MANUFACTURE OF TEXTILES 



information. The nests of the Baltimore oriole, for ex- 

 ample, 'which remain season after season on thousands 

 of trees all over the northern part of North America, 

 would hardly have failed to suggest the possibilities 

 of interlaced fibers. These nests, which are made in 

 the form of a deep pocket, or pouch, are of sufficient 

 strength and durability so that if a number of them 

 were fastened together, a fairly durable protective gar- 

 ment could be made. 



With all these object lessons to be seen in nature 

 some observant genius among the primitive tribes 

 would sooner or later have adopted, or attempted, 

 the methods practised by the birds, and would thus 

 have developed at least a rude method of weaving. 

 Whether such an incentive actually led to the develop- 

 ment of the art cannot, of course, be determined. 

 Many other theories have been advanced, most of 

 them entirely reasonable, and perhaps all of them 

 equally true as regards certain localities. 



Marsden suggests the possible Egyptian origin of 

 weaving in the use of reeds for mattings. In this 

 connection he says: "Conceding, and indeed affirming, 

 that the balance of probabilities points to Egypt as the 

 country in which weaving was first invented, it may 

 be pointed out that in all past times, as at present, the 

 population of that country has mainly been concen- 

 trated upon the lands bordering upon the great river 

 Nile. From the days of the Pharaohs down to the 

 present time, the swamps of the Nile have been noted 

 for the abundance of vegetation they produced, and 

 which has been applied to various uses: witness, for 



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