The weaving is chiefly done by the women and girls.... Usually the young girls at six or seven years of age, begin, under the direction of the working mothers, to learn the mysteries of the loom,... The men and frequently boys, either spend their time in idleness or in seeking pleasure, or else occupy that relative position which is known in the Western dramatic world as the “thinking cast.” This does not call for any manual effort, and usually the great thinking part is directed to a concentration of all the passing pleasure possible in the day.
The looms are generally owned by the men, and the owner’s wives and children work early and late, sometimes weavers are hired. The hired weavers are scarce, because it is much more profitable to marry a good weaver than to hire her