PART FOURTH. ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE LINEN MANUFACTURE.
Reading edition
CHAPTER I.
FLAX.
CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF FLAX BY THE ANCIENTS—ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES, ETC.
Earliest mention of Flax—Linen manufactures of the Egyptians—Linen worn by the priests of Isis—Flax grown extensively in Egypt—Flax gathering—Envelopes of Linen found on Egyptian mummies—Examination of mummy-cloth—Proved to be Linen—Flax still grown in Egypt—Explanation of terms—Byssus—Reply to J. R. Forster—Hebrew and Egyptian terms—Flax in North Africa, Colchis, Babylonia—Flax cultivated in Palestine—Terms for flax and tow—Cultivation of Flax in Palestine and Asia Minor—In Elis, Etruria, Cisalpine Gaul, Campania, Spain—Flax of Germany, of the Atrebates, and of the Franks—Progressive use of linen among the Greeks and Romans 358
CHAPTER II.
HEMP.
Cultivation and Uses of Hemp by the Ancients—Its use limited—Thrace Colchis—Caria—Etymology of Hemp 387
CHAPTER III.
ASBESTOS.
Uses of Asbestos—Carpasian flax—Still found in Cyprus—Used in funerals—Asbestine-cloth—How manufactured—Asbestos used for fraud and superstition by the Romish monks—Relic at Monte Casino 390