Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 10.djvu/664

Rh 646 heads separately noted below. With respect to many of them it ' is a matter of regret that no trustworthy source of specific inforiiia- tion exists; and thus the origin, vicissitudes, and progress of really important trades can only be recorded in vague and general terms. .’l'e.ctilc 1na2n(ﬁ1etm'cs.—'l‘ he industries embraced under this head were the first which gave Glasgow a place among the great nianufaeturing eoninninities; but though. through many changes and fluctuations, they continue to yield ext.-nsive employment, they . now occupy a coniparativel_v secondary position. In the cotton trade, which originated about 1780, Glasgow possesses several factories which are reckoned among the largest in the trade; the industry has, however, for a number of years been in a stationary if not declining condition. The manufacture of light textures has always been the leading feature of the Glasgow tradc,—plaiii, striped, and ﬁnured muslins, ginghains, and fancy fabrics forming the staple. T cad manufacture, although spccially a Paisley industry, is also _ extensively prosecuted in Glasgow. According to a return obtained in 1875 the whole cotton industry of Scotland afforded employment to 33,276 individuals, and excepting about 10 per cent. it was entirely centred in Glasgow and the surrounding district. Jute and silk are staples worked only to an inconsiderablc extent in Glasgow, though about a century ago the manufacture of silk gauze flourished extensively, and has left traces of its former importance to the present day. The most characteristic of woollen and worsted niaii1i- factures is carpet weaving, all the leading kinds of carpets being ex- tensively made, and the “ tapestry ” curtains and portieres made by several firins ai'e examples of highly artistic woollen fabrics. I}lcachz'ng, Printi'n_'la and D_2/ci'ng.—Thesc allied industries took root in the Glasgow district at an earlier period than that of their introduction into the rival regions of Laiicasliire, calico-printing having been begun ncar Glasgow in 1738. The use of chlorine in bleaching was first introduced in Great Britain at Glasgow in 1787, on the suggestion of the illustrious James Watt, by his father-iu- law, a local bleaclier ; and it was a Glasgow bleacher——Cliarlcs Tennant——who first made and introduced bleaching powder (chloride of lime). The dyeing of Turkey red was begun as a British industry at Glasgow by two eminent eitizeiis—David Dale and George II‘Intosh—and that unequalled colour was long locally known as Dale's red. All these industries continue to hold a fore- most plaee in Glasgow, a large amount of grey cloth being sent from the Lancasliire looms to be bleached and printed in the Scotch works. In particular Turkey red dyeing and printing have developed to an extent unequalled in any other inanufacturinrr centre. Chemical Jlanzq‘act1Ircs.—'I‘lie operations of bleacliing and calico- printing in the early part of last century gave rise to such chemical 1naiiufacturcs—the preparation of dye liquors, &c.—as these in- dustries demand. The discovery of bleaching powder by Charles Tennant in 1799 led directly to the deve.lopiiieiit of the great chemi- cal works of C. Tennant & Co. at St Rollex and its various branches, and gave the ﬂrst great impetus to chemical manufactures in Glasgow. Among the prominent chemical industries are to be reckoned the alkali tr-ades—includiiig soda, bleaching powder, and soap-making—the preparation of ahim and prussiates of potash, bichromate of potash manufacture (an industry peculiarly identified with Glasgow), the extraction of iodine and other products from sea-weeds, dynamite and gun-powder manufacture, the making of flint glass, bottle glass, paper, white-lead and other pigments, and brewing and the distillation of spirits. The numerous chemical preparations used in the bleaching and ca.lico-printing ti-adcs are also among the local manufactures, as well as the pic-paration of starch, British gum, and dextriiie, and the manufacture of lucifer matches. Iron Jlunufaclure and other Jlctallui-gical Iiulush-ics.—Althougli the blast furnaces of Scotland are distributed over several of the midland counties, the great proportion of them are in Lanark- shire and Ayrshire, and the trade is entirely controlled and practi- cally monopolized in Glasgow. The discovery of the value of blackband ironstone by Mushet and the invention of the hot-blast by Neilson were two events which exercised a wonderful influence on the development of iron smelting in Scotland. So rapid was the expansion of the industry during the earlier half of this century that in 1859 one-third of the whole iron produced in the United lungdom was Scotch. For 20 years past the trade has shown little elasticity, the annual production averaging about a million of tons of pig iron,—the maximum output having been reached in 1870, when 1,206,000 tons were smelted. In 1877 of a total of 152 furnaces existing there were 109 in blast, and of the whole _131 were situated in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, 102 of these being in operation. The entire output of pig iron in that year was 982,000 tons, while in 1878 from 90 furnaces in blast the production is estimated at 902,000 tons. The number of malleable iron works in Glasgow and its neighbourhood is 22, having had during 1877 345 puddling furnaces and 53 rolling mills in operation. Mild steel is manufactured on an extensive scale by the Siemens-Martin pro- cess, and a small amount of crucible cast steel is also made. Other metallurgical industries include the extraction of co iper by Henderson's wet process, and a limited amount of zinc smelting. Engineering.-—With abundance of iron and coal, and great GL.-SGOV facilities of both land ainl water carriage, it is only to be expected that mechanical engineering should be carried on in Glasgow with pcciiliareiicrgy and success. Almost all departments of engineering work are well represented in the district; and among the special features of the industries may be eiiumerated the great water and gas pipe casting establishments, sanitary and general iron-foniidiiig, malleable Il‘Ol1 tube making, locomotive engine building, the manu- facture of sugar machinery and of sewing niaeliiiies,—two great establislimcnts on the model of Aincricaii factories for the latter trade being coiidncted by the Singer and the llowe Machine Coni- paiiics respectively. The marine engineering works of the Clyde- which in many instances are worked in direct connexion with shipbuilding yards—are equipped on a scale worthy of the great industry of which they form an important part ; and few establish- nieiits exist in any other quarter capable of prodiieiii g the enormous forgiiigs for propeller shafts, &c., of ocean steaiuers, which form a regular item in the undertakings of Glasgow engineering firins. Sleipbztilcliiig is the greatest of all the modern industries of Glas- gow, aiid the position attained by the shipbnilders of the (‘lyde is a matter of imperial consequence and national pride. The sliip— buildiiig yards of the Clyde extend from ltutlicrgleii above Glasgow to Greenoek,—Duiiibarton, Port Glasgow, and Grcciiock having an important stake in the industry. In some years about half the total tonnage built in the United Kingdom has bcen l-aunched from the Clyde yanls, as is shown by the following statement :— yis-7i.| 1572. 1373. 1874. 1875. Tonnage laiinched, )_ ‘I96 .,.,9 '.,..0 3,7 Clyde ............. .. pi “" '7" ' Tonnage launched.) n .. .. United Kingdom I |"m‘05S lid" 13 me. | Is77. 232,926 262,430 211,482 174,824 169,383 453,543 603,867 472,058 378,020 [$30,963 During the year 1878 the tonnage launched on the C-lyde from the yards of 35 ditt'ercnt firms amounted to 222,353 tons, one vessel, the “ Gallia,” built for the Cunard Company, being of 5200 tons burthen,——a tonnage, however, which has been exceeded by the Guion steanier “Arizona ” (5500 tons), launched in 1879. The work turned out is very diversiﬁed, but as a rule of the highest class, and includes arinoiir-plated and other vessels for the h'oyal Navy, mail and passenger ocean steamers for the great Transatlantic and other lines, river stcaniboats faiuous throughout the world for swiftness and elegance of appointments, iiicrcliant sailing vessels, dredging plant, and hopper barges. With the exception of a very insignificant proportion of wooden vessels, the whole of the shipping built on the Clyde is of iron and steel, the latter having recently been introduced with great success. The shipbuilding trade in Glasgow indeed owes its extraordinary expansion almost entirely to the rapid supplaiiting of wood by iron as a. building material. Twenty yeais ago, in 1859, the tonnage launchcd measured only 35,709 tons, from which amount, by rapid strides, it reached in 1863 a total of 123,262 tons, and in 1874 the inaxiinuin aiuount of 262,430 tons was ﬂoated off. CO.[.[EP.CE.——FOl‘ a ce.ntury past the re.cords of the Clyde N avi- gation Trust indicate that the trade of Glasgow, so far as regards shipping, liasprogressed, with few and unimportant fluctuations, with steady rapidity. In 1778 the annual revenue of the Clyde Trust was £1733; in 1828 it amounted to £17,669, a tenfold increase in 50 years; and in 1878 the total amounted to £217,100. Of Course thesc ﬁgures do not necessarily indicate a corresponding expansion of shipping trade, though they probably hear a close rcla.tioii to the comparative value of cargoes carried. In the year 1828 the tonnage. of vessels of all kinds wliie.li arrived in the harbour of Glasgow was 696,261, the sailing vessels having numbered 4-105 of 214,315 tons, and the steaincrs 7100 of 481,946 tons. For the year ending 30th June 1878 the arrivals of sailing ships numbered 2727, with 457,290 tons capacity, andofsteamcis there were 13,210, the tonnage of which amounted 2,154,733 tons,—in all 15,937 arrivals with a gross tonnage of 2,612,023 tons, being the greatest amount on record. In that year the weight of goods imported from abroad was 658,319 tons ; and coastwise 586,576 tons were landed at Glasgow, making in all 1,244,895 tons. The foreign imports consisted in largest measure of Indian corn, wheat, flour, and other food substances, with timber, pyrites, iron ore, and sulphur, the coasting arrivals contain- ing principally limestone, iron, cement, potter’s clay, salt, timber, and food stuffs. The goods shipped to foreign ports amounted to 712,249 tons, and coastwise 603,374 tons left Glasgow, making in all 1,315,623 tons. The principal exports were coal, iron, east pipes, chairs and other railway iron, chemical manufactures, and general machinery, with malt liquors and spirits ; and in the coasting trade the leading articles were of a similar general description. The great bulk of the foreign trade is with New York and Canadian ports, India, France, Spain, and Belgium; and coasting trafﬁe beyond the Clyde estuary is directed principally to Liverpool, Belfast, Dublin, Londondcrry, Waterford, Bristol, and London; but there are few commercial ports throughout the world which have not more or less direct trading communication with the port and harbour of Glasgow. (J. ‘H. S.——J. PA.)