The author has previously reported on investigations of the efficacy of alkaline treatments in reducing the rate of degradation of cellulosic textiles. These studies were conducted using new, artificially aged, and naturally aged fabrics; degradation was accomplished by baking at 150°C in a dry oven. The results showed that alkalization and buffering, while effective for new cloth, was no more useful than a simple rinse in deionized water in protecting old cloth. This work has been criticized on the grounds that accelerated aging at 150°C could introduce new chemical mechanisms or so modify existing mechanisms that the results could not be used to predict the effects of treatment and storage at ambient conditions. In this paper, the author discusses the results of an analysis of past literature and the results of recent experiments in his own laboratory. It will be shown that while precise control of temperature and humidity during the course of an experiment is of great importance, the exact experimental conditions are not. See also AATA 20-1741.