Chapter III: Part 3

31. It is supposed that there are now, in Great Britain, thirty millions of sheep; whose annual produce of wool is worth, on an average, about seven millions of pounds sterling; to this may be added five millions of pounds weight from foreign countries. This amount is increased in value, by manufacturing skill, to twenty or thirty millions of pounds. Not less than three millions of persons are supposed to be employed in this branch of British industry.

32. Both the woollen and cotton manufactures have arisen to great importance, of late years, in the United States; and, from the mechanical skill of our countrymen, the abundance of the raw material, and the vast amount of water-power, there is every reason to anticipate a rapid and continual increase in these divisions of American enterprise.

THE SILK-WORM.

1. Silk is the production of a worm, of the caterpillar species, which, in due course, passes through several transformations, and at length becomes a butterfly, like others of the genus. It is produced from an egg, and when about to die, or rather again to change its form, spins for itself an envelope, called _a cocoon_. The worm then changes to a chrysalis, and, after remaining in this state from 5 to 8 days, the butterfly, or moth, comes out, forcing its way through the cocoon. The moths, or butterflies, eat nothing, and die as soon as they have provided for the propagation of their species. Enough of these are suffered to come to maturity, to provide a sufficient stock of eggs. The rest are killed, in a few days after they have spun their task, either by heating them in an oven, or by exposing them to the rays of the sun.

2. The fibres are wound upon a reel. To render this practicable, the cocoons are put into water heated to a suitable temperature, which dissolves the gummy substance that holds the fibres together. A number of threads being detached, and passed through a hole in an iron bar, form, by the aid of the remaining glutinous matter, one thread, which is wound upon a reel into skeins.

3. The raw silk, thus produced and prepared, is sold to the manufacturers, who twist and double the fibres variously, and finally form them into threads for sewing; or weave them into a great variety of fabrics, which are too well known to need particular description here.

4. According to the ancients, the silk-worm was originally a native of China, and the neighboring parts of Asia, and had there been domesticated for a long time, before it was known in Europe. For many years after silk was sold among the nations of the West, even the merchants were ignorant of both the manner and place of its production.

5. The Greeks became acquainted with silk, soon after the time of Alexander the Great; and the Romans knew little of the article, until the reign of Augustus. Dresses, composed entirely of this material, were seldom worn; but the fabrics which had been closely woven in the East, were unravelled, and the threads were recomposed in a looser texture, intermixed with linen or woollen yarn.

6. The prodigal Hehogabalus is said to have been the first individual, in the Roman empire, who wore a robe of pure silk. It is also stated, that the Emperor Aurelian refused his wife a garment of this description, on account of its exorbitant price. At that time, as well as at previous periods, it usually sold for its weight in gold.

7. A kind of gauze, originally made by the women on the island of Cos, was very celebrated. It was dyed purple, with the substance usually employed in communicating that colour in those days; but this was done before it was woven, as in that state it was too frail to admit of the process. Habits, made of this kind of stuff, were denominated "dresses of glass:" because the body could be seen through them.

8. The Roman empire had been supplied with silk through the medium of the Persians, until the time of Justinian, in the year 555. This emperor, having become indignant at the rapacity of the silk-merchants, determined, if possible, to supply his people from the insect itself.

9. After many unsuccessful attempts, he at length obtained a small quantity of the eggs from India, by the assistance of two Persian monks, who had contrived to conceal them in the hollow of their canes. The seeds of the mulberry-tree, on the leaves of which the worm feeds, were also procured at the same time, together with instructions necessary for the management of the worms.

10. For six hundred years after the period just mentioned, the rearing of these worms, in Europe, was confined to the Greek empire; but, in the twelfth century, Roger, king of Sicily, introduced it into that island, whence it gradually spread into Italy, Spain, France, and other European countries.

11. The silk-worm was introduced into England by James the First; but it has never succeeded well in that country, on account of the dampness and coldness of the climate. The manufacture of fabrics from silk, however, is there very extensive, the raw material being obtained, chiefly, from Bengal and Italy. In the latter of these countries, in France, and other parts of Europe, as well as in Asia, the manufacture is also extensive.

12. Some attention has been paid to the rearing of silk-worms in the United States, and attempts have been made to introduce the manufacture of silks. The mulberry has been planted in various parts of the Union; and it is highly probable, that, in a few years, we shall be able to obtain excellent silks, without sending for them to foreign countries.

THE DYER, AND THE CALICO-PRINTER.

THE DYER.

1. The art of dyeing consists in impregnating flexible fibres with any color which may be desired, in such a manner, that it will remain permanent, under the common exposures to which it may be liable.

2. The union of the coloring matter with the fibres receiving the dye, is purely chemical, and not mechanical, as in the case of the application of paints. Wool has the greatest attraction for coloring substances; silk comes next to it; then cotton; and, lastly, hemp and flax. These materials, also, absorb dye-stuffs in different proportions.

3. Previous to the application of the dye, the greasy substance which covers the fibres of wool, and the gluey matter on those of silk, are removed by some kind of alkali. Their natural color is, also, discharged by the fumes of sulphur. The resinous matter and natural color of cotton and linen, are removed by bleaching.

4. The materials used in dyeing are divided into two classes--_substantive_ and _adjective_. The former communicates durable tints without the aid of any other substance previously applied; the latter requires the intervention of some agent which possesses an attraction for both the coloring matter and the stuff to be dyed, in order to make the color permanent. The substances used for this purpose are usually termed _mordants_.

5. Agents capable of acting in some way as mordants, are very numerous; but _alumina_, _alum_, the _sulphate_ or _acetate of iron_, the _muriate of tin_, and _nut-galls_, are principally employed. The mordant not only fixes the color, but, in many cases, alters and improves the tints. It is always dissolved in water, in which the stuffs are immersed, previous to the application of the dye. Dyeing substances are also very numerous; but a few of the most important have, in practice, taken precedence of the others.

6. Blue, red, yellow, and black, are the chief colors, for which appropriate coloring substances are applied; but, by a judicious combination of these same materials, and by a proper application of mordants, intermediate hues of every shade are produced; thus, a green is communicated by forming a blue ground of indigo, and then adding a yellow by means of quercitron bark.

7. The _blue dye_ is made of indigo; the _red dye_, of madder, cochineal, archil, Brazil-wood, or safflowers; the _yellow dye_, of quercitron bark, turmeric, hickory, weld, fustic, or saffron; the _black dye_, of the oxide of iron combined with logwood, or the bark of the common red, or soft maple, and the sulphate or acetate of iron. The dyes made of some of these substances require the aid of mordants, and those from others do not.

8. In communicating the intermediate hues, the different dye-stuffs forming the leading colors, are sometimes mixed; and, at other times, they are made into separate dyes, and applied in succession.

9. In this country, the business of the dyer is often united with that of the clothier; but, where the amount of business will justify it, as in manufactories, and in cities or large towns, it is a separate business. The dyers sometimes confine their attention to particular branches. Some dye wool only or silk, while others confine themselves to certain colors, such as scarlet and blue. The principal profits of the dyer, when unconnected with manufacturing establishments, arise from dyeing garments or stuffs which have been partly worn.

10. The origin of the art of dyeing is involved in great obscurity, as the ancients have not furnished even a fable, which might guide us in our researches. It is evident, however, that the art must have made considerable progress, long before authentic history begins. Moses speaks of stuffs dyed blue, purple, and scarlet, and of sheep-skins dyed red. The knowledge of the preparation of these colors, implies an advanced state of the art, at that early period.

11. Purple was the favorite color of the ancients, and appears to have been the first which was brought to a state of tolerable perfection. The discovery of the mode of communicating it, is stated to have been accidental. A shepherd's dog, while on the sea-shore, incited by hunger, broke a shell, the contents of which stained his mouth with a beautiful purple; and the circumstance suggested the application of the shell-fish, as a coloring substance. This discovery is thought to have been made about fifteen hundred years before the advent of Christ.

12. The Jews esteemed this color so highly, that they consecrated it especially to the service of the Deity, using it in stuffs for decorating the tabernacle, and for the sacred vestments of the high-priests. The Babylonians and other idolatrous nations clothed their idols in habits of purple, and even supposed this color capable of appeasing the wrath of the gods.

13. Among the heathen nations of antiquity generally, purple was appropriated to the use of kings and princes, to the exclusion of their subjects. In Rome, at a later period, purple habits were worn by the chief officers of the republic, and, at length, by the opulent, until the emperors reserved to themselves the distinguished privilege.

14. There were several kinds of shell-fish, from which this coloring substance was obtained, each of which communicated a shade somewhat different from the others. The kind collected near Tyre was the best; and hence the Tyrian purple acquired especial celebrity. So highly was it esteemed by the Romans, in the time of Augustus, that wool imbued with this color was sold for one thousand denarii per pound, which, in our currency, amounts to one hundred and sixty-eight dollars.

15. After all, the boasted purple of antiquity is supposed to have been a very inferior dye, when compared with many which we now possess; and this is only one among many instances, wherein modern science has given us a decided superiority over the ancients.

16. The color, second in repute with the people of antiquity, was scarlet. This color was communicated by means of an insect, called _coccus_, and which is now denominated _kermes_. Besides the various hues of purple and scarlet, several others were in some degree of favor; such as green, orange, and blue. The use of vegetable dyes appears to have been but little known to the Romans; but the Gauls had the knowledge of imparting various colors, even the purple and scarlet, with the juice of certain herbs.

17. The irruption of the northern barbarians into the Roman empire, destroyed this, with the rest of the arts of civilization, in the western parts of Europe; but, having been preserved, more or less, in the East, it was again revived in the West, principally by means of the intercourse arising from the Crusades.

18. Although indigo seems to have been known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, yet it does not appear to have been used for dyeing. The first that was applied to this purpose in Europe, was brought from India by the Dutch; but its general use was not established without much opposition from interested individuals. It was strictly prohibited in England, in the reign of Elizabeth, and, about the same time, in Saxony. Many valuable acquisitions were made to the materials employed in this art, on the discovery of America, among which may be enumerated, cochineal, logwood, Brazil-wood, and Nicaragua, together with the soft maple and quercitron barks.

19. The first book on the art of dyeing was published in 1429. This, of course, appeared in manuscript, as the art of printing had not then been discovered. An edition was printed in 1510. The authors to whom the world is most indebted for correct information on this subject, are Dufuy, Hallet, Macquir, and Berthollet, of France; and Henry and Bancroft, of England; all of whom wrote in the eighteenth century.

THE CALICO-PRINTER.

1. Calico-printing is a combination of the arts of dyeing, engraving, and printing, wherewith colors are applied in definite figures. This art is applicable to woven fabrics, and chiefly to those of which the material is cotton.

2. The first object, after preparing the stuffs, as in dyeing, is to apply a _mordant_ to those parts of the piece which are to receive the color. This is now usually done by means of a steel or copper cylinder, on which have been engraved the proposed figures, as on plates for copperplate-printing.

3. During the printing, the cylinder, in one part of its revolution, becomes charged with the mordant, the superfluous part of which is scraped off by a straight steel edge, leaving only the portion which fills the lines of the figures. As the cylinder revolves, the cloth comes into forcible contact with it, and receives the complete impression of the figures, in the pale color of the mordant.

4. The cloth, after having been washed and dried, is passed through the _coloring bath_, in which the parts previously printed, become permanently dyed with the intended color. Although the whole piece receives the dye, yet, by washing the cloth, and bleaching it on the grass in the open air, the color is discharged from those parts not impregnated with the mordant.

5. By the use of different mordants, successively applied, and a single dye, several colors are often communicated to the same piece of cloth; thus, if stripes are first made with the acetate of alumina, and then others with the acetate of iron, a coloring bath of madder will produce red and brown stripes. The same mordants, with a dye of quercitron bark, give yellow and olive or drab.

6. Sometimes, the second mordant is applied by means of engravings on wooden blocks. Cuts, designed for this purpose, are engraved on the _side_ of the grain, and not on the _end_, like those for printing books.

7. Calico-printing, so far as chemical affinities are concerned, is the same with dyeing. The difference consists, chiefly, in the mode of applying the materials, so as to communicate the desired tints and figures. The dye-stuffs, most commonly employed by calico-printers, are indigo, madder, and quercitron bark; by a dexterous application of these and the mordants, a great variety of colors can be produced. Indigo, being a substantive color, does not require the aid of mordants, but, like them, when other dyes are used, is applied directly to the cloth, sometimes by the engraved cylinder or block, and at others with the pencil by hand.

8. Calico-printing was practised in India twenty-two centuries ago, when Alexander the Great visited that country with his victorious army. The operation was then performed with a pencil. This method is still used in the East to the exclusion of every other. The art was also practised in Egypt in Pliny's time.

9. Calicoes were first brought to England in the year 1631. They derive their name from the city of Calicut, whence they were first exported to Europe. This branch of business was introduced into London in the year 1676. Since that time, it has been encouraged by several acts of Parliament; but it never became extensive in England, until the introduction of machinery for spinning cotton. It is supposed, that the amount of cottons annually printed in the United States, cannot be less than twenty millions of yards.

THE HATTER.

1. The business, peculiar to the hatter, consists in making hats from the fur or hair of animals, by the process called _felting_. The hair of animals is the only material which can be firmly matted together in this way; yet, that of every animal is not suitable for this purpose. The fur of the beaver, the otter, the seal, the muskrat, the rabbit, the hare, the coney, and the nutria, together with the wool of the lama, sheep, and camel, are employed to the exclusion of almost every other.

2. The skin of all animals having fur, is covered with two kinds of hair; the one, long and coarse; the other, short, fine, and thickly set. The coarse hair is pulled out from the skin, by the aid of a shoe-knife, and thrown away, while the fine, which is the fur, is cut from it with one of a circular form, such as the saddlers and harness-makers use in cutting leather.

3. In the application of the materials, the first object of the hatter is to make the _body_. In the common three, four, and five dollar hats, the body is composed of the wool of the sheep; but, in those of greater value, it is usually made of the wool of the lama, and different kinds of cheap furs. In describing the process of making hats, one of the latter kind will be selected.

4. A sufficient quantity of the materials for the body is weighed out, and divided into two equal parts. One of these is placed on a table, or, as the hatters call it, a _hurl_. The individual hairs composing this portion, are separated, and lightly and regularly spread out into a proper form, by the vibrations of a bow-string, which is plucked with a wooden pin.

5. The fur is then carefully compressed with a flat piece of wicker-work, denominated a hatter's basket, and covered with a damp piece of linen cloth, in which it is afterwards folded, pressed, and worked, with the hands, until it becomes matted together into a _bat_. This bat is next folded over a triangular piece of paper, and formed into a conical cap.

6. When another bat has been made in the same way, from the other half of the materials, the two are put together to form one, which is then worked in the damp cloth as before, until it is much contracted and matted together. After this, having been conveyed to another room, it is rolled in a woollen cloth, pressed, rubbed, and worked, with the hands and a rolling-pin, around a kettle of hot water, into which it is often plunged during the operation, which is called _planking_.

7. In this way, the materials are consolidated into _felt_, and the body contracted to the proper size. The reason why the process just described produces this effect, may be found in the nature of the fibres themselves. Upon a close examination, it will be observed, that these are covered with little scales, or beards, which admit of motion in one direction, but retard it in the other. This peculiar formation causes them to interlock in such a way as to become closely matted together.

8. When the body has been dried, and shaved on the knee with a sharp knife, to free it from projecting filaments, it is stiffened with gum-shellac dissolved in alcohol, and then steamed in a box, to cause the stiffening _to set_. It is now prepared for being _napped_.

9. The fur for the _nap_ is prepared on the hurl, like the conical cap first described. In applying the nap to the body, the latter is wet with hot water, and _flakes_ of the former are matted down upon it, by working it on the planks around the kettle. After three layers have been put on in this way, the cap is beaten, while wet, with sticks, to raise the nap, and then drawn over a cylindrical block, which gives it the general form of a hat.

10. The nap having been raised with a card, the hat is prepared to be colored. The dye is made, chiefly, of the extract of logwood, copperas, and verdigris. The hats, to the number of forty-eight or more, are hung upon a wheel by means of pegs, which pass through the centre of the blocks. This wheel can be turned, so as to keep one half of the hats alternately in the dye. After having been properly colored, they are taken from the blocks, washed, and dried.

11. The hat is now prepared for the _finisher_, who first whips up the nap with a ratan, and, after having rendered it pliable with steam, draws it over the _finishing block_. The fibres composing the nap, are properly disposed with a card and brush, and rendered smooth and glossy by means of a hot iron. The superfluous part of the rim is cut off with a blade, placed in a gauge. The hat is finished by adding suitable trimmings, the nature of which, and the mode of application, can be easily learned by examining different kinds of hats.

12. Hats of various colors have been worn; but those most in use are black, white, and drab. The white hats, which are intended only for ladies and children, have a nap of rabbits' fur, selected from the white skins. Drab hats are also made of stuffs of the natural color, assorted for that purpose.

13. The value of hats depends, of course, upon the workmanship, and the cost of the materials used in the manufacture. So great is the difference in these respects, that their price ranges between seventy-five cents and fifteen dollars. The woollen bodies used by hatters are now often procured from persons, who devote their attention exclusively to their manufacture.

14. Several years ago, woollen cloths were made in England, by the process of felting; but, on trial, they were found to be deficient in firmness and durability. Since the year 1840, an American citizen has been manufacturing cloths by this method; but, whether they are liable to the objection just mentioned, is yet uncertain.

15. Some kind of covering for the head, either for defence or ornament, appears to have been usually worn in all ages and countries, where the inhabitants have made the least progress in the arts of civilized life.

16. The form, substance, and color, of this article of dress, have been exceedingly various in different ages, according to the circumstances or humor of the wearer. The ancient Persians wore turbans, similar to those of the modern Turks; and the nations inhabiting the Indian Peninsula, wore a kind of head-dress so large, that it divested the person of all proportion.

17. The imperial turban is said to have been composed of a great many yards of muslin, twisted and formed into a shape nearly oval, and surmounted with a woollen cap, encircled with a radiated crown. The turban of the prime minister was smaller in its dimensions, but of greater altitude. The chief magi, on account of his superior eminence, wore a higher turban than those of the monarch and minister united. Those worn by the inferior magi, were regulated by the dignity of the stations which they held.

18. The Jewish people and the neighboring nations borrowed the turban from the Persians; but, at a later period, they very commonly adopted the cap which the Romans were accustomed to give to their slaves, on their manumission.

19. The ancient helmet, made of steel, brass, and sometimes of more costly materials, was worn as a piece of defensive armor in war, instead of the ordinary coverings, used while engaged in peaceful occupations.

20. Roman citizens went bare-headed, except upon occasions of sacred rites, games, and festivals; or when engaged in travelling or in war. They were accustomed, however, in the city, to throw over their head the lappet of their toga, as a screen from the wind or sun. The people of Scotland used to wear a kind of bonnet, as in some parts of that country they do at the present time; and the English, before the invention of felt hats, covered the head with knit caps and cloth hoods, and sometimes with hats made of thrummed silk.

21. The Chinese do not wear hats, but use a cap of peculiar structure, which the laws of civility will not allow them to put off in public. The form and material of this is varied with the change of the season. That used in summer is shaped like a cone, is made of a beautiful kind of mat, and lined with satin; to this is added, at the top, a large tuft of red silk, which falls all round to the lower part of the cap, and which fluctuates gracefully on all sides, while the wearer is in motion. The kind worn in winter is made of shaggy cloth, bordered with some kind of fur, and ornamented in a similar manner.

22. Head-dresses, from their variety, simplicity, and mutability, were but little regulated by commercial or manufacturing interests, until the introduction of felt hats, which has occasioned a uniformity in this article of dress, unknown in former ages.

23. Curiosity is naturally excited to become acquainted with the particulars of the invention of the hat, and the subsequent stages of improvement in the manufacture. But the operation of individual interest, so generally connected with the useful arts, seems to have concealed the whole in obscurity; and little information on the subject can now be obtained.

24. The hatters have a tradition, that the art of felting originated with St. Clement, the fourth bishop of Rome. Under this impression, in Catholic countries, they adopt him as their patron saint, and hold an annual festival in his honor. The principle of felting is said to have been suggested to his mind by the following circumstance; while fleeing from his persecutors, his feet became blistered, and, to obtain relief, he placed wool between them and his sandals. On continuing his journey, the wool, by the perspiration, motion, and pressure of the feet, assumed a compact form.

25. Notwithstanding this tradition, it appears, that felt hats were invented at Paris, by a Swiss, about the commencement of the fifteenth century; but they were not generally known, until Charles the Seventh made his triumphal entry into Rouen, in the year 1492, when he astonished the people by wearing a hat, lined with red silk, and surmounted with a plume of feathers.

26. When some of the clergy first adopted this article of dress, it was considered an unwarrantable indulgence. Councils were held, and regulations published, forbidding any priest or monk to appear abroad wearing a hat; and enjoining them to keep to the use of chaperons, or hoods, made of black cloth, with decent cornets; if they were poor, they were, at least to have cornets fastened to their hats, upon penalty of suspension and excommunication.

27. At length, however, the pope permitted even the cardinals to wear hats; but, enjoined them to wear those of a red color at public ceremonials, in token of their readiness to spill their blood for their religion.

28. In England, considerable opposition was made to the use of the hat. By a statute, enacted in the thirteenth year of the reign of Elizabeth, every person between certain ages was obliged, on Sundays and holidays, to wear a woollen cap, made by some of the cappers of that kingdom, under the penalty of three shillings and four-pence for every day's neglect. This law continued in force, for about twenty-five years. The manufacture of hats was commenced, in England, in the time of Henry the Eighth, by Dutchmen and Spaniards.

29. Hats made of plaited straw, grass, or chip, are much used in the summer; and caps of cloth or fur are now frequently substituted for hats, in cold weather. Silk hats have also been much worn, since the year 1825. They are made of the common hat body, and a texture of silk with a long nap. The silk is fastened to the body with glue.

THE ROPE-MAKER.

1. Ropes may be made of any vegetable substance which has a fibre sufficiently flexible and tenacious. The Chinese and other orientals, in making ropes, use the ligneous parts of certain bamboos and reeds, the fibrous covering of the cocoa-nut, the filaments of the cotton pod, and the leaves of certain grasses; but the bark of plants and trees, is the most productive of fibrous matter suitable to this manufacture. That of the linden-tree, the willow, and the bramble is frequently used. In Europe and America, however, the fibres of hemp and flax are more frequently employed, for this purpose, than any other material.

2. The operations of rope-making are commonly performed in _rope-walks_, which are sometimes more than a quarter of a mile in length. These are usually covered with a slight shed, the nature and appearance of which are well exhibited in the preceding picture.

3. The first part of the process consists in spinning the material into yarn. The principle on which this is effected, is the same as that by which cotton or wool is drawn out and twisted into threads, although the machinery, and the mode of operating, are different.

4. The kind of wheel employed in spinning rope-yarn, is also exhibited in the cut. A band passes around the periphery, and over the semicircle above it, in which is placed a number of wheels, the pivots of which terminate, on the other side, in a small hook.

5. The spinner, having a quantity of the material properly disposed about the waist, attaches a number of fibres to one of the hooks, which, being put in motion by the band passing over the whirl, twists them rapidly into yarn. The part already twisted draws along with it more fibres from the bundle, and, as the spinner is regulating their uniform arrangement, he walks backward towards the other end of the walk.

6. When the thread has been spun to the proposed length, the spinner cries out to another, who immediately takes it off from the hook, gives it to a third person, and, in turn, attaches his own fibres to the same hook. In the meantime, the first spinner keeps fast hold of the end of his yarn, to prevent it from untwisting or doubling; and, as it is wound on the reel, proceeds up the walk, keeping the yarn of an equal tension throughout.

7. The second part of the process consists in forming the yarn into various kinds of ropes. The component parts of cordage are called strands; and the operation of uniting them with a permanent twist, is called _laying_, when applied to small ropes, and _closing_, when applied to cables or other large ropes.

8. The simplest twist is formed of two strands. The thread used by sail-makers, and pack-thread, furnish examples of this kind; but cordage with two strands is not much used; that with three is the most usual. Lines and cords less than one and a half inches in circumference, are laid by means of the spinning-wheel. Preparatory to this operation, the workman fastens the hither end of the yarns to separate whirl-hooks, and the remote ends to the hook of a swivel, called the _loper_.

9. The strands having been properly distended, the spinning-wheel is turned in the same direction as when twisting the yarns. A further twisting of the strands, during this part of the process, is prevented by the motion of the loper, which gives way to the strain, and, at the same time, causes the strands to entwine about each other, and form a cord. To prevent them from entwining too rapidly, an instrument is interposed, which, from its form, is called the _top_. It has two or more notches, which terminate at the apex, and a handle, called a _staff_. As the top is moved from the loper to the wheel, it regulates the degree of twist which the cord or rope is to receive.

10. The principle on which large cordage is laid, or closed, is the same, although some part of the machinery is different. The strands for large ropes and cables are formed of many yarns, and require considerable _hardening_. This cannot be done with whirls driven by a wheel-band; it requires the power of a crank, turned by hand, or by some other considerable force. The strands, also, when properly hardened, become very stiff, and, when bent round the top, cannot transmit force enough to close the unpliant rope: it is, therefore, necessary that the loper, also, be moved by a crank.

11. Cordage, which is to be exposed to the alternate action of air and water, is usually tarred. The application of this substance is made, in most cases, while the material is in a state of yarn. In effecting this object, the threads are drawn through boiling tar, and then passed between rollers, or through holes surrounded with oakum, to remove the superfluous tar. In like manner, ropes and cables are superficially tarred.

12. Various improvements have been made in the machinery, for performing the different operations of rope-making; but, these not having been generally adopted, it is unnecessary to notice them more particularly; especially, as they do not affect the general principles of the art.

13. Within a few years, cotton-yarn has been employed in the manufacture of ropes; but this material has not yet been sufficiently tested, to determine its fitness for the purpose. A kind of vegetable fibre, brought from Manilla, and hence called Manilla hemp, is very extensively applied in making ropes, and, for some purposes, is preferred to other materials.

14. The intestines of animals are composed of very powerful fibres, and those of sheep and lambs are manufactured into what is called _cat-gut_, for the use of musical instrument-makers, hatters, watch-makers, and a variety of other artificers. Animal hair, as that from the tail and mane of horses, is frequently employed as the material for ropes; and such are durable, elastic, and impervious to moisture. They, however, are not applicable in cases, where the rope is subject to considerable friction.

15. Hemp is cultivated in various parts of the world, and especially in Russia, whence it is exported to other countries in great quantities. It is also produced, to a considerable extent, in the state of Kentucky, and in many other parts of the United States. Flax is still more generally cultivated than hemp; but its chief application is to the manufacture of cloth, as it does not answer well for any cordage larger than a bed-cord. The formation of cloth from hemp is also very common; and, in this case, the yarn for the coarse cloths is spun on the rope-maker's wheel in the manner already described. The cloth is generally used for making bags, sacking-bottoms for beds, and sails for vessels.

16. Rope-making is a manufacture of general utility, as cordage of some kind is used more or less in every family in all civilized communities; nor are there many trades capable of being carried on, with convenience, without it. But the great utility of cordage, in all its varieties, is most conspicuous in the rigging and equipment of vessels; and the extensive demand for it, in this application, renders rope-making one of the most important and extensive of the primitive trades.

17. Nor does the utility of cordage end with its application to the purposes for which it was originally designed. Old ropes are converted into oakum by untwisting and picking them to pieces. The oakum thus produced is driven into the seams of vessels, to render them water-tight.

18. As regards the invention of this art, nothing can be gathered from ancient records. We only know, in general, that cordage was in considerable use among the nations of antiquity, especially among the Greeks and Romans, who probably learned its application to rigging vessels from the Phoenicians.

THE TAILOR.

1. The business of the tailor consists, principally, in cutting out and making clothes for men and boys, together with habits and cloaks for ladies. It is usual for persons who carry on this business in cities and large towns, to keep a stock of cloths and other stuffs adapted to the season, which they make up into garments to the order of customers. In such cases, they are termed _merchant tailors_.

2. The operation, preparatory to cutting out the cloth for a garment, is that of taking the measure of the person for whom it is designed. This is done with a narrow strip of paper or parchment, and the dimensions are either marked on the measure with the scissors, or entered in a _pattern-book_ kept for the purpose.

3. The cloth is cut to the proper shape, with a large pair of shears. This is performed either by the individual who carries on the business, or by a foreman. The parts are sewed together, and the trimmings applied, by means of thread and silk; this is commonly done by those who devote their attention to this branch of the trade. It sometimes happens, however, that the same person performs the whole of the work, particularly in country places, where the business is very limited in extent.

4. Females often serve an apprenticeship to this business. Many of them learn to cut out, and make with skill, certain kinds of garments, and are after wards employed in families, or by the tailors. Most of the ready-made clothing, kept for sale in cities, is made up by females.

5. The instruments employed in performing the operations of the tailor, are few and simple; the principal of these are the shears, the scissors, the needle, the thimble, the bodkin, the goose, and the press-board.

6. The great art of a master tailor consists in fitting the dress to his customer, in such a manner as to conceal any defect of form, and display his person to the best advantage. He should, therefore, be a good judge of the human figure; as, from this knowledge, arises, chiefly, the superiority of one workman over another in this branch of the business.

7. The first hint on the art of clothing the human body, was given to man by the Deity himself; for we read in the Scriptures, that "Unto Adam and to his wife, the Lord God made coats of skins, and clothed them." From that time to the present, the art of cutting out garments, and of sewing their different parts together, has been practised, more or less, in every place, where there has been any degree of civilization.

8. For a long time, it is probable, that thongs and the sinews of animals were used, for want of thread made of silk or vegetable fibre; and, doubtless, the same necessity caused the substitution of pointed bones and thorns, instead of needles. Such rude materials and instruments are still employed for similar purposes by savage nations. The dresses of the people of Greenland are sewed together with thongs made of the intestines of the seal, or of some fish, which they have the skill to cut fine, after having dried them in the air; and even the inhabitants of Peru, although considerably advanced in civilization, when that country was first visited by the Spaniards, made use of long thorns, in sewing and fixing their clothes.

9. We have no means of determining the period of the world, when this art was first practised, as a particular profession. We know, in general, that the dress of the ancients was usually more simple in its construction than that of the people of modern times; and, consequently, it required less skill to put the materials in the required form. It may, therefore, be inferred, that either the females or the slaves of each family usually made up the clothing of all its members.

10. The distinguishing dress of the Romans was the _toga_, or gown; as that of the Greeks was the _pallium_, or cloak. The toga was a loose, woollen robe, and covered nearly the whole person; it was round and close at the bottom, and open at the top, having no sleeves, but a large flap, or lappet, which was either thrown over the left shoulder, or over the head, to protect it from the heat or cold.

11. The Romans, at an early period of their history, used no other dress, and it was also, at that time, worn by the women. Afterwards, they wore, under the toga, a white woollen vest called _tunica_, which extended a little below the knee. At first it was without sleeves. Tunics, reaching to the ancles, or having sleeves, were reckoned effeminate; but, under the emperors, they became fashionable.

12. The toga was usually assumed at the age of seventeen. Until then, the youth wore a kind of gown, bordered with purple, denominated _toga praetexta_; and such a garment was also worn by females, until they were married. The youthful dress was laid aside, and the _toga virilis_, or manly toga, assumed with great solemnity; as, by this act, the individual assumed the responsibilities of a citizen. The toga was worn chiefly in the city, and only by Roman citizens.

THE MILLINER, AND THE LADY'S DRESS-MAKER.

THE MILLINER.

1. The milliner is one who manufactures and repairs bonnets and hats for ladies and children. Her business requires the use of pasteboard, wire, buckram, silks, satins, muslins, ribands, artificial flowers, spangles, and other materials too numerous to be mentioned.

2. The first part of the process of making a hat, or bonnet, consists in forming a crown of buckram; which operation is performed on a block of suitable size and shape; and to this is applied pasteboard, or buckram, edged with wire, to form the front part. The foundation having been thus laid, it is usually covered and lined with some of the materials just enumerated, and finished by applying to it the trimmings required by the fashion, or by the individual customer.

3. Ladies' hats are also made of rye straw, and a kind of grass, which grows in Italy; those made of the latter material are called _Leghorns_, from the name of the city, in or near which they are principally made. A few years since, these had almost superseded those made of straw; but the latter, of late, have nearly regained their former ascendency.

4. In the United States, and likewise in various parts of Europe, there are several establishments for making straw hats, in which the proprietors employ females to perform the whole labor. The straw is first cut into several pieces, so as to leave out the joints, and then whitened by smoking them with the fumes of brimstone. They are next split longitudinally into several pieces by a simple machine, and afterwards plaited with the fingers and thumbs. The braid, or plait, thus produced, is sewn together to form hats adapted to the prevailing fashion.

5. Great quantities of straw are, also, plaited in families, especially in the New-England states, and sold to neighboring merchants, who, in turn, dispose of it to those who form it into hats. The milliners usually keep a supply of Leghorn and straw hats, which they line and trim according to the fancy of their customers.

6. Head-dresses were probably used nearly as early as any other part of dress; and their form and material have likewise been equally variable. In the early days of Rome, the head-dress of the women of that city was very simple; and, when they went abroad, which was seldom, they covered their faces with a veil; but, when riches and luxury had increased, dress became, with many, the principal object of attention; hence, a woman's toilet and ornaments were called her _world_.

7. The head-dresses of the ladies, in various parts of Europe, especially in the eighteenth century, were particularly extravagant, being sometimes so high, that the face seemed to be nearly in the centre of the body. In 1714, this fashion was at its height in France; but two English ladies visiting the court of Versailles, introduced the low head-dresses of their own country.

8. The high head-dresses had no sooner fallen into disuse in France, than they were adopted in England, and even carried to a greater degree of extravagance. To build one of these elevated structures in the fashionable style, both the barber and milliner were necessary. The head-dresses of the ladies of the present age, are characterized by great simplicity, when compared with those of several periods in preceding ages.

THE LADY'S DRESS-MAKER.

1. This business is nearly allied to the foregoing, and is, therefore, often carried on in conjunction with it. This is especially the case in villages and small towns, where sufficient business cannot be obtained in the exclusive pursuit of one branch.

2. The customers of the lady's dress-maker are not always easily pleased, as they frequently expect more from her skill than it is possible to accomplish. She, however, can do much towards concealing the defects of nature; and, by padding and other means, can sometimes render the person tolerably well proportioned, when, in its natural shape, it would be quite inelegant. It is to be regretted, however, that dress-makers are guided by fashion and whim in moulding the external form of females, rather than by the best specimens of the human figure, as exhibited by eminent painters and sculptors.

3. The dress-maker should have some acquaintance with the anatomy and functions of those parts to which pressure is usually applied; for, who that knows the structure, size, and office of the liver, and other internal organs of digestion and vitality, would venture to apply to them a compressive force calculated to interfere most seriously, if not dangerously, with their healthful action?

4. The fashions for ladies' dresses are chiefly procured from France, and the dress-makers from that country are, therefore, often preferred by fashionable ladies. Sometimes, however, a dress-maker, having a name with a French termination, will answer the purpose.

5. Corset-making is frequently a separate branch of business; but corsets have become less necessary; inasmuch as small waists are less admired by the gentlemen than formerly. On this account, also, the ladies have discovered that tight lacing is somewhat uncomfortable, especially in hot weather, and in crowded assemblies.

THE BARBER.

1. It is the business of the barber to cut and dress the hair, to make wigs and false curls, and to shave the beards of other men. In ancient times, he used also to trim the nails; and even at the present day, in Turkey, this is a part of his employment.

2. The period, when men began to shave their beards, is not certainly known. It appears that the practice was common among the Israelites in the time of Moses; as that legislator has left on record a prohibitory law concerning it. They probably borrowed the custom from the Egyptians. It is stated by Plutarch, that Alexander the Great ordered his men to be shaved, that their enemies might not lay hold of their beards in time of battle. Before this time, however, many of the Greeks shaved their beards.

3. The practice does not appear to have been introduced amongst the ancient Romans, until about the year 296 before the Christian era, when Paulus Ticinius Maenas brought to Rome a number of barbers from Sicily. Scipio Africanus was the first man who shaved his beard every day.

4. At first, the barbers had no shops, but shaved their customers at the corners of the streets. After a while, they followed their vocation in shops, or shades; and, at this period, it was customary for females to officiate in the various branches of the art. These places, however, were frequented only by the poorer class of the people, as opulent families generally kept slaves for the performance of these duties. The day on which a young Roman first cut off his beard, was celebrated by him and his friends as one of peculiar interest; and this much-desired indication of manhood was consecrated to some one of the gods, generally to Jupiter Capitolinus.

5. The return of barbarism, in the fifth and sixth centuries, banished this custom from the Western empire; nor was it again revived in Europe, until the seventeenth century. During the reigns of Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. of France, both of whom ascended the throne in boyhood, the courtiers and fashionable people began to use the razor, that they might appear with smooth chins, and thus resemble, in this particular, the youthful monarchs. From France, the fashion, at length, spread all over Europe. At one time, in the reign of the English queen Elizabeth, the fellows of Lincoln's Inn were compelled by statute to shave their beards, at least, once in two weeks. Omission was punished with fine, loss of commons, and finally with expulsion.

6. The custom of shaving was introduced into Russia by Peter the Great, who compelled his subjects to pay a tax for the privilege of retaining their beards. This singular impost was exceedingly unpopular, and excited greater complaints amongst the people than any other measure of that emperor. The decree was rigidly enforced, and every one who would not, or could not, pay the tax, was forcibly deprived of this favorite ornament, if he would not remove it voluntarily. Some of the people saved the sad trimmings of their chins; and, that they might never be entirely separated from these precious relics, ordered that they should be deposited with their bodies in their coffins.

7. Among the European nations that have been curious in whiskers, the Spaniards have been particularly distinguished; and the loss of honor among them used to be punished by depriving the individual of his whiskers.

8. The Portuguese were but little, if at all, behind the Spaniards in their estimate of these valuable ornaments. As an evidence of this, it is stated, that, in the reign of Catharine, Queen of Portugal, the brave John de Castro, having taken the castle of Diu in India, and being afterwards in want of money, applied to the inhabitants of Goa to loan him one thousand piastres, and, as security for that sum, sent them one of his whiskers, telling them that "All the gold in the world cannot equal the value of this natural ornament of my valor." The people, in admiration of his magnanimity, sent him the money, and, at the same time, returned his incomparable whisker.

9. In the reign of Louis XIII. of France, whiskers attained the highest degree of favor. They also continued in fashion during the early part of the succeeding reign. Louis XIV. and the great men of France, took a pride in wearing them. It was no uncommon thing, at that time, for the ladies to comb and dress the whiskers of their beaux; and the men of fashion were particular in providing whisker-wax, and every article necessary to this agreeable pastime.

10. The whiskers belonging to the image of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, which is preserved by his countrymen, are supposed to be capable of conferring upon those who might wear them, a portion of the wisdom and manly beauty of that illustrious sage. Great care, however, is taken that none shall enjoy these great personal qualifications by such easy means; as decapitation is the penalty for plucking the whiskers from the position which they occupy.

11. When the practice of shaving off the beard was again revived in Europe, instrumental music was employed in the barber's shop, to amuse customers waiting their turn; but, at the present time, newspapers are furnished for this purpose. In taking off the beard, soft water, good soap, a brush, and a sharp razor, are the usual requisites. The razor should be placed nearly flat on the face, and be moved from point to heel. Barbers have usually some regular customers, many of whom have a box of soap and a brush appropriated to their individual use.

12. In ancient times, great attention was paid to dressing the hair. The Hebrew women plaited, and afterwards confined it with gold and silver pins; they also adorned it with precious stones. The Greeks, both male and female, at every period of their ancient history, wore long hair, which they usually permitted to hang gracefully upon the shoulders, back, and sometimes upon the breast.