ng the seat of manufacture. They may be
described as very white and smooth, the better kinds being very
durable. Their chief fault arises from their being over-bleached, and
hence faulty in sound. The French take the third place in the
manufacture. Their strings are carefully made, and those of the larger
sizes answer well; but the smaller strings are wanting in durability.
The English manufacture all qualities, but chiefly the cheaper kinds;
they are durable, but unevenly made, and have a dark appearance.

The cause of variation in quality of the several kinds enumerated
arises simply from the difference of climate. In Italy an important
part of the manufacture is carried on in the open air, and the
beautiful climate is made to effect that which has to be done
artificially in other countries. Hence the Italian superiority.
Southern Germany adopts, to some extent, similar means in making
strings; France, to a less degree; while England is obliged to rely
solely on artificial processes. It therefore amounts to this--the
further from Italy the seat of manufacture, the more inferior the
string.

From the foregoing references we find that strings, although called
"catgut," are not made from the intestines of that domestic animal.
Whether they were originally so made, and hence derive their name, it
is impossible to learn. Marston, the old dramatist, says:

"How the musicians
Hover with nimble sticks o'er squeaking Crowds,[2]
Tickling the dried guts of a mewing cat."

We may be sure, however, that had the raw material been drawn from
that source up to the present time, there would have been no need to
check the supply of the feline race by destroying nine kittens out of
ten; on the contrary, the rearing of cats would indeed have been a
lucrative occupation. A time-honoured error is thus commemorated in a
word, the origin of which must be ascribed to want of thought. If the
number of cats requisite for the string manufacture be considered for
a moment, it is easy to see that Shylock's "harmless necessary"
domestics are under no contribution in this matter. Strings are made
from the intestines of the sheep and goat, chiefly of the former. The
best qualities are made from the intestines of the lamb, the strength
of which is very great if compared with those of a sheep more than a
year old. This being so, the chief manufacture of the year is carried
on in the month of September, the September string-makings b