Textiles and Clothing | Page 4

she pick up threads of warp now here, now there, according to the designs. It is all worked out for her on the loom. Each thread with almost human intelligence settles automatically into its appointed place, and the weaver is only a machine tender.
[Illustration: FLY SHUTTLE HAND LOOM.
The Pulling of the Reed Automatically Throws the Shuttle Back and Forth and Works the Harness, Making a Shed at the Proper Time.]
[Sidenote: Primitive Fabrics]
No textiles of primitive people were ever woven in "pieces" or "bolts" of yards and yards in length to be cut into garments. The cloth was made of the size and shape to serve the particular purpose for which it was designed. The mat, robe, or blanket had tribal outlines and proportions and was made according to the materials and the use of common forms that prevailed among the tribes. The designs were always conventional and sometimes monotonous. The decoration never interfered with its use. "The first beauty of the savage woman was uniformity which belonged to the texture and shape of the product." The uniformity in textile, basketry, or pottery, after acquiring a family trait, was never lost sight of. Their designs were suggested by the natural objects with which they were familiar.
[Illustration: PICKING COTTON.
From Department of Agriculture Bulletin, "The Cotton Plant."]

FIBERS
Both the animal and vegetable kingdoms furnish the materials for clothing as well as for all the textiles used in the home. The fleece of sheep, the hair of the goat and camel, silk, furs, and skins are the chief animal products. The principal vegetable fibers are cotton, flax, ramie, jute, and hemp.
[Sidenote: Chief Fibers]
Cotton linen, wool, and silk have heretofore formed the foundation of all textiles and are the principal fibers used for clothing materials. Ramie or China grass and pineapple fibers are sometimes used as adulterants in the manufacture of silk. When woven alone, they give soft silky textiles of great strength and beauty.
COTTON
[Illustration: PRODUCTION OF COTTON]
Cotton is now our chief vegetable fiber, the yearly crop being over six billion pounds, of which the United States raises three-fourths. Texas is the largest producer, followed by Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The remainder of the world supply comes chiefly from India, Egypt, Russia, and Brazil. The Hindoos were the first ancient people to make extensive use of the cotton fiber. Not until the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1794 did the cotton begin to reach its present importance. Only four or five pounds of the fiber could be separated by hand from the seed by a week's labor. The modern saw gins turn out over five thousand pounds daily.
[Sidenote: Native Home]
Cotton is the white downy covering of the seed of several special of cotton of cotton plant. It is a native of many parts of the world, being found by Columbus growing in the West Indies and on the main land, by Cortez in Mexico, and Pizarro in Peru.
[Illustration: COTTON FIBER ATTACHED TO SEED]
[Sidenote: Sea Island Cotton]
The value of cotton depends upon the strength, and evenness of the fiber. In ordinary cotton the individual fiber is about an inch in length. The sea island cotton grown chiefly on the islands off the coast of Georgia, Carolina, and Florida is the most valuable variety, having a fine fiber, one and one-half to two inches in length. Some of the Egyptian cotton belongs to this species. Sea island cotton is used chiefly for fine laces, thread and knit goods and for the finest lawns and muslins.
[Sidenote: Upland Cotton]
The short fiber or upland cotton is the most common and useful variety. It is grown in Georgia, North and South Carolina and Alabama. Texas cotton is similar to upland, but sometimes is harsh with shorter fiber. Gulf cotton occupies a position between upland and sea island cotton.
[Illustration: UPLAND COTTON PLANT WITH FULLY DEVELOPED BOLES
From Bulletin No. 31, Georgia Experiment Station.]
[Illustration: COTTON BOLE FULLY DEVELOPED
From Year Book of the Department of Agriculture, 1903.]
[Illustration: BOLE OPENED, COTTON READY FOR PICKING
Year Book of 1903.]
The Brazilian and Peruvian cotton yields a long staple and is sometimes used to adulterate silk and other fibers. Some varieties of this cotton are harsh and wooly and are prized for use in mixing with wool.
[Sidenote: Nankin Cotton]
The Nankin cotton grown in China and India and in the southwestern part of Louisiana is characterized by its yellow color. It is used in weaving cloth of various kinds in the "fireside industries" which have become popular in the United States and England.
[Illustration: COTTON FIBERS
A A--Unripe Fibers; B B--Half-ripe Fibers; C C--Ripe Fibers.]
[Sidenote: Spinning Qualities]
Very fine yarn can be spun from cotton because of the spiral character of the fibers. This twist of the fibers is peculiar to cotton, being present in no other animal or vegetable fiber. On account of this twist, cotton cloths are much more