The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-01-30
EXCERPTS.

EXCERPTS.
+ Calpets-The manufacture of carpets is an
industry of great antiq atty. Tie first rugs
and carpets. were made by hand, during the
earliest period of Egyptian civilization. In
the far East, carpets take prominent placein
all the imposing pageants Of the ancient
nations. They are used in triamphal process
siOns to deck the horses and elephants. At
wedding ceremonies they serve to keep the feet
of the fair young bride from the e0ntamina-
tons of earth, and to render her passage to
the altar pleasant and hopeful. The inhabi-
tants of Turkey used carpets many centuries
ago, and 1t is to them that we are indebted for
the most perfect and luxurious articles of this
description. The principle place of their man
ufacture is at Ushak, in Asia Minor, a city of
about 2S,0O0 inhabitants, 1000 of whom--male
and female-are employed in weaving carpets.
This industry is the occupation of entire
families, who work after the same process and
designs that weFe-eInPloyed FIVE hundred years
ago. The originRo of some of these patterns is
absolutely unknown. Eighty or ninety thou
sand square yards of these carpets are annually
make at Ushak, the most of which is sent to
England, and the balance is divided between
France, Turkey and Egypt The colors which
are preferred in these carpets are madden, Per-
sian yellow, indigo cochineaI, and to add
to their brilliapey, alum and tartar are freely
employed. In the days of Roman greatness,
the ricA patricians used purple carpets offabu-
Ions cost. 1t is said that, in the time of the
Emperor-Nero, the covering of q single couch
cost the enormous sum of ninety Thousand dol
lars. Carpets were first introduced into France
about the tenth~century but they We're not
imported into England until two centuries
after Eyen~then they were only used on ex-
traordinary occasions, and the Norman practice
of covering the floor with rushes prevailed I'M
til about the beginning of the seventeenth CEN
tury. Carpet weaving in England is prodnc-
ton quite recent times, and the introduction
of this industry is claimed for one of the Earls
of Pembroke, who induced skilful workmeu in
this occupation to take up their residence in
Great Britain. 1t was not until the middle of
nlsYlta
established was fairly prosperous, and. it's
greatest renown was obtained by the manafac-
ture of Royal Wiltons." The factories at
kiddermnster manufacture 60 Brussels but
their production there only dates back to the
year 1885. peculiar feature of great advan-
tage has recently been introduced in the United
States, which is secnred by letters PATENT
1t consists in having the yarns party-colored,
which allows greater variety of pattern to
two or three-ply carpets, rendering them of
much finer appearance. These carpets are
called tapestry ingram, and are in great favor
with honse-holders. The best American carpets
are produced in the suburbs of New York. The
manufacture Of low priced carpets is almost ex-
cIusivey confined to Philadelphia. The pro-
duction in 4 ut city alone is estimated at about
fifteen millions of yards annually.-NelU York
Mercantile Journal.
singular method of r,,oI-i,,ss t,rtt--r I,ae.-e
Gently come into quite extensive use in France,
based upon the observed fact that cream is
change intu-butteFby being simply buried in
the earth. The theory of this result is not
very intelligible, though the fact is stated to
be beyond question; and in Normandy and
other parts of France, butter is.aetually pre-
pared on a large scale in this way. The pro-
cess consists in placiag the cream in linen
bag of moderate thickness, which is carefully
closed then burying the bag about a foot and
n half deep in the earth, and allowing it to. re-
main from twenty-four to twenty-five hours.
After the expiration. of this period, the cream
is found to have become hard and it is then
broken up by means of wooden beatef, into
small pieces, and enough water poured in to
wash out tie buttermilk. To prevent any
mixture of earth, tits advisable to enclose the
bag in u serond one of larger size and eoaFser
quality. This method of making butter saves
~ good deal of labor, and separates the butter
more perfectly than the ordinary process; and
it is said;that butter thus prepared is of most
excellent quality.
Facts About Oaions.--A correspondent gives
the following facts about onions, most of them
authenticated by several witnesses When at
New Orleans in charge of one hundred Inen,
among whom cholera was, IL ging.- he observed
that those who ate freely of onions were surely
and fatally attacked he has, however, found
onions specially potent in cases of poisonous
bites, his SOL aud others huvinc-beefH cured
from snake bites by their He also knows
of a man who, in the frenzy of hydrophobia ate
onions voraciously and recovered. In eases of
epidemic he has observed /. That onions in
the room with small poX patients decay rapidly,
blisteTs appearing on them, .. That they re-
tain and communicate the virus many weeks.
3. That they prevent the smallpox by thus alb
sorbing the virus. 4. Thatwhen applied to the
feet of fever patients they quickly turn black.
He infers from these facts that onions possess
some medical properties, that they should not
be eaten during epidemcs, andFtbat they are
probably among the most effective absorbents
of blood poison VIC have, we'll rs excellent
disinfectors.
The Chinese Enipire-Says writer in that
most racy and excellent magazine, the Overland
Monthly, embraces 4,G95, 334 square miles, and
supports a population of 7z,5O0,0O0 China
proper, the most popufous country on earth,
contains 1,30S016 square miles of compact
territory, divided into Is provinces, numbering
Alb, 267 900 souls, as far back as 1912. The
most populous of these provinces is Pee-cho-
lee, of which Pekin is the capital. 1t embraces
36,S79, S3S soufs-a heavier number than all the
United States-and Sc, 949 square miles China
modern science, prove terrible antagonist for
"outside barbarians." Her gold conld already
-revolutionize Europe.