SHIRRED GOODS. 195 



KNIT GOODS 



Are made of knit fabrics covered on one or both sides with 

 gum-elastic. Until recently, India rubber, as well as the vul- 

 canized gum-elastic, has been put invariably upon woven cloths, 

 but it is supposed the use of the woven cloths will be in a meas- 

 ure discontinued, and the unwoven fibre substituted in their 

 stead for the manufacture of caoutchouc fabrics. 



There are, however, certain uses of the knit goods, for which, 

 on account of its elasticity, together with its strength, it will 

 probably always have a decided preference over both the woven 

 and the fibrous fabrics. Among these uses may be specified 

 boots, shoes, gloves, mittens, some kinds of springs, and carriage 

 . cloths. For further particulars, reference is made to the specifi- 

 cation of Patent granted for these goods in the United States. 



SHIRRED GOODS. 



When these fabrics were first made known, their novelty 

 attracted much attention, being justly considered very curious. 

 The inventor was indebted to this circumstance, as has been 

 previously stated on page , for his success in drawing the at- 

 tention, first of his friends, and afterwards of the public, to the 

 more important discovery of vulcanized gum-elastic. 



The goods were first made of ribbons, and used for suspend- 

 ers, not long after of silks and muslins. Shirred or corrugated 

 goods have been used for springs of various kinds, besides sus- 

 penders, particularly shoe and corset springs. 



The license for manufacturing this fabric was sold to Mr. H. 

 H. Day, in 184 , since which time the manufacture of these 

 goods has been exclusively in his hands. A brief description of 

 the method of manufacturing them may be found in Chapter 





