Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-11-12
THE STROUD INDUSTRY.
Enormous Proportions Go Which It Has
 Grown Within 3 FeW Years.

Enormous Proportions to Which It Hns Grown Within 8 Few Years. In the past five years, says the Philadel. phia Times, the shroud industry in this city has grown to enormous proportions, and this dress ot the dead, while it has become unpopular with some, has grown steadily in favor with others. The reason for the great increase in the business is on account of the steady growth of the population, and be- cause the bigger the population the bigger the death rate.
 It used to be that shrouds were made al- most entirely by layers-out of the dead and poor women, who made @ regular business of 1t and worked early and late, according to the number of orders they had. Shrouds were then made at short notice, because after the person died there wasn't much time to design and make the shroud and women worked all night to fill their orders. Nowadays there are very few professional shroud-makers in this city. These few arc mostly women, who work regularly for some particular undertaken, but they don't make much. A shroud-maker said that she used to have nice income from her business, but that the big undertakers' supply stores had ruined the business for the shroud- makers about town, because they can mako the shrouds for Q great deal less money.
 
 at the time. "This is for an old Quaker lady" she said, "who died yesterday. I must finish it before I go to sleep. What business get now is almost entirely for dressing old persons, principally women. It used to be that nearly every body was buried In shrouds, and that isn't more than half a dozen years ago."
 A prominent undertaken, who has what is known in the business as tony trade,' '' said: "l don't suppose have used moro than half dozen shrouds year. With my class Of trade the custom is dying out. The people l bury are nearly all cared for in their sickness by professional nurses, who have become as thick as hops in this city. Nearly every physician has a list of a dozen men or women he can recommend We'll. the professional nurses in the past five years have got to preparing the dead for burial, and they can dress a corpse just as well as they can live person. My custom CTS prefer to have their relatives buried in either the clothes they wore in life or a similar suit. great many people bury now are buried In their dress suits that they have worn at weddings, receptions balls or banquets- It takes two persons to dress body, but it is done easily nowadays. rive or Six years ago it was looked upon as almost an impossibility, and up to that time nearly every body was burled in shrouds. For niy part, like to see person prepared for the grave to look as natural as they did in life, and they certainly don't look like themselves if they are attired in shroud !"
 The biggest undertafers' supply store in the country is in this city, where there are ooo styles of shrouds to choose from, rang ing in prices from t175 down to s1O Each sample shroud is marked with tag show ing the price and is numbered In big book each number is accompanied bv a detailed description of the quality of the materials used and the style. Most of these sample shrouds are duplicated in stock, so that an undertaken can take his customer to the supply store and pick out the style and take it right off If the sample isn't in stock the supply store can make it up in a 1lffy, for they employ a large number of per1ons to make them. The shroud-makers are very happy, and sing and joke and laugh over their work as much as if they were trimming bonnets. There are shroud designers in the factory whose brains are busy all the time thinking out new styles. There are more styles of dress for the dead than there are for the living. This big supply store sends out hundreds of shrouds every week. They are shipped all over the country and arc ordered from plate engrav- lngs showing the style and the price, with an appended description of the material. some Of the undertal1ers keep shrouds in stock, but most of them buy them as they arc ordered