When the warp is transferred to the loom the rod which was placed in
the upper shed remains there, or another rod, straighter and
smoother, is substituted for it; but with the lower shed, healds are
applied to the anterior threads and the rod is withdrawn.

§ V. The mode of applying the healds is simple: (1) the weaver sits
facing the loom in the position for weaving; (2) she lays at the right
(her right) side of the loom a ball of string which she knows contains
more than sufficient material to make the healds; (3) she takes the
end of this string and passes it to the left through the shed, leaving
the ball in its original position; (4) she ties a loop at the end of
the string large enough to admit the heald-rod; (5) she holds
horizontally in her left hand a straightish slender rod, which is to
become the heald-rod--its right extremity touching the left edge of
the warp--and passes the rod through the loop until the point of the
stick is even with the third (second anterior from the left) thread of
the warp; (6) she puts her finger through the space between the first
and third threads and draws out a fold of the heald-string; (7) she
twists this once around, so as to form a loop, and pushes the point of
the heald-rod on to the right through this loop; (8) she puts her
finger into the next space and forms another loop; (9) and so on she
continues to advance her rod and form her loops from left to right
until each of the anterior (alternate) warp-threads of the lower shed
is included in a loop of the heald; (10) when the last loop is made
she ties the string firmly to the rod near its right end.

When the weaving is nearly done and it becomes necessary to remove the
healds, the rod is drawn out of the loops, a slight pull is made at
the thread, the loops fall in an instant, and the straightened string
is drawn out of the shed. Illustrations of the healds may be seen in