The History of Silk, Cotton, Linen, Wool, and Other Fibrous Substances; Including Observations on Spinning, Dyeing, and Weaving.

CHAPTER I.

Chapter 2299 wordsPublic domain

FLAX.

CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF FLAX BY THE ANCIENTS--ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES, ETC.

Earliest mention of Flax--Linen manufactures of the Egyptians--Linen worn by the priests of Isis--Flax grown extensively in Egypt--Flax gathering--Envelopes of Linen found on Egyptian mummies--Examination of mummy-cloth--Proved to be Linen--Flax still grown in Egypt--Explanation of terms--Byssus--Reply to J. R. Forster--Hebrew and Egyptian terms--Flax in North Africa, Colchis, Babylonia--Flax cultivated in Palestine--Terms for flax and tow--Cultivation of Flax in Palestine and Asia Minor--In Elis, Etruria, Cisalpine Gaul, Campania, Spain--Flax of Germany, of the Atrebates, and of the Franks--Progressive use of linen among the Greeks and Romans 358