Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1806-07-16

Upper Austria, and the Swiss cantons OF
Sc. Gail and .6hhenzeL The cotton from
which these were all manufactured was all
the produce of the Levant--a fact which
is worthy Of The consideration Of the a.
merican cotton planters, and of those
merchants who have shipped cotton as a
good ca:go for China.
The caltcoes OF Austria at one period
had the greatest run in the Lcvant; those
of Saxony at Constaniinople alone; but
those most gen. rally coveted throughout
Greece and Turkey were manufactured
at Pleven in the district Of Vaiyh,land in
Upper Saxony 1.-The revolution termi
mated the competition of the French, who
supplied from Evignon and Bcara, CALI.
Goes OF brighter tints than the German,
and Of finer texture their patterns also
were accommodated with a happy inge.
nuity TO the fashion of the country, and
were rapidly out selling the Germans,
when the revolution suspended ,heir in
dustry and their competition.
Venice formerly furnished the Levant
with glass Of every kind as she formerly
supplied all Europe with her polished
mirrors.---France had outsiript her
in her manufacture of mirrors both in
size and transparency, in the fneness
OF the plate and the perfection of the
polish and the silvering England has at.
tempted TO rival France in this branch, but
hitherto without success. The Germans
superseded the Vene;ians in the Inferior
glass; trade, which however was of diff
terent species ofarticles from those used
~ European nations.
The chrystsls of Bohemia. vases, chan
del'ers, glass globes, shades FOR ,apers, LAM
terms, and some other fanciful articles,
we're furnished in abundance from Ger
many. The French supplied the smaller
glass wares, and Vepice supplied only the
CANNON and ordinary kinds particularly
glass beads, which the Turkish women
and other female subjects of Turkey use
in the decoration OF their persons
but great proportion of the coarse glass
manufacture hnds ven. in Egypt and r.
rabia, and along the African coast.
In works Of iron and steel commonly
called hardware, the English surpass ard
1t my be said supply tie Whole world.
The Turks whose taste for fine wrong /
hardware is not so powerful az their love
OF money; purchase hardware Of an infe-
rior finish, because the pate rms arc near.
ly the same and the German is of low
err price. The English made steel also
is preferred TO the German, though the
steel manufactures of Vienna obtained
very high repute. Under this head may
be comprehended fire arms, of which En-.
gland furnishes much less quantity than
the superiority Of the arts would seem 10
teach us TO expect; few articles made
by the order of the English ambassador
Tor pesenis, ard incidentally few cases
of pistols find their way The Levant.
The French before The revolution, who
studied the wishes of those whom they
sought 10 lay under the contributions Of
commerce; supplied ornamented arms in
considerable quantities. But from Bres.
cia, city o! Italy 80 miles north west
of Milan, the Greek Market was annually
supplied will, thirty cases Of arms the
usual price of eight dollars for fireloc.s,
and from ten to twevle for pair Of piss
tots, shows either of two facts, that the
articles must be extremely cheap or ofin!
fcr;or quality; but Brescia is as much &C.
lebrated for its fire arms as Toledo or Is.
pahsn for sword blsdes--the Venetians
furnished nearly as much as the Bresci.
ans. The Turks prefer barrels of POLISH
ed iron, and in this the Vene,ans gratlfied
them; the French arms being bronzed,
or as the nsmithtechnicaly calls il sun
guined, which is an operation performed
by holding the bright iron or steel over a
clear Ere, and employing, small portion
of oils until The heat produces We degree
of colour required. The Turkish ar-
mourers have no knowledge of this art.
and their habitusl indifference to such
things induces them to prefer the polish
ed arms though more difficult TO be kept
bright, than the bronzed, which cannot be
uniformly cleaned as they usually clean
arms, with pummice or file. They pre-
fer stocks oanamented and inlaid with
silver and gold, and barrels ornamented
at the breach in the same way.
The trade in clocks and watches was
beyond belief great, in the Levan, and
the English possessed the market in the
greatest proportion. There were sold an
nuelly at Saionica thirty dozen Of watches,
at Constsntinople 900 dozen, in Syria 400
dozen, and in Egypt $50 doze n and
u H.