The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-08-29 00:00:00

31.4XVFACTUIZE.

. (From theScotsmen]
Ac ;dental circumstances lately called our attention to
some facts connected with the history of the shawl manu-
facture, a short statement of which our readers may consi-
der Lot without interest. ll'e need scarcely state that this
ales of manufacture has risen almost from nothing within
the last 30 )ears, and that fittle mare than 20 years have
passed since it was establia.cd in this city, may
now be considered as the chief seat of the Angst, though'
not the most exteraive branch of the manufacture. Shawls
were originally made in the fist Indies, and they exhibit
curious example of the high perfection to which sonic
single species of manufacture may be carried in a minty
Iwhere the Arts in general are in a rude state. Sa highly
are these India shawls prized in this country that they
fetch a ,rice of Mt. 200'. or even 6004 while the best of
those of domestic manufacture can be had for V/.
him 30/. But what males the preference hliown to the
foreign article the more surprising is, that no smao, propor-
tion of the India shawls brought to Britain have been worn
by the natives as turbans, girdles, &c. befdre they were
imported. This is no keeret among dealers, for the marks
of wearing are often =Rifest to an experienced eye, in the
discoloration or roughening of the surface, the attenuation
of the fabric at particular places, and now and then in
actual rents and holes. Strange as it may, seem, there-
fore, it is literally true, that our wealthy and titled dames
are content to array themselves in the cast clothes of our
E stern subjects, which vestments, notwithstanding, have
no small intrinsic value !

There are two substances of which the body or fabric of
fine shawls is made—silk and wool. Silk has generally
been employed in Britain; but the Hindoos use an ex-
tremely tine wool, and from the use of this material the
Indian shawls derive much of their superiority. First, it
gives them an exquisite softness and warmth, to which it
is impossible to approach when the fabric is chiefly silk.
Secondly, the fine wool takes* Wiener getout thou silk,
and keeps it incomparably better. Thirdly, the woollen
fabric has an advantage which is perfectly understood
the ladies—its folds dispose themselves in more graceful
and flowing lines, and of course it affords a finer drapery
to the figure. With regard to the patterns, it must he
admitted, that till we have discovered the mode of working
the figure practised by the Indians, and till our weavers
can subsist on twopence a day, and spend three or four
years labour on a single shawl, we shall scarcely be able to
rival them. In the brightness of the dyes we already sur-
pass the Ilindoos, and the figures on their inferior shawls
which are sewed in or embroidered, are not nearly equal to
the best of those which we execute in the loom; but in
the finest of the India shawls, the figures are wove in a
manner which we cannot perfectly imitate; and of which
our weavers only comprehend enough to perceive, that it
must be extremely laborious, and infinitely tedious. In-
deed it is certain, that even the smallest compartment of the
figure must be worked on the principle on which we work
an entire web—that the weft must be turned at each mar-
gin of the compartment, though it should be but a tenth
of an inch in breadth. The best Idea we can form-of the
process, may be derived from the mode of laying in the
figures of tapestry ; and hence, too, the Indian mode of
' working enables them to sink the ground of the web more
completely, and to exhibit the colours of the pattern in a
more unmixed state than we possibly can. It is remarkable,
too, that long practice has taught them tocambinetheir
colours with singular harmony, and to diversify their designs
without falling into extravagance or incongruity, to such
a degree, that the British manufacturer, with all his
skill, finds it the best policy to copy their patterns,
because he can seldom invent any thing better himself.
In the execution of the figures, however, our manu-
facturers have made great progress within the last ten
years, and this is not now the department in which their
work has been felt to be most deficient. Latterly their leading
object has been to rival the Indians in the fabric or basis of
the web. Organzine silk was the material originally em-
ployed for warp, and upon this a weft of wool and silk, or
of various mixtures of the two substances, was thrown in.
This was succeeded about 1100 or ISOS by spun silk, that
is, thewaste of Italian silk chopped into short lengths, and
worked upon the same principle as wool or cotton—a pro-
ems long kept secret, but now well known. It was made
to resemble the Indian yarn veil elosely, and was deserv-
edly considered a great improvement, though it still wanted
thetest properties of fine wool. Sonic years afteiwards
another step was made towards the introduction of the pro-
per inatetial, by preparing a weft of silk and Merino wool,
which received the name of Persian yarn. This still con-
tinues partially in use. At length, about three years ago,
an attempt was made to make the fabric of wool entirely.
To the substance employed the name of Van Diemen 's
Land, or Indian, or Thibet wool was given, though in rea-
lity it consisted merely of picked quantities taken from
picked Saxon or English fleeces. Of this a fabric was
made which surpassed those previously used, but it was
still deficient in the exquisite softness and warmth which
the Indian wool possesses, and, what was not of less im-
portance, no figure could be worked in upon it with ac-
curacy and beauty. British enterprise, however, is not
easily discouraged. Inquiries were set on foot in the East;
and specimens of the actual material used in the fabri-
cation of the very finest shawls were brought home. It
was found to consist of the undergrowth of wool of the
Thibet goat or the down growing beneath the long rough
hairs which form the exterior covering of the animal. It was
found too that the article, though very expensive, could
be procured in considerable quantities.. But a new diffi-
culty presented itself—this down was so extremly tender,
that the most expert spinners in England despaired of
forming it into a thread of sufficient tenacity to bear the
operatiot; of the loom. The practical skill and invention
of our artisans is, however, inexhaustible; and, we veribly
believe, that if it were required to convert spiders'
webs into cables, they would find means to accom-
plish it. An English spinner discovered a process by
which he was able to form a very delicate yet firm and
durable thread out of this soft material, anti, according to
custom, he secured his invention by a patent. Some
farther difficulties remained, but not of very great mag-
nitude. Our manufacturers had some advantages before,
which the natives of the East wanted, and having now the
material in their hands which gave the others their chief
superiority, they were in a condition to unite every possible
excellence in their workmanship. We think we may
safely say that this has been attained. We have seen
shawls of the new fabric made by our townsmen, Gibb and
MiDonald (who hold the first rank we believe in this
branch of manufacture) quite admirable in point of soft-
ness, delicacy of texture, and Mildness of colour, and
11 which, we have been assured by adequate judges, rival the
[ India shawls in these, and, indeed, in all the }calling quali-
ties for which the latter are prized. Some sureriority the
Indians have still in their patterns, from the tedious process
they employ; but this will be confined to shawls of the
very first class. In the others we already equal or surpass
them, and future improvements will probably leave us
little to desire on this held. To those who know how
much our manufactures contribute to our national wealth,
we need scarcely say, that the successful establishmern of a
branch of industry like this, is really an object of national
importance. India muslin, have been already superseded
I by the skill of our artisans; and it is probable that India
shawls are destined soon to share the same fate. Custom
may keep up the old predilection for a time; hut self-in-
terest will teach the people to save the two or three
hundred pounds pounds paid for an India shawl, when
they can have one for ten, twenty, or thirty, so closely re-
sembling the other in fabric and appearance, that only the
practised eye of a dealer can detect the difference. Thirty
years ago there was not a single shawl made in Edinburgh,
and the number made in Britain was absolutely trifling.
At this day, shawls are matte to the value of a million
sterling annually at least, and the Manufacture now forms
a leading branch of our national industry.

iOn Monday a porpoise was shot off Millport,and brought
on shore. It was pure white, a colour which the oldest
fishers alive never recollect to have seen before in that fish.
—Glasgow Chtonirle.
There is now on the land of Mr. George, of the Three
('berry Trees Farm, on the manor of Lord Verulam, near
St. Alban's, among a covey of partridges, a speckled
chicken, which appears as void as any of the former birds.
It is undersuxxl to have proceeded from an egg dropped
into the partridge's nest by a domestic ben. Such incidents
it seems, are not uncommon. There is at present at West-
cott, Bucks, among a covey of partridges, a pheasant which
has been hatched with the other birds.