124 FAMILIAR GARDEN FLOWERS. 
faulty and securing a thread of exceeding fineness and 
great strength. As regards the strength, indeed, some 
samples that are as fine as the threads of a spider’s web 
are nevertheless as strong as a metal wire. The result of 
all this care is that the thread is worth its weight in gold 
before the making of the lace begins. There is now 
much inferior thread used in the production of cheap laces, 
but certain manufacturers of Brussels maintain the high 
quality for which their city has long been famous, and those 
who care to pay the price may obtain lace of modern 
make, equal in every way to the best of laces that have 
acquired historical renown. 
