Antimacassar was a former covering for chairs, sofas, couches, etc, made of open cotton or worsted work, to preserve them from being soiled, as by the oil applied to the hair. Research Antimacassar
Budding is the art of multiplying plants by causing the leaf-bud of one species or variety to grow upon the branch of another. The operation consists in shaving off a leaf-bud, with a portion of the wood beneath it, which portion is afterwards removed by a sudden jerk of the operator's finger and thumb, aided by the budding-knife. An incision in the bark of the stock is then made in the form of a T; the two side lips are pushed aside, the bud is thrust between the bark and the wood, the upper end of its bark is cut to a level with the cross arm of the T, and the whole is bound up with worsted or other soft fastening, the point of the bud being left exposed.
In performing the operation, a knife with a thin flat handle and a blade with a peculiar edge is required. The bud must be fully formed; the bark of the stock must separate readily from the wood below it; and young branches should always be chosen, as having beneath the bark the largest quantity of cambium or viscid matter out of which tissue is formed. The maturer shoots of the year in which the operation is performed are the best. The autumn is the best time for budding, though it may also be practised in the spring. Research Budding
Carpet, a thick fabric, generally composed wholly or principally of wool, for covering the floors of apartments, staircases, and passages in the interior of a house or other place. Carpets were originally introduced from the East, where they were fabricated in pieces, like the modern rugs, for sitting on - a use obviously suggested by the Eastern habit of sitting cross-legged upon the floor. Eastern carpets are still highly thought of in Europe, into which they are largely imported. The good quality Persian, Turkish, and Indian carpets are all woven by hand, and the design is formed by knotting into the warp tufts of woollen threads of the proper colour one after the other.
Of European carpets the Brussels carpet was a common and highly-esteemed variety at the end of the 19th century. It was composed of linen thread and worsted, the latter forming the pattern. The linen basis did not appear on the surface, being concealed by the worsted, which was drawn through the reticulations and looped over wires that were afterwards withdrawn, giving the surface a ribbed appearance.
Wilton carpets were similar to Brussels in the process of their manufacture, but in them the loops were cut open by using wires with a knife-edge, and the surface thus obtained a pile.
Tapestry carpets have also a pile surface. They were traditionally manufactured according to a process patented by Mr. Whytock of Edinburgh in 1832, the great speciality of which was that the threads were particoloured by printing in the proper manner for each design before being woven up.
The Kidderminster or Scotch carpet consisted of two distinct webs woven at the same time and knitted together by the woof. The pattern was the same on both sides of the cloth, but the colours were reversed. An improvement upon this was the three-ply carpeting, made originally at Kilmarnock.
The original Axminster carpets were made on the principle of the Persian or Turkey carpets. Patent Axminster carpets (invented by Templeton of Glasgow, 1839) have a fine pile, which is produced by using chenille as the weft, the projecting threads of which form the pile, which is dyed before being used. Carpets of felted wool, with designs printed on them, are also used, and are very cheap. Cheap jute carpets are also made. Research Carpet
Charles Cornwallis (Lord Cornwallis) was a British soldier and the first marquess of Cornwallis. He was born in 1737 and died in 1805. He served in the Seven Years' War. He took his seat in Parliament and favoured the Americans during the preliminary troubles. Having been made lieutenant-general he was sent to America in 1776, fought in the Battle of Long Island, and pursued George Washington's army through New Jersey. He was defeated at the Battle of Princeton, decided the victory of Brandywine in 1777, and served at Germantown and Monmouth. Having been appointed to the command of the Southern army he overwhelmed Gates at Camden in 1780, but in his contest with Greene he was worsted, although he won a technical victory at Guilford Court House in 1781. Then followed his campaign in Virginia against Lafayette, the siege of his army in Yorktown, and its surrender to the Franco-American troops on October the 17th 1781. As Governor-General of India, from 1786 until 1793 and in 1805, he rendered valuable military and administrative services. He was also lord-lieutenant of Ireland, from 1798 until 1801, at the epoch of the Union. Research Charles Cornwallis
Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, was a prince of Germany. He was born in 1129 and died in 1195. He succeeded his father, Henry the Proud, in 1139, assuming the government of Saxony himself in 1146. At the diet of princes in Frankfort in 1147 he demanded restitution of Bavaria, taken from his father by Conrad VII; but was worsted in the war which followed. It was restored to him, however, in 1154, after the death of Conrad, by the Emperor Frederick, Henry's cousin.
His possessions then extended from the Baltic and the North Sea to the Adriatic, and he was successful in opposing the league formed against him at Merseburg in 1166. About two years afterwards he separated from his wife and married Matilda, daughter of Henry II of England. He then went on an expedition to the Holy Land, and during his absence his enemies, and even the emperor, made encroachments on his dominions.
In 1174 he followed Frederick I on his fifth expedition to Italy, but left him at the siege of Alessandria. He was then put under the ban of the empire, and his dominions were given to other princes. Henry defended himself for a time successfully, but was at last obliged to take refuge in England. In 1182 he asked pardon of the emperor on his knees, and Frederick promised him his hereditary possessions, Brunswick and Luneburg, on condition of his undergoing exile for three years. He, therefore, again went to England, but returned to Brunswick in 1184.
In 1188 he was once more compelled to leave the country, and it was only in 1190, at the close of a year's fighting, that a reconciliation was finally effected. Henry was much in advance of his age in fostering industry, science, commerce, and the arts. Research Henry The Lion
The Battle of Summit Point, Virginia, was a battle of the American Civil War that occurred during Sheridan's campaign in the ShenandoahValley and Barly's sortie against Washington. Sheridan was retreating toward Halltown with the intention of strengthening his position there, for he had heard that Barly was expecting reinforcements under Anderson and that others might come. On the road through Summit Point, he fell in with several detachments of Barly's troops. Rodes' and Ramseur's infantry were advanced to the attack, and a fierce skirmish occurred. The Federals lost quite heavily and were decidedly worsted. Getty's division of the Sixth Corps lost 250 killed and wounded. Research Battle of Summit Point
Bombarzine is a mixed tissue of silk and worsted, the first forming the warp and the second the weft. It is fine and light in the make, and may be of any colour, though black is most in use. Research Bombazine
Abbreviations
Research Antimacassar
