II 



THE MANUFACTURE OF TEXTILES 



I 



art of weaving, like that of spinning, was 

 not only known prehistorically, but must 

 have been discovered by primitive man in a 

 very early period of his development. And such rel- 

 atively highly developed nations as the early Egyptians, 

 Assyrians, Hindus, and Chinese were good weavers at 

 the very earliest period of their history. But it is 

 equally true that practically every race of savages, 

 even those living in a most primitive state, have some 

 knowledge of weaving; while the more highly devel- 

 oped types, such as the natives of Mexico and Peru, 

 were skilled weavers. 



Even the most casual observation of nature must 

 have taught primitive man the general principles of 

 weaving. The extraordinary weaving processes by 

 which certain tropical birds build their nests, for ex- 

 ample, might have given man the necessary hftit as 

 to the possibility of combining fiber or hair into some- 

 thing resembling what we now call cloth, which could 

 be used for wearing apparel or for other purposes if 

 such a hint was necessary. This observation need 

 not have been confined to the natives of tropical re- 

 gions, as the observation of certain birds' nests even 

 in temperate zones would have furnished the required 



[38] 



