A PRIMITIVE WEAVING FllAME. 



493 



Each of th(>sc spcH-iineius i.s cjirved out of a single piece of wood, and 

 in each one the framework above and Ixdow i.s iniu-li thicker than the 

 healdn. Fi*;-. 4 has eigiiteen healds in all and seventeen lonj^- slits 

 between them. 1'he specimen is 8 inches long and 5i wide. The 

 uprio-ht hars are whittled into a roundish shape, so as to present no 

 shiirp corners to the woi'k. The to}) of the framework is carved out 

 into the form of a ring used both in handling the apparatus and for 

 suspending it when out of use. In tig. 5 the upper and lower margins 

 are cylindrical in form, like the back of a comb, the middle parts cor- 

 responding to the teeth. In outline 

 this example is nearly square, being 

 about 5i inches broad and high. 

 Accompanying this specimen of 

 Consul-General Crawford's was a 

 shuttle for carrying the weft. It is 

 a thin piece of wood, parallel-sided, 

 except a slight constriction at the 

 middle, with a wide notch at either 

 end for holding the weft filament; 

 the edges are sharpened for driving 

 homo the lay. It also has a perfora- 

 tion through one end for the pur- 

 pose of suspension. 



With these frames were a num- 

 ber of belts and garters woven in 

 such apparatus, which exhibit in 

 their patterns the manner of produc- 

 ing diaper effects on the surface. 

 In plain weaving, it will be recalled, 

 the shuttle is passed backward and 

 forward on the "shed'"' produced 

 by the vertical motion of the heddle, and as soon as the weft is passed 

 the sRuttle becomes a batten for driving it home. But whenever the 

 weaver desires to produce other effects than plain weaving, it is neces- 

 sary to count off' from the upper threads at each excursion of the 

 shuttle such numbers of warps as are necessary, and to use a ]>atten 

 stick or her fingers in forming the secondary ""shed" and in driving 

 home the weft. This custom also appears in other places, to be men- 

 tioned farther on. In each instance, the patterns on Plate 2 are in 

 pairs, showing the two sides of the fabric and the effects of the special 

 secondary treatment of the warp b}^ counting. There is thus to be 

 seen in these patterns a good example of primitive arithmetic (Plate 2). 

 Attention is especially called to the fact that along with this type of 

 heddle in the Crawford collection there came a loom for weaving 



Fig. 4. 



HEDDLE FROM HELSINGFORS, FINLAND. 

 Cat. No. 1678:i9, U.S.N.M. Collected by Consul- 

 General John M. Crawford. 



