune. He was now free to do as
he had wanted to do for several years. He
set out to experiment with the effect of
caustic alkalis on cotton cloth.

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