In Part I of a four-part series, the author reviews the literature on the aging of cellulose, notes the reasons why an alkaline rinse should be effective in retarding the aging of cellulosic textiles, and presents preliminary results which indicate that treating new cotton and rayon cloth with a dilute calcium hydroxide solution can increase their resistance to accelerated aging. In Part II the results of a more detailed study of the effect of a calcium hydroxide rinse on the strength retention and color change of new cellulosic fabrics are reported. It is shown that the treatment is successful in retarding strength loss, but that it has no effect upon color change.