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Otago Daily Times, Issue 18766, 20 January 1923, Page 15

Quite a lot of geography ran be learnt in a stroll round a draper’s shop, for many of the fabrics and materials wo use to-day got their names from the places where they were originally made. For example, calico owes its name to Calicut, a town in India. In the days before Manchester was a great manufacturing centre most of the best calico came from Calicut, and even after the industry came to Britain the old name remained. India is also responsible for muslm. which came originally from a place called Mosul. Two textiles owe their names to France. These are cretonne and cambric, the first of which came from the Normanby town of Croton, while the second is still manufactured in Cambrai. How many people know that serge takes its name from China, whence it was introduced into Britain in 1660? The Latin name for China is Solicum, which gradually has changed into the modern word sorgo.