The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1881-07-09
Our Oliu.
The Art of Wood Weaving,

and hundreds of thousands of "hands are
actively and ceaselessly employed. For
miles the high road is bounded by houses,
chiefly onc-storicd wooden buildings, with
roofs of thatch or shingle, where the rattle
of looms may be heard without intermis-
sion from early dawn till late at night.
In some of the towns numberless chin
neys pour forth volumes of black smoke
by day, while by night the windows Of the
factory glow with light as if there was
general illumination.
One of the busiest of these little towns
and villages is Ehrenberg, which lies close
to the Saxon frontier, and is distinguish
ed from the rest by peculiar industry,
which appears to be carried on in only two
other places besides. This is wood weav-
ing, sparterie work as it is called, which
was introduced something over a century
ago by a carpenter named Anton Menzel.
The threads used for weaving are no thick
er than writing paper. and vary in width
from the ffth to the twenty-fith part Of
an inch, The aspen is the only tree whose
wood is Sufficiently tough and pliable to
supply these threads in the required
lengths. The aspen was formerly indigo
nous in Bohemia, but has now almost eu-
,ircly disappeared, or at all events does
not exist IN sufficient quantities to supply
the demand in any degree. Consequently
the raw material for sparterie work has to
be brought from Russian Poland, which IS
both laborious aud expensive process.
The wood merchants 90 10 Poland twice
every year, in the early spring aud ia the
autumn, the only times when the wood
can be cut with advantage, as noae can
be used at once but that 10 which toe sap
has no, We, risen, or from which it has de-
parted. Wood cut during the summer
has 70 lie 10 water for year, otherwisc It
IS red aud useless 1t must be quite free
from knots, as the smallest defect or irreg-
ularisy, such as ordinary persons would
hardly notice, makes the fbres quite unhs
for weaving purposes. Arrived at EhTen-
burg. the wood is planei and divided iato
pieces nearly two and oae half inches vide,
When these have been made perfectly
smooth, they are divided again by al IN
s,rumen, resembling plane, bat furnished
With 4 number of 6ne knife blades, which
marx the wood at regular distances accord
Ing as the s,lips are to be 0ne.tweaty. ffth
or oae-ffth Of an inch ia width. This
process requires the utmost dexteriiy and
aiccty, as i, il absolutely essential that the
dividsr shoald exactly follow the direelioa
Of the hbre, aud for this reason, amone
Others, it must always be doas BY hand.
The dividcr makes incisions one-hlth ot
an inch deep, the wool is thea carefully
planed and comes of in thin paper-liks
s,rips, some Of which are no, wider than
4 stout thread. They are gathered up as
they fal, by women, who examiae them
and pick cut sOy defective pieces, sod, IN
spite Of al the care taken in the selection
and manipulation Of the wood, there is 4
great deal Of waste in the process The
threads or abres, beiag nov ready, must
be tied 10 couples at one eud before they
can be woven. This work Is done by
children, aud in Gutenberg little creatures
Of four years old aud upwards are employ
/ cd al il and earn al day. The weaving i
F done chiefly By women, and 10 looms which
differ considerably from those in ordinary
use, the abres being. as before mentioned
not more than from thirty to tny iuchel
10 length. The long lbres form the warp
the shorter twenty eight to thirsy-tv,
iaehesJ the woof, which Is passed in az,
out BY means Of little instrument viii
an eye like a needle.
Until within the pas, few years, thi
concluded the whole process-ihe ''ioun
dations' as they are called, were complete
and nothing more was done, except that
few hats aud caps we're made Of them bu
these we're Of the very simplest descrip
tion, aud anything but becoming. More
over they we're glued together, whiel
made them very unpleasant to wear in ho
or wet weather, and accordingly they fetch
ed but 15d or - I'd. per. dozen, ant
we're worn only by the very lowest classes
Within the last few years, however, a grea
change for the better has taken place
thanks probably in part to the interes
shown by the Government in the manu-
fac,ure, 10 part to the establishment of a
enterprising firm, and in part, perhaps, t
the fact that the Ehrenbergers have at Ia:
become alive to their own interests. \
present, Ehrenberg sends out not only th
raw material, but ready made goods-lasl
ioDable hats Of all kinds, and variety q
fancy articles skilfully concoeted out q
the wood fabric CdsscWs Family Mag
zine.