one of the threads of the warp breaks when it is being wound
on the beam, a slender bent wire that has been hung on it falls. It
drops between two rollers and stops them. Then the workman knows that
something is wrong, and a glance will show where attention is needed.
Success in a cotton mill demands constant attention to details. A mill
manager who has been very successful has given to those of less
experience some wise directions about running a mill. For one thing,
he reminds them that building is expensive and that floor space
counts. If by rearranging looms space can be made for more spindles,
it is well worth while to rearrange. He tells them to study their
machines and see whether they are working so slowly that they cannot
do as much as possible, or so fast as to strain the work. He bids them
to keep their gearings clean, to be clear and definite in their
orders, and to read the trade papers; but above everything else to
look out for the little things, a little leak in the mill dam, a
little too much tightness in a belt, or the idleness of just one
spindle. Herein lies, he says, one of the great differences between
a successful and an unsuccessful superintendent.

Weaving as practiced in factories is a complicated business; but
whether it is done with a simple hand loom in a cottage or with a big
power loom in a great factory, there are always three movements. One
separates the warp threads; one drives the shuttle between them; and
one swings the reed against the filling thread just put in.

XI

SILKWORMS AND THEIR WORK

About silk there is something particularly agreeable. There are few
people who do not like the sheen of a soft silk, the sparkle of light
on a "taffeta," and the richness of the silk that "can stand alone."
Its delicate rustle is charming, and the "feel" of it is a delight.
It has not the chill of linen, the deadness of cotton, or the
"scratchiness" of woolen. It pleases the eye, the ear, and the touch.

The caterpillars of a few butterflies and of many moths are spinners
of fibers similar to silk. Among these last is the beautiful
pale-green lunar moth. Spiders spin a lustrous fiber, and it is said
that a lover of spiders succeeded, by a good deal of petting and
attention, in getting considerable material from a company of them.
Silkworms, however, are the only providers of real silk for the world.
Once in a while glowing accounts are published of the ease with which
they can be r