78 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. • 



Lowell. On the continent of Europe, they have usually used 

 imported warps. Li Vienna, they are weaving both sides of 

 mohair shawls at the same time, on the Jacquard loom, costing 

 about $35 there. A gentleman now travelling in Europe and 

 the East, to examine into the manufacture of this article, 

 carried over samples of »ur Angora wool, and he writes from 

 Vienna, that the manufacturers there declared it equal to any 

 they had ever seen, and it took equal rank at the Paris Exposi- 

 tion with the best specimens of the European wool. You will 

 observe that there is a lustre upon these cloths. The yarn was 

 spun to No. 32. It could have been run up to No. 50, but all 

 these fine lustre dress goods are made from cotton warps, which 

 are spun from combed cotton ; and in order to have them very 

 fine, they must be spun in rooms so protected from wind that 

 the threads shall not be affected by the air. No warp could be 

 found finer than No. 32, and consequently the mohair was 

 spun to No. 32. In order to make the finest fabric, the wool 

 must be assorted ; this was spun as it came from the fleece. It 

 was spun on the same machinery that lustre wool is spun on. 

 I have seen photographs of the original Cashmere loom of 

 India, and of the Jacquard loom, on which both sides of a shawl 

 are woven at the same time, and the fabric will compare in 

 beauty, softness and finisli with the finest shawls brought from 

 Cashmere. These were manufactured at Lowell, at the mills 

 of the Lowell Carpet Company, and I was told by a gentleman 

 there, who is perfectly familiar with the weaving of carpets, 

 that there is no difficulty whatever in manufacturing this fleece. 

 Mr. Davis. The gentleman who has just sat down has 

 brought up an inquiry, by a portion of his remarks, which I 

 intended to make, and that is, in regard to the use and manage- 

 ment of bulls. It is a matter of practical importance, of course, 

 to every farmer, and I find the question is often raised now 

 throughout the Commonwealth, whether the difficulty in getting 

 cows with calf may not be peculiar to some particular breed. 

 Yesterday and to-day, I have heard the remark made by several, 

 some members of the Board and some citizens of this town, that 

 a difficulty had been found in getting Jerseys with calf. I 

 never have experienced tliat difficulty, although I have had 

 them nine or ten years. The inquiry has also been raised, 

 which I should like to have answered, if there is any gentleman 



