Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/46

 M GLOUCESTERSHIKK increased. The city is probably of British origin. It became a Roman station under the name of C'.-Ioma (ilevuro, and under Claudius received the name of Claudia Castra. The Saxon* called it Gleau-ceaster, and it flourished during the heptarchy. In the 17th century it was strong fortified, and took a conspicuous part against the royalists. The bishopric of rter was instituted by Henry VIJl., and was joined to Bristol in 1886. UOHI.MI.KMIIHK. a S. V. county of Eng- .r.U-rinir n Worcestershire, Warwick- 'xtor.lshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Somer- tu-t -shire Monmouthshire, and Herefordshire; area, 1.258 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 534,320. It is trav,-rse<l from N. E. to S. W. by the Cots- wold hills, which separate the basin of the Severn from that of the Thames. The district between these hills and the Severn comprises the vales of Evesham (principally in Worcester- shire), Gloucester, and Berkeley, of surpassing beauty and richness. Beyond the Severn the greater part of the county is under forest, more than 20,000 acres of which still belong to the crown ; it is called the forest of Dean, and was once the principal source of supply of timber f..r the English navy. The chief rivers are the Severn, Wye, Lower Avon, Frorae, Thames, Colne, and Windrush. This county, having ex- tensive and exceedingly rich natural pastures, has long been famous for its butter and cheese. The celebrated double and single Gloucester cheese is principally produced in the Berkeley vale. Large numbers of sheep are reared on the Cotswold hills and in the forest region, the latter being also noted for its orchards and the excellence of its cider and perry. Coal exists
 * it abundance ; lead, sulphuret of iron,

oxide of zinc, limestone, coral, quartz crystals, celebrated as Bristol diamonds, and gypsum, are also found. The manufactures are wool- lens, cottons, silks, hosiery, hats, tick, hardware, glass, paper, and carpets. Capitals, Gloucester and Bristol ; other chief towns, Cheltenham, Cirencester, Stnmd, and Tewkesbury. U.ol. .-uvi-ring for the hand (sometimes extending up the arm), with a separate sheath for each finger. Gloves are spoken of by Ho- mer as worn by Laertes to protect his hands while working in the garden. Xenophon speaks of Cyrus goinjr without his gloves. The cus- tom of giving a glove as a pledge in conclu- ding a contract is very ancient, and from this is supposed to have ln--n d.-rived the later custom of throw inir down a glove as a challenge, which posite party accepted by picking up the glove and throwing down his own. This is traced in Kn-hmd as tar back as the year 1245. In the middle ages gloves were an ob- ject of special regard ; they were made in the ni"-1 OOflUJ in:i!iM.-r. "Hi. tin. nt.-d ith |,iv<-iny ot Inflowing lands and li^tiiti.-s. aii'l ] privation of gloves was a sign Of degradation. It was h-r glove which the GLOVE lady gave her faithful knight to wear in his helmet as a pledge of her favor. Down to the present time curious ceremonies have been associated with gloves, as the custom in some parts of Europe of taking them off when enter- ing the stable of a prince or a great man, or else forfeiting them or their value to the ser- vants. In hunting, the same ceremony must be performed under the same penalty at the death of the stag. Glove money is a term of ancient use, meaning money given to servants to buy gloves. Embroidered gloves were first made in England in 1580, and the custom of presenting them to judges at maiden assizes is still continued. Presenting a pair of gloves for any favor rendered is a very old custom. Gloves are made of a variety of materials. In cold regions they are of the warmest wool, or of the skins of animals with the fur on the outside. Thick buckskin, often lined with soft woollen, is also used, but in more moderate climes lighter qualities of leather, to the softest kid, are employed, and also worsted, cotton, and silk. The preparations of caoutchouc are ap- plied to the same purpose, chiefly for the pro- tection of ladies' hands in rough work, such as gardening. The art of glove making is car- ried to its highest perfection in the manu- facture of kid gloves by the French, being one of the most important industries of the country. The English, who make excellent gloves of heavier varieties of leather, largely import the best Parisian gloves. Woodstock and Worcester are celebrated for their fine leather glove manufactories, and kid and other gloves are also extensively made in London, Yeoville, Ludlow, and Leominster, generally, for the best qualities, of skins imported from France and Italy. Most of the cheaper kinds of so-called kid gloves are made from lamb, rat, and other thin skins. Sheepskin gloves, generally white, are made for the army. In 1871 England began to import opossum skins from Australia for glove making. Many first- class real kid gloves are manufactured in Lon- don, but they are generally sold as French. Great skill is required for the cutting of the skins to the best advantage; this process is performed with a pair of scissors after stretch- ing and rubbing the skin upon a marble slab with a blunt knife. A skin is first cut longi- tudinally through the middle, and the single strip for the palm and back is next cut off from one end of the half skin. The pieces for the thumb, the gussets for the fingers, and other small pieces to be inserted, must all be worked out either from the same skin or from others precisely similar. The nearly square piece cut off is folded over upon itself, giving a little more width for the side designed for the back of the hand ; and upon this oblong double strip the workman, measuring with his eye and finger, marks out the length for the clefts between the fingers, which he proceeds to cut and shape. Making the hole for the thumb requires the greatest skill, for a very slight deviation from