INDUSTRIAL VILLAGES. 313 



ing factories were at Tarare, while the weaving 

 of the muslins and the embroidery of the same 

 were made in the surrounding villages, especi- 

 ally in the hilly tracts of the Beaujolais 

 and the Forez. Each peasant house, each 

 farm and metayerie were small workshops at 

 that time, and one could see, Reybaud wrote, 

 the lad of twenty embroidering fine muslin 

 after he had finished cleaning the farm stables, 

 without the work suffering in its delicacy from 

 a combination of two such varied pursuits. On 

 the contrary, the delicacy of the work and the 

 extreme variety of patterns were a distinctive 

 feature of the Tarare muslins and a cause of 

 their success. All testimonies agreed at the 

 same time in recognising that, while agriculture 

 found support in the industry, the agricultural 

 population enjoyed a relative well-being. 



By this time the industry has undergone a 

 thorough transformation, but still no less than 

 60,000 persons, representing a population of 

 about 250,000 souls, work for Tarare in the 

 hilly tracts, weaving all sorts of muslins for all 

 parts of the world, and they earn every year 

 480,000 in this way. 



Amplepuis, notwithstanding its own factories 

 of silks and blankets, remains one of the local 

 centres for such muslins ; while close by, Thizy 

 is a centre for a variety of linings, flannels, 



