CLOTHING THE EXTREMITIES 



The Civil War gave a great impetus to glove manu- 

 facture in the United States, as such a great number 

 of gauntlet gloves were required for military service. 

 The impetus given the industry at that .time, together 

 with the introduction of so many different kinds of 

 machinery of American invention, has helped it to 

 become one of the great industries of the country. 

 It was not until about 1875, however, that steam- 

 power was introduced for running sewing-machines, 

 and this is now being largely replaced by electricity. 



When the glove industry was in its infancy in Amer- 

 ica, the most common material for glove-making was 

 buckskin. Deer-skins were cheap and abundant at 

 that time and admirably adapted to making coarse 

 gloves and mittens, which were practically the only 

 kind manufactured. As the industry increased, and 

 deer-skins became correspondingly expensive and 

 difficult to obtain, other skins were pressed into serv- 

 ice, notably sheepskins. Gloves made of this material 

 as prepared at that time, however, were of very in- 

 ferior quality and never became popular either for 

 coarse gloves for rough usage, or for the lighter and 

 finer kinds. But a little later better methods of tan- 

 ning were discovered by means of which very serviceable 

 gloves could be made from sheepskins, and at present 

 most of the gloves and mittens manufactured are made 

 of this material. 



Other leathers have also come into use extensively 



owing to improved methods of tanning. The finer 



gloves for street wear are now made from the skins of 



such animals as colts, calves, lambs, kids, goats, South 



VOL. K. 9 [129] 



