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ON THE POLITICAL ECONOMY

the country; and great quantities of that description of wool,are purchased by agents for the manufactories in England.

II. LINEN.

The manufactures of flax and hemp are deemed objects ofgreat national importance* and have long received the fos-tering protection of Government. “ An act for better regu-lation of the linen and hempen manufactures of that part ofGreat Britain called Scotland, ” was passed in 1727 Inconsequence of that statute, a board of trustees was establish-ed in Edinburgh “ for overseeing, directing, and better im-proving the said linen and ’es,” on which

extensive powers were conferred. This board has since con-tinued in constant activity, and regulated the trade in all itsbranches—from the sowing of the flax-seed, to the measuringand finishing of the bleached cloth.

The linen and hempen manufactures are divided into va-rious branches, which are carried on either separately or incombination. The linen branches are as follow : 1. Spinning;

2. Weaving the yarn into a great variety of fabrics; and,

3. Thread-making, both coloured and white, or the twistingof yarn into a slender twine, for the purpose of sewing, ma-king fringes, net-work, &c. The subsidiary operations re-quired to complete these branches, are also distinct opera-tions, such as flax-dressing or heckling, bleaching and dy-ing, callandering, lapping, &c.

1. Spinning.— In Scotland anciently, yarn was spun bythe distaff^ or rock and spyndle, as practised by the ancientGreeks. This method was superseded by the introduction ofthe common wheel, which at first had only one spyndle, butabout sixty years ago, was improved by the addition of another.This wheel is to be found in almost every family in Scotland :the higher classes of females, formerly amused themselves withthis occupation: and spinning was then considered to be a

* 13. Geo. I, c. S3.