American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-04-04

caught me and stamped my green leaves.
| The third roller stamped the fine brown
stems all over, a fourth roller gave me the
lovely dark ferns, fifth pressed the deli
cate gray stripe. So when l came away
| from that cylinder / was printed in six
colors, just as | am now-'
Molly got up and came nearer to ex-
anime the pattern and colors of the print
before | tell you where | went next
| want to tell you about those printing roll
ers. Every one had cut on its surface
just the figure il was to print-the first
| one nothing but berries, for instance. 1t
was turned ell the time by the machinery;
| and as 1t turned il pressed against another
roller That second roller was covered
with some kind of CLOTH and as it turned
| il ran through trough filled with red
dye. Now you see the last roller-the
color roller-runs through the dye and,
of course, some sticks to it; then, rs it
turns and comes against the printing
roller, the color comes off into the pat
tern which is cut there and then; when
that pattern comes against the white cot
ton it prints the figures on to that. Do
you see?''
eyes" said Molly.
"In the same way the second roller had
leaves cut on it, and its color roller ran
through green dye. So you see how all
these cOlors got on in minute. In fact,
it only took one minute tor the whole
piece, thirty yards long, to 90 through the
machine and come ont all printed. Dear
mel Ilho,e were hurrying times! How
did fly over The rollers, and glad | was
to pass on more hot cylinders, through a
slit in the wall, to the drying-room--
though it was hot there, l tell you-and
at last to a machine which laid me back
ward and forward into loose pile. do
you know how ] got my name ~
No" said Molly.
From Calicut, in India, which has al
ways been celebrated for calico printing,
though they never had printing machine.
They draw figures with pencils, and put
the calico through long processes of
drawing and drying and bleaching
and washing-a much slower and
more expensive operation. I've heard
that they made cotton cloth and
printed 1t hundreds of years before
was heard Of 1 know great
deal about the history of my kind, be-
cause l have always listened, and re-
nembered what l heard, and / could tell
you about the way of printing from
blocks; but l will only tell you a
legend about the way calico printing by
blocks was begun. l don't know as it is
true, you know; but perhar it is. 1t is
said that farmer who had busy mind
the idea of stamping figures on
white cloth. He cut parsley leaf on q
block of wood, dipped it in dye, and
stamped it all over some cloth. His wife
roned it out, and it vas so pretty that the
first person who saw it bought it. He
printed another and that lold as quickly
IS the first He made moe blocks and
hired help; but the faster he made them
he faster they sold, and, of course, he
made his fortune.
Now I've told you all 1 remember;
out there's mystery whispered about
.mong us that | don't really know much
lbout, though suppose shall some day.
Il is said that when we are worn out, torn
Up and used as rags-which must be very
unpleasant, by the way-that we are gath
red up here and there, cleaned and
made perfectly pure, and by new set of
made into beautiful, clean,
White stuff, much nicer than calico, and
nut to higher uses"
ayes, l know said Molly, paper;
nd they make books of it, and put lovely
lectures on"
"And what becomes of us after that's"
sked the little voice.
&c don't know" said Molly, thought
ully.
well, there's always mystery ahead"
aid Calico :. and I'm in a hurry to know;
0 you can bring on your scissors and cut
leup. l want to be going on. l never
ept still very long. I'm not lazy."-N.
?. Independent.