173. Spinners.

"Each of the workmen at present employed in a cotton mill superintends as much work as could have been executed by two hundred or three hundred workmen sixty or seventy years ago; and yet, instead of being diminished, the numbers have increased even in a still greater proportion." Again, we read that "a single person can spin as much cotton in Lowell in an hour, as could three thousand Hindoos, by whom at one time cotton cloth was principally manufactured." The wages of cotton spinners in Paris are only from twenty to forty cents per day of twelve hours. We read in the Monthly Review, that "the masters of mills are unanimous in asserting that girls, and they alone are trained to flax spinning, never become expert artists, if they begin to learn after eleven." The small particles set loose in spinning affect respiration, and in the course of time do so very seriously. In many parts of Europe women carry portable distaffs, and spin as they walk. Two kinds of wheels are used for spinning—one for spinning cotton, tow, and wool—the other is used for flax. Steam machinery is mostly used for spinning cotton. The prices usually paid spinners will be found under factory operatives. I inquired of a girl spooling cotton for a weaver of coverlets, what wages she received. She replied: "$1.50 a week, working five hours a day."

174. Spool Cotton.

A manufacturer at Fall River, Mass., writes: "We employ twenty women in spooling thread, and preparing it for market. The average pay is $3 per week, and they work eleven hours per day. It requires from one to two months to become expert. When learning, they are paid for what they do carefully. The qualifications needed are neatness, and dexterity in their manipulations. They are employed at all seasons. The demand and supply of work people are about equal. We employ twenty females, because the work is adapted to them, and they are quicker in motion than men. They pay $1.75 per week for board."

175. Tape.

At W.'s, New York, I saw several women weaving tape for hoop skirts. They looked dirty and sad enough. They earn from $2 to $3.50 a week. It does not require long to learn, but they must stand all the time. W. finds it difficult to get good workers. The incessant hum of the machinery in such a low-roofed room would deafen me. I think it must affect the nerves of females. He pays a learner the first month $1.50 a week. After that, if she is competent, she will receive full wages. At the Graham Buildings, I saw the girls putting up tape for skirts. They earn from $3 to $4. The weavers earn from $4 to $6. It requires but a few days to learn to weave, and but a few hours to learn to measure and tie up tape. Most of the girls were Irish. Sixty were employed, and received work all the year.

176. Weavers.

Weaving is an occupation that was followed by all classes of women in primitive ages. The story of Penelope's shroud has been read as far as Homer is known. In Africa spinning is mostly done by women, and the weaving by men. The invention of machinery has very much done away with manual weaving. Fifty years back all woollen and most of cotton goods were made in that way. Some jeans, coarse flannel, rag carpets, coverlets, and other similar articles are still woven by hand. Now, shawls, dress goods, gloves, hosiery, fine carpets, cassimere, and cloth in all its varieties, are woven by machinery. The uniting of threads, and a constant attention to the machinery, are all that is necessary. The wages vary according to the places, the capabilities of the operatives, the goods woven, and the price of living. "A practical working machine is now in activity, weaving silk by the motive power of electricity. It is applied at Lyons and St. Etienne to the Jacquard loom." Children are extensively employed in Great Britain as drawers to weavers. "The great majority of hand-loom cotton weavers work in cellars, sufficiently lighted to enable them to throw the shuttle, but cheerless, because seldom visited by the sun. The reason cellars are chosen is that cotton, unlike silk, requires to be woven damp. The air, therefore, must be cool and moist, instead of warm and dry." In Philadelphia, the average payment of female weavers is from $2.50 to $4 per week. Spinners and spoolers make but from 75 cents to $2. They are generally unskilful adults or very young girls. The number of female operatives engaged in the manufacture of textile fabrics in Philadelphia exceeds twelve thousand. A manufacturer in Providence writes me: "We do not consider weaving particularly unhealthy. We pay on an average $1 per day, by the piece. They work eleven hours a day; the time could not be shortened. Men spend from three to twelve months learning; women, from three to six weeks. Women are not paid while learning; men are. All seasons are alike. There is always a demand for weavers. We employ twenty-two women, one fourth are American; they are not inferior to men as weavers. Men pay $2 for good board; women, $1.75." A manufacturer of negro cloth in Connecticut writes: "The employment is very healthy. We pay weavers from $3.75 to $5 per week, and some make more by the piece. We pay men and women the same for their labor. Some parts are learned by women in two or three weeks. We generally pay women while learning. We sometimes stop a few days, in July and August, for water. They work eleven hours and a half, except Saturday; then from eight to ten hours. The time could be shortened by adding extra help and looms, equal to difference of time. We prefer women, because they weave more than men. All Americans. They are superior to men in tying knots. Good board, $1.25." A manufacturer of cotton cloths for calicoes writes: "Women and girls are employed in power-loom weaving. Weaving requires a little more labor and skill than the other departments. None under sixteen years are allowed to weave. Women are so employed over New England, much of New York, and Pennsylvania, but mostly in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. There is always a demand for girl weavers. It requires from one to three months to learn to weave. They will continue to grow more expert for three years. They weave by the cut from thirty to forty pounds. The wages of an expert weaver are from $4 to $6 per week; board, $1.50 per week. Men weavers are paid per cut the same. An expert weaver attends four looms, weaving from 150 to 160 yards per day. Seamers generally pay their way at the end of four weeks. The employment is not thought unhealthy.

178. Sewing Thread.

A manufacturer in Andover, Massachusetts, writes: "We employ about one hundred women, who receive about $3 per week, working eleven hours per day. Women are sometimes paid while learning. Morality, industry, and intelligence best fit them for their work. They work at all seasons. Very few are Americans. Women are inferior only in strength to men pursuing the same branch." The secretary of the American Linen Thread Company writes: "We employ about sixty women in spinning, twisting, reeling, rolling, skeining, &c. Those that work by the week receive $3; those by the piece, more or less. Women do the lightest work, and are paid about half as much as men. There is a prospect of this branch of labor increasing. They have work all the year. Those that are paid by the day work twelve hours. The time could not be shortened without serious loss. Most are foreigners. Board, $1.50 to $2." A member of a firm in Schenectady writes: "We have thirty women in our flax and tow factory, because they are best adapted to the work. The work is healthy. We pay from $3 to $4.50 per week, working twelve hours per day. The working time could not be shortened. A superintendent would require from two to three years to learn. A girl, say sixteen years old, would require about a year. Learners receive half wages. Summer is the best season, but they have work all the year. There is no surplus of female workers in the business. Two thirds of our women are American, one third English. Women could not perform that part of the work done by men, and vice versa. One third board, and pay $1.50 per week. The Americans have a common school education, and are intelligent. The larger ones are teachers in Sabbath schools; the smaller ones scholars. The best localities are in the Northern and Western States."—Shoe Thread. A manufacturer told me, most or all the flax used for shoe thread in this country is imported. "The greater part of the shoe thread used in the United States is spun by machinery, at Leeds, in England, from Russian flax." The flax of this country is not fine enough; and, for bleaching, the climate of this country and Scotland is too changeable. If the bleachers succeed in getting it of a pure white, they extract the substance—the life of the plant—so that it will not retain its strength. Flax is not much attended to in this country, but it is because the tariff is so low that no encouragement is given to manufacturers. Pennsylvania makes more woven goods of coarse linen than any other State, and Philadelphia more than any other city. Labor is so cheap in Europe, that linen can be made there more cheaply than here. Mr. A. employs a number of small girls in his mills for winding the thread into balls, as it is imported in skeins, and pays them from $1.50 to $2 a week. They work only in daylight. He thinks the occupation is well filled. Most factories of the kind are in small towns where living is cheap.

180. Blankets.

"Blankets were first made at Bristol, England, by a poor weaver named Thomas Blanket, who gave his name to this peculiar manufacture of woollen cloths." One hundred and twenty-two women are reported in the census of Great Britain for 1850, as blanket manufacturers. A blanket manufacturer in New Hampshire writes: "Women are employed in carding, weaving, and binding. The work is not unhealthy. Average wages are seventy cents per day of eleven hours, and they are paid by the piece. Women receive about two thirds of the wages of men, because they do less laborious work. It requires from one week to three months to learn. They are paid small wages while learning. The manufacture of blankets will increase. Business is the same at all seasons. There is a demand for hands in many of the manufacturing villages, and a surplus in country towns. We have twenty women, all American. They do light work faster than men. They pay for board twenty-one cents per day, in private families."

181. Carpets.

Mr. Lagrange writes: "The carpets of Smyrna and Caramania, so widely esteemed, are evidence of what woman's genius can produce. They are all woven by feminine hands." In 1858 there were 2,500 persons employed in the manufacture of carpets in and near Philadelphia. Ingrain and Venetian are the kinds mostly made there, but some of a very cheap quality are also manufactured. Those made at Hartford and Lowell are all worsted goods. The business, we believe, has been a successful and lucrative one. It is said that much carpeting is sold in this country, as English, that is in reality American. Our finest carpets are imported. I visited Mr. H.'s carpet factory, New York city, and saw the entire process, from putting the wool in to its coming out in various kinds of carpeting, ingrain, velvet, Brussels, tapestry, &c. From that manufactory we have the following report: "Females tend carding, spinning, spooling, weaving, and other machines, in the manufacture of carpeting. The employment is not unhealthy. The branch of manufacture and the capacities of females vary the wages from 50 cents to $1 per day of eleven hours. Three fourths work by the piece. Males and females are not employed at the same kind of work. The time required to learn any branch of the carpet trade depends on the natural talent and application of the learner. Many never become proficient enough to pursue the business profitably. The prices paid to learners depend on their success. Health, natural talent, and application are essential. The prospect of employment in the business is good. They have work the whole year, except during unusual depressions of the trade. Whether the work time of eleven hours could be shortened would depend on the profit on the quantity produced in ten hours, compared with that produced in eleven hours. There is no demand for female labor at the present time. We employ from 500 to 600 females, because their labor is cheaper. About one third are Americans. The comfort and remuneration is better than the average of other employments in this city. They are employed by us in all branches they can be. Females perform some branches better than men. They have free evening schools, libraries, lectures, and churches in abundance. About one half board. The majority board in private families, the comfort depending generally on the price paid." Carpet manufacturers in Wrentham, Massachusetts, write: "We employ women in winding yarn. It is unhealthy only because of sitting so steadily. Women average $14 per month, and are paid by the piece. They work ten hours a day. It requires but a few weeks to learn the business. Women are paid something while learning. They are employed all the year. We employ eight, because the work is better adapted to them. All the workwomen are foreigners. Men, as a general thing, do not want to be confined to indoor work, unless the wages are high. Good board can be had at $1.50 per week." A gentleman, who was once superintendent of the carpet factory at Lowell, informed me all the weavers were females, when he was there, and earned from $3.50 to $4.00 on an average. They had about thirty pickers (females), whose business it was to pick the knots and loose wool off the carpets.

182. Carpet Bags.

K. & M., carpet-bag makers, have a factory in Newark. The carpet bags are sewed up and the buttons put in by machines. The lining is put in by hand. It is piecework, and the girls earn from $3 to $6 a week. It requires but a short time to become sufficiently expert to make it pay. The busiest times are from February 1st to June, and from the middle of July to the 1st of November. One of the proprietors thinks the prospect to learners is good, for the business will extend. It has increased five hundredfold in the last five years. Their girls are mostly Americans. Making trunk covers is piecework. The linings could be put in trunks and valises and the varnish put on by girls. The linings could be better put in valises than trunks by women, as they are lighter and less difficult to handle. At H.'s carpet-bag factory, I was told they employ seventy girls, and make from ninety to one hundred dozen bags a day. They keep their hands all the year, with the exception of three weeks. Some work by machine and some by hand. They take learners when busy. A smart girl can learn in making two or three dozen bags—of course, is not paid while learning. They used to allow a few hands, accustomed to the work, to give instruction to learners, having the profits of their work for their time. Those that work by machine can earn from $3 to $4.50; hand sewers from $3 to $6. These work by the piece. Those paid by the week work ten hours, and earn from $2.50 to $5. The gentleman thinks the prospect for learners to enter the business is poor. I think differently, if the statement that he made is true, that there are no manufacturers West or South. A regulation that struck me as being very unjust was, that if a girl learns in their factory and goes elsewhere to seek work, she cannot be taken into their factory again, unless she makes eight or ten dozen bags for them without pay. A manufacturer of carpet and oil-cloth bags writes: "We pay by the piece, and women earn from $4 to $6 per week, working ten hours a day. Women can learn in one month, if skilful with the needle. Spring and fall are the best seasons, but we find work for our hands through the winter. They work at home."

183. Cassimere.

A manufacturer of cassimere in New Hampshire writes: "We pay mostly by the week, $3.50, working eleven hours a day. We pay the same to women as men. It requires from two to twelve weeks to learn. They are paid what they can earn while learning. There is no surplus of workwomen in this branch of labor. Our girls board in families, and pay $1.34 per week." A manufacturer in Vermont says: "Twenty women are employed by me. They are all American or English. They are paid according to the amount of work they do. Girls that weave make $3, besides board. Some are paid by the yard, and some by the week. They are paid as much as men for the same kind of work. It usually takes four weeks to learn to weave. Learners give their time. Work is performed ten hours a day all the year. Women prefer factory to housework. They pay $1.50 per week for board." A manufacturer in New Hampshire writes: "We pay from $2.50 to $4.50 per week. For the work that women can do in our establishment, they are worth more than men, as they can work quicker. Women soon learn to weave, but for the first six months they are not worth more than half pay. The prospect for future employment is good. The best seasons for work are spring, summer, and fall. They are usually employed ten hours a day. We employ none but American women. Some parts of our business are suitable for women, but we can get boys cheaper. Board $1.25 per week." B. Brothers, of Proctorsville, Vermont, write: "We employ from thirty to forty American women in preference to men, because the work is more suitable for them. Prospects for increase of employment in this line are very flattering. The women average $2.50 per week with board. They work twelve hours a day, and can be employed all the year. They are superior in all respects to men. If they were not, we should employ men. Their facilities for mental and moral culture are good. Women are paid less than men, on account of the work being light. Board $1.50 per week." The Globe Woollen Company (Utica, New York) write: "Our women, seventy-five in number, earn from $3 to $6 a week, and are paid both by the piece and week. Men and women work together in the weaving room. It requires but a few days to learn to weave, although experience is valuable, both on account of wages and excellence of production. Mental and physical ability ought to be combined to insure success. The prospect for future employment is good. Continual employment is given. Our hands work 12 hours each day, Saturdays 10½. One fourth are Americans, and they live and dress well. The demand for labor is good all through the country. There is no part of our business where women could be advantageously introduced, where not now employed. The women have all the facilities a city affords for mental and aesthetic culture."

184. Cloths.

A manufacturer of gray cloth in Vermont writes: "Women are employed at spinning, carding, burling, and weaving. We have ten, because they are more easily obtained than men. We pay women from $2 to $3.50 per week, and board them. They work twelve hours per day. The work done by men requires more than double the experience of that performed by women. Women can learn in four weeks, men in sixteen. Women are paid half wages while learning. They are busy except in the winter. All board with me." C. & Sons, of T., N. Y., write: "Experienced hands receive $3.75 per week—inexperienced $3—board included. Women are not employed at the same work as men. It requires two years to learn our business—six months for women. We adopt the ten-hour system. There is no difference in seasons as to work, except in case of low water. Our labor yields sufficient to keep them until they find an opportunity to marry. They have a good library—ten periodicals every week. They pay for board from $1.50 to $1.75 per week." A manufacturer in Derby, Conn., writes: "We employ about fifteen women, because they are cheaper and more easily obtained; but many are now using male weavers. They earn from $3 to $6 per week, and are paid both ways. They work eleven hours. To work ten instead of eleven hours, we would lose that amount of the product of those who work by the day. I think there is a demand for such labor all through New England, and I do not know where there is a surplus of such help. We have had but few whose parents were born in America. Women might be employed on shearing machines. They are not, because it is as easy getting boys. Women have less strength and endurance, and are less constant at work, but quicker in motion and less liable to bad habits. Board for females from $2.25 to $2.50 per week." A manufacturing company of satinets and printing cloths, Troy, N. Y., give the following information: "We pay from $2.50 to $6 per week, average $4.50. Men and women get the same wages for the same work. Women learn in from two to four weeks. At best it is but partially learned. Some are paid while learning, and some are not. There is now, and always will be full employment. We furnish steady work all the year. The hands work twelve hours per day. The time could be shortened, but the workers would lose by it. There is a demand for female labor of this kind in Cohoes, N. Y. We have sixty-nine women, and one half are Americans. They are well fed and dress better than any other class of working people. Women are more steady and neater than men. They are all Protestant, and their intelligence is about the average. They pay $1.50 per week for good board." The Monsoon Woollen Co., Mass., say: "We pay fourteen mills per yard for weaving. The women make just the same as the men, and perform the same kind of work. They earn on an average eighty-three cents per day of twelve hours. The work can be done without apprenticeship. The prospect is that our business will be on the increase for years. Our help are employed the year round: three quarters are Americans. They have their evenings after seven o'clock. They pay $2 per week for board." The agent of Shady Lee Mills, R. I., writes: "Women are employed in woollen mills in England, Germany, France, and this country. They are paid in our mill by the piece, and earn $5 per week on an average. Women weavers earn as much as men. It takes a lifetime to learn; some learn better than others. Learners are paid. The business is improving daily. Women work all the year round, unless broken down. They work twelve hours a day. The time could not be shortened. The supply of hands about equals the demand in this manufacture. We employ seventy-five women, because they are better for weavers. Nearly all our work people can read and write. Board $1.75." Mr. H., a manufacturer in Massachusetts, writes: He "pays from $14 to $18 a month, working by the piece. While learning they are paid for what they do. They can earn fair wages after two weeks' experience. They work thirteen hours a day, and are employed through the year. There is no surplus of weavers. He employs twenty-five, because they are better adapted to the work. Women are superior in hand work. Board $6 a month." A satinet manufacturer in Maine, writes: "Our women weave by the cut and earn about $6 per week. A person can get an insight of the business in a few years; but to get a thorough knowledge requires at least the English term of apprenticeship—seven years. Women are paid half price while learning. Summer is the best season, but our women are employed the year round. They work twelve hours—which is the usual time here, and less would be a loss. Women are handier than men, and can be boarded for less. We have churches in the village and a good moral influence. Board $1.50 per week; comforts quite equal to those of their homes." Manufacturers in Pittsfield, Mass., inform us "they have a number of women employed in weaving and sewing, mostly weaving. The employment is considered healthy, and the condition of weavers is entirely comfortable, as this is, of course, for the interest of the employers as well as the employées. The average time of work is thirteen hours. The wages paid them is from $4 per week to $6. They are paid by the yard, and their earnings depend upon their attention, activity, and capability. They are paid $3 a week while learning. Women weavers earn quite as much as men, and can stand the confinement as well, if not better. We have no difficulty in keeping our looms supplied, and frequently have applications which we are obliged to reject. We employ sixty women, nearly one half Americans. In this place they have every advantage for moral and mental culture. Those who have parents or friends working in the establishment usually live with them; and those who have not, live at our boarding house, which is as comfortable and well regulated as any house in the country. The price charged for board is from $1.25 to $1.50 per week." A company in North Berwick, Me., writes: "We pay both ways; when by the week, from $2.50 to $4. Males and females do not perform the same kind of work with us. The time of learning varies with the capacities of the women. Some of our hands have been with us more than ten years. Seasons alike. They work eleven hours. We employ twenty-five women, because it is more economical. Not one of our women will do housework. Our employées are Yankee girls—can all read and write; and, so far as we know, converse intelligently on general subjects. They have their evenings and a portion of each Saturday. Board $1.33 ¹/3 per week." We would add that every cotton and woollen manufacturer from whom we have heard, expresses the opinion that their occupation is healthy. All, we believe, pay some hands by the week and some by the piece, and most pay men and women at the same rate for the same kind of work. It will be observed that the rates paid for labor decrease the farther you go North, but that board is also something less.

185. Coverlets.

A manufacturer of woollen coverlets in Allentown, Penn., answers inquiries in regard to prices paid, &c., as follows: "I employ eight American girls for spooling wool and cotton yarn in my coverlet manufactory, and pay two cents per pound. They earn from $2 to $2.50 per week. I pay girls the same as boys. The prospect for increase of work is good. There is a surplus of hands here. I prefer girls, as they have more patience than boys."

186. Dry Goods Refinishers.

A. & Co. employ women when busy to put up dress goods, cravats, ribbons, &c. They pay $3 a week. I was told by a satinet printer and refinisher, that he employs one woman to sew the ends of the cloth together. She does it with a machine, and earns $5 a week, working ten hours a day. The coloring matter rubs off on the hands. S. employs some women, and pays $3 a week. He gives them about eight months' employment. During two months in summer and two in winter, there is not enough doing to employ them. He says some women, like some men, know nothing but how to eat. He finds it difficult to get women of intelligence and judgment to do his work. (I should think he would, for such wages.) The girls fold, label, and pack. There are but three large houses of the kind in New York. At another place we saw a girl who gets $3 a week for such work—ten hours a day.

187. Flannels.

Flannels differ much in color and quality. Employers are unanimous in pronouncing the work healthy. If the sum paid foreign countries for flannels and blankets were invested in manufactories in our country, it would give employment to many, and tend to encourage home industry. A flannel manufacturer in Stockport, New York, writes: "We employ women at weaving and spooling. Women and girls are paid mostly by the piece, and earn from $3 to $5 per week. No males are employed at the same work as females. It usually takes about a week to learn to weave. We do not pay learners. We will increase the number of women as we increase our product. All seasons are alike as respects employment. Our hands work twelve hours per day. The time could not be shortened without loss to both employer and employed. We have about forty females, and prefer them, as it gives the whole family work. Eight tenths are American. The work is as light and comfortable as any in the mill. There is no other work suitable than that in which they are now engaged. All our women can read and write, and are already quite intelligent, particularly the Americans. We do not employ many under sixteen years of age, and those younger are usually sent to school a part of the year. Board is $6 per month in good, respectable families." A manufacturer in Dover, Maine, replies to a circular asking information: "I employ women as weavers, carders, spoolers, and one as a warper-on to draw the web. Women earn from $2.75 to $5 per week, eleven hours per day. Weavers are paid by the piece. I pay men from 83 cents to $1.50 per day. Women do the lighter and easier work. Some parts are not adapted to women, that is one reason why we pay less, and perhaps custom has something to do with the prices of labor. Women learn their part in from one to six weeks, but it requires some years of experience to be a manufacturer. For some kinds of work we pay from the beginning; for others, after one or two weeks. The prospect is fair; work, constant. In large manufacturing places, there is a demand for labor of this kind. Women are employed because they work cheaper. Women do their kind of work better than men. Our women are Americans, and appear to enjoy life well. They have the early morning and evening, and the Sabbath for themselves. More than one half are church members. Those that have relations living near the factory, board with them, and pay $1.50 per week." A manufacturer in Conway, Massachusetts, writes: "We employ women in weaving, burling, sewing, and numbering flannels. They receive from 50 cents to $1 per day of twelve hours. Women doing the same kind of labor as men receive the same price. It requires from one to four weeks to learn. If our business does not pay better in future than the past, we had better stop. In the more difficult part of our work there is a demand for hands. Men make better work than women. One fourth are American. Board, $1.50, to $1.75." A manufacturer in Morgantown, New York, writes: "The employment is as healthy as any indoor work. The wages average about $5 per week, they being paid by the piece. It takes about four years to learn the business, so as to conduct it in its several branches. I pay their expenses while learning. The best season is the fall. Work lasts ten hours—if obliged to run longer, we pay extra. We think women more to be depended on than men. We have no department suitable for women but what is filled by them. Board, $2 a week—quite good. In the cities board is seldom over $2 per week for workwomen. The rent and price of provisions are too high to keep a boarding house as it should be on such terms. Our wages may be lower in the country, but expenses are much lower also, and consequently the laborer is able to save more money." Manufacturers in Keene, N. H., write: "We pay one half $3, the other, $3.80 per week, twelve hours a day. We pay the same to both sexes when the quantity and quality are the same. A carder will learn in one month, a weaver in three months. The qualities wanted are industry, sobriety, perseverance, constructiveness, and amiability. All seasons alike good. To shorten the time of thirteen hours would be a loss to both parties. All branches are well supplied with workers. Women have more patience, tact, neatness, and are more reliable than men. All our women are well fed, well clothed, well housed, and some possess the luxuries, and even elegancies of life. We have six places of worship, a public library, book stores, and newspapers in abundance. Board, $1.50."

188. Gloves.

Kid, silk, cotton, and woollen are the kinds of gloves most used. They differ much in quality. Kid and leather are most numerous. The price of labor, the difficulty in obtaining the best kid, and the want of experienced workmen, are such that the finest kid gloves have not been made in the United States. An immense number of kid gloves are annually imported. In Paris, women are paid from sixty cents to $1 a dozen for sewing gloves. The French excel in the manufacture of kid gloves. French workmen are very economical in cutting out the kid. In France 375,000 dozens of skins are cut into gloves every year. Nearly 3,500 female glove sewers are employed in Vienna. Immense quantities of buckskin gloves and mittens are made in Johnstown and Gloversville, New York. "Most American manufactures have been introduced by sending the goods into the country by peddlers, or the manufacturers themselves selling them in that way. This trade was commenced so." The manufacture of buckskin gloves and mittens is mostly confined to small towns and the country. The cutting is done by men. The sewing is given out to those who do the work at home, and receive for their labor from $1 to $6 per week. It requires but a few weeks to learn. A manufacturer of kid and buckskin gloves, in Philadelphia, has all his sewing done by hand. He will not use machines for cutting out and sewing, as it would throw many of his workwomen out of employment. Those who are neat and intelligent obtain a very good livelihood by it. They take the work home, and earn $6 a week or more; beginners only $1.50 or $2. The kid is imported from South America, and not so fine as French kid. A glove manufacturer, New York, who lived in Johnstown eighteen years, told me that "girls can earn at glove sewing from $3 to $6 a week. Those who board in the families of their employers receive less, because of their board. Many gloves are made up by farmers' daughters at home, both by hand and machine. A good sewer would not find it difficult to make gloves. Most of the gloves made in factories are stitched by machines. Singer's and Grover & Baker's are preferred. Handworkers do not receive quite so good wages. Women used to cut out gloves with scissors, but now men cut them by striking with a hammer a tool the shape of a glove. The plan is preferred, because of being cheaper. The knowledge of dressing kid seems to be lost to foreigners in coming over the ocean." A manufacturer in Springfield, Mass., writes: "We employ some women in making buckskin gloves and mittens. Some work by the piece, and some by the week, and earn from $3 to $5. Those who work by the week spend ten hours, sewing. It takes females from two hours to four weeks to learn. Patience, perseverance, and taste are needed by learners. The best season for work is from February to November. They are out of work about two months at times. Most are Americans. They can use a needle better than a man." A glover in Salem writes: "Our women sew by hand, and earn $3 per week. Men spend three years in learning—women six months. The prospect for work is poor, as importation is destroying the business." A manufacturer at Gloversville writes: "Women earn from $3 to $5 a week, ten hours a day. Males get as much again as women. A smart woman will learn in eight months. Prospect of work in the future is good." Manufacturers in Broadalbin, N. Y., write me they employ twelve American women at the shop, and about one hundred out of the shop, finishing up. When paid by the week, they receive from $2 to $4.50, and work ten hours a day. The comparison in prices in male and female labor is about $2 to $1, for the reason that it requires more strength, labor, and skill to perform the man's part. Men spend two or three years in learning—women, six months. Punctuality, sobriety, and a liberal education, together with a steady nerve, will insure success in our business. (Some one else suggests, mechanical talent.) As long as there are feet to wear moccasins, and hands to wear gloves, our kind of business must thrive. Board in neat and commodious houses, $2 for women." A glover in New Hampshire writes: "Women sew by the piece for me; most have families, do their own work, and sew when they can—so I cannot say how much they would earn, if they sewed constantly. A man would have to spend from two to four years qualifying himself to superintend; the part done by women can be learned in from two to six weeks. Summer is the best season, but good workers have constant employment. All are Americans. Any locality is good where water power may be had. Ladies pay for board from $1.50 to $1.70 per week." Another in Perth, N. Y., says: "Some of our workers use sewing machines; others fit and prepare the goods for them. They earn from $3 to $4.75. The male and female labor is different in our establishment. I think the business permanent. Best time for work is from 1st of March to 1st of November. They work all daylight, except at meal times. When a certain amount of work is required in a given time, the women are apt to overwork themselves and slight the work. The wives and daughters of mechanics and farmers do the piecework at their homes. All Americans. Board, from $1.75 to $2." "At Gloversville the men cut, and machines do the sewing. Five pair of mits and two pair of gloves are a heavy days work. Gloves are worth 75 cents per day to cut; and to make from 12½ cents for a light article, to 18 cents for heavy ones."—

Woollen Gloves.

I was told by a man who employed eight girls to crochet woollen gloves for him, that he pays fifty cents a dozen pairs. He makes over five cents profit on a pair when selling to the wholesale stores; and in retailing, nine cents a pair. He says a right expeditious girl can make one dozen pairs a day. He employs his girls all the year. Most that attempt to learn find their progress so slow that they get discouraged, and give it up. It is best to learn early in life. The Germans excel.

189. Linseys.

An agent for a manufacturing company of linseys and flannels in Rhode Island, writes: "I employ fifty-eight women in spooling yarn and weaving, and pay from $3 to $5 a week. Our men are paid $1 per day, because they are able to do more. Men run three looms; girls, two. The organs that manufacture vitality in women are not allowed, by lacing strings, to attain more than two thirds their natural size. If nature could have her way with them, especially when young, they would earn more in the weaving shop than men, because they are naturally quicker and smarter. They are paid something while learning, which requires three months. Good female workers have always been scarce since I have been in the business—twenty years. We might employ more, if we could get them. April, May, and June are the most busy seasons. They work twelve hours. To shorten the time two hours would make one sixth difference, which the work people would not be willing to lose. We have more families than single help. Those who board pay from $1.75 to $2.25 per week. The boarding houses have to be helped by us, to enable them to take boarders at these prices." Mr. T., writing from Rhode Island, mentions, in addition to the branches stated above as performed by women, that of warping. He informs us, the work is not more unhealthy than housework, but complains that his women are careless, in bad weather, going to and from the mill. "Wages, when running full time, average from $3.75 to $6 per week. Weavers are paid by the yard, spoolers by the bunch, warpers by the web, and extra hands by the week. Men's wages are from 75 cents to $1.25 per day, but men's board is from 50 to 75 cents per week more. The prospect for work in the future depends upon the state of the country. Spring and summer are the best seasons for work. From March 20th to October 20th, the hands work from seven to seven; from October to March, until 8 P. M. Their wages are according to the number of yards woven; so of course it is to their interest, as well as our own, to run full time. We find male labor scarcer than female. Most of our hands are Americans. Our mills are well ventilated and well warmed. The company have a boarding house under their own supervision, but the women are at liberty to board in private families, and some do. The majority of young ladies in our employ are farmers' daughters, not really compelled to work, but prefer to do it, and in most instances use the means for obtaining an education. Instrumental music is taught in a seminary near the mill, by a young lady, who obtained her education with the means gained by working in this mill. We have from one to three nights every week devoted to literary societies, reading circles, &c., in all of which, the ladies from this and neighboring mills take an active part. Some eight or ten who worked at the mill during the summer are now attending school. Board $2.25 for men; $1.75 for women." The proprietor of the Kenyon mills, R. I., writes: "Probably one half the operatives in mills, in this part of the world, are women. Weavers are paid by the yard, and earn from $3 to $6 per week. Men are generally hired by the day. An intelligent woman will be able to run her loom after two or three weeks' practice. It is common to put learners on looms with experienced weavers for two or three weeks. From 20th March to 20th September, my working time is from sunrise to sunset, the remainder of the year, until eight o'clock in the evening. My weavers prefer to work full time as they are paid by the yard. There is generally a demand for good weavers in this part of the country all the year. Weavers make most money in summer. Large mills are being supplied with foreign help. Very few Americans are willing to work with them. Women are employed in mills on all kinds of work which they can do, and are preferred because they are more steady. Nearly all my mill girls are daughters of farmers in the neighborhood, and have had a fair common school education. Several of my weavers take newspapers or other periodicals, and carry them into the mill to read, when they can do so without interfering with their work. Some take sewing or knitting. Board $1.75 for women; $2.25 for men. If we did not keep comfortable boarding houses, our help would find employment in other places. Any smart, good girls, who want work, need have no hesitation in coming to Rhode Island to look for work in mills."