Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

WELSH COTTAGE INDUSTRIES. 177 the machine is constantly heard from cottage doors, but it is doubtful if the Welsh them- selves do not prefer the hand-made stockings to be seen on the stalls at every market and fair; at any rate, there is still a good deal of hand knitting done by the rural people, and recently a fresh impetus has been given by the revival of hand-knitted golfing and shoot- ing stockings. The finish of the hand-made hose is certainly softer and finer than that of machine-made goods. But hosiery is not the only product of the busy cottage knitters; shawls, gloves, children’s gaiters, cardigan jackets, and jerseys come fresh, and often beautiful, from the little frames, and the white, hand-manu- factured goods made from the wool of the pure bred mountain sheep are especially worthy, The “ Welsh wig,” a sort of nightcap in black worsted, is still fabricated and worn under the “Jim Crow” hat; instead of the white frilled caps and the “ high ” hat of old, now almost as extinct as the dodo— the last one I saw was being buried by an old dame to save it from the ridicule of the younger generation ! Wales generally, and especially Carmarthenshire, with its many strong, rapid streams, rivers, and waterfalls, is a country peculiarly adapted to the generating of electrical power ; and thinkers who have the interest of the Welsh at heart foresee a rosy and not far distant future when every cottager will apply electricity to his knitting machine or power loom. This would do more, perhaps, than anything to increase the output of the country and check the move- ment to the large towns, and consequent depopulation of the rural districts. While the rustic folks are slow of action and content with local con- sumption, the energetic ones will seek in fresh fields a market for their push and enterprise ; and since it seems to be for the benefit of the nation as well as for the in- dividual that the worker should remain on the land, the value of keeping the home together by profitable employment cannot be overrated. Netting is immediately related to knitting, but is distinguished by the knotting of the intersections of the cord. In Wales, as else- where, it is one of the most ancient arts, beine' practised by primitive tribes at all times. In the old days the Welsh netting industry chiefly consisted of the finer sorts, such as curtains, d’oyleys, and the now almost defunct antimacassar. When these articles flourished the trade was considerable, and the art being easily learned, and the implements simple and inexpensive, workers were plenti- ful. Then antimacassars went out of vogue, and the netters endured a long period of depression. Lately they have commenced the manufacture of the coarser and more useful forms of their art; for many and varied are the purposes to which netting can be applied. A young but flourishing cottage industry now exists, and seems likely to grow up quickly and do well in the making of fishing nets, nets for catching game, for defending the cherries and strawberries from the ravages of feathered transgressors of the law, for the temporary division of fields, and for ham- mocks. Net making, in spite of the introduction of several netting machines since the nine- teenth century, continues to be a handicraft, possibly because of the wonderful dexterity which a little practice in meshing develops. 1 he old “ twine ” nets are being superseded by cotton nets, the latter being much more easily handled and stored. Mary Barber. Photo: Cassell MAKING AGRICULTURAL NETS. & Co., Ltd. 23