Cotton is a species of vegetable wool, produced by the cotton shrub, called, botanically, Gossypium herbaceum, of which there are numerous varieties. It grows naturally in Asia, Africa, and America, and is cultivated largely for purposes of commerce.
The precise time when the cotton manufacture was introduced into England is unknown; but probably it was not before the 17th century. Since then, what wonderful advances have been made! The cotton trade and manufacture have become a vast source of British industry, and of commerce between nations. It was some years ago calculated that the cotton manufacture yielded to Great Britain one thousand millions sterling. The names of Hargreaves, Arkwright, Crompton, Cartwright, and others, have become immortalised by their inventions for the improvement of the manufacture of cotton fabrics. Little more than half a century has passed since the British cotton manufactory was in its infancy—now it engages many millions of capital—keeps millions of work people employed; freights thousands of ships that are ever crossing and re-crossing the seas; and binds nations together in ties of mutual interest. The present yearly value of cotton manufactures in Great Britain is estimated at £34,000,000. About £6,044,000 of the above sum is distributed yearly among working people as wages.
Silk, though not directly a vegetable product, is, nevertheless, indirectly derived from the vegetable creation, since it is a thread spun by the silk-worm from matter which the worm derives from the mulberry leaf.
"And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel."—I Samuel xxv.
Silk is supplied by various parts of the world, including China, the East Indies, Turkey, &c., where the silk-worm has been found to thrive. The attempts that have been hitherto made to cultivate it in this country have proved unsuccessful. At Rome, in the time of Tiberius, a law passed the senate which, as well as prohibiting the wearing of massive gold jewels, also forbade the men to debase themselves by wearing silk. There was a time when silk was of the same value as gold—weight for weight—and it was thought to grow upon trees. It is recorded that silk mantles were worn by some noble ladies at a ball at Kenilworth Castle, 1286. It was first manufactured in England in 1604. In the reign of Elizabeth, the manufacture of silk in England made rapid strides. In 1666, there were 40,000 persons engaged in the silk trade. The silk throwsters of the metropolis were enrolled in a fellowship in 1562, and were incorporated in 1629. In 1685, a considerable impetus was given to the English silk manufactures. Louis the Fourteenth of France revoked the edict of Nantes. The edict of Nantes was promulgated by Henry the Fourth of France in 1598. It gave to the Protestants of France the free exercise of their religion. Louis the Fourteenth revoked this edict in 1685, and thereby drove the Protestants as refugees to England, Holland, and parts of Germany, where they established various manufactures. Many of these French refugees settled in Spitalfields, and there founded extensive manufactories, which soon rivalled those of their own country; and thus the intolerance of the king was justly punished. What important facts we see connected with the simple thread of the silk-worm!
Wool is a kind of soft hair or coarse down, produced by various animals, but chiefly by sheep.