PROCEEDINGS OF- THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 399 



This braid is not more than onc-cighth of an incli in widtli. It is made of 

 the finest part of the straw, and is the most expensive in manufacture of 

 any kind made in Ejigland. Devon and Suton braids arc in every respect 

 the same as split straw, but being wider and liaving' peculiar qualities due 

 to the kind of straw employed in the places from which the names are 

 derived. Dunstable is a whole straw braid, having seven straws in the 

 weft, and differing in the weft in no respect from Devon or Suton braid. 

 Canton braid is also made of whole straws, but the straw being of the top 

 joint it is 3'ellow and harsh. Bird-eye braid is made by weaving two fine 

 split straw braids together, like the two straw trimming. Purl edged braid 

 is so called because of an edge formed upon it by the use of a knitting needle 

 at one side of the braid while it is being braided, the knitting needle being 

 withdrawn leaves an edge or purl of loops along the side. 



9-Straw braid is called lustre because the lustrous or glossy side of the 

 cplit straw is exposed along the middle of the braid. There are different 

 kind and patterns of this braid made by sliowing the lustre side of the 

 straw in different patterns and proportions. 



10-Straw braid is generally fancy, being composed of colored and 

 bleached straws woven into fancj' patterns. 



11 -Straws are employed in Tuscan. 



12-Straw brai'd is a kind of lustre. 



1-4-Straw braid is either split straw or whole straw. Pedele braid is 

 made of whole straw or of double straw, and is of various qualities. Rut- 

 land is also made of 14 straws used double, and is a finer and more costly 

 braid than Pedele. Italian is a split straw braid, liaving fourteen straws, 

 and showing alternately the pith side and lustre side of the straw. 



16-Straw braid is known as mitred lustre, the lustrous side of the straw 

 showing mitres along the edge. 



18-Straw braid is called diamond lustre, as the lustrous sides of the 



straw show in diann'nds along the weft. 



\ 



BR.VIDING OR PLAITING. 



For braiding whole straw braids the pipes are assorted into sizes as only 

 those of nearly uniform size can be used together. 



For split straw or double straw braid the straws are also assorted in 

 little lots in front of the braider. They are then split into slender splits 

 by passing them one by one through a tube with a number of cutting 

 points inside, the spaces between the cutting points corresponding to the 

 size of the splints required, there being several cutters to give various 

 sizes of splints. The straws are next scraped on the pith side to thin 

 them and give a uniform surface. Another mode in general use is to split 

 the pipe along one side with the thumb nail, open it out flat, scrape it thin, 

 and then split it into splints on a comb splinter. There must be a cup of 

 water always near to keep the straws moist, or they will become brittle 

 and cannot be worked. 



The number of straws to be woven together are grasped firmly in one 

 liand, while the other hand begins the weft, and when a sufficient lengtli 

 is woven, both hands are employed in passing the straws one over the. 

 other. All discolored pieces of straw must be rejected, and the ends must 



