Page:Provincial geographies of India (Volume 1).djvu/172

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CHAPTER XV

HANDICRAFTS AND MANUFACTURES

Handicrafts.— The chief handicrafts of the province are those of the weaver, the shoemaker, the carpenter, the "potter, and the worker in brass and copper. The figures of the 1911 census for each craft including dependents were: weavers 883,000; shoemakers 540,000; carpenters 381,000; potters and brickmakers 349,000; metalworkers 240,000. The figures for weavers include a few working in factories. The hand-spun cotton-cloth is a coarse strong fabric known as "khaddar" with a single warp and weft. "Khes" is a better article with a double warp and weft. "Susi" is a smooth cloth with coloured stripes used for women's trousers. A superior kind of checked "khes" known as " gabrun " is made at Ludhiana. The native process of weaving is slow and the weavers are very poor. The Salvation Army is trying to introduce an improved hand loom. Fine "lungis" or turbans of cotton with silk borders are made at Ludhiana, Multan, Peshawar, and elsewhere. Effective cotton printing is carried on by very primitive methods at Kot Kamalia and Lahore. Ludhiana and Lahore turn out cotton darts or rugs. Coarse woollen blankets or lots are woven at various places, and coloured felts or namdas are made at Ludhiana, Khushab, and Peshawar. Excellent imitations of Persian carpets are woven at Amritsar, and the Srinagar carpets do credit to the Kashmiris' artistic