The Way of folding it for a large Wheal is thus :—They take a Pin, and beginning at
one Side of the Piece in any Wheal, direct it towards the End of the same Wheal on the
other Side, and then place the two opposite Ends of the Wheal as near as they can to-
gether ; and so double or sold the whole Piece, repeating this Enquiry with a Pin at every
Yard or two. This done, they sprinkle it with Water, and fold it the long Way, placing
a Piece of Pasteboard between every Fold ; whereby the Wheals on the wrong Side are
flatten'd, and those on the Right become the more protuberant, and the angular Bendings
of the Wheals are the more remarkable.
Being folded thus, they press it, between Pasteboards, violently, in a Hot-Press, and
let it remain there till stiff and dry ; which makes the Wheals of the contiguous Sides
leave Impressions mutually on one another, as Fig. 2. demonstrates : where it is evident
that the Wheal of the Piece A B C D runs parallel between the pricked Lines e f, e f, e f ;
and Impressions being left upon these Wheals by those that were prest upon them, (which
lay not exactly parallel to, but a little athwart them, as the Lines o o o o o o o, g b, g b, g b,
shew) they are so variously and irregularly creased, and their Threads so set to each other,
by being put into that Shape when wet, and kept so till dry, that the Mouldings will re-
main almost as long as the Silk itself.
Hence any one that considers the Figure attentively, will be sensible, why the Parts of
the Wheal a a a a a a appear bright, the Parts b b b b b b dark or shadowed, and some
such as d d d d d d partly light and partly dark. The Variety of which Reflections and
Shadows are the only Cause of the Appearance we call Watering in Silks or Stuffs.
Fine Lawn
A Piece of the finest Lawn,
whose Threads are scarce discernable by the naked Eye,
appears through the Microscope coarser than any Hop-Sack ; its Threads seeming not
unlike, either in Shape or Size, the larger Kind of Rope-Yarn, wherewith they usually make
Cables : And its Transparency is plainly seen to arise from a Multitude of square Holes,
left between the Threads, which give it the Resemblance of a Lattice-Window ; only
here the crossing Parts are round and not slat. These Threads, however, though as
small as in the finest Silks, have nothing of their glossy, pleasant and lively Reflections.
A Drawing of this is given, Plate XI. Fig. 3.
Our Author proceeds no farther in examining the Productions of human Art ; Things
only designed to be viewed by our naked Eyes, and wherein little is discoverable but Rude-
ness and Deformity ; but applies his Microscope to behold the minute Works of Nature,
which though far removed beyond the Reach of our Sight, are so exquisitely curious, that
the more our Glasses magnify the more Excellencies appear therein, the more we
learn the Weakness of ourselves, and the Omnipotency and infinite Perfections of the
Great Creator.
