In March 1940 the Office of Dermatoses Investigations of the U. S. Public Health Service received a notification from Dr. Donald S. Mitchell, of Montreal, Canada, that there were many cases of dermatitis occurring in Canada on persons wearing cotton fabrics finished with a preparation made by a large American chemical manufacturing company. He asked whether we had a record of such cases occurring in the United States. The manufacturers of the product were notified and they stated that they had no record of such cases in this country, despite the fact that they had sold it to many finishing factories. They also stated that they had performed patch tests on human beings with the material before they placed it on the market and that they had obtained no reactions. They further stated that the finish as sold by them was diluted with various other chemicals in the factory where