A territory, not yet mentioned, which was closely bound up with the prosperity of the glove trade in England, was Ireland. Limerick, Dublin and Cork formerly were noted glove cities. The “Limericks”—a glove named for its birthplace—were of exquisite texture, and were greatly in favor among the aristocratic English for their property of rendering the hand of the wearer smooth and soft. These gloves were made of “morts” or “slinks,” the skin of the abortive, or very young, calf, lamb or kid. Some of them were so beautifully delicate that they could be enclosed in a walnut shell. “No glove ever exceeded the Limerick in beauty,” declares Hull. Skin collectors went all over Ireland, and the trade was a great boon to the peasantry. But after 1825, the skins were no longer worth the trouble of collecting, and a great resource of the country was lost. To one who views these facts it must be apparent that England never was intended to compete with France in the skilled making of the finest gloves. She could content her people with the home product only by excluding all foreign gloves; and even then, the privileged, who could bribe the government, insisted upon the secret importation of gloves from France. To be sure, the wave of protection rose high in 1462, in 1675 and in 1744; but, in every event there came a reaction, as far as the complete prohibition of gloves was concerned. Instead of supplying her own colonies with the home product, England even imported gloves from France, stored them in her warehouses, and then shipped them at an _ad valorem_ duty to her East Indian possessions! The truth of the matter was, French glove-makers early had won the first place in Europe. Struggle as she might, it is exceedingly doubtful whether her rival across the Channel ever could have equalled her prestige. In the heavier varieties of leather gloves, English makers did enjoy—and still do to-day—an enviable reputation; but here their fame stops. England had neither the inventive skill nor the natural climate to produce the perfect kid glove, for which France is so celebrated.