CHAPTER XVIII.

TEXTILES.

The Distaff and the Spindle, without a Change from Ancient Days to Middle of Fourteenth Century.--Ancient and Modern Cloth Making.--Woman the Natural Goddess of the Art.--The Ancient and Isolated Weavers of Mexico.--After 40 Centuries of Hand-Weaving Comes John Kay, of England, 1733.--The Spinning Machines of Wyatt and Hargreaves.--1738-1769, Richard Arkwright.--The “Spinning Jenny” and the “Throstle.”--The Steam Engine and Weaving.--1776, Crompton and the “Mule.”--1785, Cartwright and Power Looms.--1793, Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin.-- 1793-1813, Samuel Slater, Lowell, and Cotton Factories of America.--The Dominion of the Nineteenth Century.--What it Comprises in the Art of Spinning and Weaving.--Description of Operations.--Bobbins of Asa Arnold and the Ring Frame of Jenks.--Spooling Machines.--Warping and Dressing and other Finishing Operations.--Embroidery.--Cloth Finishing.--The Celebrated Jacquard Loom.--Jacquard and Napoleon.--Bonelli’s Electric Loom.--Fancy Woollen Looms of George Crompton.-- Bigelow’s Carpet Looms.--Figuring, Colouring, Embossing.-- Cloth Pressing and Creasing.--Felting.--Ribbons.--Comparison of Penelopes of Past and Present.--Knitting Days of our Grandmothers and Knitting Machines.--A Mile of Stockings.-- Fancy Stocking and Embroidery Machines.--Netting and Turkish Carpets.--Matting.--Spun Glass, etc.--Hand, and the Skilled Labour of Machinery. 292