COTTON FIBRES AND FABRICS. 163 



which is high-priced, the manufacturers make large use now of the 

 wretched cottons of India, which are cheap, but which make a weak 

 texture, mere cobweb. An appearance of firmness is given to these 

 worthless fabrics by a liberal use of sizing, which deceives the eye ; 

 but, apply a little lye-water, and the material will be found to be mere 

 lint. 



The evil consequences flowing from the false principles which 

 govern the manufacture of cotton are enormous, and it is time to apply 

 a remedy. If Europe goes on thus, ever giving, and receiving from the 

 United States nothing in return, our material prosperity will soon be 

 at an end. The ladies of Austria would appear to stand alone in justly 

 appreciating this danger, and have resolved to eschew cotton fabrics, 

 and use linen in place of muslin. Let Europe follow their example ; 

 let muslin be banished from our households, and the immediate result 

 will be, that Europe will stand at the head of civilized nations. 



As it is at present carried on, the cotton industry is the oppro- 

 brium of humanity and the curse of Europe. Why is it that this 

 manufacture has come to be regarded as a prime necessity of the civil- 

 ized world ? Simply because fashion has backed it, and preached it 

 up : and fashion i* a puwer before which we all bow in submission. 



"When Indian tapestries and those admirable Mosul textures were 

 first imported into Europe, there arose a universal demand for them, 

 nor could all the looms of the East furnish the supply required. In 

 time the raw material was brought hither, and we spun and wove it by 

 hand ; we printed and dyed it. At first no evil consequences flowed 

 from the new industry, because cotton goods, being yet too costly to be 

 used by the poor, were bought only by the rich, who found them really 

 cheap, on account of their great durability. It was only at the begin- 

 ning of the present century that we first experienced the evils of which 

 we here speak. Then it was that the invention of machinery for the 

 manufacture of the raw material enabled cotton to drive all other tex- 

 tile fabrics out of the market, and forced on Europe the most deplora- 

 ble of economies. 



But our eyes are at last opened to see the calamities which threaten 

 us, and there is now very little danger that this industry will expand 

 any further. It has owed its past prosperity to frauds of the most 

 consummate nature, and now it is undergoing a crisis which cannot 

 fail to turn to the advantage of other textures, and from which it is not 

 likely to recover. We have reason to rejoice at the fall of King 

 Cotton ; and now let us keep for Europe all its own resources, by pur- 

 chasing only fabrics of hemp and flax, wool and silk, instead of muslin ; 

 thus shall we give a mighty impetus to home agriculture and home in- 

 dustry. 



For certain purposes, however, cotton cloth is indispensable ; thus 

 printed fabrics will ever be of cotton, for no other textile fibre takes 

 colors so well. This is due to the fact that cotton-fibre is flat, while 



