BOMBAZINE, CRAPE, CAMLET, CAMBRIC, LACE, SILK, VELVET, AND
MOHAIR.
What is Bombazine?
A stuff composed of silk and wool woven together in a loom. It was
first made at Milan, and thence sent abroad; great quantities are now
made in England and other countries.
Where is Milan situated?
In Italy, and is noted for its cathedral.
For what is Bombazine used?
For dresses. Black bombazine is worn entirely for mourning. The
original bombazine has, however, become much less used than formerly,
on account of the numerous newly-invented fabrics of finer or coarser
qualities, composed of the same materials mixed in various degrees, as
Mousselines de laine, Challis, &c.
What is Crape?
A light, transparent stuff, resembling gauze, made of raw silk very
loosely woven, or of wool; by raw silk is meant, silk in the state in
which it is taken from the silk worm.
Where was Crape first made?
At Bologna, a city of Italy.
What city of France was long celebrated for its manufacture?
Lyons, the second city of France, where there are large silk
manufactories. Great quantities are also made in England, principally
in the city of Norwich, which has long been distinguished for the
beauty of its crapes.
What is Camlet?
A stuff made sometimes of wool, sometimes of silk and hair, especially
that of goats. The oriental camlet is made of the pure hair of a sort
of goat, a native of Angora, a city of Natolia, in Turkey. The
European camlets are made of a mixture of woollen thread and hair.
What countries are most noted for them?
England, France, Holland, and Flanders; the city of Brussels, in
Belgium, exceeds them all in the beauty and quality of its camlets;
those of England are the next.
What is Cambric?
A species of linen made of flax; it is very fine and white.
From whence did it take its name?
From Cambray, a large and celebrated city of French Flanders, where it
was first made; it is now made at other places in France; and also in
England, Scotland, Ireland, the United States, &c.
What is Lace?
A work composed of many threads of fine linen or silk, interwoven one
with another according to some particular pattern. Belgium, France,
and England are the principal countries in which this manufacture is
carried on; vast quantities of the finest laces were formerly made in
Flanders.
From what is Silk produced?
From the silk-worm, an insect not more remarkable for the precious
matter it furnishes, than for the many forms it assumes before and
after it envelopes itself in the beautiful ball, the silken threads of
which form the elegant texture which is so much worn.
_Texture_, a web or substance woven.
What are the habits of this insect, and on what does it feed?
After bursting from the egg, it becomes a large worm or caterpillar of
a yellowish white color, (which is its first state;) this caterpillar
feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree, till, arriving at maturity,
it winds itself up in a silken bag or case, called a cocoon, about the
size and shape of a pigeon's egg, and becomes a chrysalis; in which
state it lies without signs of life; in about ten days it eats its way
out of its case, a perfect butterfly, which lays a number of eggs and
then dies. In the warmth of the summer weather, these eggs are
hatched, and become worms, as their parents did at first.
_Maturity_, ripeness, perfection
How much silk is each ball said to contain?
Each ball consists of a very fine, soft, bright, delicate thread,
which being wound off, extends in length six miles.
What is meant by Chrysalis?
The second state into which the insect passes before it comes to be a
butterfly. The maggot or worm having ceased to eat, fixes itself in
some place till its skin separates, and discovers a horny, oblong
body, which is the chrysalis.
Where was Silk first made?
The culture and manufacture of silk was originally confined to China.
The Greeks, under Alexander the Great, brought home, among other
Eastern luxuries, wrought silks from Persia, about 323, B.C.
It was not long unknown to the Romans, although it was so rare, that
it was even sold weight for weight with gold. The Emperor Aurelian,
who died in 275, B.C. refused the Empress, his wife, a suit
of silk which she solicited with much earnestness, merely on account
of its dearness. Heliogabalus, the Emperor, who died half a century
before Aurelian, was the first who wore a _holosericum_ or garment all
of silk.
Who introduced the Silk Worm itself into Europe?
Two monks, engaged as missionaries in China, obtained a quantity of
silk worms' eggs, which they concealed in a hollow cane, and conveyed
in safety to Constantinople in 552; the eggs were hatched in the
proper season by the warmth of manure, and the worms fed with the
leaves of the wild mulberry tree. These worms in due time spun their
silk, and propagated under the care of the monks, who also instructed
the Romans in the whole process of manufacturing their production.
From the insects thus produced, proceeded all the silk worms which
have since been reared in Europe, and the western parts of Asia. The
mulberry tree was then eagerly planted, and on this, their natural
food, they were successfully reared in Greece; and the manufacture was
established at Thebes, Athens, and Corinth, in particular. The
Venetians, soon after this time commencing a trade with the Greeks,
supplied all the Western parts of Europe with silks for many
centuries.
Where were the cities of Thebes and Athens situated?
Thebes was an ancient city of Beotia, in Greece, founded by Cadmus, a
Phenician, though of Egyptian parentage. Sailing from the coast of
Phenicia, he arrived in Beotia, and built the city, calling it Thebes,
from the city of that name in Egypt. To this prince is ascribed the
invention of sixteen letters of the Greek Alphabet. Athens was the
capital of Attica, founded by Cecrops, an Egyptian. It was the seat of
learning and the arts, and has produced some of the most celebrated
warriors, statesmen, orators, poets, and sculptors in the world. Since
the emancipation of Greece from the cruel bondage of its conquerors
the Turks, who had oppressed it for three centuries, Athens has been
chosen as its capital, and is still a considerable town adorned with
splendid ruins of the beautiful buildings it once possessed. Thebes
and Corinth, another celebrated city, are now only villages.
_Warrior_, a soldier.
_Statesmen_, men versed in the arts of government.
_Orator_, a public speaker.
_Poet_, one who composes poetry.
_Sculptor_, one who cuts figures in stone, marble, or ivory.
Who were the Venetians?
Inhabitants of Venice, a city of Italy.
Did this manufacture continue to be confined to the Greeks and
Venetians?
By no means. The rest of Italy, and Spain, by degrees learnt the art
from some manufactories in Sicily; and about the reign of Francis the
First, the French became masters of it. It, however, long remained a
rarity; their King, Henry the Second, is supposed to have worn the
first pair of knit silk stockings. The Fourth Henry encouraged the
planting of mulberry trees; his successors also did the same, and the
produce of silk in France is now very considerable.
When was the manufacture of silk introduced into England?
There was a company of silk women in England as early as the year
1455; but they probably were merely employed in needlework of silk and
thread, for Italy supplied England with the broad manufacture during
the chief part of the fifteenth century. The great advantage this new
manufacture afforded, made King James the First very desirous for its
introduction into England, particularly in 1608, when it was
recommended, in very earnest terms, to plant mulberry trees for the
rearing of silk worms; but unhappily without effect. However, towards
the latter end of this reign, the broad silk manufacture was
introduced, and with great success. The revocation of the Edict of
Nantes contributed greatly to its promotion, by the number of French
workmen who took refuge in England; to them the English are indebted
for the art of manufacturing many elegant kinds of silks, satins,
velvets, &c., which had formerly been imported from abroad up to the
year 1718. The silk manufacture has also been successfully introduced
into some portions of the United States.
_Revocation_, act of recalling, repeal.
_Imported_, brought into.
What was the Edict of Nantes?
A law made in favor of the Protestants, the repealing of which drove
many of their most skilful workmen to take refuge in England. They
were kindly received, and settled in Spitalfields, and many other
parts of England as well as Ireland, where they carried on a
flourishing and ingenious manufacture.
Were the attempts to rear Silk Worms in England successful?
No; after many trials, all of which failed, attention was directed to
the establishments for procuring both raw and wrought silks, in the
settlements in India belonging to Britain; this was attended with
complete success, the climate being extremely favorable, and the price
of labor cheap. Raw silk is imported in quantities from India, China,
Italy, &c.
How is the Silk taken from the Worm?
The people who are employed in the care of these insects collect the
golden balls from off the mulberry trees, (to the leaves of which the
insects glue their silk) and put them into warm water, that the
threads may unfasten and wind off more easily; having taken off the
coarse woolly part which covers the balls, they take twelve or
fourteen threads at a time, and wind them off into skeins. In order to
prepare this beautiful material for the hand of the weaver to be
wrought into silks, stuffs, brocades, satins, velvets, ribbons, &c.,
it is spun, reeled, milled, bleached, and dyed.
_Milled_, worked in a kind of mill.
_Bleached_, whitened.
What is Velvet?
A rich kind of stuff, all silk, covered on the outside with a close,
short, fine, soft shag; the wrong side being very strong and close.
The principal number, and the best velvets, were made in France and
Italy; others in Holland; they are now brought to great perfection in
England. An inferior kind is made by mixing cotton with the silk.
Velvet has been known in Europe for some centuries, but its
manufacture was long confined to some of the chief cities of Italy.
From that country the French learned the art, and greatly improved it.
Whence is the word Velvet derived?
From the Italian word _velluto_, signifying velvet, which comes from
_vellus_, hair or fleece.
What is Mohair?
The hair of a kind of goat, common about Angora, in Turkey. It is used
in the manufacture of various kinds of stuffs, shawls, &c.
Is there not another animal much celebrated for the material it
furnishes in the making of shawls?
Yes; the Thibet goat. The wool is sent to Cashmere, where it is spun
and dyed. Cashmere is situated in the north-west extremity of India,
and has long been celebrated for the beautiful and valuable shawls
bearing its name which are manufactured there. The goats are beautiful
creatures, with long, fine, wavy hair, reaching nearly to the ground,
so as almost to conceal their legs. The material of which the shawls
are made is a fine silky down, which grows under the long hair, next
to the skin.