"WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE.] E N G I, A N D 231 years of age, the rest, 110,249, being above eighteen years. Of the 259,729 females employed in cotton factories in 1874 there were 32,637 under thirteen years of age. tribu- The cotton factories were distributed as follows over 1 of England at the end of 1874 : ton Counties. Number of Factories. Number of Power Looms. Number of Persons Employed. Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent 18 18 397 Gloucester, Hereford, Salop, Staf- | ford, Worcester, and Warwick. } Leicester, Rutland, Lincoln, and i Notts } 19 43 3,000 41 5,278 4,632 Cheshire 184 29,943 36,485 Lancashire 1 911 373,061 352,003 Derbyshire ... 72 7 608 10,091 Yorkshire 273 15,147 28,669 Durham, Northumberland, Cum- ) berland, and Westmoreland ... Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk 14 3 2,382 184 2,478 303 Total 2,542 431,339 440,336 It will be seen that Lancashire absorbs more than three- fourths of the manufacture of cotton fabrics in England. Woollen and Worsted. Second, only to the cotton trade as a national industry is the manufacture of woollen and worsted textile fabrics. There were in 1874 in the United Kingdom 1800 woollen and 692 worsted factories. In the woollen factories there were in use 3,323,881 spindles and 57,090 power-looms, and they employed 134,605 persons; while in the worsted factories there were in use 2,382,450 spindles and 81,747 power-looms, and they employed 142,097 persons. Unlike cotton, the raw material for woollen fabrics is mainly produced at home ; still for many years past the native supply has been insufficient, which necessitated imports from foreign countries and British colonies, ever increasing in amount. During 1840-1876 the imports of wool rose from 49 to 390 millions of pounds. The following table exhibits the imports of wool into the United Kingdom from foreign countries and British colonies, the amount of re-exports, and the net balance of imports, for every fifth year from 1841 to 1876 : Years. Tut. il Imports of Wool. Total Exports (Foreign and Colonial) Net Imports. It, It) It, 1841 56,170,974 2,553,671 53,617,303 1846 65,255,462 3,011,980 62,243,482 1851 83,311,975 13,729,987 69,581,988 1856 ! 116,211,392 26,679,793 89,531,599 1861 | 147,172,841 54,377,104 92,795,737 1866 i 239,358,689 66,573,488 172,785,201 1871 323,030,299 134,866,304 188,169,995 1876 | 890,055,759 173,020,372 217,035,387 Of tu e 1800 woollen factories in existence in the United Kingdom at the end of 1874, England and Wales had 480 ; au d of the 692 worsted factories, England and Wales had 239. The following table shows the number of woollen factories in England and Wales, the number of spindles and of power-looms in use, and the number of persons employed, at various annual periods from 1850 to 1874 : j Numb -r of Tears. ! Woollen , Factories. Number of Spindles. Number of Power Looms. Number of Persons Employed. 1850 1,306 1,356,691 9,170 64,426 1856 | 1,410 1,499,949 13,726 69,130 1861 1,456 1,846,850 20,344 76,309 1868 1,420 ! 4,222,916 42,571 101,938 1870 1,550 2,081,931 37.356 100,640 1874 1,483 2,604,610 45,025 105,371 The subjoined table gives similar details regarding the Wore worsted factories iu England and Wales : factoi m En land Wale; Years. Number of Worsted Factories. Number of Spindles. Number of Power Looms. Number of Persons Employed. 1850 493 864,874 32,617 78,915 1856 508 1,2! 8,326 38,809 86,690 1861 512 1,245,526 42,968 82,972 1868 687 2,149,024 71,556 128,410 1870 599 1,766,636 63,443 103,514 1874 648 2,128,890 75,591 131,830 The number of persons employed in the woollen factoriea of England and Wales in 1874 comprised 54,119 males and 51,252 females. Of the males, 4391 were under thirteen years of age, 10,726 from thirteen to eighteen years of age, and 93,002 above eighteen. Of the females, 2841 were under thirteen, and 48,411 over thirteen years of age. In the worsted factories, the persons employed in 1874 com prised 53,995 males and 77,835 females. Of the males, 14,074 were under thirteen, 10,694 were from thirteen to eighteen, and 29,227 above eighteen years of age. Of the females, 15,394 were under thirteen, and 62,441 over thirteen years of age. It will be seen that the number of children, of both sexes, is far greater comparatively in the worsted than in the woollen factories. The following table exhibits the distribution of the Distr woollen factories over England and Wales, giving the num.- butio ber in different counties, with power-looms and persons y 10 ? employed, at the end of 1874 : Counties Number of Factories Number of Power Looms. Number of Persons Employed. Herts, Bucks, Oxford, North- ) arnpton, Hants, Bedford, and > Cambridge ) 10 231 984 Wilts, Dorset, Devon, Corn wall, and Somerset 69 2,586 7,695 Gloucester, Hereford, Salop, Stafford, Worcester, and Warwick 36 1,226 4,978 Leicester, Rutland, Lincoln, ) and Notts 8 318 Cheshire , 11 130 538 Lancashire 98 9,023 11,822 Derbyshire 3 2 21 Yorkshire. . 936 30,684 75,354 Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmore land 36 559 1,555 Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent Wales and Monmouth 6 269 584 116 1,190 Total . .... 1,483 45,025 105,371 The worsted factories were thus distributed over Eng- land there are none in Wales at the end of 1874 : butl worst Counties. Number of Factories. Number of Power Looms Number of Persons Employed. Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent ... Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk Wilts, Dorset, Devon, Com- j wall and Somerset > 11
31 563 129 1,042 564 Gloucester, Hereford, Salop, } Stafford, Worcester, and W&rwick . 40 1,731 7,089 Leicester, Rutland, Lincoln, and Notts 13 1,825 Lancashire.. 46 6,758 5,317 Yorkshire 520 65,789 114,383 Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmore land . . . 7 635 1,351 Derbyshire .... 1 84 125 Total 648 75,591 134,830
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