in England, and most other countries of Europe--Petition from Calcutta merchants--Present condition of the City of Dacca--Mode of spinning fine yarns--Tables showing the comparative prices of Dacca and British manufactured goods of the same quality 333 PART FOURTH. ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE LINEN MANUFACTURE. 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 APPENDICES. APPENDIX A. ON PLINY’S NATURAL HISTORY. Sheep and wool Price of wool in Pliny’s time--Varieties of wool and where produced--Coarse wool used for the manufacture of carpets--Woollen cloth of Egypt--Embroidery--Felting--Manner of cleansing--Distaff of Tanaquil--Varro--Tunic--Toga--Undulate or waved cloth--Nature of this fabric--Figured cloths in use in the days of Homer (900 B. C.)--Cloth of gold--Figured cloths of Babylon--Damask first woven at Alexandria--Plaided textures first woven in Gaul--$150,000 paid for a Babylonish coverlet--Dyeing of wool in the fleece--Observations on sheep and goats--Dioscurias a city of the Colchians--Manner of transacting business 401 APPENDIX B. ON THE ORIGIN AND MANUFACTURE OF LINEN AND COTTON PAPER. THE INVENTION OF LINEN PAPER PROVEN TO BE OF EGYPTIAN ORIGIN--COTTON PAPER MANUFACTURED BY THE BUCHARIANS AND ARABIANS, A. D. 704.