Excerpts: Brushes are an important commodity and have many uses. They cover a wide range of types from the ordinary floor sweeps to the finest artist's brushes. All brushes used in the Government service in considerable quantities are covered by Federal purchase specification: there are over 40 such specifications. A large proportion of them are paint and varnish brushes made of hog bristles. There are also many other brushes ranging from choice soft-hair brushes to the large street cleaning brushes and brooms made from coarse vegetable fiber. Soft-hair brushes are distinguished from bristle paint brushes by qualities which make them appropriate for more delicate jobs. They are used for sign lettering, decorations, and other art work. The fiber most generally used are from certain fur animals, such as squirrel, skunk, red sable, badger, and similar animals. Some brushes are made of the hair from goats and cattle. How important soft liber brushes are, and how necessary it is that they be made of specific fibers, was not realized until their scarcity became acute during World War II. In the spring of 1942, the industry decided at the Animal Convention of the American Brush Manufacturers' Association to cooperate closely with the Government. The Fish and Wildlife Service undertook to seek supplementary and substitute fibers for soft-hair brushes. This work was carried on at the Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Md., from 1942 to 1944.