Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1862-05-29
The History OF Cotton.

I eaftn, Wnlle lne ldDIlCS luunUlaCtultu
$ from this article, from their introduction
e and use, have welded powerful intiu-
ence on mankind. The fbics of the
f plant were styled vegetable Wool, )"
and were regarded by the ancient histori-
, an, l1crodotus, as wonder OF nature,
, and identified with two Of her grand
. kingdoms. From being n material upon
| which patient labor spent itself, it has be-
come an article of traffic, and passing in
to the world Of ideas, it has now the
symbol and provocative Of shifting opin-
ions. In It's early history, it was deemed
sacred, and only woven into robes for
the Priests Of Egypt-but afterwards it
became q prolane article in European es-
timation ; infdel to the Spanish, as as
sociated with the industry of the Moors;
heretical to the Frenchman, because the
patient and unlalteripg IIrguenot manu-
featured it into cloth. But now Cotton
is King. a king without throne, and
ragamufins only for his subjects. And
yet king whose power is confessed in
all the world, while it is horribly despised
by those who pray for the progress and
refinement Of mankind.
The cotton plant in its varieties differs
in folm and size from an annual creeper
to tree twenty feet high, and grows
spontaneously or may be cultivated in
countries between forty degrees north
latitude and twenty degrees south India
was the first country in which cotton was
cultivated and manufactured into cloths,
The wearing of cotton cloths was intro
duced into Rome during the first century
OF the Christian era, and the custom in
creased with the conquests Of Mahommed
and by the eighth century it was the gem
eraI wear of the bold followers of the
Crescent and by the Arabs. During
these centuries, the Celestials began to
weave cloths from cotton, while to the
/ Chinese is also due the credit of invent
ing the manufacture Of paper and cotton.
/ While the southern Russians were secur-
| ing Turkish cotton, candle wick made
from cotton appeared in England. But
Barcelona in Spain, seems to have been
the first place in Christian Europe where
cotton fabrics flourished Cotton was
brought to England, from the Mediter-
ranean, about the end Of the fifteenth
century, and was used for different pur-
poses; but it was only in 1885 that the
art OF manufacturing cotton cloth was
introduced into England. In the sue
ceedlng fifty years, the fabrication Of the
coarsest cottons was firmly established
IN Manchester. Muslins and caicoes
were, however, imported from India
Linen yarn was yet used for the warps of
lustians, and goods were not woven en-
tlrely of cotton in England, until after
tho patenting of Arkwright's "Water
Frame" or spinning machine, in 176S.
In ITO, the revival Of the fabrication of
cotton cloth took place. A machine
spinning single thread was the only
machine in use, but the demand for yarn
grew greater than the single thread ma
chine could supply. In 1913, some in
genlous persons in England set them
selves to work to secure something of the
desired end, and in that year, John Kay,
OF Colchester, England, produced the
fly shuttle" which is still in use, and
in the same year machine was out for
spinning cotton by rollers, but the facto-
RES tested this latter machinery, and il
proved failure. In 17G4 an employee
in cotton factory in Lancashire, invent
ed machine which spun eleven threads
then followed in 1865, Arkwright's spin
mng frame then in 1779 came Cromp-
ton with his "mule," which combipcd
tho principles Of Hargravos "Jcnny"
and Arkwright's Frame" then in 1885
steam as motive power, was applied to
cotton factories, and in the same year a
power loom was invented and made ef-
iectiyc.
From the opening Of English enter
! |prlse and the investment of its capital.
the Parliament Of Great Britain protect
Ied and encouraged the DEVELOPMENT ofI
these manufactures Laws were enacted |
preventing the use Of foreign calico, in
tcrlcling with the manufacture of wooden
stull. These laws were considered use
less, as British genius invented new ma
chinery and British enterprise enlarged
the extent of the manufactures, until
Great Britain began to supply the world
with cotton fabrics.
Thus far in this article we have been
con cnsing very able article on this sui
ject, in the Imeriraa E,rchange and Re-
"'cr a monthly publication, which has
only reached its second number, and
which is published in Philadelphia by
Whiting IL Co, In order to preserve
the facts of this history of Cotton and
It's manufacture, we must make the fol-
lowing quotation
"England imported in 176I of raw
cotton, 3,S7O,302 lbs, the heaviest an
nual importation prior to lIargrave's and
Aikwrlghts invention. The French rev.
oIution began in 1889, and was followed
by the fearful conflicts which ended in
the Held of Waterloo in 1918, and Eng
land was brought into collision with 9th
er European powers. Her insrlar posi-
ion and her superior marine, however,
enabled her to protect her commerce and
manufactures, and during the dire period
from 1892 to 1878, England exported
cotton goods alone to the value of ST.
300, 900, 900. The annual importations
OF raw cotton at different points was as
follows In l795, thero were oG, 403..
$40 lbs, in 1903, there were 56,6S2,
lO6 lbs; in 1910, there were l32,4SS,-
9o3 lbs, the annual importation then
Tell OIL, but began to increase in 1914,
being in that year GO,06S, $50 lbs, and
IN 1919 the importation was 90,30G,3 ,3i3