Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

IRELAND’S CHIEF INDUSTRY. 23 There are many technicalities connected with the power loom with which the reader need not be troubled. As the principle, how- ever, in these intricate machines is virtually the same as that of the hand loom, it would be well to explain the meaning of the words warp and weft. The warp carries those threads which run the whole length of the cloth, while the shuttle flying across leads the threads comprising the weft under and over them alternately. At each passage of the shuttle the “ reed,” between the wires of which each thread of the warp is passed, moves up and presses the last thread of the weft close up to those which have preceded it, and so a compact piece of cloth is gradually formed at each beat of 'the loom. In this way plain linen stuff is woven. When it comes to fancy linens, towels, damasks, etc., a more complicated process is resorted to. It was the discovery, a century ago, of a method of working in patterns which made the name of Jacquard, the French silk weaver, known throughout the world, and brought about a revolution in producing fabrics. The Jacquard machine, which is used both in hand and power looms, consists, briefly, of serried rows of needles with their points projecting from a frame behind a perforated metal box turned each time the warp threads are raised to allow the shuttle to pass. The needles are so in- geniously arranged, however, that they cannot enter into all the holes and so lift all the warp at once, there being a number of cards perforated in such a manner as to form the design by lifting only certain threads at a time. Though the vast bulk of the linen-weaving industry is now carried on by the steam- driven factories, still the finest class of work, such as serviettes, tablecloths, d’oyleys, etc., of the purest linen yarn gives employment to thousands of workers in their homes. It is well suited, since all the members of the family can lend a helping hand, the children and the aged winding the unbleached yarn on the bobbins for the weft, the young men and women weaving the narrower and lighter looms, and the able-bodied men the wider, heavier, and more complicated ones. There is a hankering after independence in the sturdy Ulster nature, and nothing pleases the average man like being able to do his own work for his own advantage. But we are in danger of wandering from the story of our handkerchief. Fresh from the weaver’s cottage or the power loom of the factory comes a web of rough, coarse, strong, brownish fabric. It seems impossible that this dirty-looking cloth will become transformed into my lady’s dainty handker- chief ; but that is so, as we shall see. Straight from the loom, this web of brown HAND-LOOM WEAVING HEAVY LINEN SHEETING 15O INCHES WIDE. linen goes to the bleacher. Until this very day the old-fashioned methods of bleaching are usually employed, and Nature, in the shape of her moist climate, defying Art in the person of the chemist, more than main- tains its pre-eminence for producing that dazzling pure whiteness which can only be found in Irish linen, bleached on the lovely- green fields of the Emerald Isle. To see the long strips of linen spread out on Ulster grass fields is a sight which will not be readily forgotten. From the bleach green the roll is trans- ported to the factory, which is situated in Belfast itself or one of the surrounding towns. In our case we follow the spotless bale to Belfast, and in the cutting room