The evening times., 1899-01-18

CARPET INDUSTRIES
RIEALING SMYRNA
sILEsIA AS A COMPETITOR
Prussian Woven Materials Making
Advances IHoD the Ear-Famed
Products of Asia.


The manufacture of carpets is rapidly
The carpet is an imitation of the Smyrna
article and sells for considerably less than
the genuine. Consul Erdman. al Breslau,
has written an interesting letter TO the
State Department. giving description Of
the manner in which it is made. He says:
The threads are twisted from German
and foreign wool: various woods are used
to find the right combination of strength
and smoothness. Artificial wool is added
to the inferior kinds, and the cheapest
qualities are made entirely from the latter
material. The wool of which the thread
Is 10 be made is first placed upon ma
chine called the wolf or devil. by
which II is torn 10 small pieces. II now
proceeds 10 another machine called the
'krempel or 'carding bench which
further completes the work of tearing At
the lower end of this carding bench
kind of drum is located. around which the
thick smooth wool finally gathers. to be
afterward taken 10 the weaving room
Here the wool is twisted by machine in
10 a Two three OF four ply thread accord
ing 10 requirement. This thread is now
taken 10 the dyeing room. where it under
goes a good washing 10 clean il from all
dirty and oily substances. Only real 0ri-
entail colors are used in this process. The
coiored threads are then cut into small
lengths of about lis inches each to form
the material for single loops. These loops
are sorted by color into small wooden
boxes and these are handed over to a fe-
male laborer called 'Knupferin.'
The production of the carpet now com
mences. The looms in use consist of two
side parts connected by iron or wooden
bars. The looms have two fronts so that
work may be carried on on both sides at
the same time. The smallest looms meas
ure @H.31 inches the largest up TO 49, feet
The number of the working women de-
pends upon the size of the carpet to be
made
Clever and intelligent workers fire.
quently undertake to manage double space
All the girls sit in one row or line and
work simultaneously. The top of the loom
contains The chain thread of linen or jute
while at the bottom OF the receptacle
namely, drum for rolling up
the finished article is TO be
found. The chain threads are fixed
midway between top and bottom OF the
loom and serve for binding or for the con-
struction OF the carpet. They are passed
through the shuttle and afterwards twist
ed round an iron bar. After this. the chain
IS ughtened and seam made, upon which
the first row of loops is fixed. AS soon
as row of loops has been finished across
the whole width. thick end thread of jute
is passed across twice. After each passing
the chain threads are allowed TO cross each
other, so that they form a firm weave
Another row of loops is then tied and the
edge formed. and so on.
The working girls are seated on low
wooden stools. having al the height of
their heads The pattern of the carpet be-
fore them, which they have to copy Each
has al her side the above mentioned wood
en- boxes, containing loops of various col
ors. The girl starts with the first square
al the left-han6 side at the bottom row
and continues tying 10 the right as far as
her space allows il. The loose wool and
the dirt is removed and the carpet well
beaten on the back TO loosen the weaving
which has become hard during the process
Of manufacture. Next the shearing ma
chine clips the top five or six times. until
a smooth plush-like surface is produced
whereupon the seams are renewed and
false loops replaced by others. and the car
pet is ready for use
The work is entirely done by piece
and clever, industrious girl naturally
earns more than one less capable The
average wage for a girl amounts to &c
cents day but the best workers earn as
much as Il cents.
There are about I50 hands employed at
Schmiedeberg. and 1852 carpets of various
colors and size are turned out during
year.
The material used per year consists of
205,365 pounds of wool thread, S4.367
pounds of jute and ?, 100 pounds of linen.
THE carpets are such a good imitation
OF Smyrna goods that it really takes an ex-
pert TO distinguish them from the genu-
Inc They are also great deal cheaper
than the Smyrna carpets. and there is
naturally large market for them through
out Germany. They are exported to Aus