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 a wheel—Loom—Mode of weaving—Forbes's description—Habits and remuneration of Spinners, Weavers, &c.—Factories of the East India Company—Marvellous skill of the Indian workman accounted for—Mills's testimony—Principal Cotton fabrics of India, and where made—Indian commerce in Cotton goods—Alarm created in the woollen and silk manufacturing districts of Great Britain—Extracts from publications of the day—Testimony of Daniel De Foe (Author of Robinson Crusoe.)—Indian fabrics prohibited in England, and most other countries of Europe—Petition from Calcutta merchants—Present condition of the City of Dacca—Mode of spinning fine yarns—Tables showing the comparative prices of Dacca and British manufactured goods of the same quality     333

PART FOURTH.

ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE LINEN MANUFACTURE.

CHAPTER I.

FLAX.

CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF FLAX BY THE ANCIENTS—ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES, ETC.

Earliest mention of Flax—Linen manufactures of the Egyptians—Linen worn by the priests of Isis—Flax grown extensively in Egypt—Flax gathering—Envelopes of Linen found on Egyptian mummies—Examination of mummy-cloth—Proved to be Linen—Flax still grown in Egypt—Explanation of terms—Byssus—Reply to J. R. Forster—Hebrew and Egyptian terms—Flax in North Africa, Colchis, Babylonia—Flax cultivated in Palestine—Terms for flax and tow—Cultivation of Flax in Palestine and Asia Minor—In Elis, Etruria, Cisalpine Gaul, Campania, Spain—Flax of Germany, of the Atrebates, and of the Franks—Progressive use of linen among the Greeks and Romans     358

CHAPTER II.

HEMP.

Cultivation and Uses of Hemp by the Ancients—Its use limited—Thrace Colchis—Caria—Etymology of Hemp     387

CHAPTER III.

ASBESTOS.

Uses of Asbestos—Carpasian flax—Still found in Cyprus—Used in funerals—Asbestine-cloth—How manufactured—Asbestos used for fraud and superstition by the Romish monks—Relic at Monte Casino     390