Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-09-22
WOMAN INVENTED SPINNING.

animals. Woman did the rest-that is
to say, it is woman and nobody else
who invented every one of the indus
tries necessary to the feeding, clothing
and sheltering of the race. Relics of
implements from the most ancient
times and stone carvings picked up
here and there show this
Professor Otis T. Mason of the Unit
ed States department of ethnology has
written paper giving the evidence
that proves woman to be the founder
Of all the industries of peace and prog
ress.
The race found out as the birds find
out that grains are good for food.
While her men were away engaged in
their normal occupation of fighting,
woman went into the woods or upon
the grassy plains and gathered those
nuts and grains that trial had proved
to be palatable and nourishing Trial
had proved these nuts and grains to
be coated with a husk or shell that did
not taste good. Woman thereupon
cracked them with stones or rubbed
them together to remove the husk. By
and by woiaan found these grains
could be raisel from seeds in ever in
creasing quantities that could be kept
ready to hand and save her time and
trouble. Very good. Thereafter an
nually woman plante these seeds and
tended them and produced 4 crop
Thus was the occupation of the farm
er established
To this day country women in many
places go through the fields gathering
greens for their families, quite I'M
conscious that they are only following
perhaps in the literal footsteps of their
primitive female ancestors of mayhap
a million years ago.
By and by, after the use of fire was
discovered, it was found that grains
tasted better to the masculine palate
if they were roasted. Even then it
did not matter to woman SO they
We're cooked, and woman was the orig
inal baker. One step more. Again. as
always trial proved these grains tast-
ed still better if they were ground fine
and mixed into a palp before baking.
Accordingly woman pulveiized the
grains upon stone till they formed a
meal that could be made into dough.
Thus woman was the original miller,
the inventor of grain grinding
Man, whose business was fighting
and hunting, brought wild beast to
the cave where his womankind We're
and laid it down. The women had al
ready found that skins kept their chill
dren warm, SO they rubbed stones to-
gether till they produced in one an
edge sufficiently sharp to divide the
skin of the slain beast from it's flesh.
They 50 divided it; they discovered
ways to tan and make it soft and
pleasant to the feel. Thus was woman
the first leather maker.
Woman found that the outside COW
ering of certain animals was of kind
that when twisted together made a
long strfng-in other words, it was
wool She twisted threads and pushed
them in and out, over and under one
another into a fabric that could be
made into clothing for her family.
Thus she invented the art of spinning
and weaving How the primitive wo-
man spun and woye may be seen to-
day among some of the remnants of
Indian tribes. BY and by woman
found, too, that certain grasses and
the products of some other plants
could be in like manner spun and
woven. And it should not be forgot
ten that it was woman-a Chinese em-
press, away back in Old Testament
times who invented and perfected the
silk industry
Yet again woman found she could
punch holes in the clothing skins and
push a long thin thong through these
holes in and out and fasten the ends
of it. Hence the art of sewing and the
invention of needles.
One need not go further 1t is sci
entifcally established fact that woman
is the founder of human industries and
of the arts Of peace When man fought
himself all out, grown bold, fierce and
aggressive through ages Of conflict. he
simply turned against woman herself.
by nature creature of peace. and took
from her her own work that she had
invented, drove her out and declared 1t
was "mens work"
SUSAN PEPPER.