be an improvement upon its predecessor.

CHAPTER VII.

COTTON RUGS.

The warp-covered weaving which I have described in a previous chapter
as being the simplest and best method for woolen rugs, is equally
applicable to cotton weaving. It is, in fact, the one used in making
the cotton rugs woven in prisons in India, and which in consequence
are known as "prison rugs." They are generally woven in stripes of
dark and light shades of indigo blue and measure about four by eight
feet. They are greatly used by English residents in India, being much
better adapted to life in a hot climate than the more costly Indian
and Persian rugs, which supply the world-demand for floor coverings.

In our own summer climate and chintz-furnished summer cottages they
would be an extremely appropriate and economical covering for floors.
The warp is like that of the Navajo blanket, a heavy cotton cord, the
filling or woof of many doubled fine cotton threads, which quite cover
the heavy warp, and give the ridged effect of a coarse _rep_.

As I have said, they are woven almost invariably in horizontal stripes
of two blues, or blue and white, with darker ends and a warp fringe.
Simple as they are and indeed must be, as they are the result of
unskilled labour, they are pleasant to look at, and have many virtues
not dependent upon looks. They are warm and pleasant to unshod feet,
and therefore suitable for bedroom use. They are soft to shoe tread,
and give colour and comfort to a summer piazza. They can be hung as
portieres in draughty places with a certainty of shelter, and can be
lifted and thrown upon the grass to be washed by the downpour of a
thunder shower, and left to dry in the sun without detriment to colour
or quality.

Surely this is a goodly list of virtues, and the sum of them is by no
means exhausted. Their durability is surprising; and they can be sewn
together and stretched upon large floors with excellent colour effect.
They can be turned or moved from room to room and place to place with
a facility which makes them more than useful. The manufacture is so
simple that a child might weave them, while at the same time, by a
skilful use of colour and good arrangement of border, they can be made
to fit the needs of the most luxurious as well as the simplest summer
cottage. In short, they are capable of infinite variation and
improvement, without departure from the simple method of the "prison
rug."

Of course the variati