The second group has patterns following closely, except in colour, the Turkish carpets of the time. On two out of four of this type belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch, the dates, 1584 and 1585, ap pear. (See Plate II.) Large numbers of pieces of carpet-knotting —called at the time "Turkey-work"—were made for covering chairs and stools. As the demand for carpets increased in the i8th century small factories were started at Paddington, Fulham, Moor fields, Exeter and Axminster, and the home production was stimu lated by premiums offered by the Society of Arts in 1756. The designers continued to adopt the decoration of the time or to copy eastern carpets. The famous Axminster factory worked on well into the 19th century and then became merged into the Wilton factory, which is still in operation. With the advent of machinery the industry dwindled and almost disappeared until, about 188o, the craft was revived by William Morris. Quite late in the cen tury a successful factory was opened in Donegal and during the loth century many small rugs have been knotted by handicraft societies, though their products can scarcely compete commercially with the machine or with the oriental rug. (C. E. TA.) The first carpet factory in the United States was established in 1791 by W. P. Sprague at Philadelphia. From that time the de velopment of carpet-weaving machinery has progressed rapidly, especially in the line of broadlooms. One of Sprague's earliest Axminster carpet designs represented the arms and achievements of the United States. This attracted the attention of Alexander Hamilton, who recommended the imposition of a small duty on imported carpeting, thus initiating the policy of a protective tariff. While in the early days of carpet manufacturing in the United States, looms were imported from Great Britain and the Continent, it was not long before looms were invented and constructed in the different carpet mills which had come into existence in several cities in the United States. The Jacquard pattern device was put into use in the United States shortly after its introduction in Europe. At Medway, Mass., in 1825, a small ingrain carpet mill, owned by Henry S. Burdett and managed by Alexander Wright, was started with hand looms brought from Scotland. In 1839 Erastus B. Bigelow began experimental work at Lowell, Mass.,
which resulted in the perfection of the first power loom ever made for weaving carpets. This wove an ingrain type, and was followed by Mr. Bigelow's development of the Brussels power loom in 1848. John Johnson of Halifax, England, undertook tapestry and velvet weaving (q.v.) in Newark, N.J., producing the pattern by printing the dyestuff on the individual strands of yarn. In 1876, after several years of research, Halcyon Skinner invented the moquette or spool Axminster at West Farms, N.Y. James Dunlap, in Philadelphia, developed a method of printing tapestry and velvet carpeting in the finished fabric. Imitation Smyrna rugs were made in considerable quantity by many fac tories during the latter part of the 19th century, the process being of the chenille Axminster type, but double faced. The three quar ter width or 27 in. was the limit of weave in the several types for long periods after invention, but in the closing years of the 19th century a movement to widen the looms began in America. The ingrain carpet and Smyrna rugs gradually lost favour, while the tapestry, velvet, Axminster, Wilton and chenille rapidly grew in demand as the processes were perfected and the looms widened. Rugs were first formed by sewing carpet strips together. Later the corners of a border pattern strip were mitred to form the framed design effect. Slowly the necessary changes were made to allow weaving the border patterns in the straight strips and avoid the mitred corners. (See CARPET MANUFACTURE.) To eliminate the seam through the centre of rugs and in the medallion de signs, popular at the time, required a wider strip and loom to weave it. Looms nine feet in width followed this trend in tapestry, velvet. and Axminster in the early years of the present century and Wil ton broadlooms followed after many years of experimental work and became popular about 1926. All these weaves are commonly woven up to 15 ft. in width and even wider looms were being developed in 1928. The chenille weave, developed in Great Britain in 1839, was not introduced into the United States until 1909 and was not produced in quantity until 1916. It has had a steady growth since because it is the only woven floor covering that can be woven to special order up to 3o ft. in width, any reasonable length, any shape, design or colour arrangement and an inch or better in thickness. Seamed rugs are no longer in demand. (X.) France.—There are early records of carpet weavers in France, but nothing is known of their work until the foundation of the famous Savonnerie factory near Paris in 1626. There many large carpets were made, mostly with flaxen warp and weft and a woollen pile tied with the Ghiordes knot. The designs accord with contemporary French dec oration and few if any were based on oriental carpets. In 1825 the factory was closed and the manu facture transferred to the Gobe lins tapestry factory. During the i8th century and afterwards many tapestry-woven carpets were made at Aubusson and in other tapestry factories.