In addition to the extensive application of the Jacquard loom, Mr. Schwabe introduced, and Mr. Henry Houldsworth improved and perfected, the embroidering machines invented by Mr. Heilmann of Mulhausen.  The improvements are so great that the original inventor cannot compete with them.  Rows of needles elaborate the most tasteful designs with a degree of accuracy to which hand labour cannot approach.

Messrs. Winkworth and Proctor are also producers of high class silks for ladies’ dresses and gentlemen’s waistcoats.

Manchester is particularly celebrated for plain silk goods of a superior quality at a moderate price.  There are also manufactories of small wares, which include parasols and umbrellas.  A parasol begins at 4.5d. wholesale.

In Manchester the tastes and costumes of every country are consulted and suited.  The brown cloak of the Spaniard, the poncho of the Chilean, the bright red or yellow robe of the Chinese, the green turban of the pilgrim from Mecca, the black blanket of the Caffre, and the red blanket of the American Indian may all be found in bales in one Manchester warehouse.

In passing through the streets, the sign “Fents” is to be seen on shops in cellars.  These are the odd pieces, of a yard or two in length, cut off the goods in the manufactories to make up a certain even quantity; and considerable trade is driven in them.  Selections are sometimes bought up as small ventures by sea captains and emigrants.

Paper-making is carried on extensively in the neighbourhood of Manchester from cotton waste.  This was formerly thrown away; scavengers were even paid to cart it away.  After a time, as its value became quietly known among paper-makers, parties were found willing to take on themselves the expense of removing it.  By degrees the waste became a regular article of sale; and now, wherever possible, a paper-mill in this part of the country is placed near, or worked in conjunction with, a cotton-mill.  The introduction of cotton waste has materially reduced the price of paper.  No doubt, when the excise is abolished, many other articles will be employed for the same purpose.

To describe the railroads, which are every hour departing for every point of the compass, would take up too much space.  But the railway stations, several of which have been united by works as costly, and almost as extensive, as the Pyramids of Egypt, are not among the least interesting sights.  At these stations barrels of flour will be found, literally filling acres of warehouse room, and cucumbers arrive in season by the ton.

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The canals must be mentioned, and remind us that at Worsley, near Manchester, the Duke of Bridgwater, “the Father of Inland Navigation,” aided by the genius of Brindley (another of the great men, who, like Arkwright and Stephenson, rose from the ranks of labour, and directly contributed to the rise of this city) commenced the first navigable canal constructed for commercial purposes in Great Britain.