WITH GLASGOW IN COTTON MANUFACTURE. 419 



this shows in reality the infancy of the manufacture in 

 the former place. The cloths produced are all coarse 

 and heavy sheetings, shirtings, drillings, and printing 

 calicos which are heavy to transport and are made of 

 low-priced cotton. The cost of transport from Europe, 

 upon goods of this class, forms so large a percentage of 

 their whole value, as to give the American manufac 

 turers the command of their own market for these 

 articles, and even of part of the South American market 

 to which from the instability of politics, the long credits, 

 the uncertainty of remittances and other causes, English 

 merchants have of late years been declining to send these 

 heavy low-priced cottons. 



Third, The difference in the kind of trade carried on in 

 the two cities is shown more clearly by the relative number 

 of spindles. In Glasgow these are nearly six times more 

 numerous than in Lowell ; or, in the former city, each 

 spindle works upon an average 1 J ounces of cotton per 

 day, while in Lowell every spindle consumes nearly 5^ 

 ounces. There must, therefore, be a very great difference 

 in the fineness of the yarn produced, in the delicacy of 

 the machinery, the dexterity of the workmen, and the 

 value of the material produced. 



Lastly, The fineness and value of the cloth produced 

 must be very much greater. All the yarn spun at Lowell 

 is converted into cloth, and each spindle represents about 

 lg yards of cloth per day, weighing 5J ounces or, on 

 an average, very nearly 5 ounces per yard, including 

 waste. Whereas, supposing all the yarn spun in Glasgow 

 to be consumed in weaving the 625,000 yards a-day, the 

 cloth would only weigh 3| ounces a yard. But it is well 

 known that a large proportion of the finer yarns are sold 

 for exportation, while the remainder are woven by the 

 handloom weavers. A very considerable quantity, 

 therefore, of the cotton actually spun does not enter into 

 the power-loom cloths of Glasgow. 



