The Penn's Grove record., 1886-03-27

linens we go to Scotland; fol
homelylow-grade linens to Ger
many. They who look to ap.
pcarance prefer the Scotch
they who care only for money
and linen prefer the German.
We are speaking roughly OF
linen characteristics by coun-
tries. Every word must be
taken with limitations.
Barnsley is a famous linen
town in England. No work in
all the linen worldstands higher
than Barnsley. No shams in
Barnsley. They are many
linen-weavers and bleachers
there. Not one of them all
has furnished the ancient name.
1t stands for the most substan-
tial virtues of linen-the very
ones to be looked for in sheet
ings. But we have no English
linen sheeting-on Barnsley.
Why not? Too famous. Costs
too much. Costs more than
it's worth. We shouldn't be
making good use ofyour mcney
in buying Barnsley linen sheet
ing.
Flemish beats Barnsley the
minute you look at the costs
of the two.
And French beats Flemish.
If you want to see in a sheet
ing substantial fiber of flax in
almost its natural state, look
at French. The fiber is true,
not overtime; the thread wheth-
er large or small is round and
full; the weaving done by hand
no better or worse for that
is firm and close; the bleach
is a natural bleach. Good flax
to begin with, made at every
stage with a practical homely
skill, and finished not at all,
not even its round threads
pressed to fairness. One must
indeed be hard to please who
isn't satisfied to sleep on good
French sheeting.
Whatof Irish? Extravaganza;
but with a different sort of ex-
travagance from that of Barns
ley. Ireland grows the finest
flax in the world, so far as the
verdi has been tri The
Irish climate does
bleaching better than any Other
climate. Irish oi>lll in every
sort of linen work is ahead OF
other skill. With a single ex-
ception (the sheerest linen
handkerchiefs spun and woven
by hand in France) the finest,
most artistic, most elaborate,
perfect oflincn work is done in
Ireland.
There are splendid damasks
from Dresden, pure in fibre,
exquisitely fine, wrought with
surprising skill and bleached to
perfection. Linen facilities,
science, arts, skill, production,
are growing out of the print
tive stage in all the linen coun-
tries. Ireland aoaS the pioneer;
she IS theleader oflinen luxury.
All the belongings of linen in
dustry grow there more luXur-
iantly than anything else.
We are told, a piano factory
has its habit o~fmaking the parts
Of that delicate instrument
makes them well or i'll; persists
in making just SO we'll or just
so i'll; doesn't change its habit:
resists all effort to change it.
The workmen are schooled to
their tasks. The foremen ex.
act SO much and seem unable
to exact any more. The linen
habit is high in Ireland. All
the traditions of growing and
handling the flax the prepare
tons are perfect machinery
perfect; standards higher than
anywhere else in the world. II
is easy to reach the highest
Projections there.
Such are the sources Of lin
ems by countries. Our buyer
takes them one at a time; is
not bewildered by the variety
he finds there bears in mind
the local influences /; chooses
the characteristic best, now
here, now there. He carries
his wit from country to country
from year to year. He choose,
in Germany better for having
been in Scotland. Next yea
he will choose still better fol
this years experience.
What's the ne. result of hi.
gatherings? You come t.
look at sheetings, which vii
you buy' VIII you choose b,
countries? Partly. You vii
look at French and Scotcl
with two very different eyes
You will look at Irish and asl