sold for about sixty cents, and the time required for
weaving it is but two days, thus allowing the weaver thirty cents per
day for her wool and labor. She uses inferior wool, washes but little of
it, and pays only a nominal sum for a cheap dye. The framework of her
loom costs comparatively little, as the rug it produces is from twenty
to thirty times the size of the superior rug. Thus it appears that, in
the long run, the inferior weaver is better paid than the one who
fatigues her brain with her efforts to produce a rug of the best
quality. On the other hand, the weaver of the superior fabric has
advantages which the other has not. As a general rule, she weaves to
order, and is paid for her work in advance. This prepayment is of great
importance, considering the poverty of the weaver. The situation of the
weaver of the inferior article differs in that she has to buy her wool,
dye it, finish her rug, and then watch the market for buyers.

[Illustration: VATS FOR WASHING AND DYEING WOOL--TURKEY]

The weavers live on the simplest fare; bread, cheese, and a raw onion
make an average meal. In some districts the weavers have to work in
underground huts, for the air at the surface is so dry that the threads
would lose all their elasticity out of doors. In these underground
places the weavers produce enough moisture by keeping at hand utensils
full of water.

Although the business is conducted with the manufacturer on a strictly
commercial basis, it is very difficult to induce the weavers to keep
their appointments and finish a rug at the time it is promised. In
India, for example, the weavers are very superstitious; and if a boy
weaver be taken ill, the entire force on that loom will stop until he
recover. If he die, the entire force of native weavers may be changed.
This of course causes vexatious delay, not only of days, but often of
weeks and months.

THE MATERIALS

The materials used in the manufacture of rugs cover a wide range, and
are indigenous to the place where the weavers are located. Sheep's wool,
camel's hair, mohair from the Angora goat, hair from the yak and from
the Thibetan goat, silk, cotton, linen, hemp, flax, and jute are all
used. In the Spring the raw wool is generally taken to the nearest
market, where it is cleaned, washed, and spun. The cleansing process is
very necessary, as it affects in an important degree the quality of the
material. The wool is usually washed in running water by the men,