388 



HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 



The cloth when taken from the loom is care- 

 fully trimmed by a machine furnished with 

 knives having serrated edges, which, passing 

 rapidly over the cloth, clip off every projecting 

 fiber. Another machine trims the edges. For 

 the finishing process, the cloth is folded be- 

 tween sheets of paper board, or sheet-iron, to 

 prepare it for the press. Two forms of press 

 are used, viz., first, a common hydraulic press 

 with heated cast-iron plates inserted among the 

 folds of cloth ; and, second, the more modern 

 press, known to manufacturers as the steam- 

 press. As two pressings are usually desired, 

 both forms of press are used on each piece. 

 After pressing, it is wrapped in manila paper 

 and packed for shipping. 



History. The hair-cloth industry in this coun- 

 try by power-looms dates from 1855, but the 

 automatic feeding devices were not practically 

 perfected till 1861. The first power-looms did 

 not- differ essentially from the others. The 

 hairs were fed by an operative presenting them 

 in his fingers to the hook which was then used 

 instead of nippers, and which caught the hair 

 in the bight and doubled it through, the opera- 

 tive firmly holding one end until the other was 

 carried through. This industry by power-looms 

 was begun in this country in Pawtucket by the 

 Boston Hair-Cloth Company in 1855. The 

 Pawtucket Hair-Cloth Company was organized 

 a few years later, and, by the invention of the 

 automatic device for picking up and presenting 

 the hairs, obtained the practical leadership of 

 the business, which it held until the expiration 

 of its patent. The harness stop-motion was 

 invented by Rufus Stafford ; but the credit of 

 bringing the automatic self -feeding power-loom 

 to its present remarkable perfection is due to 

 the genius and toil of Isaac Lindsley. The 

 largest factory for this fabric in the United 

 States is that of the Pawtucket Hair-CJoth 

 Company, in Pawtucket, R. I. This is fur- 

 nished with about 450 looms, and produces 

 about 600.000 yards annually, which is about 

 three fourths of all produced in the country. 

 The businesses affected by the changes in the 

 fashion of upholstering. 



Hair-Cloth Crinoline. This is a light, springy, 

 fabric, used for tailors' trimmings, and for 

 ladies' skirts, bustles, etc. It differs from the 

 seating in having finer warp, and in a looser 

 texture. It is manufactured in substantially 

 the same manner as the seating, is woven in 

 various patterns, and receives a slight dressing 

 of starch. The principal manufactory for this 

 fabric is that of the American Hair-Cloth Pad- 

 ding Company in Pawtuoket, which has 100 

 looms and produces about 1,200 yards daily. 

 There are a few other looms for these goods in 

 New York, Newark, N. J., and Philadelphia. 



lit WAI MX ISLANDS, or Sandwich Islands, the 

 most northerly group of the Polynesian Archi- 

 pelago. It consists of four large islands, four 

 smaller ones, and a few rocky islets. They are 

 situated in the North Pacific Ocean, latitude 

 18 40' to 22 north, and longitude 154 to 



160 west. The nearest land is the coast of 

 California. The following table shows the 

 distance between the port of Honolulu and the 

 other principal ports of the Pacific Ocean : 



From Honolulu to San Francisco 



From Honolulu to Sydney 



From Honolulu to Auckland 



From Honolulu to Yokohama 



From Honolulu to Hong-Kong "... 



From Honolulu to Valparaiso 



From Honolulu to Callao 



From Honolulu to Panama 



From Honolulu to Tahiti 



From Honolulu to Puget Sound 



Miles. 

 2.UIO 

 4100 

 4,100 

 3,700 

 4,800 

 5,500 

 4,700 

 4, '200 

 2,400 

 2,000 



The islands lie on the straightest course from 

 Panama to Yokohama and Hong-Kong, and 

 within two hundred miles of the straightest 

 course from San Francisco to Sydney. They 

 are within the belt of the northwestern trade- 

 winds, which blow strongly and incessantly 

 during nine months of the year, and with in- 

 termissions during the remaining three months. 



Since the year 1873 a governmental survey 

 of the group, both astronomical and cadastral, 

 has been in progress, under the direction of 

 Prof. W. D. Alexander. Some of its data re- 

 specting the chief islands are given in the fol- 

 lowing table: 



Government. The islands constitute the king- 

 dom of Hawaii, a constitutional monarchy. 

 The natives retain the ruling power. The King, 

 Kalakaua, was born Nov. 16, 1836, educated 

 by the missionaries at the Royal School in 

 Honolulu, and inaugurated Feb. 13, 1874. His 

 Queen, Kapiolani, was born Dec. 31, 1834. 

 The dowager Queen Emma, widow of Kame- 

 hameha IV (whose line is now extinct), is a 

 member of the royal family. There is a House 

 of Nobles, twenty-three in number, of whom, 

 however, a majority are Americans and other 

 foreigners ; a House of Representatives, a Min- 

 istry of Foreign Affairs, of Finance, and of the 

 Interior, a Privy Council, an Attorney-Gen- 

 eral, and a Supreme Court. The revenue and 

 the expenditures of the Government are esti- 

 mated by biennial periods: for 1881-1882 nt 

 $1,780,830 and $2,196,006 respectively. The 

 customs revenue for 1884 was $551,737. The 

 public debt in 1880 was $6.71 per capita. The 

 salary of the King is $22,500 a year. In 1884 

 there were eighty-one incorporated compa- 

 nies, agricultural, commercial, and miscellane- 

 ous, in the islands. Two daily, eight weekly, 

 and five monthly journals are published, in the 

 English and Hawaiian languages. 



* Estimated. 



