236 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. \0h. I. No. 9. 



of a grating of small bars about one-six- 

 teenth of an inch apart, and each bar is 

 pierced in the middle. In fact, all of these 

 are the harness of a small loom used in 

 weaving tape, braid, garters, belts and the 

 like. 



Among the old-time families of New Eng- 

 land, this apparatus is set up by taking a 

 ball of twine or thread which is to constitute 

 the warp, and walking around a number of 

 chairs placed at a distance from one another 

 as many times as there are to be threads in 

 the warp. This coil is then cut apart, one 

 end tied together in a knot, and the separate 

 threads of the other end passed through the 

 holes of the slats and between them. This 

 apparatus is worked bj^ lifting and depres- 

 sing this frame as the weft shuttle is passed 

 backward and forward by the hand. At 

 each turn the weft is beaten home hy the 

 harness, the lower end of which is held be- 

 tween the knees, by the shuttle, or by the 

 hand. 



In a Zuiii example in the Museum set iip 

 by Mr. Gushing, the weaver sits upon the 

 ground, having the far end of the warp 

 fastened to some part of the building, and 

 the proximal end attached to a stick form- 

 ing part of a belt. The very same process 

 employed bj"- the New England woman 

 is. also in vogue among the Pueblos. By 

 lifting and depressing the fi-ame which 

 is simply a couple of parallel sticks to 

 which split reeds are tied, having holes 

 burnt through the center, the weaver is able 

 to pass the shuttle stick backward and for- 

 Avard. 



When the Pueblo woman wishes to make 

 short garters she uses the soles of her feet 

 as a resting place for the little bar to which 

 the far end of the weft is attached. Her 

 shuttle is a stick on which the weft yarn is 

 wound. 



The Finnish harness is carved from a 

 single block of wood, the upper and lower 

 borders being somewhat cjdindrical and the 



upright bars carved like little slats from the 

 solid piece. These are perforated exactly 

 after the manner of the New England ex- 

 amples. 



I learn by inquiring at the Patent Office 

 in Washington, that in Belgium a patent 

 has recentlj' been issued for an improvement 

 on this style of weaving apparatus. 



I leave the question open as to the amount 

 of contact between the Fins, the New Eng- 

 land housewife and the Pueblo woman. It 

 is easj^ enough to account for the dispersion 

 of this apparatus among the white peojjle of 

 Europe, and thence among the Fins and the 

 New England farmers. The only question 

 for us to inquire into now, is, where did the 

 Pueblo woman learn to weave after this 

 fashion ? 



Dr. Matthews tells me that the Navajo 

 do not use this frame, but make their belts 

 by means of a harness similar to that which 

 they emploj' in making their blankets. It 

 is also a question where and how the 

 Navajos learned to set up a loom so much 

 like those found among the primitive Euro- 

 pean weavers. It is a fact that the Aino 

 emploj' preciseljr the same apparatus as do 

 the Navajo. O. T. Mason. 



AVashington. 



THE SOCIAL SENSE. 

 All persons thrown intimately with chil- 

 di-en fi'om about four years of age and later 

 may serve psj'chologists by making detailed 

 obserA'ations of what maj^ be called 'chum- 

 ming^ on the part of children and youth. By 

 ' chumming ' is meant all instances of un- 

 usually close companionship A'oluntarily 

 made, ' platonic affection,' personal influ- 

 ence one over another when this influence 

 is limited more or less to one person, and 

 when the relationship is stronger than ordi- 

 nary and is shown in anj' unusual or re- 

 markable Avaj's, such as bearing punishment 

 for or AA'ith the other, moping or becoming 

 A^ery unsocial Avhen separated. Cases of 



