Read Ebook: The History of Silk Cotton Linen Wool and Other Fibrous Substances; Including Observations on Spinning Dyeing and Weaving. by Gilroy Clinton G

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PART FIRST.

ANCIENT HISTORY OF SILK.

SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.

Whether Silk is mentioned in the Old Testament--Earliest Clothing--Coats of Skin, Tunic, Simla--Progress of Invention--Chinese chronology relative to the Culture of Silk--Exaggerated statements--Opinions of Mailla, Le Sage, M. Lavoisn?, Rev. J. Robinson, Dr. A. Clarke, Rev. W. Hales, D.D., Mairan, Bailly, Guignes, and Sir William Jones--Noah supposed to be the first emperor of China--Extracts from Chinese publications--Silk Manufactures of the Island of Cos--Described by Aristotle--Testimony of Varro--Spinning and Weaving in Egypt--Great ingenuity of Bezaleel and Aholiab in the production of Figured Textures for the Jewish Tabernacle--Skill of the Sidonian women in the Manufacture of Ornamental Textures--Testimony of Homer--Great antiquity of the Distaff and Spindle--The prophet Ezekiel's account of the Broidered Stuffs, etc. of the Egyptians--Beautiful eulogy on an industrious woman--Helen the Spartan, her superior skill in the art of Embroidery--Golden Distaff presented her by the Egyptian queen Alcandra--Spinning a domestic occupation in Miletus--Theocritus's complimentary verses to Theuginis on her industry and virtue--Taste of the Roman and Grecian ladies in the decoration of their Spinning Implements--Ovid's testimony to the skill of Arachne in Spinning and Weaving--Method of Spinning with the Distaff--Described by Homer and Catullus--Use of Silk in Arabia 500 years after the flood--Forster's testimony 1

HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED TO THE 4TH CENTURY.

SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.--HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THESE ARTS.

SPINNING, DYEING, AND WEAVING.--HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THESE ARTS.

Fourth Century--Curious account of silk found in the Edict of Diocletian--Extravagance of the Consul Furius Placidus--Transparent silk shifts--Ausonius describes silk as the produce of trees--Quintus Aur Symmachus, and Claudian's testimony of silk and golden textures--Their extraordinary beauty--Pisander's description--Periplus Maris Erythraei--Dido of Sidon. Mention of silk in the laws of Manu--Rufus Festus Avinus--Silk shawls--Marciannus Capella--Inscription by M. N. Proculus, silk manufacturer--Extraordinary spiders' webs--Bombyces compared to spiders--Wild silk-worms of Tsouen-Kien and Tiao-Kien--M. Bertin's account--Further remarks on wild silk-worms. Christian authors of the fourth century--Arnobius--Gregorius Nazienzenus--Basil--Illustration of the doctrine of the resurrection--Ambrose--Georgius Pisida--Macarius--Jerome--Chrysostom--Heliodorus--Salmasius--Extraordinary beauty of the silk and golden textures described by these authors--Their invectives against Christians wearing silk. Mention of silk by Christian authors in the fifth century--Prudentius--Palladius--Theodosian Code--Appollinaris Sidonius--Alcimus Avitus. Sixth century--Boethius. 41

HISTORY OF THE SILK MANUFACTURE CONTINUED FROM THE INTRODUCTION OF SILK-WORMS INTO EUROPE, A. D. 530, TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

A. D. 530.--Introduction of silk-worms into Europe--Mode by which it was effected--The Serinda of Procopius the same with the modern Khotan--The silk-worm never bred in Sir-hind--Silk shawls of Tyre and Berytus--Tyrannical conduct of Justinian--Ruin of the silk manufactures--Oppressive conduct of Peter Barsames--Menander Protector--Surprise of Maniak the Sogdian ambassador--Conduct of Chosroes, king of Persia--Union of the Chinese and Persians against the Turks--The Turks in self-defence seek an alliance with the Romans--Mortification of the Turkish ambassador--Reception of the Byzantine ambassador by Disabul, king of the Sogdiani--Display of silk textures--Paul the Silentiary's account of silk--Isidorus Hispalensis. Mention of silk by authors in the seventh century--Dorotheus, Archimandrite of Palestine--Introduction of silk-worms into Chubdan, or Khotan--Theophylactus Simocatta--Silk manufactures of Turfan--Silk known in England in this century--First worn by Ethelbert, king of Kent--Use of by the French kings--Aldhelmus's beautiful description of the silk-worm--Simile between weaving and virtue. Silk in the eighth century--Bede. In the tenth century--Use of silk by the English, Welsh, and Scotch kings. Twelfth century--Theodoras Prodromus--Figured shawls of the Seres--Ingulphus describes vestments of silk interwoven with eagles and flowers of gold--Great value of silk about this time--Silk manufactures of Sicily--Its introduction into Spain. Fourteenth century--Nicholas Tegrini--Extension of the Silk manufacture through Europe, illustrated by etymology--Extraordinary beauty of silk and golden textures used in the decoration of churches in the middle ages--Silk rarely mentioned in the ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth centuries 66

SILK AND GOLDEN TEXTURES OF THE ANCIENTS.

HIGH DEGREE OF EXCELLENCE ATTAINED IN THIS MANUFACTURE.

SILVER TEXTURES, ETC., OF THE ANCIENTS.

EXTREME BEAUTY OF THESE MANUFACTURES.

Magnificent dress worn by Herod Agrippa, mentioned in Acts xii. 21--Josephus's account of this dress, and dreadful death of Herod--Discovery of ancient Piece-goods--Beautiful manuscript of Theodolphus, Bishop of Orleans, who lived in the ninth century--Extraordinary beauty of Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, and other manufactured goods preserved in this manuscript--Egyptian arts--Wise regulations of the Egyptians in relation to the arts--Late discoveries in Egypt by the Prussian hierologist, Dr. Lepsius--Cloth of glass 93

DESCRIPTION OF THE SILK-WORM, ETC.

Preliminary observations--The silk-worm--Various changes of the silk-worm--Its superiority above other worms--Beautiful verses on the May-fly, illustrative of the shortness of human life--Transformations of the silk-worm--Its small desire of locomotion--First sickness of the worm--Manner of casting its Exuviae--Sometimes cannot be fully accomplished--Consequent death of the insect--Second, third, and fourth sickness of the worm--Its disgust for food--Material of which silk is formed--Mode of its secretion--Manner of unwinding the filaments--Floss-silk--Cocoon--Its imperviousness to moisture--Effect of the filaments breaking during the formation of the cocoon--Mr. Robinet's curious calculation on the movements made by a silk-worm in the formation of a cocoon--Cowper's beautiful lines on the silk-worm--Periods in which its various progressions are effected in different climates--Effects of sudden transitions from heat to cold--The worm's appetite sharpened by increased temperature--Shortens its existence--Various experiments in artificial heating--Modes of artificial heating--Singular estimate of Count Dandolo--Astonishing increase of the worm--Its brief existence in the moth state--Formation of silk--The silken filament formed in the worm before its expulsion--Erroneous opinions entertained by writers on this subject--The silk-worm's Will 98

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHINESE MODE OF REARING SILK-WORMS, ETC.

THE SPIDER.

ATTEMPTS TO PROCURE SILKEN FILAMENTS FROM SPIDERS.

Structures of spiders--Spiders not properly insects, and why--Apparatus for spinning--Extraordinary number of spinnerules--Great number of filaments composing one thread--R?aumur and Leeuwenhoeck's laughable estimates--Attachment of the thread against a wall or stick--Shooting of the lines of spiders--1. Opinions of Redi, Swammerdam, and Kirby--2. Lister, Kirby, and White--3. La Pluche and Bingley--4. D'Isjonval, Murray, and Bowman--5.--Experiments of Mr. Blackwall--His account of the ascent of gossamer--6. Experiments by Rennie--Thread supposed to go off double--Subsequent experiments--Nests, Webs, and Nets of Spiders--Elastic satin nest of a spider--Evelyn's account of hunting spiders--Labyrinthic spider's nest--Erroneous account of the House Spider--Geometric Spiders--Attempts to procure silken filaments from Spiders' bags--Experiments of M. Bon--Silken material--Manner of its preparations--M. Bon's enthusiasm--His spider establishment--Spider-silk not poisonous--Its usefulness in healing wounds--Investigation of M. Bon's establishment by M. R?aumur--His objections--Swift's satire against speculators and projectors--Ewbank's interesting observations on the ingenuity of spiders--Mason-spiders--Ingenious door with a hinge--Nest from the West Indies with spring hinge--Raft-building Spider--Diving Water-Spider--Rev. Mr. Kirby's beautiful description of it--Observations of M. Clerck--Cleanliness of Spiders--Structure of their claws--Fanciful account of them patting their webs--Proceedings of a spider in a steamboat--Addison--His suggestions on the compilation of a "History of Insects" 138

FIBRES OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA.

The Pinna--Description of--Delicacy of its threads--R?aumur's observations--Mode of forming the filament or thread--Power of continually producing new threads--Experiments to ascertain this fact--The Pinna and its Cancer Friend--Nature of their alliance--Beautiful phenomenon--Aristotle and Pliny's account--The Greek poet Oppianus's lines on the Pinna, and its Cancer friend--Manner of procuring the Pinna--Poli's description--Specimens of the Pinna in the British Museum--Pearls found in the Pinna--Pliny and Athenaeus's account--Manner of preparing the fibres of the Pinna for weaving--Scarceness of this material--No proof that the ancients were acquainted with the art of knitting--Tertullian the first ancient writer who makes mention of the manufacture of cloth from the fibres of the Pinna--Procopius mentions a chlamys made of the fibres of the Pinna, and a silken tunic adorned with sprigs or feathers of gold--Boots of red leather worn only by Emperors--Golden fleece of the Pinna--St. Basil's account--Fibres of the Pinna not manufactured into cloth at Tarentum in ancient times, but in India--Diving for the Pinna at Colchi--Arrian's account 174

FIBRES, OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINE-APPLE.

Fibres of the Pine-Apple--Facility of dyeing--Manner of preparing the fibres for weaving--Easy cultivation of the plant--Thrives where no other plant will live--Mr. Frederick Burt Zincke's patent process of manufacturing cloth from the fibres of this plant--Its comparative want of strength--Silken material procured from the Papyfera--Spun and woven into cloth--Cloth of this description manufactured generally by the Otaheiteans, and other inhabitants of the South Sea Islands--Great strength of ropes made from the fibres of the aloe--Exaggerated statements 185

MALLOWS.

CULTIVATION AND USE OF THE MALLOW AMONG THE ANCIENTS.--TESTIMONY OF LATIN, GREEK, AND ATTIC WRITERS.

The earliest mention of Mallows is to be found in Job xxx. 4.--Varieties of the Mallow--Cultivation and use of the Mallow--Testimony of ancient authors--Papias and Isidore's mention of Mallow cloth--Mallow cloth common in the days of Charlemagne--Mallow shawls--Mallow cloths mentioned in the Periplus as exported from India to Barygaza --Calid?sa the Indian dramatist, who lived in the first century B. C.--His testimony--Wallich's account--Mantles of woven bark, mentioned in the Sacont?la of Calid?sa--Valc?las, or Mantles of woven bark, mentioned in the Ramayana, a noted poem of ancient India--Sheets made from trees--Ctesias' testimony--Strabo's account--Testimony of Statius Caecilius and Plautus, who lived 169 B. C. and 184 B. C.--Plautus's laughable enumeration of the analogy of trades--Beauty of garments of Amorgos mentioned by Eupolis--Clearchus's testimony--Plato mentions linen shifts--Amorgine garments first manufactured at Athens in the time of Aristophanes 191

SPARTUM OR SPANISH BROOM.

Authority for Spanish Broom--Stipa Tenacissima--Cloth made from Broom-bark--Albania--Italy--France--Mode of preparing the fibre for weaving--Pliny's account of Spartum--Bulbous plant--Its fibrous coats--Pliny's translation of Theophrastus--Socks and garments--Size of the bulb--Its genus or species not sufficiently defined--Remarks of various modern writers on this plant--Interesting communications of Dr. Daniel Stebbins, of Northampton, Mass. to Hon. H. L. Ellsworth 202

PART SECOND.

ORIGIN AND ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE SHEEP.

SHEEP'S WOOL.

The Shepherd Boy--Sheep-breeding in Scythia and Persia--Mesopotamia and Syria--In Idumaea and Northern Arabia--In Palestine and Egypt--In Ethiopia and Libya--In Caucasus and Coraxi--The Coraxi identified with the modern Caratshai--In Asia Minor, Pisidia, Pamphylia, Samos, &c.--In Caria and Ionia--Milesian wool--Sheep-breeding in Thrace, Magnesia, Thessaly, Euboea, and Boeotia--In Phocis, Attica, and Megaris--In Arcadia--Worship of Pan--Pan the god of the Arcadian Shepherds--Introduction of his worship into Attica--Extension of the worship of Pan--His dances with the nymphs--Pan not the Egyptian Mendes, but identical with Faunus--The philosophical explanation of Pan rejected--Moral, social, and political state of the Arcadians--Polybius on the cultivation of music by the Arcadians--Worship of Mercury in connection with sheep-breeding and the wool trade--Present state of Arcadia--Sheep-breeding in Macedonia and Epirus--Shepherds' dogs--Annual migration of Albanian shepherds 217

Sheep-breeding in Sicily--Bucolic poetry--Sheep-breeding in South Italy--Annual migration of the flocks--The ram employed to aid the shepherd in conducting his flock--The ram an emblem of authority--Bells--Ancient inscription at Sepino--Use of music by ancient shepherds--Superior quality of Tarentine sheep--Testimony of Columella--Distinction of the coarse and soft kinds--Names given to sheep--Supposed effect of the water of rivers on wool--Sheep-breeding in South Italy, Tarentum, and Apulia--Brown and red wool--Sheep-breeding in North Italy--Wool of Parma, Modena, Mantua, and Padua--Origin of sheep-breeding in Italy--Faunus the same with Pan--Ancient sculptures exhibiting Faunus--Bales of wool and the shepherd's dress--Costume, appearance, and manner of life of the ancient Italian shepherds 256

Sheep-breeding in Germany and Gaul--In Britain--Improved by the Belgians and Saxons--Sheep-breeding in Spain--Natural dyes of Spanish wool--Golden hue and other natural dyes of the wool of Baetica--Native colors of Baetic wool--Saga and chequered plaids--Sheep always bred principally for the weaver, not for the butcher--Sheep supplied milk for food, wool for clothing--The moth 282

GOATS-HAIR.

Sheep-breeding and goats in China--Probable origin of sheep and goats--Sheep and goats coeval with man, and always propagated together--Habits of Grecian goat-herds--He-goat employed to lead the flock--Cameo representing a goat-herd--Goats chiefly valued for their milk--Use of goats'-hair for coarse clothing--Shearing of goats in Phrygia, Cilicia, &c.--Vestes caprina, cloth of goats'-hair--Use of goats'-hair for military and naval purposes--Curtains to cover tents--Etymology of Sack and Shag--Symbolical uses of sack-cloth--The Arabs weave goats'-hair--Modern uses of goats'-hair and goats'-wool--Introduction of the Angora or Cashmere goat into France--Success of the Project 293

BEAVERS-WOOL.

Isidorus Hispalensis--Claudian--Beckmann--Beavers'-wool--Dispersion of Beavers through Europe--Fossil bones of Beavers 309

CAMELS-WOOL AND CAMELS-HAIR.

Camels'-wool and Camels'-hair--Ctesias's account--Testimony of modern travellers--Arab tent of Camels'-hair--Fine cloths still made of Camels'-wool--The use of hair of various animals in the manufacture of beautiful stuffs by the ancient Mexicans--Hair used by the Candian women in the manufacture of broidered stuffs--Broidered stuffs of the negresses of Senegal--Their great beauty 312

PART THIRD.

ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURE.

GREAT ANTIQUITY OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURE IN INDIA--UNRIVALLED SKILL OF THE INDIAN WEAVER.

Superiority of Cotton for clothing, compared with linen, both in hot and cold climates--Cotton characteristic of India--Account of Cotton by Herodotus, Ctesias, Theophrastus, Aristobulus, Nearchus, Pomponius Mela--Use of Cotton in India--Cotton known before silk and called Carpasus, Carpasum, Carbasum, &c.--Cotton awnings used by the Romans--Carbasus applied to linen--Last request of Tibullus--Muslin fillet of the vestal virgin--Linen sails, &c., called Carbasa--Valerius Flaccus introduces muslin among the elegancies in the dress of a Phrygian from the river Rhyndacus--Prudentius's satire on pride--Apuleius's testimony--Testimony of Sidonius Apollinaris, and Avienus--Pliny and Julius Pollux--Their testimony considered--Testimony of Tertullian and Philostratus--Of Martianus Capella--Cotton paper mentioned by Theophylus Presbyter--Use of Cotton by the Arabians--Cotton not common anciently in Europe--Marco Polo and Sir John Mandeville's testimony of the Cotton of India--Forbes's description of the herbaceous Cotton of Guzerat--Testimony of Malte Brun--Beautiful Cotton textures of the ancient Mexicans--Testimony of the Abb? Clavigero--Fishing nets made from Cotton by the inhabitants of the West India Islands, and on the Continent of South America--Columbus's testimony--Cotton used for bedding by the Brazilians 315

SPINNING AND WEAVING--MARVELLOUS SKILL DISPLAYED IN THESE ARTS.

Unrivalled excellence of India muslins--Testimony of the two Arabian travellers--Marco Polo, and Odoardo Barbosa's accounts of the beautiful Cotton textures of Bengal--Caesar Frederick, Tavernier, and Forbes's testimony--Extraordinary fineness and transparency of Decca muslins--Specimen brought by Sir Charles Wilkins; compared with English muslins--Sir Joseph Banks's experiments--Extraordinary fineness of Cotton yarn spun by machinery in England--Fineness of India Cotton yarn--Cotton textures of Soonergong--Testimony of R. Fitch--Hamilton's account--Decline of the manufactures of Dacca accounted for--Orme's testimony of the universal diffusion of the Cotton manufacture in India--Processes of the manufacture--Rude implements--Roller gin--Bowing. Spinning wheel--Spinning without a wheel--Loom--Mode of weaving--Forbes's description--Habits and remuneration of Spinners, Weavers, &c.--Factories of the East India Company--Marvellous skill of the Indian workman accounted for--Mills's testimony--Principal Cotton fabrics of India, and where made--Indian commerce in Cotton goods--Alarm created in the woollen and silk manufacturing districts of Great Britain--Extracts from publications of the day--Testimony of Daniel De Foe --Indian fabrics prohibited in England, and most other countries of Europe--Petition from Calcutta merchants--Present condition of the City of Dacca--Mode of spinning fine yarns--Tables showing the comparative prices of Dacca and British manufactured goods of the same quality 333

PART FOURTH.

ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE LINEN MANUFACTURE.

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

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