The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-05-24
CENTENNIAL LETTER.
Correspondence of the Star.

favorable Tor visiting the Exposition.
About the most uncomfortable situation
a free man can occupy is to make one in
crowd OF soaked and seething humani-
ty; and to be obliged to pay for the priv.
ilege of holding such situation among
his fellow men does not strike the aver
age man as peculiarly attractive. Con-
sequently the attendance at the Exposi-
tion has not been by any means so null
titudinous as was desired. But now finer
weather is beginning to swell the al
tendance to degree much more salts.
factory to the treasury department Of
the Exposition.
Although there is a goodly collection
I OF paintings, both European and Ameri-
| can, and though The Horticultural De-
partment is very beautiful and attrac-
| tive, still it is observable that MACaiN-
| ERY HALL is the most popular place OF
gathering in the whole Exposition.
| Crowds of people continually throng
around the wonderful machines that the
inventive genius or the world has pro-
duced, ana many Of which are here ex-
hibited at work with skill that seems
to partake of thought in the machines
| themselves. The special interest mani
| tested in this department is by no means
confined to artisans and machinists, nor
yet to the sex masculine. For there are
multitudes OF ladies watching with sing
u,ar interest the wonderful working Of
these strange machines.
| Particularly do the ladies cluster
about that marvellous Jaqu ard Loom,
from England, that is busily at WORK
1 fa,,t ini Nod
| beautiful description, and of the most
1 intricate designs Imaginable; and tney
almost breath essly scrutihize It's oper-
ations as its machinery sends the Shut
\ ties darting back and forth In dancing
maze of movements that result IN eon-
| binlng the various colors Of the siiken
| thread into figures and forms upon the
white background with the precision of
mathematics. The absolute accuracy OF
these combinations, SO elegant ana SO
| intricate, deceives the mind into the
| idea that the mechanism is itself ntelli-
gent. This loom ia now weaving twenty
| Of these badges at once. Each one Of
these badges combines eight different
| colors. And as each color must
have a separate shuttle, it follows
| that there are no less than Que hundred
and sixty shuttles flying ilither and
thither, forward and back, all the time.
These badges are of size suitable for
| book marks, about inches long and
2 inches wide, on ground OF white
silk. In each of the warps there are 900
| threads, and as there are 20 warps for
as many badges, there are 1900 threads
ON the loom at once. To complete these
badges 5000 perforated cards are re-
| quired, so that the shutiles must be
| passed through the warp 5000 times in
making one badge; that is 100000 times
i'll completing tile twenty badges. And
| yet so perfect is every mechanical ad-
! justmenL of this marvellous machine that
there is no confusion, not single thread
| lost, nor wrong color combined; even
while working without any attendance
whatever.
AS the badges come forth from the
loom the top is found to be beautifully
| fringed with a delicate succession OF
| colors, each vivid, but all blended into
peculiar softness that charms the eve.
| For an inch or two below this fringe the
ribbon, OF ground is exquisitely en-
bossed with gold thread, 50 interviewer
| as to give it a waving appearance that
greatly adds to Its richness. And upon
| this ground, in a light drab silk are the
| ldates-"I776-1S76;" and Immediately up-
on these figures appears the word Seen
| tennlal," woven in scarlet. Below this
again are the initials "U. S. A." in green.
| scarlet and purple.
But this does not finish the work on
this exquisiteIy woven badge, for the
middle portion shows an excellent minia-
ture portrait OF washington, with the
exact shading and color OF an engraving.
SurmOunting this picture are the words
"The Father Of Our Country" woven In
purple silk, and supported upon flags
crossed. Following this again is the
familiar sentence, First In War, First
| in Peace, and First in The Hearts OF His
| Countrymenp done in sold English" let
ters. Nor is this all, for below This is seen
La perfectly executed sketch OF the Main,
Centennial Building. And, to conclude
the whole, appears the double.tagle.
And all this is done with no hand 10
guide the thread as the work goes on by
this wondrous loom, to the extent OF
thirty yards a day. This piece OF
mechanism was the Invention Of poor
silkweayer OF France about the Begin
ming OF the present century.
| or course this loom is by no means
limited to this particular service. Its
capabilities are adapted to every kind
OF ornamental device. illuminated rib
bons OF innumerable. kinds, shaded by
silks of various coiors as accurately as
an artist could paint them; those pic
tured valentines that young people 80
much prize and delight in; and a hun
dred other equally elegant productions,
OF like kind are the work of the Jaauardt
Loom. 10 make an article known as
the "ForesteTs scarf" about TWO and a.
half yards long and only six or seven.
iuches wide requires sixteen thousand
perforated cards. to form the figured
part, which is fifteen inches long, and
for. the plain part, or ground, fourteen
thousand cards--in all thirty thousand
cards. There are eighteen hundred
threads in the warp, and the shutties
would carry filteen different colors to
combine the figures. or these scarfs
ten, or perhaps more, could be made at
once, so that, in making that number,
there would be three hundred thousand
cards, eighteen thousand threads OF
warp, one hundred and nifty sbattles
required, all in operation ct once.
And the shuttles must. in makfug
that number, pass through the warp no
less than three millions Of times. And
yet there stands the machine, occupying
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