| Show wreckers of fabrics hunted down in this laboratory investigators pin crimes on acids drugs b termites holes burned through fabric may I 1 not be caused by a flame spilies drops of medicine may leave a tablecloth looking as though it had been sprayed with machine gun bullets A fabric damage that shows up after laundering may have its origin on the other side of the atlantic or in a U S automobile battery even insects have been known to chew up prized linens these and other baffling cases of fabric damage are solved in the scientific fabric crime detection laboratory of the american institute of laundering often the solutions have much of the mystery and suspense of scientific crime detection in a south carolina laundry for example a naval officers gray uniform coat was found to have a hole the size 0 of a half dollar burned through the lefthand left hand pocket since not have happened in the water ater filled wash wheel the laundry sent the coat for analysis to the institute textile laboratory the bum hole caused by a flame tests revealed but by the corrosive action ot of potassium permanganate crystals the purplish crystals used for antiseptic purposes the corrosive action of this pharmaceutical eats through fabric and leaves brown stain marks that look exactly like the charred particles produced by a flani the naval officer was shown the laboratory report and he recalled having carried in his pocket the permanganate crystals which had been issued him in africa ta to treat a foot infection termites are another enemy of fabrics their voracious appetite knows nothing of shortage of white goods A nebraska laundry had delivered a deep box of shirts to a customer who placed it on a closet floor and methodically used the shirts from the top ten days later he took out the fourth shirt and found the three remaining ones riddled with frazzled holes parts of the garments were completely eata eaton n away and areas of the untouched fabric were covered with tiny mud particles the sleuths at laundry institute had the shirts a few days later tests indicated mechanical dam damage that pointed to insects as the likely perpetrators of the crime the case was referred for verification to the U S department of agri cultures bureau of entomology one of count rys supreme authorities ties on insects the injury is typical of termite attack upon fabrics read part of the bureaus report termites of this species must have connection with the ground soil and they have the habit of carrying particles of soil up into the woodwork or other particles they are feeding upon this is why you notice the dirt and dried mud on the shirts an investigation in the customers home later reveal revealed e d that the basement of the building had been so completely eaten away by the pests that it had to be replaced with tile |
