Chapter I: Preface

The importance of the three main textiles in the civilized life of today is probably but vaguely realized by the majority of people. In this country we consume raw cotton alone at the rate of about twenty-six pounds per capita each year, which if translated to yards of cloth and other fabric, would make a strip longer than the distance from the earth to the moon, and a yard wide all the way. Add wool and silk to this and the picture becomes even more impressive. There is not a man, woman or child who does not use one or all three of these textiles in daily life. With this in mind we submit this brief description of how they are produced, emphasizing in particular the development of the raw material in each case.

Parts I and II are practically revised editions of “Cotton and Cotton Manufacture” and “Wool and Wool Manufacture” which were written by James Paul Warburg in 1921 and 1920, respectively, and published by the First National Bank of Boston, with whom he was then associated. We take this occasion to acknowledge the extreme courtesy of the First National Bank of Boston in allowing the use of this material.