524 TRANSACTIONS. OF THE 



articles of clotKIng go— showing tliat no material is lost. Tlie garment too 

 much worn for one man becomes the covering of another ; and after serving 

 his turn, it is again worked over with Aew material, to make its appearance 

 in the texture of some fashionable dreas, to go the same round until no 

 longer fit for yarn, when, if of wool, it forms a material for felt— if of linen or 

 cctton, it is woi'ked into paper; and when it has done all these duties, 

 it can, by the skill of the chemist, be resolved into valuable preparations in 

 use in many of the arts. 



The progress of civilization is strongly marked by the division of labor 

 introduced into clothing manufacture. The old farmers used to make all 

 their own wearing apparel — spin, knit, weave ; make hats, shoes, &e. Now 

 we can buy all our clothing ready-made, of excellent quality and good fit. 

 In this matter, the sewing-machine has done what the steam-engine has ac- 

 complished in other branches of manufacture. 



In the city of Newark there are establishments which keep twelve cutters 

 constantly busy, to supply work for five hundred hands, who, by the aid of 

 the sewing-machine, soon form it into garments. 



In the desultory remarks which followed, Dr. Stevens gave the opinion 

 that no covering should be used next to the skin which did not tend to 

 keep it in a well lubricated condition, and that daily bathing was injurious, 

 man not being furnished with fur or aquatic feathers to fit him for such 

 a habit ; that some persons require silk, some cotton, others woollen dresses, 

 according to their constitution ; that dress is absolutely necessary for man, 

 independently of climatic influences, and that from personal observation in 

 Brazil and elsewhere, he was led to believe that the North American Indian 

 was the finest type of aborigine in the world, and yet he has always been 

 clad in skins, furs, &c. 



When parties are afflicted with dermal rheumatism, the skin is loose, and 

 tiffht-knitted fabrics then becomes necef^sary as articles of inside clothing. 

 In speaking of drafts, the Doctor stated that our sensation of cold does not 

 always proceed from want of clothing ; when in a temperature of 70° wo 

 feel the cold, it is due to some unhealthy action in ourselves — 'Some organs 

 are diseased in every one — there is hardly one perfectly healthy man in the 

 world. 



The Chairma-i remarked the mighty change in the cost of clothing as 

 well as of fuel which has taken place in thirty-six years. Thirty-six years 

 since he had to pay $250 for fuel for a two-story house; now, for a three- 

 Btory one, an equally efficient supply is furnished for $100. These econo- 

 mies have greatly enlarged the commonwealth ; and there is no doubt but 

 that good clothing has great moral influence on the individual as well 

 as the community. Those who are properly dressed, are proud of their 

 dr^ss, and keep themselves cleanly. Dress is a standard of civilization, 

 English statistics show that those who are cleanly, live on an average 

 45 years ; the uncleanly live only 16 or 17 years. 



The social effects of large factories of clothing, or, indeed, of any large 

 factories, is not understood. They tend to raise a manufacturing aristocracy 



