Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-09-13
Turkish Carpets.

Three small towns-Oushak, koula.
and Ghiordess, within the boundaries oi
Greatet Phrygia, IN Asia Minor, have
preserved to tie present day the carpet
manufacture, one OF the few remaining
branches OF Turkish industry; and ii IS
rather an interesting point to note tha,
tins manufacture has not much changed
its locality from time immemorial.
Oushak, the larges. ofthe three towns
above mentioned, Is situated on an .le-
waited plateau between 1900 and 5000
feet above the level of the sea. II has
population Of over l5, ,800 inhabitants.
OF which only about a third are Chris
tisns. The houses are built of sun
dried bricks in the usual style of modern
Turkish towns, and plas.ered over inside
and out with sort of dark clay, which
gives the place somber appearance
perfectly in keeping with the character
of its people. Quaint old fountains and
wells, mosques erd m,nar-.s, crerhang-
ing iatt.ced balconies, and dark, narrow
crooked and dirty streets characterize
the place even more than other towns
nearer the seabcard: Wool in every
stage of progression, from the moment
It is clipped from the sheep to lis final
dyed and spun slate, mt for tn. hands of
the manufacturer, meets the eve in ev-
cry direction, and indicates the peculiar
occupation of the inhabitants of this
busy little town, which, bm irr this in
dnstry, would in all probability have
shared the decaying tendency OF other
Anatolian towns.
Almost every household of anv i'm
portance carries IN the carpet maufac-
ture' The mechanism employed is of
the simplest and rudu>t description. a
vertical frame supports two horizontal
rollers about five feet apart. The warp,
of any required length, consisting OF an
UPPER and low er thread. is wound round
The upper roller, and The ends fastened
to the lower ore. from which the work
is commenced ty the women and girls.
who kneel or >it cross-legged in a row
before the frame. Each workwoman
has ceetain width of work allotted 70
her, and proceeds TO knot the tufts
which form the pile in rows, using diff
ferent colors to form the pattern. Each
tuft is knotted independently CT tie 9TH
ers to an upper and lower thread of
warp. When row is thus tied the
tult is passed with the hand between
the warp, and then beaten down with a
heavy wooden comb. The pile rs now
clipped smooth with a large pair OF
shears, and the newt row above the first
commenced with. As .he work PRO-
~eed> upward 1t is rolled over the under
roller, and corresponding length OF
wrap unrolled from the upper one, until
the required length of carpet is made.
The tying ofthe tufts and the picking
out oi the ,ariouslv colorcd wo~ls -.h:ch
lIang IN balls over the frame. is. carried
on with the most surprising rapidity,
the pattern being meanwhile worked
from memory, unless some new design
is TO be made. Forty-four rows of pile
are thus knotted in the course OF the
day, aud for this amount of laGur each
workwoman is paid from six to twelve
cents daily. Il ti.i thus be seen that
the women are the sole manufacturers,
that no mechanism or instruments be-
yond frame, shears and CONT arc used
ard that the designs worked from men,
orv. Yet, with such limited means at
their disposal, these skillful workers
contrivc 10 produce the most harmo-
niously colored, and certainly the most
durable, carpets in The world.
We have so far >pSken only Of the
women: the mems share OF the indus
try is TO collect and dye the wool for the
manufacturers. and manage the sale Of
The carpets when completed-tIsks light
enough, compared TO the lrksome labor
OF the females, but quite consistent with
the Oriental notion OF mans superiority
over the less favored sex. The dyes
which by their permanency have given
much OF the celebrity 20 the Turkey
carpet. are mostly produced in the
nelghborhood. Madder roots for the
reds. and yellow berries for the yellow
and orange, are grcwn in the surround
ing districts, and indigo for the blue is
imported from abroad. 1he carpets and
rugs cf Chlordess and koula. the other
two manufacturing towns, are made on
precisely the same principle sid in the
same primitive manner as those OF
Ou>hak, but the work Is Of finer de-
scription, and The cclors livelicr and
more suitable TO the tastes OF American
purchasers than the some hat dark ap-
pearance of the Ou>hak carpets, which
are in almost general Use Tor dining
rooms in England.