776 SHEATHING OF SHIPS 



dealers in Paris, Lyons, Bordeaux, &c., is so great that they work for close profits, and 

 first-class shawls may be bought in Paris or in London for 2,500 to 5,000 francs in 

 Paris ; or from 100/. to 2001. here. 



' Fashion is against shawls for the moment, since the introduction of the " costume " 

 dresses, and they are hardly worn ; this necessitates severe holding by the wealthy 

 Paris dealers ; we estimate the money value of shawls in the hands of the half-dozen 

 leading Paris shawl firms, at the present moment at little, if at all, short, of half a 

 million sterling. 



' During the Franco-German war, shawls were hurried over to our care by the Paris 

 dealers, for safety, and we received between 3 00, 00 O/!. and 400,000. worth in this way. 

 These were safely lodged at the Dock warehouses, and upon the return of peace, were 

 sent back by us to the various owners in Paris ; there was no pressure to sell them 

 during all that time, the shawl-dealers being all wealthy men, and among the first 

 merchants in Paris.' 



The manufacture of shawls was first begun in this country, at Norwich, by Mr. 

 Barrow and Alderman Watson, in 1784. They copied the Indian style, but the pro- 

 cess was very slow, and the result consequently costly. Mr. John Harvey, of Norwich, 

 followed up the enterprise with Piedmont silk warp and fine worsted shoot ; but the 

 designs were darned by hand. It was not until 1805 that a shawl was produced en- 

 tirely by the loom at Norwich. In Paisley and Edinburgh the manufacture was in- 

 troduced about the same time. At Paisley the manufacture is still continued, especi- 

 ally the manufacture of shawls of the Indian pattern, from real Cashmere wool. In 

 1802, a manufacture of shawls was commenced in Paris, and this led Jacquard to the 

 invention of his loom (see JACQUABD LOOM), with which now all kinds of shawls are 

 woven. For the mode of manufacture, the respective articles, SILK, TEXTILE FABRICS, 

 and WEAVING will be sufficiently descriptive. 



The varieties of shawls produced may be grouped as follow : 



Woven shawls of India, or of Indian style, made in Europe. 



Barege shawls, made of wool : an imitation of shawls made in the Pyrenees, by the 

 peasantry of a place so called. 



Crape shawls, made of silk, in imitation of the Chinese fabrics. 



Grenadines, made of silk of a peculiar twisC. 



Levantines and Albanians, made of silk and spun silk, to resemble the scarves worn 

 in the Levant and Albania. 



Chenille shawls ; a novel application of silk, frequently combined with cotton. 



Chine shawls ; a printed warp before weaving. 



Woollen shawls ; ordinary kinds. 



Tartan plaids. The manufacture of these appears to be very ancient. In 1570, 

 an ancient Scottish manuscript gives a list of the colours of the plaids worn by the 

 different clans. In 1747, the weaving of this distinctive dress was prohibited by Act 

 of Parliament, and the grey shepherd's mauds were made instead. In 1782, this Act 

 was repealed ; but tartans did not become fashionable until the visit of George IV. 

 to Scotland, in 1822 ; after which, the Stirling fancy plaids began to bo made. 

 In 1828, clan-tartan shawls became fashionable, and the Galashiels weavers took up the 

 trade. Paisley commenced to weave these shawls about twenty or thirty years 

 ago, and it has since then extended to many other parts, both at home and in other 

 countries. 



SHEARING. See BLEACHING. 



SHEATHING OF SHIPS. The process of coppering vessels has been generally 

 adopted in order to protect their bottoms from the injurious effects of insects in hot 

 countries, and to prevent the adherence of barnacles, &c., which greatly impede the 

 progress of the vessels. It has, however, been open to objections, for not only is the 

 prime cost of the material great> but the expense of rolling it into sheets, and the 

 frequent renewal of parts which had been injured during the voyage, make this copper 

 covering a serious item in the expenses attendant upon fitting-out ships. 



In order to make the application of copper still more general, Sir Humphry Davy 

 turned his attention to the subject, and endeavoured to devise some method of counter- 

 acting the rapid oxidation which takes place on its exposure to the sea-water, as it is 

 rare for the copper-bottom of a ship to last longer than five or six years. Experiment 

 proved to Sir H. Davy that if a portion of zinc were applied to the copper it would 

 by its electrical relations prevent the process of oxidation in the copper. A vessel 

 sheathed with copper and zinc plates was accordingly sent a voyage to a distant part of 

 the world, from whence it returned with its copper perfectly iminjured by the salt water/ 

 but in as foul a state as if there had been no sheathing upon the bottom of the vessel. 

 The presence of the zinc had prevented the oxidation of the copper which was 

 necessary to resist the marine deposit. The problem, therefore, still remained to be 

 solved, whether any metallic composition could bo found for the sheathing of ships 



