WEAVING. 
▼ey an extraordinary stability to its tex- 
ture, is, that it has a satin ground, and is 
brocaded on both sides exactly alike. The 
threads of the web, or porry, are upwards 
of 48,900, the lead attached to the harness 
weiglis upwards of 500 pounds, and the 
shuttles, constantly in use, amount to up- 
wards of 500. Two men are employed in 
the weaving, who are able to make, upon an 
average, about three quarters of an inch 
daily. 
The expense of this stupendous under- 
taking, with respect to the first flag only, 
will be not less than one thousand guineas. 
The admirers of art, and the friends 
of our national manufactures, will not 
think this information trifling or unneces- 
sary ; the correctness of which the writer 
of this article has been at considerable 
pains to ascertain : nor ought we to omit to 
mention, that the idea, and much of the de- 
sign, of this piece of figure-work, originated 
principally with Mr. Samuel Sholl, an inge- 
nious silk-weaver, to whom the Society of 
Arts, a few years ago, gave a silver medal 
and thirty guineas, for the construction of 
an improved loom for weaving slight silks. 
For some account of the silk manufacture, 
sec the article Silk. 
The art of cotton-weaving, in its present 
improved state, has not been long known 
either in this or any other country. Where- 
ever it originated, it is certain that most of 
oar manufactures, in this respect, are un- 
equalled in any part of the known world ; 
and were it not for the many commei cial 
restrictions, by which the present war is so 
unfortunately distinguished, there is every 
rational prospect that our cotton trade 
would he still further improved and ex- 
tended. 
Having briefly traced the history of this 
art in Great Britain, we proceed to a de- 
scription of the manner in which it is prac- 
tised in this country ; confining our obser- 
vations chiefly to the art of cotton weaving. 
The apparatus nece.ssary in the art of 
cloth-weaving consists, chiefly, in the loom, 
shuttle, reed, and heddles, or harness, the 
form and use of which are here described. 
There are several kinds of looms for 
cloth-weaving, the most common of which 
is that delineated on Plate Loom, (fig. i 
and 2) which represents the common silk- 
loom. In this plate. A, (fig. 1) is the yarn- 
beam; B, the cloth-beam, or breast-roll; 
DE, thetreddles; dd, ee, the heddles, or 
harness; G, the lay, or batten; M, the 
seat-board ; and T T, the rods. Fig. § is a 
view of the lay, or batten and reed ; which, 
to show the reed more distinctly, is repre- 
sented without the lay-cape, being a long 
piece of wood, having a groove running along 
its lowermost side, for the purpose of sus- 
taining the upper edge of the reed. The lay- 
cape is that part of the machine on the 
middle of which the weaver lays hold with 
his left hand when in the act of weaving. 
F', the lay-pole; GG, the lay-swords; H, 
the shuttle-race ; 1 1, the boxes which re- 
ceive the shuttles ; h k, the peckers ; y, the 
pecking-peg, or handle, and R, the reed. 
When the weaver has received his warp 
from the warping-raill (for an account of 
which see Manufacture of Cotton), his 
first care is to wind it upon the beam in a 
proper manner. Having ascertained the 
number of half-gangs, or beers, and the 
breadth of the web, he passes a small shaft 
of wood through the interval formed by the 
last of the lower pics upon the warping- 
mill, and a small cord tied to this shaft 
through that formed by the first. This 
gives him the lease for beaming, and keeps 
the half-gangs distinct. When this has 
been done, and the cord made fast at both 
ends of the shaft, the knotting left by the 
warper is cut, and the warp stretched to 
its proper breadth. An instrument, or uten- 
sil, called a ravel, is then to be used. Ra- 
vels are somewhat like reeds, and are also 
of different dimensions. Oue proper for 
the purpose being found, every half-gang is 
]>laced in an interval between two of the 
pins. The upper part, or cape, is then put 
on and secured, and the operation of wind- 
ing the warp upon the beam commences. 
In broad works, two persons are employed 
to hold the ravel which serves to guide the 
warp, and to spread it regularly upon the 
beam; one or two to keep the chain, or 
chains, of the warp, at a proper degree of 
tension, and one or more to turn the beam 
upon its centres. The warp being regu- 
larly wound upon the beam, the weaver 
prepares to take it through the heddles, and 
this operation is called drawing. 
Before the operation of drawing com- 
mences, two rods are inserted into the lease 
formed by the upper lease-pins on the warp- 
ing-mill; the ends of these rods are tied to- 
gether, the twine by which the lease was se- 
cured is cut away, and the warp stretched to 
its proper breadth. The beam is then sus- 
pended by cords behind the heddles and 
somewhat higher, the warp hanging down 
perpendicularly. The weaver then places 
himself in front of the heddles, and another 
