In Switzerland needlework, mending, etc., has been taught the girls in the schools for many years. The Japanese and the Persians are noted rather as embroiderers than sewers, the work being done more often by the men than the women. Naturally the sewing done at first was primitive, and the garments made were very simple ; but as time advanced. MENDING 369 almost every nation improved in sewing and garment cut- ting, and also in embroidery, so that by the end of the seventeenth century the use of the needle in convents and schools was carried to great perfection. Hand sewing continued to be the only means of sewing until 1830, when Bartholemy Thimonier of France invented the first sewing-machine. This, of course, was a very simple affair, and was followed by a double thread, or lockstitch, machine, invented by Walter Hunt of New York in 1832. In 1844 Elias Howe of Massachusetts improved upon those already invented, and the Singer sewing-machine was first used in 1851. These, as is well known, have been improved upon by many others, until it would seem perfection had almost been reached. Sewing has been introduced as part of a child's education in most of the public schools of America in the past ten or twelve years, and will soon, it is hoped, become universal. Study of Material Wool. — Wool, in its natural state, is a dirty white, yellow, or brown in color, and is obtained from the sheep. The sheep are shorn once a year, generally in April or May, the best wool coming from the shoulders, lower part of the neck, and the back. When seen through a microscope, a fibre of wool is com- posed of rings, which stand out like scales on a fish, and it is this property which makes a piece of woollen cloth feel rough to the touch when passing over it in one direction, but not in another. Woollens and worsteds are very much alike, but it may be easy to remember that long-fibred wool, when spun and woven, produces worsteds, while short-fibred wool, spun and more closely woven, makes the wools, though it is 2b 370 HANDBOOK OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE now hard to distinguish the difference, owing to the great improvement of the machinery used in the manufacture. The first process in the preparation of wool for weaving is the washing. This is done by a machine which opens out the matted wool by means of rakes, at the same time wash- ing it through several waters on a series of tables. The next step is the bleaching of the wool, which is not difficult, and far less laborious than the bleaching of cotton or linen. If the wool is to be dyed a dark color it is not bleached. The use of wool for spinning and weaving is of so great an antiquity that it is impossible to say when it originated, but it is certain that wool was in use long before vegetable fibre was employed. Our greatest supplies of wool come from California and Australia. London and Boston are the greatest wool mar- kets in the world. Cotton. — Most of the cotton used in the world is raised in the United States, and the two principal varieties are, short staple cotton, or cotton having short fibres, and long staple cotton, having long fibres. The Sea Island cotton, which has the longest fibres, and is the best, is almost extinct.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

In Switzerland needlework, mending, etc., has been taught the girls in the schools for many years. The Japanese and the Persians are noted rather as embroiderers than sewers, the work being done more often by the men than the women. Naturally the sewing done at first was primitive, and the garments made were very simple ; but as time advanced. almost every nation improved in sewing and garment cutting, and also in embroidery, so that by the end of the seventeenth century the use of the needle in convents and schools was carried to great perfection. Hand sewing continued to be the only means of sewing until 1830, when Bartholemy Thimonier of France invented the first sewing-machine. This, of course, was a very simple affair, and was followed by a double thread, or lockstitch, machine, invented by Walter Hunt of New York in 1832. In 1844 Elias Howe of Massachusetts improved upon those already invented, and the Singer sewing-machine was first used in 1851. These, as is well known, have been improved upon by many others, until it would seem perfection had almost been reached. Sewing has been introduced as part of a child's education in most of the public schools of America in the past ten or twelve years, and will soon, it is hoped, become universal. Study of Material Wool. — Wool, in its natural state, is a dirty white, yellow, or brown in color, and is obtained from the sheep. The sheep are shorn once a year, generally in April or May, the best wool coming from the shoulders, lower part of the neck, and the back. When seen through a microscope, a fibre of wool is composed of rings, which stand out like scales on a fish, and it is this property which makes a piece of woollen cloth feel rough to the touch when passing over it in one direction, but not in another. Woollens and worsteds are very much alike, but it may be easy to remember that long-fibred wool, when spun and woven, produces worsteds, while short-fibred wool, spun and more closely woven, makes the wools, though it is 2b now hard to distinguish the difference, owing to the great improvement of the machinery used in the manufacture. The first process in the preparation of wool for weaving is the washing. This is done by a machine which opens out the matted wool by means of rakes, at the same time washing it through several waters on a series of tables. The next step is the bleaching of the wool, which is not difficult, and far less laborious than the bleaching of cotton or linen. If the wool is to be dyed a dark color it is not bleached. The use of wool for spinning and weaving is of so great an antiquity that it is impossible to say when it originated, but it is certain that wool was in use long before vegetable fibre was employed. Our greatest supplies of wool come from California and Australia. London and Boston are the greatest wool markets in the world. Cotton. — Most of the cotton used in the world is raised in the United States, and the two principal varieties are, short staple cotton, or cotton having short fibres, and long staple cotton, having long fibres. The Sea Island cotton, which has the longest fibres, and is the best, is almost extinct.

Handbook of domestic science and household arts for use in elementary schools