CHAPTER V

FOR MERCHANTS AND MANUFACTURERS OF TEXTILES [Sidenote: Practical Men Among the Contributors] The Course of Reading outlined in this chapter will help anyone who has to do with the making or with the buying and selling of textiles, in three ways, at least, each of the greatest importance to him—and possibly in many more. Taking up these three:—In the first place, it will teach him many facts about manufacturing and merchandizing in general, and about dry goods in particular, that he could learn nowhere else, because the scope of the Britannica is broader than that of any other book—or, for that matter, than the scope of any collegiate course can well be. In the second place, the number of distinguished men who have devoted their exclusive attention to the subjects upon which they write, and have given to the Britannica the results of their research and of their experience as practical experts—in many cases, indeed, as successful business men—is far greater than the number of men who form the faculty of any university in the world. The fifteen hundred contributors in fact include no less than 704 connected with the staffs of 151 different universities, technological and commercial institutes and colleges in twenty countries. The reader thus gets the benefit of contact with the thought of many, of varied, and always of authoritative, personalities. In the third place, the _textile trade is peculiarly an international trade_, the raw materials often traveling from one end of the world to the other before manufacture, and making as long a journey in the finished form, before they reach the consumer, and the international character of the Britannica gives equal weight to the articles which deal with the textiles and with the markets of all countries—a statement which it would certainly not be safe to make about any other book. [Sidenote: Textile Fibres and their Treatment] The article FIBERS (Vol. 10, p. 309), by C. F. Cross, whose name has been much before the public in connection with the recent scientific investigation of the subject, compares the fibres yielded by all the vegetable and animal substances used in textiles. The 18 microscopic photographs on the full page plates (facing pp. 310 and 311) and the table of vegetable fibres (p. 311) should be carefully studied. CELLULOSE (Vol. 5, p. 606) deals with the “body” of cotton, flax, hemp and jute fibres. CARDING (Vol. 5, p. 324) deals with the brushing and combing of fibres. SPINNING (Vol. 25, p. 685) covers both cotton and linen, and it is curious to note from this article that in preparing yarns for the exquisite Dacca muslins one pound of cotton has been spun into a thread 252 miles long; while the article DACCA says that a piece 15 feet by 3 was once woven that weighed only 900 grains. YARN (Vol. 28, p. 906) deals with cotton, woollen and silk yarns. WEAVING (Vol. 28, p. 440), by Prof. T. W. Fox, author of _Mechanics of Weaving_, and Alan Cole, is the first article you should read in a group dealing with processes applied to more than one material. The first section is on the various combinations of warp and weft, and contains 23 illustrations showing the chief weaving “schemes.” A section on weaving machinery follows, and then one on weaving as an art, illustrated with a number of reproductions of famous specimens of hand-loom work. The whole article is full of practical every-day information of the kind the merchant and manufacturer wants to know. BLEACHING (Vol. 4, p. 49) describes the chemical processes which have expedited the bleaching of cotton, wool, linen and silk, which it used to take all summer to complete. DYEING (Vol. 8, p. 744), by Prof. Hummel, author of _The Dyeing of Textile Fabrics_, and Prof. Knecht, author of _A Manual of Dyeing_, is another of the thorough articles which entitle the Britannica to rank as a great original work on textiles. Every dye is separately treated, and the latest models of dyeing machinery are carefully described. FINISHING (Vol. 10, p. 378) deals with the processes used for cotton, woollens, worsteds, pile fabrics, silks and yarns. TEXTILE-PRINTING (Vol. 26, p. 694) is by Prof. Knecht and Alan Cole, author of _Ornament in European Silks_, and not only describes all the styles of printing, but gives sixty recipes for various shades of colour. The full page plates reproduce fine specimens of early printing. The art of textile-printing “is very ancient, probably originating in the East. It has been practised in China and India from time immemorial, and the Chinese, at least, are known to have made use of engraved wood-blocks many centuries before any kind of printing was known in Europe.” [Sidenote: Cotton and Cotton Fabrics] The elaborate article COTTON (Vol. 7, p. 256) begins by discussing the peculiar twist of the hairs on the cotton seed which by facilitating spinning gives cotton its predominant position as a textile material. The section on cultivation, by W. G. Freeman, deals with the soils, bedding, planting, hoeing and picking, then with ginning and baling. A section on diseases and pests of the cotton plant follows, then a discussion of the improvement of yield by seed selection. The section on marketing and supply is by Prof. Chapman, and his practical study of “futures,” “options,” and “straddles” shows how greatly the movement of prices is affected by speculation and often by artificial manipulation. COTTON MANUFACTURING (Vol. 7, p. 281) describes the industry in England, that of the United States, with a special section on the recent developments in the two Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and also the mills in Germany, France, Russia, Switzerland, Italy and in other countries, including India, China and Japan. It is interesting to note (p. 293) that “Americans were making vast strides in industrial efficiency even before the period when American theories and American enterprise were monopolizing in a wonderful degree the attention of the business world” abroad. As far back as 1875 progress in the United States was so rapid that the production for each operative had increased during the ten years 1865–75, by 100% in Massachusetts as against only 23% in England. One explanation of American success is that the American employer “tries to save in labour but not in wages, if a generalization may be ventured. The good workman gets high pay, but he is kept at tasks requiring his powers and is not suffered to waste his time doing the work of unskilled or boy labour.” COTTON SPINNING MACHINERY (Vol. 7, p. 301) describes all the machines in great detail and contains a number of full-page plates and other illustrations. MERCERIZING (Vol. 18, p. 150) is another important article. [Sidenote: Wool, Linen and Silk] WOOL, WORSTED AND WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES (Vol. 28, p. 805) is by Prof. Aldred F. Barker. The development in wool production of various countries is first described and then the wool fibre is studied and microscopic photographs reproduced to show the structure of different varieties. A diagram of a fleece shows the qualities obtained from various parts of the animal, ranging from the shoulders, where the finest is found, to the hind quarters. Lamb, hogg and wether wools are compared and the article discusses shearing, classing, sorting, scouring, drying, teasing, burring, mule spinning, combing, drawing and spinning. The centres of the industry are then compared, with details as to the special products of each. The article contains illustrations of a number of machines. Articles dealing with certain sources of wool or of the wool-like hair used in textiles, and with the finished products, are: ALPACA (Vol. 1, p. 721), the history of its manufacture being “one of the romances of commerce;” MOHAIR (Vol. 18, p. 647), which deals with the hair of the Angora goat, familiar from discussions of the Underwood Tariff bill, and dealing with its weaving and the imitations of the cloth; LLAMA (Vol. 16, p. 827); and the articles GUANACO (Vol. 12, p. 649) and VICUGNA (Vol. 28, p. 47), on the two wild animals from whose hair high priced materials, extraordinarily warm and light, are woven. FLAX (Vol. 10, p. 484) describes the cultivation of the crops which are harvested by being “pulled,” roots and all, instead of being cut, the process of separating the capsules from the branches, and the subsequent stages of preparation. LINEN AND LINEN MANUFACTURES (Vol. 16, p. 724), by Thomas Woodhouse, takes up the story where the flax fibre is ready for market and carries it to the point where the yarn is delivered for weaving. The winding, warping, dressing and beaming, and the looms employed, are virtually the same processes and machines that are used for cotton. The article states that the finest linen threads used for lace are produced by Belgian hand spinners who can only get the desired results by working in damp cellars, the spinner being guided by touch alone, as the filament is too fine for him to see. This thread is said to have been sold for as much as $72 an ounce. JUTE (Vol. 15, p. 603) deals with the vegetable fibre which ranks, in its industrial importance, next after cotton and flax and with the processes employed in its manufacture. SILK (Vol. 25, p. 96) contains illustrations of cocoons and worms, microscopic photographs of fibre, and pictures of the moths which produce wild silk. The section on the fibre and its production and preparation is by Frank Warner, president of the Silk Association of Great Britain and Ireland; and that on the silk trade by Arthur Mellor, a well known manufacturer of Macclesfield, the great British center. The degree of fineness to which silk thread can be spun is stated (Vol. 28, p. 906) to be such that 450,000 yards of thread have been produced from one pound of silk, and this is slightly in excess of the fineness of the Dacca cotton thread already mentioned as producing 252 miles for a pound. But at Cambrai the lace maker’s linen thread already described has been made as fine as 272 miles to the pound, and the drawing of platinum wire to the fifty-thousandth part of an inch in thickness (Vol. 28, p. 738) seems hardly more wonderful than this. Spider silk is as valuable as the best qualities of the silkworm product, but spiders are such fierce cannibals that it is necessary to keep each one in a separate cage, and the cost of doing this has prevented the fibre from being generally used (Vol. 25, p. 664). Artificial or “viscose” silk is described in the article CELLULOSE (Vol. 5, p. 609), and is a textile of which the importance is rapidly increasing. Felting is an even older textile process than weaving, just as weaving, which no doubt originated in basket making (Vol. 3, p. 481) is older than spinning. The article FELT (Vol. 10, p. 245) deals with asphalted felts used for roofing as well as with the hat felts; and the article HAT (Vol. 13, p. 60) gives further details as to both woollen and fur felts and describes the machinery for hatmaking, which originated in the United States. Save that gold, silver and other metals are occasionally used in cloth or gauze, ASBESTOS (Vol. 2, p. 714) is the only mineral employed in textiles, and its value for jacketing steam pipes and boilers and for insulating fabrics and fireproofing gives it great importance. RAMIE (Vol. 22, p. 875) is not so largely used in textiles, but experiments in the production of better fibre are being made. SHODDY (Vol. 24, p. 992) is an article which shows how unfair it is to treat the re-manufacture of “devilled” fabric as an illegitimate if not absolutely fraudulent branch of the textile industry, for really serviceable cloths are woven from it, and masses of poor people who would otherwise be in rags are thus comfortably clad. “Mungo,” another re-manufactured cloth, is described (Vol. 28, p. 906) in the article YARN. Pine-apple fibre is described (Vol. 10, p. 311) as of exceptional fineness and is used in yarn cloths of the best quality. The article PINE-APPLE (Vol. 21, p. 625) describes its culture. SISAL HEMP (Vol. 25, p. 158) is used in bagging as well as cordage, and the same is true of PHORMIUM (Vol. 21, p. 471), sometimes called New Zealand flax. Paper pulp yields a yarn which is used in some cheap fabrics as described (Vol. 5, p. 609) in the article CELLULOSE already mentioned. [Sidenote: Textile Merchandise] The many varieties of woven cloths are described in the articles already mentioned in the manufacture of cotton, linen, wool, and silk, and in articles on special fabrics. HOSIERY (Vol. 13, p. 788) covers the textiles that are produced by knitting or looping, and gives an account, with illustrations, of the machinery employed. NET (Vol. 19, p. 412) covers the textiles of which the mesh is knotted. LACE (Vol. 16, p. 37), by Alan Cole, contains some of the most beautiful full-page plates and other illustrations to be found in the Britannica, and is a very full treatise on the history and the present state of the lacemaking art. FLANNEL (Vol. 10, p. 480) describes the true flannels made from wool, and FLANNELETTE (Vol. 10, p. 481) the cotton imitations and the new fire-resisting fabrics of this class. DRILL (Vol. 8, p. 580) covers both the cotton and linen tissues sold under this name. CREPE (Vol. 7, p. 379) mentions the curious fact that the Chinese and Japanese makers of soft crepe guard their secret processes, which are still unknown to western manufacturers, so carefully that the different stages of their production are carried on in towns far distant from one another. CARPET (Vol. 5, p. 392) contains full-page plates of rare specimens and describes pile carpets, flat-surfaced carpets and the printed carpetings. TAPESTRY (Vol. 26, p. 403) deals with another luxurious branch of the textile industry, and is illustrated with photographs of the finest specimens and with pictures showing the methods of weaving. BROCADE (Vol. 4, p. 620) describes and illustrates this stately class of fabrics. EMBROIDERY (Vol. 9, p. 309) with six full-page plates and SHAWL (Vol. 24, p. 814) deal with other art textiles. TARTAN (Vol. 26, p. 431) describes the colours and patterns of all Scottish clan tartans. DAMASK (Vol. 7, p. 785) discusses this fine class of fabrics, the weaving of which is the subject of a special section (Vol. 28, p. 454) of the article WEAVING. The enormous consumption of coarse bags for the packing of raw cotton and of sugar gives importance to the articles BAGGING (Vol. 3, p. 200) and SACKING AND SACK MANUFACTURE (Vol. 23, p. 975). CANVAS (Vol. 5, p. 223) discusses sail cloth and artists’ canvas, and TARPAULIN (Vol. 26, p. 430) deals with waterproof covers. [Sidenote: The Seventy Articles on Special Fabrics] It is unnecessary to describe one by one the seventy articles on other fabrics and tissues, ranging through the alphabet from Alpaca to Velveteen; but they are all included in the list at the end of this chapter, and all are fully described in the Britannica. COSTUME (Vol. 7, p. 224) is a long and important article, with a full page plate and many other illustrations. The section on dress in general is by T. A. Joyce, of the British Museum staff, that on ancient costumes by H. S. Jones, director of the British School at Rome, and that on modern costume by Oswald Barron, editor of _The Ancestor_. The account of underclothing is of especial interest, as most books on costume altogether neglect this branch of the subject. Another section of this article is on national and official costumes by W. Alison Phillips, principal assistant editor of the Britannica. The study of ceremonial robes is carried into further detail by the article ROBE (Vol. 23, p. 408), with its five richly colored plates, in one of which the judicial robes of the U. S. Supreme Court Justices are shown. Liturgical vestments are dealt with in VESTMENTS (Vol. 28, p. 27) and in a series of articles such as DALMATIC (Vol. 7, p. 776) and ALB (Vol. 1, p. 497). [Sidenote: Inventors of Textile Machinery and Great Textile Merchants] Among the biographies which are of interest in connection with textiles are those of ARKWRIGHT, RICHARD (Vol. 2, p. 556), the barber who invented the spinning frame; CARTWRIGHT, EDMUND, (Vol. 5, p. 425), inventor of the power loom; CROMPTON, SAMUEL (Vol. 7, p. 486), inventor of the spinning mule; SALT, TITUS (Vol. 23, p. 87), who created the alpaca industry; STRUTT, JEDEDIAH (Vol. 25, p. 1044), who did much to perfect the manufacture of cotton; and of WHITNEY, ELI (Vol. 28, p. 611), who went from Yale to Savannah to secure a position as school teacher and then, being disappointed, turned his attention to a device for separating the cotton fibre from the seeds and refuse, and invented the gin which has “profoundly influenced American industrial economic and social history.” Another name of a great American inventor who individually rendered great services to the textile industry is that of HOWE, ELIAS (Vol. 13, p. 835), who invented the sewing machine. You will also be interested in the lives of successful merchants such as CANYNGES, WILLIAM (Vol. 5, p. 223), the great 15th Century cloth manufacturer who became a clergyman after making a large fortune; MACKINTOSH, CHARLES (Vol. 17, p. 250), who introduced lightweight waterproof garments; WANAMAKER, JOHN (Vol. 28, p. 302), who began life as an errand boy in a book store; FIELD, MARSHALL (Vol. 10, p. 322), who when Chicago was a comparatively unimportant city founded there what has become the finest dry goods store in the world; STEWART, A. T. (Vol. 25, p. 912), who after studying for the ministry in Dublin, immigrated to New York and gradually built up the largest retail store in the city; PEASE, EDWARD (Vol. 21, p. 31), founder of a famous Quaker family of textile manufacturers in England; and CLAFLIN, H. B. (Vol. 6, p. 418), who came from Worcester, Mass., to New York where he for years controlled “the greatest mercantile business in the world.” If you turn to the Article WORCESTER (Vol. 28, p. 823) you will note the associations of the locality with Elias Howe, Eli Whitney, Samuel Crompton, already mentioned, L. J. Knowles, another inventor who helped to perfect the power loom, and Erastus Bigelow, who invented the carpet-weaving machine (Vol. 6, p. 530) and was one of the incorporators of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Other lives of successful textile makers and dealers are those of RYLANDS, JOHN (Vol. 23, p. 950), founder of the largest cotton mills in Lancashire; DEXTER, TIMOTHY (Vol. 8, p. 141), the eccentric New England merchant of the 18th Century who beat his wife for not weeping heartily enough at the rehearsal of his funeral; HORROCKS, JOHN (Vol. 13, p. 712), the great English cotton manufacturer who was far ahead of his time and died of brain fever produced by overwork in 1804; WORTH, C. F. (Vol. 28, p. 834), the famous Paris dressmaker who began life as a London draper’s apprentice; WHITELY, WILLIAM (Vol. 28, p. 605), “the Universal Provider,” of London; and TATA, J. N. (Vol. 26, p. 448), the great Parsee textile manufacturer. A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL ARTICLES IN THE BRITANNICA OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO MERCHANTS AND MANUFACTURERS OF TEXTILE GOODS Alb Alpaca Apprenticeship Arkwright, Richard Artel Asbestos Bagging Baize Bleaching Bombazine or Bombasine Book-keeping Bounty Brocade Buckram Bunting Calender Calico Cambric Camel Canvas Canynges, William Carding Carpet Cartwright, Edmund Cellulose Chasuble Cheese Cloth Chenille Chintz Claflin, H. B. Cloth Clouting Codilla Coir Commerce Corduroy Costume Cotton Cotton Manufacture Cotton Spinning Machinery Crash Cravat Crepe Cretonne Crompton, Samuel Dalmatic Damask Denim Dexter, Timothy Demurrage Diaper Die Dimity Dowlas Drill Duck Dyeing Embroidery Felt Fibres Field, Marshall Finishing Flannel Flannelette Flax Flock Floorcloth Frock Fustian Gante Gauze Gimp Gingham Girdle Glass Cloth Guanaco Gunny Haberdasher Hat Hessian Holland Honeycomb Horrocks, John Hosiery Hose-pipe Howe, Elias, Huckaback Jute Knitting Lace Lawn Linen Llama Longcloth Manila Hemp Macintosh, Charles Maniple Mantle Matting Mercantile System Mercerizing Merchant Mohair Moleskin Mull Muslin Nankeen Net Osnaburg Padding Pease, Edward Petticoat Phormium Pine-apple Plaid Plush Poplin or Tabinet Print Protection Ramie Rep Ribbons Ring Robes Rylands, John Sacking Salt, Titus Salvage Scarf Scrim Shawl Sheet Shoddy Silk Sisal Hemp Sleeve Spinning Stewart, A. T. Stocking Stole Strutt, Jedediah Tare and Tret Tariff Tarpaulin Tartan Tata, J. N. Tapestry Technical Education Textile-printing Ticking Tow Towel Trousers Tulle Twill Veil Velvet Velveteen Vestments Vicugna Wanamaker, John Weaving Whiteley, William Whitney, Eli Wool, Worsted and Woollen Manufactures Worth, C. F. Yarn