The weekly union record., 1865-11-11
The Origin Of Cotton.

of commercial stability aud physical
comfort depends, has remote origin,
and We are dependent for it, as fJr
many other articles, upon the East.
Professor Draper's new book furnishes
this information:
''To the Saracens we are indebted
for the cotton manufacture. Through
their influence that art was extended
from Japan to the Gulf Of Guinea, from
the Pyrenees to the equlnoctial line.
They spread the use of that material
which at this day constitutes chief
source Of the wealth Of manufacturing
Europe and Of agricultural America
mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, etc.
they have left an indelible impression,
Of which such words as algebra, alcohol,
and many others that might be men
toned, are the enduring "reminiscences,
so in this branch Of industry they are
like witnesses; not a few of its terms
that have been incorporated in our
speech are Of Oriental origin. The
word cotton itself is Arabic; muslin is
so called from Mosul, city on the
banks Of the Tigris, where was once the
chief seat Of its manufacture calico,
from Calicut, in India. The under
garment worn by ladies passes under a
name which shows from whom they
derive it, for chemise is an Arabic word.
The cotton manufacture was CON-
menced in Spain by Abderaham H.,
\. d. $50, period during which at
tention seems to have been particularly
directed by the Moors to the improve
ment of agriculture and manufactures,
while the rest of Europe was falling
deeper and deeper into barbarism and
night. The khalif introduced into the
peninsula the sugar cane, rice and the
mulberry tree, with many Improvements
in such arts as tam ng and the manu-
facture of silk. Cotton was carried into
Sicily by the Saracens on their occu-
pancy of that island, and, indeed, from
Spain the use of it spread more or less
all over the north and east of Europe. |
One of the Mohammedan applications
Of this vegetable product was destined
to be of the utmost value; it was the
invention of cotton paper. The real
merit Of the invention of the art CT
printing lies, not, as is commonly sup
posed, in the contrivance of the press
and types, but in the making of paper.
The process Of multiplying impressions
by seals and stamps, which is essentially
printing process, had been known from
the remotest antiquity; but such oper-
ations could never be made available for /
the extensive dissemination of knowl- /
edge until something more abundant and
cheaper than papyrus and parchment
was discovered. This want was sup
piled by the Arabian cotton paper"
USEFUL ORTHoGRAPHICAL RUE
Among the other difficulties of English |
photography is the relative position of
i and in the words ending in ''ieve"
or Give; and both in manuscript and
print are seen "beheve" and 'beleive,'
receive" and "rccieve,' ''reprieve"
and ''repreive." !" The writer was sur
prised on being told, not long since, by
a foreign lady, who was taught English
in Holland, that there was rule regu-
lating the position of the letters referred
to in all such words; as it was new to
him, and, so far as he had discovered,
new to every one, he thinks it may be
useful to give it publicity. When the
preceding consonant is a letter which
comes after in the al phabet, comes
after in the word, as ''believing;" but
when the preceding consonant comes
before / in the alphabet, e comes before
i as in the word receive The rule
is invariable as applied to the class of
words referred to, but is not Of as gen
eral application to words Of one syllable
having the same yowels in juxtaposltlon;
thus we have ''niece," ''ceil," etc.,
which conform to the rule, and "chief,''
seize" ETC., which do not.
WORTH REME1lBER1SG.- In COM
post pile nothing comes amiss-that Is,
nothing that is offensive and in your