New Britain herald., 1922-08-14
CASSEMERESCOME
 BACK INTO STYLE
Clothing Men Debate Use of Ma
 terial for Boys Clothing

Washington. D. c. August IT,
 Clothing manufacturers dlscussing the possibility of the use of cassemeres for making boys clothing for the spring of 1928, and the girl of today, draping about her slim shoulders deep fringed scarfs after the fashion Of her great grandmother Of hun dred years ago. are both marking back to the time when Kashmir, one Of the TOO native state Of India, had developed an industry in the produc- ton of fine wooden fabrics and kash- mir shawl&' says q bulletin of the National Geographic society issued from its Washington, D. c. headquar- CTS.
 When the Aryan youth of that land of beauty sang beside the Sali- mar gardens in Srinagar of the pale hands he lover. the object of his af- fections probably had draped about her own youthful shoulders one of those products of the weavers' art which put Kashmir on the map, or at least made 1t synonymous in our minds with woolen fabrics of the softest and finest texture.
 From Land of "Lalla RooklI''
 Always kashmir has been famed for its beauty since Sir Thomas Moore wrote the lifting lines of his sugar. coated romance, Lalia Rookh,' and probably long before. Srinagar. its capital stretches out picturesquely in the fertile vale of Kashmir along both sides of the river Jhelum, the whole of the country itself lying in the foothills of the Himalayas.
 Back in the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, when that temporarily de- voted husband was looking for rare gifts to please the fancy of his charm ing and gracious wife. he bought one of the most beautiful of the shawls for her. and from that time on the kashmir shawls ran a long and bril- liant course al the court of fickle fash ion and Sringar developed an indus try which kept the shuttle flying through 1e,0o0 looms in the state.
 Brought Here By Whalers.
 About the same time, American whalers and sailing vessels that were blowing the Pacific, exploring. nam- ing and remaining islands in the South seas, made their way into the parts of India in order that the !, women waiting at home for the well come sign of sail might add to4.heir collections of treasure one of those prized light wraps which have be- come renowned for the glowing har- irony. depth and enduring qualities of , It's brilliant colors.
 "One of the most beautiful of the elaborate designs was the cone pat tern: another general favorite being the ring shawl. which. though not at all transparent, is so soft that 1t can easily be drawn through a finger ring. Fortunate indeed was the woman who happened to possess one laden with the delicate embroidery which made them so handsome and so costly
 War Sealed Their Doom.
 "The production of shawls in Rash mir, however has fallen off within the last twenty-five or thirty years and Is almost non- existent today. The Franco-Prussian war sealed their doom, and the famine in India during 1S77-79 played havoc among the weavers. It is said that if it were not for the fact that according to the treaty between the State of Rash mir and the British government six pairs of shawls of fine quality must be paid yearly, probably even the knowledge of the art itself would die put among the natives, though it has been practiced since the days of the Emperor Baber. the first of the great Moguls. who ruled India in the early part of the sixteenth century In those days and for centuries after ward the beautiful shawl woven and by the kashmiri maiden \ was the chief object in the dowry she brought her husband. . Not Made of Shcep's Wool. ''The queer part of the story is that