CLOISTER 



1437 



CLOTH 



a remarkable fact considering their good ap- 

 pearance and efficiency. This result is due 

 largely to a process of manufacture by which 

 all the numerous parts of a small clock are cut 

 out of a piece of brass by one single stamping 

 operation. 



The clock industry in Canada is practically 

 undeveloped, and that country depends almost 

 entirely on the United States and Europe. 



Related Subjects. In these volumes the fol- 

 lowing articles are connected with this subject : 

 Hour Glass Sun Dial 



Pendulum Watch 



CLOISTER, klois'ter. This word, which 

 comes from the Latin claudere, meaning to 

 close, was at first applied to the entire space 

 enclosed within the walls of the monastery, 

 cathedral or collegiate establishment of the 



A CLOISTER 

 Seen in the foreground, with the garth beyond. 



Middle Ages. Later it designated the four- 

 cornered court in the center of the main group 

 of buildings, which was surrounded on all sides 

 by a covered, arched corridor. Sometimes the 

 term is applied only to these corridors; the 

 central, open space, which contained a well 

 and garden, was known as the garth. Within 

 the cloisters the monks were accustomed to 

 enjoy their periods of exercise and recreation. 

 Milton's beautiful lines from II Penseroso 

 illustrate the general association of the word 

 cloister with the serene and quiet life passed 

 within the monastery: 



But .let my due feet never fall 

 To walk the studious cloisters pale, 

 And love the high embowered roof, 

 With antique pillars massy proof, 

 And storied windows richly dight ; 

 Casting a dim, religious light. 



CLOSED SHOP, a workplace in which only 

 members of labor unions are employed. See 

 OPEN SHOP; LABOR ORGANIZATIONS. 



CLOTH, the woven materials used for our 

 garments and many of the furnishings in our 



homes. The first covering used by man was 

 made of foliage, then, for warmth, the skins of 

 animals and feathers of birds were used. But 

 animals became more scarce each year, and 

 finally the wool of sheep was used, twisted 

 into threads and woven for use as garments. 

 So the term cloth originally applied to woolen 

 fabrics. Then down through the ages the 

 value of cotton, flax, silk and fibers of hemp, 

 jute and other plants was discovered, and the 

 primitive methods of weaving were gradually 

 improved until now the making of cloths of 

 all kinds r is a world-wide industry. 



Cloth is woven on the loom (see WEAVING). 

 Two sets of threads are used, the warp threads 

 running lengthwise of the goods, and the weft, 

 or woof, threads running in and out across 

 the warp. The edge of cloth woven to prevent 

 raveling is called selvage. The warp is some- 

 times called the back, or foundation, of goods, 

 and the woof, the filling. When the warp of 

 a piece of goods is of cotton and the weft of 

 silk, it is described as having a cotton back and 

 a silk filling (see WEAVING). All-wool cloths 

 have both warp and weft of wool, but most 

 cloth sold as wool contains some cotton or 

 other fiber. Worsted goods are made of well- 

 twisted combed wool (see WORSTED). 



The width of cloth 'depends on the number 

 of warp threads. Its fineness or coarseness 

 depends on the size of threads used and their 

 distance apart. According to the way in which 

 weft threads are woven across the warp, cloths 

 are plain, like muslin, twilled, like tweeds, 

 piled, like velvet, figured, like damask, mixed, 

 like cheviot, or checked or striped, like ging- 

 ham. 



Serges, cashmeres, Henrietta and covert are 

 some of the most commonly known cloths of 

 wool. Muslin, calico, gingham, some cambrics, 

 canvas, duck and dimity are widely-used cotton 

 cloths. Made of flax are the linens, including 

 lawns, sheetings, toweling and some cambrics. 

 Pongee, crepe de Chine, foulard, taffeta and 

 surah are some of the best-known cloths of 

 silk. So varied are the methods of manufac- 

 ture that a single description will not apply to 

 all cloths. 



"Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy," is 

 a wise phrase of Polonius in Hamlet, though 

 often ascribed in error to Benjamin Franklin, 

 in Poor Richard's Almanac. Fortunately cloth 

 is made to meet the demands of every purse. 



Each principal kind of cloth named above is 

 described in Its place in these volumes, and a 

 study of these will Identify the various fabrics 



