Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/740

 716 WOOL (MANUFACTURES OF) The exports to the United Statea comprised : ARTICLES. 1873. 1874. 1875. Woollen cloths, coat- ings, Ac 951,617 768708 761,494 Worsted stuffs. Carpets WMH MMM 2,S(MI.T84 NMH 2,276,165 857 691 Total... ,.V.-"-'. 1 -'I 4,287,778 8.896,840 The woollen manufactures of Franco were of inferior quality and unimportant in amount until the period immediately following the edict of Nantes, 1598, and the further accession of cloth workers from Spain in consequence of the intolerance of Philip III. The first marked impulse, however, was given to the business through the exertions of Colbert, who induced Van Robais of Holland to undertake the man- ufacture at Abbeville; and to this establish- ments at Louviers and elsewhere soon suc- ceeded. The progress of the manufacture was still slow and unequal, although these have from the first, with but brief intervals, been sustained by duties on foreign cloths amount- ing nearly to prohibition. About the middle of the 18th century the woollen manufactures became more firmly established, and the best French cloths are in quality and durability sur- passed by those of no other nation, unless it may bo the German. The chief centres of manufacture are: for cloths of all sorts, El- beuf; for fine black cloths and fancy fabrics, Sedan and Louvicrs; for common cloths, &c., Vienne, Nancy, Orleans, and Carcassonne, be- sides Metz, which now belongs to Germany; and for worsted and mixed goods, Rheims and Limoges. The total exports of woollen man- ufactures in 1872 were valued at 290,500,000 francs. The policy of England toward the American colonies, so long as they remained subject to her control, was directly intended to discourage and repress manufactures of all kinds, those of woollen goods included. The actual result was that the domestic manufac- ture of coarser or " home-made " cloths became very widely spread and considerable ; and the importations of foreign cloths were propor- tionally small. A society organized within the present state of New York, in 1765, repudiated foreign cloths, and adopted various measures for increasing the home manufacture, even to rules requiring that the flesh of sheep and lambs should not bo eaten, nor the animals* slaughtered. The supply of wool appears to have been large, and it was mostly worked up and disposed of within the colonies. Many thousands of weavers and cloth workers are said to have come over about the year 1774. The report of Alexander Hamilton on manu- factures, in 1791, speaks of a mill for cloths and cassimeres as in operation at Hartford, Conn., but conveys a doubt whether American wool was suitable for fine cloths. The census of 1810, without making it evident that there was within the state at the time a single wool- len manufactory, gives for New York the num- ber of looms (largely in private hands) as 83,- 068, with 413 carding machines, 427 fulling mills, and 26 cotton manufactories. The fol- lowing is a view of the various products of do- mestic manufactures for the state according to the same returns : ARTICLES MADE IN FAMILIES. Woollen goods Cotton " Flaxen " Tow cloths Mixed and other stuffs. 8,257,812 216,018 21,721 180,659 69,124 2,014,741 6,516 63,280 The total value of woollen manufactures for the United States in the same year was esti- mated at $25,608,788. From this time the do- mestic manufacture seems to have fallen off rapidly, and the succeeding census returns must be taken as indicating mainly the pro- duction of factories. The total value of wool- len goods returned in 1820 was $4,413,068 ; in 1830, $14,528,166; in 1840, $20,696,999; in 1850, $43,207,545. Until 1840 a very great proportion of the cloths imported were of Eng- lish make ; since that time the superior dye and finish of French and German cloths have led to their importation to an extent relatively much greater than before. The estimated value of woollen goods (worsteds included) imported into the United States, though fluctu- ating considerably in the intervening years, was in 1821, $7,437,737; in 1881, $12,627,- 229; in 1841, $11,001,989; in 1851, $19,507,- 309; and in 1861, $28,487,166. The latest statistics of the manufactures of wool in the United States are those of the census of 1870. The extent of the industry, including woollen goods, worsted goods, hosiery, and carpets oth- er than rag, was as follows for I860 and 1870 : PARTICULARS. ISM. 1870. Establishments, number 1,678 69,522 $42.849,!a2 $18,861,602 ! 85,684,146 21,140,408 8,458 119,850 $182,8s2.819 $40,857,285 1 178,8>9.U69 } 46,581.105 82.478,680 19,574,261 $134.154,615 $217,668,826 Capital Invested Wages paid Wool used, domestic, Ibs Cotton used. Ibs Value of all materials $46,649,866 $80,784,606 The particulars of the different branches are shown in the following statements: WOOLLEN GOODS. PARTICULARS. I860. 1870. Establishments, number 1,260 8,891 BBJN 59882 Machines : Cards, sets 8,209 6,866 Dally capacity in carded wool, Ibs -:,; W2 14,089 Narrow " u 20,144 Spindles, " 1,845 496 Hands employed 41,860 80,058 Capital invested $80,662,654 Wages paid during the year $9,610,254 $26,877,575
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