At Ellore the wool is cleaned and spun. The former is a rather complicated process, but on its proper performance depends the possibility of afterwards spinning the thread without the hair starting out too much,—which is sure to be the case if very hot water is used,—and the thorough fixing of the dye. When the sheep is sheared, the wool contains a largo amount of dirt and grease, sometimes as much as 50 per cent. of the whole weight, and this must be entirely removed before anything else can be done. Steeping in water, hot and cold, washing with soaps and various acids, fumigation, are the plans usually adopted ; but the Ellore people keep the process a secret. After this the wool is thoroughly beaten out by filliping it with a line of gut stretched ou a bow. This turns the matted, coarse substance cut from the sheep into a beautifully soft wool. The spinning is carried on in the ordinary manner of India. After the spinning comes the dyeing, which is not shown to strangers, and from that the thread is taken straight to the weavers. Ellore carpets are made on upright looms, the operators sitting on the ground, their legs in a hole or trench in front of the work,—not, as in the Gobelin tapestry, behind it. The warp thread is either of hemp, cotton, or wool. In carpets intended for Europe, hempen twine is invariably used ; while for India, cotton is sometimes pre ferred. The woollen warp is mostly confined to the small rugs made up for native consumption. The woof, or cross thread that holds down each successive line of wool, is either hemp or cotton. The warp is always white, the weft frequently coloured. Each little tuft of wool is twisted round two threads of the warp, and thus, as it were, knotted. It is then cut off with a knife to the length of about iths of an inch. When one line (horizontal) of the tuft has been completed, the weft is passed through and beaten firmly down on it by means of an iron comb. The whole line is then trimmed down to the proper length with a pair of scissors. And so the carpet proceeds, bit by bit, and line by line, till completed. Some patterns are far easier to work than others, and the value of the carpet varies accordingly. A good workman does 1j feet in breadth by 6 inches in length from 7 A.M. to 4 P.M. From two to three annas a day is about the sum on which a fair workman can reckon.
The Indian cotton carpets most commonly met with are blue, red, and white. Some few, made of cotton and silk for wealthy people, are extremely beautiful.
The rugs made in Bengal vary in length from 3 to 3f feet, their average width being I/ feet, and their value from 1 rupee to 1 rupee 10 annas. The rugs from Ellore, Tanjore, and Mysore are made of various sizes, and are valued from 2 to 4 rupees each. Those from Shikarpur and Khyrpur, as well as from Hyderabad (Sind), are of a lighter texture, but excellent workmanship ; their width is generally uniform, but in length and consequent cost they vary from from 2 to 5 rupees each.
The employment of rugs throughout India is most extensive. It is impossible to form an estimate of the annual value of this manufacture, as only the small portion exported is entered in the official records, and as no steps have hitherto been taken to ascertain the local trade.
The finest articles of this description, however, are the silk rugs from Tanjore and Mysore, the blending of colours and workmanship being ex cellent. They are made of all sizes, even up to
sauarea of ten feet: but. beino. too enktbr frrr general adoption, this manufacture is very limited. Were the patterns and disposition of colour in the native articles better known in . Europe, many useful lessons might be learned from them. Woollen carpets are rarely used by Hindus, and the manufacture is seemingly entirely confined to Mahomedans.
The Shatranji is a cotton carpet entirely made of cotton. They are used by every European or native throughout India ; and the annual manu facture is consequently very considerable, especi ally in Bengal, where they form a large and im portant branch of inland trade. They are of all sizes, from that of the largest carpet to the smallest rug, but generally of one and the same pattern throughout India, the only difference being the colour. Blue and white and red and white stripes constitute the prevalent patterns ; but, in some, one colour of darker and lighter hues is employed. In Meerut, Bareilly, and Patna, new patterns have of late been tried, but though preferred by the Europeans, are not so by natives, who like the striped patterns, because they wear better in daily use, and do not lose the freshness of colour by washing. The principal localities where shat ranjis are manufactured are Agra, Bareilly, Patna, Shahabad, Birbhum, and Bardwan. Those manu factured at Agra are considered the best, and the value of its annual production is about £10,000. The small ones are valued from 3s. to 15s., and the larger ones (carpet size) from £1, 10s. to £4, the price in many cases being regulated by weight.
The Shahabad cotton rugs are almost invariably striped. They are cool and pleasant. The smaller kinds are used as quilts for beds. The manufacturers, called in this district Kalleeun Bap, are almost invariably Mahomedans. The two local seats of manufacture in Shahabad are Bubbooah and Sasseram. In the former place, from 10,000 to 12,000 rupees' worth are yearly manufactured and sold, and in the from 30,000 to 10,000 rupees.
Dhurri is the name of cotton carpets generally made for sale, and are of four kinds, 6 yards long and 2 yards broad, thick and strong, of any colour, and are sold at from 6 rupees to 6 rupees 8 annas. A small kind, used as quilts, weigh from two to three pounds each, and are 11 to 1 yards broad by about 2 yards long ; they sell at from 14 annas to 1 rupee 8 annas each, according to thickness and quality, The hauz hassica is a name of the better kind of carpet, and often displays much taste in the arrangement of the striped colours. It is made of any size to fit any room, and is always sold by weight. The price varies, according to quality, from 1 rupee 4 annas to 1 rupee 12 annas, and sometimes as high as 2 rupees 4 annas per seer. It is sold in all the fairs, and in all the large cities around, such as Patna, Ghazipur, Daadnuggur, Gyah, etc. No merchant's or banker's shop or rich natiVe's reception room is complete without these being spread. This is the kind generally used by Euro peans for their drawing and public rooms. The small kind of carpet is made for use in zamin dari and other small cutcherries, and is much used from its portability. It is from 3 to 4 yards long and from 12 to 2 yards broad, and sells at from 3 to 4 rupees each carpet. It is generally made from five colours, from which cause it obtains the name of dhurri panch rangha.