ACADIA MILLS ACADIA MILLS, Lawrence, Mass. Manufacturers, Mercerizers, Bleachers and Dyers of COMBED COTTON YARNS, SEINE TWINES SEWING and SHOE THREADS for llie VV'eavin}4, Knittinti, Garment Makinj* anJ Shoe Trade I'nsurpassed in Quality AWRKNCE. MASS. WILLIAM WHITMAN COMPANY, Inc. Selling Agetits BOSTON 7.S Chaiincy St. NEW YORK L'.T .^Iadi^(>n .\vf. •HILADELF^HIA ;iOO Che.'^fiiut St. CHICAGO 2(),S S. l.aSalle St. CONTRASTS CONTRASTS ^t 1 PUIVATEI-Y I'UIXrEI) HV fij THE ACADIA MILLS LAWUEXC'K, MASS. 1918 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from NCSU Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/contrastsOOgrie J\ Limited Edition printed by the Acadia Mills for those interested in the development of the cotton industry from primitive methods of spinning and weaving to the processes of today without change in basic principles of manufacture other than the use of power. THE manufacture of textiles, and in par- ticular of cotton textiles, is an industry of the utmost service in supph^ing the needs of our country. The uses of cotton are beyond number, and the growth of its manufac- ture is one of the great industrial achievements of the past decade. So prosi:)erous and efficient has the cotton industry become, meeting ever}- human want with the greatest economy, thanks to large-scale i:)roduction and distribution, that it is easy to forget its primitive beginnings. Nothing so aptly illustrates the origin of cotton manufacture as a study of the methods and imi)lements used by the natives of India. In a rare and little known volume entitled ''Bihar Peasant Life," by George A. Grier- son. Fellow of the University of Calcutta, is found a descrii)tion in some detail of s])inning and weaving as ])ractised by the East Indians. [7] The Acadia Mills, having had a number of inquiries as to the period of spinning de- picted in its trademark, takes pleasure in reprint- ing this section of that book, in the earnest hope that it may prove of interest and value in recalling the early processes and tools of a great industr3^ A comparison between these primi- tive methods and those of today is most im- pressive. The same principles in the prepara- tion, spinning and weaving of cotton are found in use todaj^ as then, but with power machin- ery replacing the labor of human hands. Indeed it is this substitution of power for hand labor, together with new processes of finishing, mer- cerizing and djing, that enables the cotton manufacturer of today to meet the increasing demands for cotton fabrics for all purposes. THE SPINNING WHEEL THE SPINNING-WHEEL THE following diary shows the process of spinning thread and making cloth in the subdivision of ISIadhubani, in Northeast Tir- hut, in the year 1879: On September 20 the writer bought twent}^- four sers of cotton, being a day's plucking on a sunn}^ day from about a bigha and a half of cotton field. The cotton bdnga was of the kind called kokti, which ripens in the month of Bhddon (August-September). It was i)ulled out of the husks from the tree. September 20-26. During this time the cot- ton has been drying in the sun, and now (26th) two old women are employed to clean it, picking out the dirty and imma- ture cotton, called karkut. This is princi- pally' comi)osed of seeds which have come to nothing and been worm-eaten. This cleaning is done by hand. It lasted to September 30. October 1. Commenced to i?e])arate the seeds, hangaur, from the bdnga. This is [11] done by a ir'^'^hine called charkhi, which consists of tw^o rollers, about an inch thick, of hard wood tightly wedged one above the other; both rollers are supported in uprights, the ends passing through. At one end the lower roller is turned by a handle, and has at the other end, where it projects from the upright, a screw cut in it. The same end of the upper screw has a reversed screw cut in it, and these two screws fitting into each other act like cog- wheels ; but when the lower roller is turned, the upper roller turns in the direction re- verse to that of the lower one, so that they act as a pair of feeders tightly wedged to- gether. The bdnga, or uncleaned cotton, is then applied to the feeding side of the two rollers, and on the handle being turned the cotton is pulled forcibly through by their revolution, while the seeds remain behind and fall down to the ground. The two upright standards are called khunta, and each of the rollers jdthi, or in Saran sanrdri. Underneath the rollers is a cross-bar, called kal, joining the two uprights and holding the ma- chine together. The khunti is a wedge going through each upright from front to back, under fl2 1 Machine for Cleaning Raw ('otton (Charki) -^ the cross-bar and holding it and the roller in their places. The pachri are the wedges running sideways through each upright and tightening the two roll- ers together. The crank which turns the lower roller is called makri, and it is held to it by the killi, or linch-pin. The handle at the other end of the crank, which is held in the hand, and by which the machine is turned, is called Idgani, or in Saran chalauni and in Gaya hathauri. The base of the machine in which the up- rights rest is called pirha, or to the west pirhiya, and out of this projects behind, along the ground, the majhiva, on which the foot of the operator is placed to keep the machine steady. The cotton, when cleaned from the seeds by this machine, is called n7, rili, or ti2r — the last by women of the upper Hindu castes, and the two first by Musalmans and low-caste Hindus. Rua is used in Shahabad. The above lasted three days. It was then again cleaned {tunab, tunnab, or (in Shahabad) tumab, to clean), the few remaining pieces of husk, etc., being picked out by hand. October 21. The cotton was today ])ut out in the sun preparatory to being carded {dhunab, to card). [15 1 October 22. Today two cotton-carders (dhuniya) came to card the cotton. Each brought with him a machine, called a dhimki, or to the west dhanuhi. In Ciaya it is dhiinethi, in South Hunger and South- east Tirhut dhunaith, and in South Bha- galpur dhunhath. It is composed of the following parts : (a) The flexible piece of wood acting as a bow, called danti or danta to the east and ddnri to the west. {b) A broad wooden board, called phareha in Northeast Tirhut. In Southwest Tirhut it is pharavt a, in South Bhagal- pur pharuha, and elsewhere as pharha. (c) The bridge over which the string is passed, mdngi. In Shahabad and also optionally in East Tirhut it is mdiha, 16 1 I 5 1 '-h ,^ . ^O ^^lL^...sliiAilS^ ill South Bhagalpur mathwa, and in South Munger magwdsi. (d) A leather string, called tdtit. In Patna and Gay a it is also called roda. (e) A leather strip acting as a sounding board, Ij'ing along the round edge of the phareha, on which the string re- bounds, called puchhet or puchheta generally, pachhauta in Tirhut, and kdnkar in Saran and Champaran. In Northeast Tirhut it is pushtail, and an optional name in Shahabad is puch- hauia. (/) A stout leather string along the outer side of the phareha, to one end of which the tdnt is attached, while the other end is fastened to the danti. It is used to tighten the tdnt, and is called ghirchi or ghurchi. When pegs are used for tightening this, the}' are called blri or hiriya. (g) The hathhar, hathgar, or hathkar, is a loop of string under which the left hand is passed to hold the machine steady. The above is the name cur- rent in Northeast Tirhut. South of the Ganges it is also called hathkar, f 19 1 with variants hathkar or hathkara in Shahabad. In Northwest Tirhut it is hathra, in Southwest Tirhut and Saran hatha, and in Saran and Champaran muthwdra . (h) The mallet for twanging the bow, of wood, shaped like a dumb-bell. It is held in the right hand, and the tdnt is struck and twanged with it. It is called jista, and also (in Tirhut and South Bhagalpur) dista. In Patna it is called dasta, and in South ]\Iunger distha. In using this instrument it is held by the left hand under the hathkar, which passes over the wrist, and the td7it twanged in the midst of the cotton by the jista, which is held in the right hand. This process loosens the texture of the cotton, and causes all the dust and dirt to fly out of it. The dhunki is not allowed to rest on the ground, but is supported in the air by the hathkar passing over the wrist, and it springs up and down as the tdnt is twanged. The whole pile of cleaned cotton was called (jothi. While this was going on, two old women were called in to make little hollow rolls of [201 cotton to be made into thread. They are called to the east pint, and to the west piuni or pewni. A local name in East Tirhut is plr. These are about four inches long and a quarter of an inch thick. A lump of clean cotton, the size of a wal- nut, is put round a thin skewer, called pinrhsari, and is then rolled on a board, called pirhiya, with the palm of the hand. These are then tied up in bundles of about ten each, called mutthi. These jnni are now read}^ for being made into thread in the spinning-wheel. The spinning-wheel is charkha, but in South- west Shahabad it is rahta, and in the southeast jarkha. Its parts are as follows: The Foundation. This is in the shape of a double letter T, thus: On one of the cross-pieces the driving wheel stands, and on the other the spinning apparatus. [211 This foundation is called plrha or pirhiya to the east, and pirhai to the west. The connecting bar between the two cross-pieces is manjhwa or manjha, in Patna and Gaya it is latkhora, and in South Bhagalpur manjhdl. The Driving Wheel. The supports of the driving wheel are called khunta. The wheel it- self is composed of two parts: (a) The central boss or nave, and (5) The four spokes on each side of the nave. The nave is called munri or muri south of the Ganges, and ynunri or munriya north of it; in East Tirhut it is also tama, and in South Bha- galpur and South Hunger paila. It is about five inches long and four inches thick. There are four spokes lying across each end of the nave from one circumference to the other; there are, therefore, eight radii on each side, and they are so arranged that the radii on each side are not opposite each other, but alter- nate. Each of these cross spokes is called putti or pidi, or in Southwest Shahabad kamri; sometimes they are also called khilnta or khunti. These spokes are held in their places by a string, called awdl to the west, amwdl in Patna and Gaya, and amdl or amdlh to the east. In [221 rfj South Munger it is amhdl. This string goes round the extremities of each radius of each side alternately, thus : ^\ It forms, there- fore, a kind of edge or / 1 rim of a broad wheel, something like ^ \^ a paddle wheel, and over it i:)asses the driving band which turns the spinning ai:)paratus. This paddle wheel is about a foot in diameter and five inches thick. The central axle of the driving wheel is called Icdh, generalh^ north of the Ganges and in South Bhagalpur. In Tirhut it is called jdth, and in Northeast Tirhut also laith or jdlth . South of the Ganges it is generally belna. It is caused to re- volve b}' a crank end called makri, or in Shahabad and West Tirhut ndk. It is ddrhi or darhiya else- where south of the Ganges, except South Bhagal- pur, where it is again makri. To this is attached a handle, called to the west and in Ga3^a chalauna, and to the east lama or Idrani. In Southwest Shahabad it is called bhaunti or hhdmicat, and in Saran optionalh^ chalauni. The Driving Band is called mdl or mdlh. It is rubbed with rosin {dhuman) and oil {tel), and is then blackened with charcoal (koela). The driving band goes twice round the driving wheel and the spinning axle, once jmssing through the tnalkdthi {vide post), and once not. [251 The Spinning Apparatus. We now come to the spinning apparatus. There are three per- pendicular uprights. The two outside ones are called khunti, and the middle one is called mal- kdthi. In Patna these three uprights are called together pachkathiya, and in Southwest Shaha- bad khuntiputti. The two outside ones support the bearings of the sjiinning axle, and the centre one has in its length, facing the driving wheel and going right through its thickness, a long slot cut. One of the strings of the driving band passes through this slot, and the other passes outside it, so that the double turn round the spinning axle can never get jammed up together, and so entangled. On the two outside uprights, on the side furthest from the driving wheel, project two stiff pieces of leather, called chamrakh. These form the bearings of the spinning axle, which passes through them. The Spinning Axle. This is called takua, and also to the west tekua. It is an iron skewer about eight inches long and an eighth of an inch thick at the thickest part. It projects a dis- tance of three inches beyond its bearing on the same side as the handle of the driving wheel. This bearing has on each side two little pieces 126 1 of wood fitting on to the spinning axle, which act as washers, and are called chhuchchhi. Out- side the outer washer on the spinning axle is a flat disc called phirki, and two and a half inches of the axle project beyond it. The driving band, after passing twice round the driving wheel, passes through the malkdthi, then twice round the spinning axle, and then back to the driving wheel outside the malkdthi; and it is evident that even the slow turning of the driving wheel will make the spinning axle revolve at a very high speed indeed. In spinning, the projecting point of the spin- ning axle has a short length of thread attached to it, and then, while the handle of the driving wheel is turned with the right hand, a roll of cotton (pinl) is held in the left hand between the finger and thumb, and the cotton, being quickly caught up by the length of thread, is drawn off in the shape of thread on to the quickly revolving spinning axle. When the projecting point of the spinning axle is filled with thread, the whole is called a kukri, or in Saran kukurhi, and is wound off on a winder, called paiia or pareta. It is also called in Southwest Tirhut nativa, and in East Tirhut lahva or natica. In South Bhagal])ur it is called natal. This is like an ordinary silk winder. The handle (chalauna) of the driving wheel is taken out of its socket in the crank iinakri), and in its place is placed one end of the axle of the winder. The other end is held in the right hand, and is revolved between the finger and thumb. The winder is conical in sha])e, and does not need further description. It will hold half a quarter of a ser of thread at a time. When it is filled, the thread is taken off and tied in hanks. These are generally pola, poli, or poliya. Local names are natti (Northeast Tir- hut), latti (Patna and Gaya), and karchi in Southwest Shahabad. The diary breaks off here temporaril}', as the spinning of this particular cotton was not done in the writer's presence. He wished the thread to be si)un as fine as possible, and as this could only be done by Brahmani women, who would not come to a strange house, this part of the work was done by them at home. 28 THE WEAVER'S LOOM THE WEAVER'S LOOM rriHE following is a continuation of the same -L diar}'. January 18, 1880. The skeins of fine thread were brought to me today, and were put in water to soak for eight days. This strengthens it. January 27. After they had soaked this period I sent for a weaver. A Muhamma- dan weaver is jolha or momin, a Hindu weaver is tantwa or fdnti, or, in Shahabad tdnto. Sometimes the Hindi word joldha is used instead oi jolha. The Musalman weaver or jolha is the pro- verbial fool of Hindu stories and proverbs. He swims in the moonlight across fields of flowering linseed, thinking the blue color to be caused bj^ water. He hears his family priest reading the Quran, and bursts into tears to the gratification of the reader. When pressed to tell what part affected him most, he says it was not that, but the wagging beard of the old gentleman so much reminded him of a pet goat which had died. When forming one of a company of twelve he [311 tries to count them, and finding himself miss- ing wants to perform his own funeral obsequies. He finds the rear peg of a plough, and wants to set up farming on the strength of it. He gets into a boat at night, and forgets to pull up the anchor. After rowing till dawn he finds himself where he started, and concludes that the only explanation is that his native village could not bear to lose him, and had followed him. If there are eight weavers and nine hukkas, they fight for the odd one. Once on a time a crow carried off to the roof of the house some bread which a weaver had given his child. Before giving the child any more he took the precau- tion of removing the ladder. Like the English fool, he always gets unmerited blows. For in- stance, he once went to see a ram fight and got butted himself, as the saying runs : Karigah chhdr tamdsa jay, Ndhak chot joldha khdy. "Jie left his loom to see the fun, and for no rea- son got a bruising." Another story (told by Fallon) is, that being told by a soothsayer that it was written in his fate that his nose would be cut off with an axe, the weaver was incredu- lous, and taking up an axe, kept flourishing it, saying, yon karba ta gov kdtbon, yon karha ta f32l hath katbon, aur yon karba tah nd — , if I do so I cut my leg, and if I do so I cut m}^ hand; but unless I do so my no — , and his nose was off. A proverb Jo//? rt janathi jau kdtai — does a weaver know how to cut barle}'' — refers to a story (in Fallon) that a weaver, unable to pay his debt, was set to cut barley by his creditor, who thought to repay himself in this wa3^ But instead of reaping, the stupid fellow kept trying to untwist the tangled barley stems. Other proverbs at his expense are kaua chalal bds ken, joiha chalal ghds ken, — the weaver went out to cut grass (at sunset), when even the crows were going home; jolha bhutiaildh tisikhet, — the weaver lost his way in the linseed field, an illusion to the swimming exploit already recorded. Plis wife bears an equally bad char- acter, as in the proverb bahsali jolhini bdpak ddnrhi noche, — a wilful weaver's wife will pull her own father's beard. The weaver proceeded to set up in the ground seventeen pairs of sticks in two lines, at a dis- tance between each pair of about one and a quarter cubits, and between the lines of about two cubits. At each end of each line a stout bamboo post is fixed, and close to each of those at one end another smaller stafT. Round these sticks the thread is twisted as follows: [33 1 A, A, A, A, are the tops of the bamboo posts, and the dots are the tops of the smaller sticks. This operation of setting the warp is called tdnikarab, or in Shahabad tana karab. The bamboo posts are called khilnti, and each stick, sar. These last are called in Saran, Champaran, and Northwest Tirhut sarka. The sticks immediatelj' in front of the bam- boo posts are called to the west chhitua, in Sha- habad chhipki, and to the east chhitki, also in Northeast Tirhut dorik sar. The whole appa- ratus is called tdni, or in vShahabad tana, and the thread to be stretched is put on a kind of pyramidal reel called charkhi. It spins on a spindle, called dagni, or in Sha- habad ddngi, and in the inside of the apex of the cone is a cup called thori, or in Shahabad tholri, in South Munger thorli, and in South Bhagalpur to'i, which rests on, and revolves on the point of, the spindle, thus: [341 \J The spool is composed of fourteen slips of bamboo, forming the framework of the cone, fastened at equal distances round the circum- ference (chakkar) of the base of the cone, and converging to a point at the top. The spindle of the spool is held in the left hand, and the weaver walks up and down be- tween the two lines of thread, directing the thread by a hook called khunri or kJionri, or in Southwest Shahabad khunda, in South Munger khundi, and in Northeast Tirhut and Shahabad khunra, and shaped as follows: The hook at the top is made of iron. U February 5, 1880. The warp having now been all set upon the sticks {sar), the.y were, with the khunti, pulled up, rolled up, and put by till today. Today they were unrolled and laid out in a long line on the grass. The khunti were then carefully drawn out, and a bamboo staff, called sirdi^ (or sirdri), put in the place of each. It will be remembered that the sar were in pairs, and that at each pair the thread crossed thus ^X^^ Another kind of sar is now taken, made like a long shallow bow, except that the string is made of a thin strip of bamboo. This bow is called [351 sutri, or in Tirhut banhka. The arch of the bow is also made of bamboo. The bamboo string is called dori. The arch of the bow is now passed through the threads where one of the old sar was, and the bam- boo string through where the other sar of the pair was, so that the cross of the threads is still i)reserved. The bow and string are then fastened to each other at each end. The arches of the various bows all face one way. The warp is then laid out on the ground, and the threads neatly spread out upon the bows in parallel lines, to the width of the future piece of cloth. February 9. The thread thus arranged was rolled up, dipped into, and well wet with cold rice water [indnr), to which some marua seeds had been added to stiffen it. It was then unrolled and stretched out horizontall}^ at a height of three feet from the ground and brushed with a large brush, called kfmch, dii^ped in mustard oil and water, which smooths the threads and takes away any knots or inequalities in the thread. This brush is also called majna in West Tirhut, mdnja in South Bhagalpur, and mdnjan in Southwest Sha- I 36 1 habad. The cross sticks on which the thread rests are called nidnjha, and the cross bamboos at each end are thenghni or Idthi dor to the west, gora to the east, khasraiya in Northwest Tirhut, dhattha also in Northeast Tirhut, dhdntha in South Bhagalpur, and Idthi also in Southeast Tirhut. This brushing is hard work, and takes eight men to do it properly. The brushing is along the threads, and not across them. The bristles of the brush are made of khaskhas, called also in Saran katra ke jar, such as is used for tatties, and are about two and a half inches long. The brush itself is about a foot long and two inches wide. The brushing went on for three days, and is called pdi karab, and also in east Tirhut tdsan karab. The phrase di pdi means the brushing and other prep- arations, and there is a proverb, jolha ke di pdi, chamra ke bihdn — when a weaver says the cloth will be soon ready, as he is now brushing it, don't believe him, an}^ more than you believe a shoemaker who says, "The boots will be ready tomorrow." 37 When this was concluded, the threads were put into the loom and woven at the rate of a yard a day. The Loom is little different from that used in England. It is called karigah to the west and kargah to the east. It consists of the following parts: (1) The Shuttle. This is dharki in Gaya and to the west, and kaparhinni or ka- parblni to the east. In Northeast Tir- hut it is also called kaparni. (2) The Needle inside the shuttle, on which the thread is wound, is tiri, and the tube which revolves on this chhuch- chhi, or in Shahabad chhunchhi. When thread is wound on this tube the whole is called narl, also in East Tirhut lari. This is held in its place in the hollow of the shuttle by a pin made of a feather. This is called pakhnari to the west and in Southeast Tirhut, btr in South Bha- galpur, and pakhblr or pakhedri to the east. A weaver estimates his work b}^ the number of 7iari which he uses up, as in the proverb in which he is supposed to address a man who has seized him to carry a load, tangbah ta tangah, nahin ta nan narlk harkati hoet — if you must [381 - :S S R TO ■* IC tc 3 ^ -- S CD O