'Like-With-Like’: A Comparison of Natural and Synthetic Stitching Threads used in Textile Conservation

This paper reports research undertaken to investigate thread types used in textile conservation by quantitatively evaluating tensile strength and damage to conserved samples. A literature review and questionnaire sent to textile conservators were used to establish the most commonly used threads for laid-thread couching treatments and the rationale behind thread choice. Most common threads found were two-ply hair silk and polyester Tetex as well as other fine polyester, silk and cotton varieties. Three natural fibre plain-weave artefact samples conserved by laid-thread couching with five different thread types (lace cotton, hair silk, organsin, Skala and Tetex) were subjected to either tensile strength testing or a fixed-load experiment for two weeks. The tensile strength tests determined that the conservation treatment provided effective support and different thread types did not give statistically different results. The fixed-load experiment determined that longer time periods created more damage, even with lighter loads

Mechanical properties of wool and cotton yarns used in twenty-first century tapestry: preparing for the future by understanding the present

The conservation of historic tapestries is a complex and highly skilled task. Tapestries now being woven will need conservation in years to come. Can we, by understanding the properties of these contemporary works, assist the conservators of the future? The recreation of the Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries being undertaken by the West Dean Tapestry Studio offers a unique opportunity to access the materials being used and to create a body of data on their initial properties. This study uses tensile testing of the warp and weft materials to determine their maximum load at break, extension at maximum load, and specific stress (tenacity). Wool weft yarns from two different sources and of two thicknesses were examined. These wools were dyed ‘in house’ and the effect of the different dyes used was also assessed. These parameters all showed some significant (P < 0.05) differences. Cotton warp yarns of differing thickness and a gold thread were also tested. The comparison of how cotton and wool break demonstrates that when a tapestry is put under sufficient stress the cotton will snap but the wool may only stretch. However, this could often be beyond its recovery range resulting in a failure to return to shape

Development of non-destructive methodology using ATR-FTIR with PCA to differentiate between historical Pacific barkcloth

Barkcloths, non-woven textiles originating from the Pacific Islands, form part of many museum collections and date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The ability to determine different plant species which have been used for producing barkcloth is required by art historians to help understand the origin and use of the cloths and by conservators for whom the species type may have an impact on textile durability, deterioration and hence conservation. However, to date the development of a non-destructive, robust analytical technique has been elusive. This article describes the use of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflection (ATR-FTIR) and principal component analysis (PCA) todifferentiation between historic barkcloths. Three distinct groups of historic cloths were identified using PCA of the FTIR region between 1200 and 1600 cm−1 where molecular vibrations associated with tannins and lignins are dominant. Analysis of contemporary cloths only identified Pipturus albidus cloth as different and highlighted the difficulties around producing a representative textile sample to mimic the historic cloths. While the methodology does not itself identify species, the use of historically well-provenanced samples allows cloths showing similarities to group together and is a significant aid to identification

Crop Updates 2007 - Farming Systems

This session covers forty papers from different authors: 1. Quality Assurance and industry stewardship, David Jeffries, Better Farm IQ Manager, Cooperative Bulk Handling 2. Sothis: Trifolium dasyurum (Eastern Star clover), A. Loi, B.J. Nutt and C.K. Revell, Department of Agriculture and Food 3. Poor performing patches of the paddock – to ameliorate or live with low yield? Yvette Oliver1, Michael Robertson1, Bill Bowden2, Kit Leake3and Ashley Bonser3, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems1, Department of Food and Agriculture2, Kellerberrin Farmer3 4. What evidence is there that PA can pay? Michael Robertson, CSIRO Floreat, Ian Maling, SilverFox Solutions and Bindi Isbister, Department of Agriculture and Food 5.The journey is great, but does PA pay? Garren Knell, ConsultAg; Alison Slade, Department of Agriculture and Food, CFIG 6. 2007 Seasonal outlook, David Stephens and Michael Meuleners, Department of Agriculture and Food 7. Towards building farmer capacity to better manage climate risk, David Beard and Nicolyn Short, Department of Agriculture and Food 8. A NAR farmers view of his farming system in 2015, Rob Grima, Department of Agriculture and Food 9. Biofuels opportunities in Australia, Ingrid Richardson, Food and Agribusiness Research, Rabobank 10. The groundwater depth on the hydrological benefits of lucerne and the subsequent recharge values, Ruhi Ferdowsian1and Geoff Bee2; 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2Landholder, Laurinya, Jerramungup 11. Subsoil constraints to crop production in the high rainfall zone of Western Australia, Daniel Evans1, Bob Gilkes1, Senthold Asseng2and Jim Dixon3; 1University of Western Australia, 2CSIRO Plant Industry, 3Department of Agriculture and Food 12. Prospects for lucerne in the WA wheatbelt, Michael Robertson, CSIRO Floreat, Felicity Byrne and Mike Ewing, CRC for Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity, Dennis van Gool, Department of Agriculture and Food 13. Nitrous oxide emissions from a cropped soil in the Western Australian grainbelt, Louise Barton1, Ralf Kiese2, David Gatter3, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl2, Renee Buck1, Christoph Hinz1and Daniel Murphy1,1School of Earth and Geographical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 2Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Environmental Research, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 3The Department of Agriculture and Food 14. Managing seasonal risk is an important part of farm management but is highly complex and therefore needs a ‘horses for courses’ approach, Cameron Weeks, Planfarm / Mingenew-Irwin Group, Dr Michael Robertson, Dr Yvette Oliver, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems and Dr Meredith Fairbanks, Department of Agriculture and Food 15. Novel use application of clopyralid in lupins, John Peirce, and Brad Rayner Department of Agriculture and Food 16. Long season wheat on the South Coast – Feed and grain in a dry year – a 2006 case study, Sandy White, Department of Agriculture and Food 17. Wheat yield response to potassium and the residual value of PKS fertiliser drilled at different depths, Paul Damon1, Bill Bowden2, Qifu Ma1 and Zed Rengel1; Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Western Australia1, Department of Agriculture and Food2 18. Saltbush as a sponge for summer rain, Ed Barrett-Lennard and Meir Altman, Department of Agriculture and Food and CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity 19. Building strong working relationships between grower groups and their industry partners, Tracey M. Gianatti, Grower Group Alliance 20. To graze or not to graze – the question of tactical grazing of cereal crops, Lindsay Bell and Michael Robertson, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 21. Can legume pastures and sheep replace lupins? Ben Webb and Caroline Peek, Department of Agriculture and Food 22. EverGraze – livestock and perennial pasture performance during a drought year, Paul Sanford, Department of Agriculture and Food, and CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity 23. Crop survival in challenging times, Paul Blackwell1, Glen Riethmuller1, Darshan Sharma1and Mike Collins21Department of Agriculture and Food, 2Okura Plantations, Kirikiri New Zealand 24. Soil health constraints to production potential – a precision guided project, Frank D’Emden, and David Hall, Department of Agriculture and Food 25. A review of pest and disease occurrence in 2006, Mangano, G.P. and Severtson, D.L., Department of Agriculture and Food 26. e-weed – an information resource on seasonal weed management issues, Vanessa Stewart and Julie Roche, Department of Agriculture and Food 27. Review of Pesticide Legislation and Policies in Western Australia, Peter Rutherford, BSc (Agric.), Pesticide Legislation Review, Office of the Chief Medical Adviser, WA Department of Health 28. Future wheat yields in the West Australian wheatbelt, Imma Farré and Ian Foster, Department of Agriculture and Food, Stephen Charles, CSIRO Land and Water 29. Organic matter in WA arable soils: What’s active and what’s not, Frances Hoyle, Department of Agriculture and Food, Australia and Daniel Murphy, UWA 30. Soil quality indicators in Western Australian farming systems, D.V. Murphy1, N. Milton1, M. Osman1, F.C. Hoyle2, L.K Abbott1, W.R. Cookson1and S. Darmawanto1; 1UWA, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 31. Impact of stubble on input efficiencies, Geoff Anderson, formerly employed by Department of Agriculture and Food 32. Mixed farming vs All crop – true profit, not just gross margins, Rob Sands and David McCarthy, FARMANCO Management Consultants, Western Australia 33. Evaluation of Local Farmer Group Network – group leaders’ surveys 2005 and 2006, Paul Carmody, Local Farmer Group Network, Network Coordinator, UWA 34. Seeding rate and nitrogen application and timing effects in wheat, J. Russell, Department of Agriculture and Food, J. Eyres, G. Fosbery and A. Roe, ConsultAg, Northam 35. Foliar fungicide application and disease control in barley, J. Russell, Department of Agriculture and Food, J. Eyres, G. Fosbery and A. Roe, ConsultAg, Northam 36. Brown manuring effects on a following wheat crop in the central wheatbelt, , J. Russell, Department of Agriculture and Food, J. Eyres, G. Fosbery and A. Roe, ConsultAg, Northam 37. Management of annual pastures in mixed farming systems – transition from a dry season, Dr Clinton Revell and Dr Phil Nichols; Department of Agriculture and Food 38. The value of new annual pastures in mixed farm businesses of the wheatbelt, Dr Clinton Revell1, Mr Andrew Bathgate2and Dr Phil Nichols1; 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2Farming Systems Analysis Service, Albany 39. The influence of winter SOI and Indian Ocean SST on WA winter rainfall, Meredith Fairbanks and Ian Foster, Department of Agriculture and Food 40. Market outlook – Grains, Anne Wilkins, Market Analyst, Grains, Department of Agriculture and Foo

Billowing silk and bendable binders: is flexibility the key to understanding banner behaviour?

Nineteenth century trade union banners designed to be held aloft during outdoor parades and marches needed to withstand the necessary handling and punishment of the wind during use, and rolling for storage. They were frequently constructed from silk fabric and painted on both faces with oil based paints; their manufacture was a quest to impart flexibility to the painted areas of the silk to prolong their useful life span.On ageing, the most commonly encountered deterioration characteristic of painted banners is splitting and tearing of the silk fabric at the junction between the painted and non-painted regions, due to their differential flexibility. Conservation treatments to support the resultant splits, using adhesive coated fabrics, need to preserve the overall flexibility of the banners to acknowledge the integral characteristics of the artefacts. Moreover, the adhesive support mechanisms need to withstand the continued flexing of the banners during rolling and unrolling, handling and free hanging display.The paper will discuss how studying the manufacturing methods of two major 19th century banner makers, using analytical techniques to supplement the scant surviving documentary sources, has enhanced understanding of how the flexibility of the banners was initially promoted. Subsequent degradation pathways of the materials and methods used were explored to understand how the original flexibility of banners may have altered. This in turn informed a recent evaluation of past conservation treatments of banners where adhesive techniques had been used. Understanding how the flexible quality of painted banners can influence the behaviour and success of conservation support methods, for example, the quantity and qualities of adhesive needed to endure long term rolled storage, can lead to the development of better remedial conservation techniques.<br/