Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-02-24
Turkish Carpe,s.

One of the most important industries
OF tbe Ottoman empire, and certaInIv
the chief Industry OF Asia Minor. ALWAYS
excepting agriculture, Is the making OF
carpets. Some OF the factories are now
furnished with looms quite in the Euro
pean manner, but 1t Is not in such fac
tories that these famous fabrics are
chiehy produced; tho peasants in their
mud-house and the pomad Yuruks in
their tents all contribute To the manv
kinds that are made. The annual yalue
Oh the carpets OF Anavolia ap-
proaches 100000; and of these but
small number remain in Tur-
key when compared with those
distributed over Europe and America.
where the demand is constantly
increasing. About three-fourths of
the carpets come TO England (but not
all for home consumption and about
one-sixtb goes TO France. These large
exports keep prices at "A fair level, and in
the best shops OF London and Paris all
kindsof Eastern carpets can be got for
ready money more cheaply than the
casual traveller can buy them on the
spot This applies to the finest old
carpets as well MS TO the new ones; for
even with good and trusty dragoman
one may have TO lose the best part OF a
day haggling for half dozen velvety
mellowed Daghestans with carpet
dealer OF Symrna. Cairo or Alexandria,
and after all be victimized 10 some ex-
tent.
Ooshak, n large village OF artisans
about six days journey doe east from
Smyrna, Is the headquarters OF the
manufacture OF the carpets known TO us
for generations as Turkey carpets"
and in France as "tapis de Smyrne."
The patterns are Turkish, or, rather,
arabesque. At Ooshak there are at full
work hundreds OF the looms called
lesyak, employing about 5000 women,
and turning out about 5000 square
yards OF carpets OF all sizes and quail
ties annually. A carpet OF between
seven and eight yards in length will
employ eight women at once, working
side By side. Their wages are about
eight piasters week, which. il is
calculated, comes TO about one shilling
and nine pence for each yard of carpet
woven. The wood used comes from the
villages round about, and is bought for
about q half.penny a pound in its un-
cleaned state. When washed and
bleached it loses at least one-third of its
weight. The foundation of the carpet
is made OF an inferior wool. and the
whole material of the fabric may cost
about two shillinEs sixpence a yard.
This does not include the dyeiug, which
IL managed by the men, and forms the
chief item of cost The colors that have
so long satisfied our western eyes are
produced tor the most part with mao
der, cochineal and indigo. Madder
root, or alizard, gives the fine old
Turkey red" and 10 largely
grown in Asia Minor; the best roots
cost from four TO five cents a pound.
Cochineal Is imported from England and
France, and, being an expensive dye,
considerably raises the price OF the car.
pets. 1t was not used before the year
| 1856; anterior TO that date m adder alone
was employed for reds, and this fact
gives an epoch for the carpet-fancier
The indigo Is brought from England or
from India. Yellows are got from the
seed Of RhAmnus alAternus. which is
cultivated largely in the eastern parts OF
KAramania and Is getting dearer every
day it now costs one shilling. fourpence
a pound. Other dye, which are i'm
ported from Europe, are used in small
quantities TO obtain the more tender
sints and tone down TO the general effect.
The velvet" carpets which have at.
tained such vogue were not made at
Ooshak till the year l660.-a. James
| 0dseGte.
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