TEXTILE 



5777 



THACKERAY 



Importance of the Industry. Textiles are 

 made primarily for clothing, and have always 

 been one of the leading classes of manufactures. 

 In the United States the value of the products 

 of all the allied textile industries is exceeded 

 only by that of the iron and steel industry, in 

 Canada only by that of foodstuffs, and in Great 

 Britain and Ireland the products of the textile 

 industry are greater than those of any other 

 group. In the United Kingdom nearly 600,000 

 people are directly employed in the manufac- 

 ture of textiles, and the number dependent, 

 directly or indirectly, on the industry is seven 

 or eight times as great. The annual output ex- 

 ceeds a value of $1,000,000,000. The textile 

 industry of the United States employs nearly 

 1,000,000 people and has an annual output of 

 $1,500,000,000 to $1,750,000,000. Beside these 

 huge amounts the Canadian industry, with an 

 average output of $150,000,000, is comparatively 

 small. 



Textiles in the Schools. The study of tex- 

 tiles in schools is of a double character. The 

 child, and particularly the girl, in the elemen- 

 tary and secondary schools studies them chiefly 

 from the viewpoint of the household arts or 

 domestic economy. The technical processes of 

 textile manufacture, on the other hand, belong 

 more specially to industrial .education. As yet 

 the work in both branches has advanced little 

 beyond the experimental stage. In many Euro- 

 pean countries, notably Great Britain and Ire- 

 land, Germany, Belgium, France, Norway and 

 Sweden, training in all household arts has for 

 many years been a recognized feature of the 

 school system. In the United States and 

 Canada the value of such training is being 

 everywhere recognized, and courses are being 

 instituted in schools and colleges; even if the 

 work is elective and not required the entire 

 field can be covered with degrees of thorough- 

 ness varying with the amount of time devoted 

 to it. 



The study of textiles is a branch of social 

 science in other words, one of those subjects 

 which are designed to make children better 

 fitted for daily life. The study of primitive 

 textiles involves some study of the beginnings 

 of civilization, for the barbarian hardly ever 

 knew how to weave. The textile arts are then 

 to be considered in their relation to the broad 

 questions of clothing and shelter, and such 

 other practical points as modern methods of 

 manufacture, varieties of textiles, their value 

 for various purposes and their prices. The 

 adulteration of textiles is also an important 

 362 



point. The functions of textiles that is, cloth- 

 ing in health, beauty and ethics is a phase of 

 the subject too difficult for young children, but 

 even in elementary schools the care and repair 

 of the wardrobe should be easily understood. 

 Children in the higher grades and in secondary 

 schools are capable of making many articles of 

 clothing, and frequently of designing garments 

 and household furniture. 



In the ordinary school course textiles are 

 studied from the standpoint of utility. To some 

 extent this viewpoint is preserved in technical 

 education, but the emphasis is laid on methods 

 of manufacture. In the United States, for ex- 

 ample, there are a number of schools, supported 

 largely by large textile manufacturers and 

 partly by the state, which turn out each year 

 hundreds of skilled workmen familiar with the 

 processes of manufacture and able to hold im- 

 portant positions in the mills. Noteworthy ex- 

 amples of such an institution are the Textile 

 School at Philadelphia, and the schools at Fall 

 River, New Bedford and Lowell, three great 

 cloth-making centers in Massachusetts. The 

 Pratt Institute at Brooklyn (N. Y.) and the 

 Lewis Institute at Chicago offer similar courses. 

 The more advanced work includes microscopic 

 and chemical tests of the different fibers, dyeing 

 and weaving, and pattern designing, besides the 

 artistic and economic aspects of the industry. 

 Many schools also offer normal courses for 

 teachers. W.F.Z. 



Consult Watson's Textile Design and Color; 

 Barker's Textiles; Dooley's Textiles for Commer- 

 cial,, Industrial and Domestic Art Schools. 



Related Subjects. Matter supplementary to 

 this discussion of textiles may be found in the 

 following articles in these volumes : 

 Broadcloth Gauze 



Brocade Hemp 



Calico and Calico Jute 



Printing Linen 



Cambric Mohair 



Canvas Muslin 



Chiffon Plush 



Cloth Satin 



Corduroy Shoddy 



Cotton . Silk 



Crape Taffeta 



Cretonne Tapestry 



Crinoline Tartan 



Damask Tweeds 



Dimity Velvet 



Felt Weaving 



Flannel Wool 



Flax Worsted 



THACKERAY, thak'eri, WILLIAM MAKE- 

 PEACE (1811-1863), one of the three most cele- 

 brated English novelists of the English Victo- 

 rian Age. He was bom July 18, 1811, in Calcut- 



