[Sidenote: _This manual the result of study and experience_]
Being practically agreed as to _what_ shall be the first industrial work in the primary school, the next great question is the _how_. With large numbers of little children in her own schoolroom, the author of this manual has long sought a satisfactory answer. Believing that the results of her study and experience will be helpful to others in suggesting possibilities, and in stimulating thought, as well as in practical teaching and time-saving, she sends forth this little book with the earnest hope that it may in these ways be of real service.
_Critic Teacher and Instructor, University of North Dakota._
Weaving, the oldest of the industrial arts, dates back so far that no one can say when or where it had its beginning. We read in Genesis iii, 21, that when Adam was driven from the Garden of Eden he wore a coat of skin; but, not long after, according to Professor Hurwitz, the descendants of Adam wore an upper garment called the simla, which consisted of a piece of cloth about six yards long and two or three wide, greatly resembling a blanket (_Ashenhurst_). This might have been woven from vegetable fibres, perhaps from wool, but in what manner we do not know. The warp and woof of linen and woolen garments is mentioned in Leviticus xiii, 47, 48.
Spinning and weaving have been practised by the Chinese, Hindoos, and Egyptians for thousands of years and carried by them to great proficiency. The Israelites were probably familiar with the art of weaving before their sojourn in Egypt, but it was there that they attained the skill which enabled them to execute the hangings in the Tabernacle. Joseph's "coat of many colors" is a proof that dyeing existed at a very early period, and the eloquent writings of Ezekiel tell us of the beautiful colored cloths of Tyre and Damascus.
From the ancient world the art of weaving passed through Europe and became known in England after the Roman conquest. No doubt primitive weaving with vegetable fibres, and perhaps with wool, was known in a very crude way before that time. How the art developed, and how improvement followed improvement, makes very interesting reading for the student of textile fabrics.