them together, reducing them to clean loose bundles, then twisting them into threads, and lastly interweaving them. The plants selected in Europe for the purpose of making thread and cloth from their (fibres are chiefly flax and hemp. Flax (in Latin linum, whence the word linen) is an annual plant, rising on a single stalk to a moderate height, and crowned with handsome, blue flowers, succeeded by globular seed vessels. It is suffered to grow till the seeds are ripe, and is then plucked up by the hand, laid in little bundles to dry, deprived of its seed vessels, and then put into pits of water to rot. The purpose of this part of the process is to dissolve a mucilaginous matter, which holds the fibres together; and it is the most disagreeable part of the management of flax, as the smell arising from it while rotting is extremely offensive, and prejudicial to the health. When the flax has lain long enough, it is taken out, washed, dried, then beaten with mallets, combed, and by various other operations so prepared that the long fibres are got by themselves, clean and loose, in which state they are called flax; the shorter and coarser fibres, separated by the comb, are called tow. The operation of spinning, which it next undergoes, consists in drawing out, with the fingers, several of the fibres together, and twisting them. The product of spinning is thread, which is more or less fine according to the dexterity of the spinner and the nature of the material. Some thread closer twisted than the rest is kept for needlework, but the greater part is made up in bundles, called linen yarn, and committed to the weaver. Weaving may be regarded as a finer kind of matting. To perform it, the threads, which form the length of a piece of cloth, are first disposed in order, and strained by weights to a proper tightness; this is called the warp. These threads are divided by an instrument called a reed into two sets, each composed of every other thread; and while, by the working of a treadle, each set is thrown alternately up and down, the cross threads, called the woof or weft, are inserted between them by means of a little instrument, sharp at both ends, called a shuttle, which is briskly shot from one of the weaver's hands to the other, placed on the opposite sides of the work, and carries the thread with it. This is the simplest kind of weaving; but numberless are the additional contrivances made for all the curious works wrought in the loom, which have been the objects of human ingenuity for many ages. The linen fabrics are of all degrees of fineness, from coarse sheeting to cambric almost emulating a spider's web. They are brought to that extreme whiteness which we so much admire by the process of bleaching. This consists in their exposure to the action of the sun and air, with frequent watering, and often with the help of some acid liquor, which quickens the operation. The value that can be given to a raw material by manufacturing is in few instances more strikingly exemplified than in the conversion of flax into Brussels lace, some of which sells for several guineas a-yard. Indeed, if you look at a plant of flax growing, and then at the frill of your shirt, you cannot fail to be struck with admiration of human skill and industry. Hemp is a much taller and stronger plant than flax. It has a square rough stalk, rising to the height of five or six feet, and sending off branches. Its fibrous part consists in the bark surrounding the main stalk. Hemp undergoes the same general preparation as flax before it is consigned to the weaver; but, being of a stronger and coarser texture, it requires more labour to get the fine fibres separate from the rest. Hence it is commonly employed in the more homely manufactures; it is the principal material of sail cloth, a fabric, the strength of which is required to be proportional to the violence it has to undergo from storms and tempests; and it is equally important to navigation, from its use in making cordage; for which purpose it is taken nearly in a raw state, and twisted into coarse twine, which is afterwards united to make rope. Whilst the inhabitant of the northern and temperate regions is obliged to exercise much labour and contrivance in procur ing his vegetable clothing from the stalks of plants, the native of the fruitful south enjoys the benefit of a material presented in greater abundance, and in a state requiring much less preparation before it is fitted for the manufacturer. This is cotton, a white woolly substance contained in the seed pod of a family of plants, some of which are annual and herbaceous, others perennial and shrubby. The pods, when ripe, open of themselves, and the cotton is plucked out of them by the fingers, with the seeds sticking to it; these are separated by means of mills, which pull out and loosen the down. It is then in a state fit to be sent from the planter to the manufacturer. The farther operations it undergoes are picking, carding, and roving, which last brings off the fibres longitudinally in a continued loose line; these are next twisted and drawn out, so as to make thread or yarn, and the material is then consigned to the weaver. The vast extension of the cotton manufacture in this country has caused these preparatory operations to be performed by a system of complex machinery, the clever invention of Sir Richard Arkwright. The fabrics made from cotton are probably more various and numerous than from any other material. They comprehend stuffs of all degrees of fineness, from the transparent muslin of a robe, or a turban, to the thick plush and warm bed quilt. The commerce of Great Britain has of late years been peculiarly indebted to the cotton manufacture, which produces clothing for people of all ranks, from Russia to Guinea, and unites elegance with cheapness in an unusual degree. Great quantities of the native fabrics of the east are also imported into Europe. Some of these, from excellence in the material and incomparable manual dexterity and patience in the workmen, though made with very simple machinery, equal in fineness and beauty anything of European manufacture. The natives are said to perform their finest work in moist cool places under ground, which makes the cotton hold together so as to draw out to the thinnest threads; and the soft and delicate fingers of the Indian women give them the sense of feeling to a degree of nicety much beyond that of Europeans. It is probable that cotton at present clothes more people in the world than any other substance. Its peculiar advantage, besides cheapness, is the union of warmth with lightness, whence it is fitted for a great variety of climates. To the hot it is better adapted than linen, on account of its absorbing quality, which keeps the skin dry and comfortable. The woolliness of cotton gives a kind of nap to the cloth made of it, which renders it soft to the touch, but apt to attract dust. In the fine muslins this is burned off, by passing them between heated cylinders with such velocity as not to take fire, which, considering the combustibility of cotton, must be a very nice operation. THE VOICE OF THE SEA. MRS. HEMANS. Thou art sounding on, thou mighty sea, for ever and the same! The ancient rocks yet ring to thee, whose thunders naught can tame. The Dorian flute, that sighed of yore along thy wave, is still; And the songs at Rome's high triumphs poured are with her eagles flown; And mute the Moorish horn, that rang o'er stream and mountain free; And the hymn the learned Crusaders sang, hath died in Galilee ; But thou art swelling on, thou Deep, through many an olden clime, Thy billowy anthem ne'er to sleep until the close of Time! PATRIOTISM. SIR WALTER SCOTT. Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, "This is my own, my native land ?" Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned As home his footsteps he hath turned, From wandering on a foreign strand? O Caledonia! stern and wild, Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, That knits me to thy rugged strand? ANCIENT SONG OF VICTORY. Io! they come, they come! Garlands for every shrine! Strike lyres to greet them home! Bring roses, pour ye wine! |