The annual value of the total manufacture of textile fabrics in the
British Isles is about $1,000,000,000--not far short, indeed, of one
fourth of the total manufacture of textile fabrics in all the world.
Great Britain has over $1,000,000,000 invested in her textile
industry, and one half of her total exports consists of textile
manufactures. Cotton, woollen, and linen cloths are the chief staples
of this industry, but there are many other branches of it and many
other localities in which it is specialised besides the ones already
mentioned. LEICESTER (204,000), which, like so many other
manufacturing cities of England, lies at the centre of a coal-field,
is the chief seat of the WOOLLEN HOSIERY manufacture. DUMFRIES is the
chief seat of the woollen hosiery manufacture in Scotland.
KIDDERMINSTER, in Worcestershire, is the chief seat of the "Brussels"
carpet industry; WILTON, in Wiltshire, of the Wilton carpet industry.
KILMARNOCK, in Ayrshire, is the chief seat of the carpet manufacture
in Scotland. NOTTINGHAM (233,000) is the metropolis of the cotton
hosiery and lace manufacture of England. NORWICH (110,000), in eastern
England, has a noted manufacture of muslins and fine dress-goods. The
Norwich textile manufacture is an instance of the continuance of an
industry in a community historically associated with it, although its
seat is far removed from a coal-field. The SILK manufacture of Great
Britain is almost entirely confined to the county of Derby and
adjacent districts in England. MACCLESFIELD, in Cheshire, is the chief
centre. COVENTRY is noted for its silk ribbons and gauzes. But the
manufacture of silk in Britain is not prospering like that of her
other textile fabrics. In fact, in forty years it has depreciated
three fourths. British silk manufacturers are not as adept in
weighting their products with dyes as their French competitors are,
and in consequence English silks, though intrinsically better than
French silks, look inferior and therefore cannot be sold at profitable
prices. But, on the other hand, the JUTE manufacture of Great Britain
is increasing by leaps and bounds. Established only sixty years ago,
the value of its annual output is now twice that of the whole
manufacture of silk, and in twenty-five years has tripled. The chief
seat of this industry is DUNDEE (160,000), in Scotland.