146 SILK GROWER'S GUIDE. 



nature itself. Even every common weaver makes it his 

 study to produce them; the botanist and the florist 

 forms his patterns by an imitation of the various combi- 

 nations which he is enabled to produce from the flowers 

 which he gathers in the gardens or fields. To this it 

 must be added, that, in every considerable establish- 

 ment, there are one or more artists or painters, which 

 are selected from the pupils of the schools which are 

 expressly established at Lyons or other places for their 

 instruction. These have a fixed salary, varying from 

 1,000 francs to 2,000 francs per annum. These draw- 

 ings are transferred to cards or cartoons and these 

 cartoons are punched with holes to receive certain wires, 

 and the card pattern, being completed, is adjusted to 

 the Jacquard loom. The movements of the machine 

 are self-adjusted, and regulated by these pattern cards, 

 and the most perfect and beautiful figured silks are 

 woven without the aid of any particular skill, and by 

 any common weaver. For shawls of great beauty and 

 variety, the expense of new mounting a pattern for the 

 Jacquard loom, may amount to 1,000 francs, or about 

 $184. 



In England, acording to Dr. Ure, from 100 to 4,000 

 cards may be required for a pattern in a Jacquard 

 loom. With one containing 816 cards, the cost of the 

 draft, writing and stamping, will amount to <10 or 

 $44 44, and the annual expense for change of patterns 

 for the Jacquard looms, to the English manufacturer, is 

 stated to be about <12 each, or $53 33. The total 

 cost of a Jacquard loom in England, varies from 15 

 to c30, or from $66 66 to $133 33. 



According to a very late report on the silk manufac- 

 tures of France, they were never in a more flourishing 

 state than at present. France has now in full operation 

 70,000 looms for silk ; each of these looms weave annu- 

 ally sixty pounds of silk on the average of the whole. 



