Were the middle Atlantic coast of the United States to undergo an elevation of 100 feet, what would be the effect on New York City?Find the factors that led to the settlement of the city or town in which or near which you live. What caused the settlement of the three or four largest towns in the same county?—of the following places: Minneapolis, Fall River, New Haven, New Bedford, Cairo (Ill.), Cairo (Egypt), Marseille, Aix-la-Chapelle, Alexandria (Egypt), Washington (D.C.), Columbus (O.), Johannesburg (Africa), Kimberley (Africa), Albany (N.Y.), Punta Arenas (S.A.), Scranton (Pa.), Vancouver (B.C.), San Francisco, Cape Nome?What circumstances connected with commerce led to the passing of the following-named places: Palmyra, Carthage, Babylon, Genoa, Venice, Ancient Rome, Jerusalem?
Were the middle Atlantic coast of the United States to undergo an elevation of 100 feet, what would be the effect on New York City?
Find the factors that led to the settlement of the city or town in which or near which you live. What caused the settlement of the three or four largest towns in the same county?—of the following places: Minneapolis, Fall River, New Haven, New Bedford, Cairo (Ill.), Cairo (Egypt), Marseille, Aix-la-Chapelle, Alexandria (Egypt), Washington (D.C.), Columbus (O.), Johannesburg (Africa), Kimberley (Africa), Albany (N.Y.), Punta Arenas (S.A.), Scranton (Pa.), Vancouver (B.C.), San Francisco, Cape Nome?
What circumstances connected with commerce led to the passing of the following-named places: Palmyra, Carthage, Babylon, Genoa, Venice, Ancient Rome, Jerusalem?
COLLATERAL REFERENCE
Any good cyclopædia.
Any good cyclopædia.
Of all the plants connected with the economies of mankind the grasses hold easily the first place. Not only are the seeds of certain species the chief food of nearly all peoples, but the plants themselves are the food of most animals whose flesh is used as meat. Wheat, maize, and rice are used by all except a very few peoples; and about all the animals used for food, fish and mollusks excepted, are grain eaters, or grass eaters, or both.
The grasses of the Plains in Texas, the Veldt in South Africa, and the hills of New Zealand by nature's processes are converted into meat that feeds the great cities of western Europe and the eastern United States. The corn of the Mississippi valley becomes the pork which, yielded from the carcasses of more than forty million swine, is exported to half the countries of the world. Even the two and one-half billion pounds of wool consumed yearly is converted grass.
Wheat.—The wheat of commerce is the seed of several species of cereal grass, one of which,Triticum sativum, is the ordinary cultivated plant. Wild species are found in the highlands of Kurdistan, in Greece, and in Mesopotamia, that are identical with species cultivated to-day. It is thought that the cultivation of the grain began in Mesopotamia, but it is also certain that it was grown by the Swiss lake-dwellers far back in prehistoric times. It is the "corn" Joseph's brothers sought to buy when they went to Egypt, and the records of its harvesting are scattered all over the pages of written history.
THE GRAIN CROP—MODERN METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND HARVESTINGTHE GRAIN CROP—MODERN METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND HARVESTING
Of the one and one-half billion people that constitute the world's population, more than one-third, or about eight times the population of the United States, are consumers of wheat-bread; and this number is yearly increasing by twelve million. Moreover, each individual of this aggregate consumes yearly very nearly one barrel of flour, or about four and one-half bushels of wheat. In other words, it requires somewhat more than two billion three hundred million bushels of wheat each year to supply the world's demand.[23]As a matter of fact the world's crop is yearly consumed so nearly to the danger-line that very often the "visible supply," or the amount known to be in the market, is reduced to a few million bushels.
Wheat will grow under very wide ranges of climate, but it thrives best between the parallels of 25° and 55°. In a soil very rich in vegetable mould it is apt to "run to stalk." A rather poor clay-loam produces the best seed,[24]and a hard seed, rather than a heavy stalk, is required.
In the latitude of Kansas the seeds planted in the fall will retain their vitality through the winter; in the latitude of Dakota they are "winter-killed," as a rule. Because of this feature two broad classes or divisions of the crop are recognized in commerce—the winter and the spring varieties. In general, the spring wheats are regarded as thebetter, and this is nearly always the case in localities too cold for winter wheat. There are exceptions to this rule, however. In the main, winter wheat ripens first, and is therefore first in the market.[25]
WHEATWHEAT
In Europe the plain that faces the North and Baltic Seas, and that part which extends through southern Russia,yield the chief part of the crop, although the plains of the Po, the Danube, and Bohemia furnish heavy crops. Russia, France, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy are all wheat states.
In a normal year all Europe produces a little more than one-half (fifty-five per cent.) of the world's crop. Russia and France excepted, scarcely another state produces as much as is consumed. Great Britain consumes her entire crop in three months; Germany in about six months. France sends a part of her crop to Great Britain and buys of Russia to fill the deficiency. Russia consumes but very little of her wheat-crop; it is nearly all sold to the states of western Europe. All Europe consumes about one billion seven hundred and ten million bushels, but produces about one billion two hundred and fifty million; the remainder is supplied by the United States, India, Argentina, Africa, and Australia.
WHEAT IN UNITED STATESWHEAT IN UNITED STATES
In the United States the great bulk of the crop comes from the upper Mississippi valley and Pacific coast States.About one-third is consumed where it is grown; more than one-third is required for the populous centres of the east; a little less than one-third is exported, of which about ninety per cent. goes to Europe.
WHEAT PRODUCTIONWHEAT PRODUCTION
Much of this, especially the Pacific coast product, is sold unground, but each year an increasing amount is made into flour. The flour manufacture of the United States aggregates somewhat more than 160,000,000 barrels yearly—the output of 16,000 flour-mills; the Pillsbury mills of Minneapolis alone have a capacity of 60,000 barrels a week. In Europe the Hungarian mills and their output of Bohemian flour are the chief competitors of the United States.
WHEATWHEAT
The wheat-crop of the Pacific coast has usually been a factor by itself. On account of the absence of summer rains, the kernel is both plump and hard. After the threshing process it is sacked and stored in the fields in which it has grown.[26]Heretofore much of the sacked wheat hasbeen shipped to European markets by the Cape Horn route, but in late years a yearly increasing amount is made into flour and sold in China, Japan, and Siberia. In 1900 nearly two million barrels were thus sent.
East of the Rocky Mountains, after the grain is harvested much of it is sold to dealers whose storage elevators[27]are scattered all over the wheat-growing region, and at all great points of shipment, such as Duluth, Minneapolis, Buffalo, and the eastern seaports. Before the grain is transferred to the elevators it is inspected and graded, and the cars which contain it are sealed. This wheat constitutes the "visible supply." All the business concerning it is transacted by means of "warehouse receipts," that have almost the currency of ready money. Banks loan money on them almost to their market value.
Under normal conditions, the cost of growing and harvesting a bushel of wheat—including interest on the land and deterioration of the machinery, etc.—is between fifty and fifty-five cents. The market price, when not affected by "corners" and other gambling transactions, usually varies between sixty-two and eighty-five cents. The difference between these figures is divided between the farmer and the "middlemen," the share of the latter being in the form of commissions and elevator charges.
STORING PACIFIC COAST WHEATSTORING PACIFIC COAST WHEAT
In addition to bread-making wheat, certain varieties of grain known as macaroni wheat have a certain importance in the market. Several varieties are so hardy that they easily resist extremely cold winters; they will also grow in regions too dry for ordinary varieties. In this respect they are well adapted to the plains at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. The only detriment is the lack of a steady market. Macaroni wheat has a very hard kernel and is rich in gluten. It is used mainly in the manufacture of macaroni paste, but in Europe, when mixed with three times its weight of ordinary soft wheat, it is much used in making flour. The small amount now grown in the United States is shipped mainly to France.
The yield of wheat varies partly with the rainfall, but the difference is due mainly to skill in cultivation. In western Europe it is from two to three times as great as in the United States; in Russia and India it is much less.[28]
The yearly consumption of wheat is increasing very rapidly both in the United States and in Europe; moreover, China is becoming a wheat-consuming country. In the United States the consumption is increasing so rapidly that unless either the acreage of the crop, or else the yield per acre, is materially increased, there will be no surplus for export after the year 1931.
THE WHEAT INDUSTRY—GRAIN ELEVATORS AT BUFFALO, NEW YORKTHE WHEAT INDUSTRY—GRAIN ELEVATORS AT BUFFALO, NEW YORK
In the United States the acreage may be somewhat increased by the irrigation of arid lands now uncultivated, and by the reclamation of overflowed and swamp lands. There are far greater possibilities, however, in the employment of methods of cultivation which will double the rate of present yield. It is doubtful if there can be much increase of acreage in the States of the Mississippi Valley, where the acreage will of necessity be lessened rather than increased.
In western Europe there can be no material increase of the acreage or the rate of yield; in Russia both are possible. The plains of Argentina now yield a notable quantity—about one hundred million bushels—and the amount may be increased. Moreover, a large product may be obtained from both Uruguay and Paraguay, and southern Brazil, neither one of which produces a considerable quantity. At the present rate of the increase in consumption, all of the available land, yielding its maximum, will not produce a sufficient crop at the end of the twentieth century.
Corn.—Maize or Indian corn is the seed of a plant,Zea mays, a member of the grass family. It is not known to exist in a wild state. The species now cultivated are undoubtedly derived from the American continent, but evidence is not wanting to show that it was known in China and the islands of Asia before the discovery of America.[29]The commercial history of corn begins with the discovery of America. Next to meat it was the chief food of the native American; next to wheat it is the chief food-stuff in the American continent to-day.
Corn requires a rich soil and is not so hardy as wheat. It thrives best in regions having long summers and warmnights. The growing crop is easily injured by too much rain. It is an abundant crop in the central Mississippi Valley, but not near the coast; it is very prolific in Nebraska, but not in Dakota; it thrives in Italy, Austria, and the Balkan Peninsula, but not in the British Isles and Germany. It is a very important crop in Australia, and is the staple grain of Mexico. It is the crop of fourteen-hour days and warm nights.
CORNCORN
The United States is the chief producer of corn, and from an area of 80,000,000 acres—about that of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois combined—more than two billion bushels, or four-fifths of the world's crop, are produced. In the past few years the area planted with corn has not materially increased, and it is likely to be lessened rather than increased in the future. From the same acreage, however, the annual yield, now about twenty-five or thirty bushels per acre, can be more than doubled by the use of more skilful methods of cultivation.
Corn contains more fatty substance, or natural oil, thanwheat, and therefore has a greater heating power. For this reason it is better than wheat for out-of-door workers, and it is almost the only cereal food-stuff consumed in Spanish America. It is also a staple food-stuff in Egypt. Corn has been used as a bread-stuff in the United States, Italy, and Rumania[30]for a long time. In recent years, however, its use has become very popular in Europe.
CORN PRODUCTIONCORN PRODUCTION
In the United States by far the greater part of the crop is consumed where it is grown, being used to fatten swine and cattle. The market value of a pound of corn is about one-third of a cent; converted into pork or beef, however, it is worth five or six times as much. By feeding the corn to stock, therefore, a farmer may turn an unmarketable product into one for which there is a steady demand.
CORNCORN
Although corn is not so essential a staple as wheat, it has a much wider range of usefulness. The starch made from it is considered a delicacy and is used very largely in America and Europe as an article of food. Glucose, a cheap but wholesome substitute for sugar, is made from it; from the oil a substitute for rubber is prepared; smokeless powder and other explosives are made from the pith ofthe stalk; while a very large part of the product is used in the manufacture of liquor.
Rye.—Rye is the seed of a cereal grass,Secale cereale, a plant closely resembling wheat in external appearance. Rye will grow in soils that are too poor for wheat; its northern limit is in latitudes somewhat greater than that of wheat, also. It is an ideal crop for the sandy plain stretching from the Netherlands into central Russia, and this locality produces almost the whole yield. The world's crop is about one and a half billion bushels, of which Russia produces nearly two-thirds. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Japan grow nearly all the rest. It is consumed where it is grown. In the United States the yearly product is about twenty-five million bushels, about one-tenth of which is exported to Europe. Rye-bread is almost always sour, and this fact is its chief disadvantage.
Barley.—Barley is the seed of several species of cereal grass, mainlyHordeum distichumandHordeum vulgare. It is one of the oldest-used of bread-stuffs. It can be cultivated farther north than wheat, and about as far within the tropics as corn; it has, therefore, very wide limits. Formerly it was much used in northwestern Europe as a bread-stuff, but in recent years it has been in part supplanted by wheat and corn. Barley is a most excellent food for horses, and in California is grown mainly for this purpose. Its chief use is for the manufacture of the malt used in brewing.
The world's crop of barley is not far from one billion bushels, of which the United States produces about sixty million bushels. Most of the crop is grown in the Germanic states of Europe, and in Russia.
Oats.—The oat is the seed of a cereal grass,Avena sativabeing the species almost always cultivated. It is not known where the cultivated species originated, but theearliest known locality is central Europe, where it was certainly a domestic plant during the Bronze Age. It seems probable that the species now cultivated in Scotland at one time grew wild in western Europe; certain it is that wild species are found in North America.
OATS PRODUCTIONOATS PRODUCTION
The oat grows within rather wider limits of latitude, and thrives in a greater variety of soils than does wheat. Grown in a moist climate, however, the grain is at its best. The oat-crop of the world aggregates more than three billion bushels, surpassing that of wheat or corn in measurement, but not in weight. A small portion of this is used as a bread-stuff, but the greater part is used as horse-food, for which it is remarkably adapted.
OATSOATS
In Europe, Russia is the greatest producer, and its yearly oat harvest is about one-quarter of the world's crop. The states of northwestern Europe yield about half the entire crop; the wheat-growing area of the United States produces the remaining one-fourth. Russia and the United States are both exporters, the grain going to western Europe. By far the greater part of the grain is consumed where it is grown.
Rice.—Rice is the seed of a cereal grass,Oryza sativa. It is claimed to be native to India, but it is known to havebeen cultivated in China for more than five thousand years. It grows wild in Australia and Malaysia.
Rice requires plenty of warmth and moisture. It is cultivated in the warmer parts of the temperate zone, but it thrives best in the tropical regions. In China a considerable upland rice is grown, but for the greater part it is grown in level lowlands that may be flooded with water. The preparation of the fields is a matter of great expense, for they may require flooding and draining at a moment's notice. The crop matures in from three to six months. After threshing, the seed is still covered with a husk, and in this form it is known as "paddy."
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Why is not wheat-growing a profitable industry in the New England States?—in the plains at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains?—in the southern part of the United States?What are meant by the following terms: No. 1 spring, a corner, a disk harrow, a cradle, a flail, a separator, futures, warehouse certificates?In 1855 the price of a barrel of flour in New York or Boston was about twelve dollars; at the close of the century it was less than five. Explain how the lessened price came about.From a census or other report make a list of the ten leading wheat-producing States; the ten that produce the most corn.Why are the foreign shipments of oats less than those of wheat?What are the prices current of wheat, corn, oats, and barley to-day?
Why is not wheat-growing a profitable industry in the New England States?—in the plains at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains?—in the southern part of the United States?
What are meant by the following terms: No. 1 spring, a corner, a disk harrow, a cradle, a flail, a separator, futures, warehouse certificates?
In 1855 the price of a barrel of flour in New York or Boston was about twelve dollars; at the close of the century it was less than five. Explain how the lessened price came about.
From a census or other report make a list of the ten leading wheat-producing States; the ten that produce the most corn.
Why are the foreign shipments of oats less than those of wheat?
What are the prices current of wheat, corn, oats, and barley to-day?
FOR STUDY AND REFERENCE
Obtain samples of the different kinds of wheat, oats, barley, corn, millet, and rice. Put the grain in small, closely stoppered vials; attach the heads of the small grains to sheets of cardboard of the proper size.Read "The Wheat Problem"—Chapter I.
Obtain samples of the different kinds of wheat, oats, barley, corn, millet, and rice. Put the grain in small, closely stoppered vials; attach the heads of the small grains to sheets of cardboard of the proper size.
Read "The Wheat Problem"—Chapter I.
PICKING COTTON, ALABAMAPICKING COTTON, ALABAMA
TRANSPORTING COTTON FROM WHARF, CHARLESTON, S.C.TRANSPORTING COTTON FROM WHARF, CHARLESTON, S.C.
COTTON PRESS YARD, NEW ORLEANS, LA.COTTON PRESS YARD, NEW ORLEANS, LA.
Under the term "textile" are included the fibrous substances that can be spun into threads, and woven or felted into cloth. Some of these, like the covering of the sheep, goat, and llama, or the cocoon of the silk-worm, are of animal origin; others, like cotton furze, the husk of the cocoanut, and the bast of the flax-plant are vegetable products. Their use in the manufacture of cloth antedates the period at which written history begins; it probably begins with the time when primitive man gradually ceased to have the hairy covering necessary to protect him from the conditions of climate and weather.
As body coverings all these substances are dependent on a single principle, namely—they are poor conductors of heat; that is, they do not permit the natural heat of the body to pass away quickly, nor do they allow sudden changes of the temperature to reach the body quickly. In other words, because of the artificial covering which mankind alone requires, bodily heat is not dissipated more rapidly than it is created; if it were, the covering would be worthless. A suit of clothes made of steel wire, for instance, because it conducts heat so rapidly, might chill, or perhaps heat the body more quickly than the open air.
With respect to warming qualities wool surpasses all other textiles. It is employed for clothing in every part of the world and by nearly all peoples. Cotton is used mainly also for body coverings, but it is inferior to wool for protection against cold. It is used by practically all peoples,savage and civilized, outside of the frigid zones. Linen is inferior both to cotton and wool for clothing; its use is also restricted by its great cost. Silk is used mainly for ornamental cloths. Hemp is used mainly for cordage, and the use of ramie, jute, and sisal hemp is confined mainly to the manufacture of very coarse cloths and rugs.
Cotton.—The cotton fibre of commerce is the lint surrounding the seeds of several species ofGossypium, plants belonging to the same natural order as the marshmallow and the hollyhock. The cultivated species have been carried from India to different parts of the world, but cotton-bearing plants are also native to the American. A native tree-cotton, known as Barbados cotton, occurs in the West Indies; a herbaceous cotton-plant is known to have been cultivated in Peru long before the discovery of Columbus.
COTTON-PRODUCING REGIONSCOTTON-PRODUCING REGIONS
More than four hundred years before the Christian era Herodotus describes it and mentions a gin for separatingthe lint from the seed. Nearchus, an admiral serving under Alexander the Great, brought to Europe specimens of cotton cloth, and in the course of time it became an article of commerce among Greek and Roman merchants.
The cotton-plant requires warmth, moisture, and a long season. It also thrives best near the sea. It grows better, on the whole, in subtropical rather than in tropical regions, and the difference is due probably to the longer days and higher temperature of the subtropical latitudes. In the United States the northern limit is approximately the thirty-eighth parallel. The seeds are planted, as a rule, during the first three weeks of April and the first two of May. The plants bloom about the middle of June; the boll or pod matures during July, and bursts about the first of August. The picking begins in August.
COTTON IN THE UNITED STATESCOTTON IN THE UNITED STATES
The yield and the quality of the textile depend not only on conditions of the soil, but on locality. In the river flood-plains of the southern United States the yield is about two bales per acre; on the bluff lands it is but littlemore than one, unless unusual care is taken in the preparation of the land. The islands off the Carolina coast produce a very fine long-staple variety, commercially known assea island cotton. A district in China produces a good fibre of brownish color known asnankeen, named for the city of Nanking, whence formerly it was exported. The valley of Piura River, Peru, produces varieties of long-staple cotton that in quality closely resemble silk.
The fibre of ordinary American cotton is about seven-eighths of an inch long; it is made into the fabrics commercially known as "domestics" and "prints," or calico. If the fibre averages a little longer than the common grades it is reserved for canvas. Ordinary Peruvian cotton has a fibre nearly two inches long; it is used in the manufacture of hosiery and balbriggan underwear, and also to adulterate wool. The long-staple cotton of the Piura Valley is bought by British manufacturers at a high price, and used in the webbing of rubber tires and hose. Egyptian cotton is very fine and is used mainly in the manufacture of thread and the finer grades of balbriggan underwear. Sea island fibre is nearly two inches long and is used almost wholly in the making of thread and lace.
The introduction of cotton cultivation resulted in very far-reaching consequences both from a political as well as an economic stand-point. The invention of the steam-engine by Watt gave England an enormous mechanical power. To utilize this the cotton industry was wrested from Hindustan; the mills were concentrated in Manchester and Lancashire; the cotton-fields were transferred to the United States.
As a result, the plains of Hindustan were strewn with the bodies of starved weavers and spinners, but a great industry grew into existence in England. The invention of spinning machinery by Arkwright, Crompton, andHargreaves, and the gradual improvement of the power-loom, greatly reduced the cost of making the cloth and, at the same time, enormously increased the demand for it.
COTTON PRODUCTIONCOTTON PRODUCTION
In the United States the consequences were far more serious. The invention of the engine or "gin" for separating the lint from the seed made cotton cultivation highly profitable.[31]The negro slaves, who had been scattered throughout the colonies and the States that succeeded them, were soon drawn to the cotton-growing States to supply the needed field-labor; and, indeed, white workmen could not stand the hot, moist climate of the cotton-fields.
The cotton-mills grew up in the Northern manufacturing States. The Northern manufacturer needed a tariff on imported goods to protect him from European competition; the Southern cotton-planter who purchased much of his supplies abroad was hurt by the tariff. After about sixty years of strained relations between the two sections there occurred the Civil War which wiped out nearly one million lives, and rolled up a debt, direct and indirect, of nearly six billions of dollars.
The world's cotton-crop aggregates from twelve millionto fifteen million bales yearly, of which the United States produces, as a rule, a little more than three-fourths. Egypt is rapidly taking an important place among cotton-producing countries, and, with the completion of the various irrigating canals, will very soon rank next to the United States. India ranks about third; China and Korea produce about the same quantity. There are a few cotton-cloth mills in these states, but in Japan the manufacture is increasing, the mills being equipped with the best of modern machinery. Brazil has a small product, and Russia in Asia needs transportation facilities only to increase largely its growing output.
COTTONCOTTON
The cotton-crop of the United States is quite evenly distributed; one-third is manufactured at home; one-third is purchased by Great Britain; and the remaining third goes mainly to western Europe. In the past few years China has become a constantly increasing purchaser of American cotton. New Orleans, Galveston, Savannah, and New York are the chief ports of shipment. The imported Egyptian and Peruvian cotton is landed mainly at New York. Most of the cotton manufacture is carried on in the New England States, but there is a very rapid extension of cotton manufacture in the South.
Wool.—The wool of commerce is a term applied to the fleece of the common sheep, to that of certain species of goat, and to that of the camel and its kind. There is no hard-and-fast distinction between hair and wool,[32]but, in general, wool fibres have rough edges, much resembling overlapping scales which interlock with one another; hair, as a rule, has a hard, smooth surface. If a mass of loosewool be spread out and beaten, or if it be pressed between rollers, the fibres interlock so closely that there results a thick, strong cloth which has been made without either spinning or weaving.
This property, known as "felting," gives to wool a great part of its value, and is its chief distinction from hair. Some kinds of hair, however, have a slight felting property, and if sufficiently fine may be spun and woven. The hair of the common goat is worthless for this purpose, but that of the Cashmere and Angora species have the properties of wool. The hair of the Bactrian camel, and also that of the llama, alpaca, and vicuña is soft and fine, possessing felting qualities that make it very superior as a textile.
WOOL PRODUCING REGIONSWOOL PRODUCING REGIONS
The quality of wool varies greatly according to the conditions of soil, climate, and the character of the food of the animal. In commerce, however, the fleeces are commonly graded as "long-staple," "short-staple," "merino," and "coarse."
In long-staple wools the fibres are from four to eightinches long; they are more easily separated by a process much like combing, and are therefore called "combing" wools. The cotswold, cheviot, and most of the wools of the British Isles are of this kind; indeed, in fairly moist lowland regions such as Canada and the United States, there is a tendency toward the development of a long-staple product. The English long-staple wools are largely made into worsted cloth, the Scotch cheviot into tweeds, and the French into the best dress cloth.
If the fibres are materially less than four inches in length, the product is classed as a short-staple or "carding" wool. By far the greater part of the wool of the United States, Canada, and Europe is of this class. It is disposed of according to its fineness or fitness for special purposes, the greater part being made into cloths for the medium grades of men's clothing.
The finest and softest wool as a rule is grown in arid, plateau regions, and of this kind of staple the merino is an example. The fibres are fine as silk, and the goods made from them are softer. The Mission wool of California is the product of merino sheep, and, indeed, the conditions of climate in southern California and Australia are such as to produce the best merino wool. The famous Electoral wool of Saxony is a merino, the sheep having been introduced into that country from Spain about three hundred years ago. The merino wools, as a rule, are used in the most highly finished dress and fancy goods.
The coarse-staple wools are very largely used for American carpets, coarse blankets, and certain kinds of heavy outer clothing. The Russian Donskoi wool, some of the Argentine fleeces, such as the Cordoban, and many of those grown in wet lowlands are very coarse and harsh. The quality is due more to climatic conditions and food than to the species of sheep; indeed, sheep that in other regions produce a fine wool, when introduced to this locality, after a few generations produce coarse wool.
SHEEP FEEDING ON ALFALFASHEEP FEEDING ON ALFALFA
SHEEP RANCH, UTAHSHEEP RANCH, UTAH
THE WOOL-GROWING INDUSTRYSHEEP IN THE FEEDING YARDTHE WOOL-GROWING INDUSTRY
The rug wools grown in Persia, Turkestan, Turkey in Asia, and the Caucasus Mountains are also characteristic. They vary in fineness, and because they do not readily felt they are the best in the world for rug stock. The "pile" or surface of the rug remains elastic and stands upright even after a hundred years of wear. This quality is due mainly to conditions of climate and soil.
WOOL PRODUCTIONWOOL PRODUCTION
In some instances the wool is obtained by a daily combing of the half-grown lambs. This process, however, is employed in the rug-making districts only; in general, the fleeces are clipped either with shears or machine clippers. In the United States the latter are generally employed, and but little attempt is made either to sort the fleeces or to separate the various qualities of wool in the same fleece.
The raw wool always contains foreign matter such as burs and dirt; it is also saturated with a natural oil which prevents felting. The oil, commonly called "grease," or "yolk," is an important article of commerce; under the name of "lanolin" (adeps lanæ) it is used in medicine and pharmacy as a basis for ointments.
The world's yearly clip is a little more than two and one-half billion pounds, of which the United States produces about one-eighth. In Europe and the United States, owing to the increasing value of the land, the area of production is decreasing; in Australia, South Africa, and Argentina, where land is cheap, it is increasing. From these three regions wool is exported; most European countries and the United States buy it. In the latter country the consumption is about six pounds for each person.
WOOLWOOL
The wools of the Mediterranean countries—France, Spain, Italy, Algiers, Egypt, etc.—are the best for fine cloths; those of central Asia for rugs and shawls; the others are used mainly in medium and low grade textiles.
Other Wools.—The Angora goat, originally grown in Anatolia (Asia Minor), and the Iran States (Persia, Afghanistan, and Baluchistan), furnishes a beautiful white wool, commercially known as "mohair." Smyrna is an important market for it, and England is the chief buyer. The Angora goat has been introduced into South Africa and California, where it is successfully grown. From the former country there is a large export of mohair.
Cashmere wool is a fine, downy undercovering, obtained by combing the fleece of a goat native to the Kashmir Valley in India. A single animal yields scarcely more than an ounce or two, and the best product is worth about its weight in gold. It is used in the manufacture of the famous Cashmere shawls, which are sold at prices varying from five hundred to five thousand dollars. They are made in Persia and India.
Llama and alpaca wool are fine textile obtained from animals of the camel kind native to South America. The wool is either black or brown in color. A considerablepart is used for native-made articles, such as saddle-blankets, etc., but much of it is exported to England.
Most of the "camel's hair" of commerce was originally worn by goats, being called by its commercial name because of a similarity in texture to that of the camel's hair. The camel of Turkestan, however, furnishes a silky textile that is much used. The brown wool often found in Hamadan rugs is natural camel's hair, and a considerable amount mixed with sheep's wool is used in certain textiles. The camel's hair of China is made into artists' brushes.
Silk.—The silk of commerce is the fibre spun by the larvæ or caterpillars of a moth,Bombyx mori, as they enter the chrysalis stage of existence. The silk-growing industry includes the care and feeding of the insect in all its stages. The leaves of the white mulberry-tree (morus alba) are the natural food of the insect, and silk-growing cannot be carried on in regions where this tree does not thrive. Not all areas that produce the mulberry-tree, however, will also grow the silk-worm; the latter cannot exist in regions having very cold winters, and therefore the industry is restricted by climate.
The moth, shortly after emerging from the chrysalis stage, lays from two or three hundred to seven hundred eggs. These are "hardy"—that is, they will remain fertile for a long time if kept in a cool, dry place; moisture will cause them to putrify, and heat to germinate. If well protected, they may be transported for distances.
In rearing the silk-worm, as soon as the latter is hatched, it is placed on mulberry-leaves, and for five weeks it does nothing but eat, in that time consuming many times its weight of food.[33]Then it begins to spin the material that forms its chrysalis case or cocoon. The outer part of the case consists of a tough envelope not unlike coarse tissue-paper; the inner part is a fine thread about one thousand feet long that has been wound around the body of the worm. This thread or filament is the basis of the silk textile industry.
Silk IndustryCopyright, 1898, by Nature Study Pub. Co.SILK INDUSTRY1. Silkworm Eggs2. Fourth-stage Worm3. Pupa in Cocoon4. Cocoon5. Male Moth6. Female Moth7. Unspun Silk8. Raw Manufactured Silk9. Manufactured Silk
SILK PRODUCING REGIONSSILK PRODUCING REGIONS
At the proper time the cocoons are gathered and, if immediately to be used, are plunged into hot water. This not only kills the chrysalids but softens the cocoons as well, so that the outer cases may be removed. The cases removed, the rest of the cocoon is soaked in warm water until the gummy matter is softened and the fibres are free enough to be reeled. In the latter process the ends of a number of cocoons, varying from five to twenty, are caught and loosely twisted into a single strand. The silk thus prepared forms the "raw silk" of commerce. Sometimes a number of strands of raw silk are twisted into a coarse thread, thereby forming "thrown silk." For conveniencein handling, both raw and thrown silk are made into large skeins called hanks, and most of the silk product is exported in this form.
A given quantity of cocoons yields scarcely more than one-tenth its weight in good raw silk. The remaining part, consisting of broken fibres and cases, is shredded and spun into silk thread of inferior quality. This material, commonly called "husks" or "knubs," forms an important item in silk manufacture, and much of it is exported to Europe and America.
SILK PRODUCTIONSILK PRODUCTION
According to traditions, not wholly trustworthy, eggs of the silk-worm were smuggled to India in the head-dress of a Chinese princess. Thence sericulture slowly made its way westward to Persia, Asia Minor, and the Mediterranean countries. Wild silk, a coarse but strong product, is grown in many of these countries, but mainly in China, where it forms an important export. The Chinese product is commercially known as "tussar" silk. Of the product of raw silk, about thirty-five million pounds, China yields about two-fifths, Japan and Italy each one-fifth. The remainder is grown in the Levant, Spain, and France.
Most of the raw silk of China is exported from Shanghai and Canton; that of Japan is shipped mainly from Yokohama. Among European countries Italy is the first producer of raw silk, and France the chief manufacturer.By the operation of a heavy tariff a considerable manufacture of silk textiles has grown up in the United States. New York City and Paterson, N.J., are the chief centres of the industry.
The southern part of the United States offers an ideal locality for sericulture. Various attempts at silk-worm breeding have failed from lack of training, but not on account of geographic conditions.
Flax.—The flax of commerce, the basis of linen cloth, is the bast or inner bark-fibre of an annual plant (Linum usitalissimum,i.e., most useful fibre), native probably to the Mediterranean basin. It ranks among the oldest known textiles. Bundles of unwrought fibre have been found in the lake dwellings of Switzerland, and linen cloth constituted a part of the sepulture wrappings of the ancient Egyptian dead.
Flax has a very wide range, thriving in the colder parts of Europe as well as in tropical Asia; it does equally well in the dry summers of California or the moist regions of the Mississippi Valley. The chief requisite is a firm soil that contains plenty of nutrition.
After the stalks have passed maturity they are pulled up by hand; "rippled," or deprived of their seeds and leaves; "retted," or moistened in soft water until the bast separates; "broken" and "scutched" by a machine which gets rid of the woody fibres; and finally the loosened bast fibre is "hetcheled" or combed in order to separate the long, or "line," threads from the "tow" or refuse.
Russia produces more than one-half the world's crop, but the finest and choicest is that known as Courtrai fibre, which is grown in Belgium. This is thought to be due to the quality of the water in the Lys River. A considerable amount of flax grown elsewhere in Europe is sent to this part of Belgium to be retted. Ireland andGermany produce considerable amounts, and a small quantity is grown in the United States.
The prepared flax is used in the manufacture of linen cloth, and the latter is almost exclusively used for table-cloths, napkins, shirt-bosoms, collars, cuffs, and handkerchiefs. France is noted for the manufacture of linen lawns and cambrics, and Belfast, Ireland, for table-cloths and napkins. Nearly the whole linen product is consumed in the United States, Canada, and western Europe; indeed, linen is a mark of western civilization. Great Britain handles the greater part of the linen textiles.
Hemp.—The true hemp of commerce is the bast or inner bark of a plant,Cannabis sativa, belonging to the nettle order. It is an annual plant having a very wide range; it occurs in pretty nearly every country of North America, Europe, and Asia. In Europe the chief countries producing it for commercial uses are Russia, France, Italy, and Hungary; in the United States it is grown in California and the central Mississippi Valley. Russia produces the largest crop; Italy the finest quality of fibre, the best coming from the vicinity of Bologna.
The stalks grow three feet or more in height. When cultivated for the fibre they are pulled from the ground, stripped of their leaves and soaked until the fibre is free. They are then "retted," or beaten, and the fibre is removed. After preparation the fibre is used mainly for the manufacture of wrapping-twine, cordage, and a coarse canvas. Great Britain is the chief purchaser and manufacturer.
Manila Hemp.—Manila hemp is the name given to a fibre obtained from the leaves of a plant,Musa textilis, belonging to the banana family. The best fibres are from six to nine feet in length, of light amber color, and very strong. The leaves, torn into narrow strips by hand, are afterward scraped by hand until the fibre is free of pulp.The long and coarser fibres are made into rope; the shorter fibres are beaten and hetcheled in the same manner as flax, until fine enough to weave into mats, carpets, and fine cloth. The fibres that have served their usefulness as rope are pulped and manufactured into manila paper.
Practically all the manila fibre of commerce—which is not hemp at all—is grown in the Philippine Islands, and since peace has prevailed, the growth and production is increasing. The crude fibre is prepared by hand, by Filipino or by Chinese labor. The manufacture of cordage and paper is done mainly in the United States and Great Britain. Fine hand-made textiles are made by a few Filipino natives, but most of the goods of this character are manufactured in France. Very fine fibre is sometimes used as an adulterant of silk. Great Britain and the United States are the chief purchasers.
Sisal Hemp.—Sisal hemp, or henequen, is a stout, stringy fibre obtained from the thick leaves of several species of agave, to which the maguey and century-plant belong. The cultivated species, from which most of the commercial product is obtained, is theAgave sisalina, which much resembles the ordinary century-plant.
The essential feature in the economic production of sisal hemp is machinery for separating the fibre from the pulp of the leaf. The fibre is whiter, cleaner, and lighter than jute; moreover, in strength it ranks next to the best quality of manila hemp. It is used mainly in the manufacture of grain-sacks, and the twine used on self-binding harvesters. Nearly all the fibre of commerce is grown in the Mexican state of Yucatan and consumed in the United States. The cultivation of this material has made Yucatan one of the most prosperous states of Mexico.
Jute.—Jute is a fibre obtained from the inner bark of a tropical plant,Corchorus olitorius, belonging to the sameorder as the linden-tree. The plant is an annual, growing in various moist, tropical countries, but is extensively cultivated in India and parts of China for commercial purposes. The fibre is prepared for manufacture in much the same manner as hemp and flax. In India it is used mainly for the manufacture of a coarse textile known as gunny cloth, used as bale-wrappers, and sacks for coffee and rice. On the Pacific coast states it is used for wheat-sacks. Calcutta is the chief centre of manufacture, but jute-sacks are extensively manufactured by the Chinese in California and China.
Ramie.—This fibre, also known as China grass, is the best of two or more species of nettles, prepared in the same manner as hemp fibre. It is finer and stronger than jute, and will take dye-stuffs in a superior manner. With the introduction of machinery for separating and handling the fibre, the cultivation of the ramie-plant has spread from China to India, Japan, and the United States. Fine textiles are now manufactured from it, the most important being carpets, mattings, and American "Smyrna" rugs. The last are generally sold as jute-rugs, and they are nearly as durable as woollen floor-covers.
Other Economic Fibres.—The fibre ofcocoanut huskis largely employed in the manufacture of coarse matting. A part of this is obtained from tropical America, but it is a regular export of British India, where it is known ascoir.
The mid-rib of thescrew pinegrowing in the forests of tropical America furnishes the material of which "Panama" hats are made. The hats are made in various parts of Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia, and were formerly marketed in Panama. Hats made of a score of grasses and fibres are also sold as Panamas.
A plant (Phormium tenax) having leaves somewhat like those of the iris or common flag furnishes the material ofwhich New Zealand flax is prepared. It is used mainly in the manufacture of cordage.
Plaiting straw, used in the manufacture of hats and bonnets, is grown extensively in northern Italy and in Belgium. For this product spring wheat is very thickly sown in a soil rich in lime. The thick sowing produces a long, slender stalk; the lime gives it whiteness and strength. Plaiting straw is also exported from China and Japan. British merchants handle most of the product.
Cuba bast, a fibre readily bleached to whiteness, is exported to the various establishments in which women's hats are made.
Esparto grass, also calledalfa, grows in Spain and the northern part of Africa. It was formerly much used in the manufacture of the cheaper grades of paper, but it has been largely supplanted by wood-pulp for this purpose. The decline of the esparto grass industry led to no little unrest among some of the native tribes of northern Africa.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION