Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/theorypracticeofOOmont THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COTTON SPINNING. THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COTTON SPINNING; OR THE CARDING AND SPINNING MASTER S ASSISTANT: SHOWING The use of each Machine employed in the whole process — how to adjust and adapt them to suit the various kinds of Cotton, and the different qualities of Yarn. AND How to perform the various Calculations connected with the different depart- ments of Cotton Spinning. ILLUSTRATED BY APPROPRIATE E]*r«RAVI]¥«S. ALSO, An Historical Sketch of the Rise and Progress of Cotton Spinning, and a short Account of the cultivation of Cotton, quantities imported and con- sumed, different growths, &c. By JAMES MONTGOMERY. THIRD EDITION, GREATLY ENLARGED AND IMPROVED. GLASGOW: JOHN NIVEN, JUN., 158, TRONGATE ; WHITTAKER Sc CO., and G. HEBERT, LONDON; J. & J. THOMSON, MANCHESTER | OLIVER & BOYD, AND STIRLING, KENNEY & CO., EDINBURGH. MDCCCXXXVI. COA/S LIBRARY •/ 'f r THE f 4 FRANKLIN ^INSTITUTI THE GETTY CEMTEh LIBRARY PREFACE. When so many publications on almost every subject are daily issuing from the press, it is much to be regretted, that nothing has ever appeared on the art of cotton spinning, fitted to assist the master, manager, or artisan, in acquiring a correct and systematical knowledge of the real principles of the business. Almost every other important art or manufacture has its periodical, or other publication, wherein its principles are elucidated, its improve- ments recorded, and its difficulties explained, and to which the artisan can apply in cases of difficulty ; but the manager of a Cotton Spinning Factory can only acquire a proper knowledge of his business, by long experience and application in the practical de- partment of the manufacture, and it will depend upon the situation in which he is placed, and the advantages he enjoys, if he ever obtain that correct knowledge of all its details, which is essentially ne- cessary to render him fully qualified for managing a large establishment with satisfaction or profit to the proprietors. Hence a treatise on this subject, in which the principles of the art may be unfoldedy and its details explained and exemplified^ has long PREFACE. been felt and acknowledged as a desideratum by the trade ; to supply which the following treatise is respectfully presented to their notice. It might be supposed that a complete knowledge of the business may easily be obtained by verbal communications ; but experience has too frequently shown, that those who have attained the most cor- rect knowledge of the art, in all its details, are more disposed to monopolize, for their own benefit, the advantage arising from their more enlarged experi- ence, than communicate it to others who may not have had the same opportunities ; consequently, while the principles of the art are left to verbal communications, many of our best establishments will continue to be conducted by those, who, though they may have had long experience in the practical department, will frequently be found deficient in theory : and it is only when theory and practice are combined, that efficiency can be attained in effecting improvements. The following treatise was originally designed for the author's personal use, and had his own feel- ings only been consulted, it never would have met the public eye. But being accustomed to take notes of particular occurrences, and make remarks on the various processes in the manufacture, and the different machines employed — and having had the pleasure of intimacy and correspondence with man- agers and mechanics whose knowledge and experi- PREFACE. vii ence he highly values ; whatever knowledge or information could be acquired by practice and observation — by conversation and correspondence with friends and others, was committed to writing. These notes and observations, after being arranged, were seen by some particular friends, who, having examined them, strongly urged their publication ; giving as their reasons most of those already stated. He would therefore beg leave to remind any who may feel disposed to criticise, that although the de- sign and plan of the work is original, yet from the diversity of opinion that exists among managers re- garding many things connected with the business, it cannot be expected that a first treatise upon the subject will be entirely free from imperfections. In preparing it for the press, however, every care has been taken to collect the best and most useful in- formation on the various articles, and to insert only what was found consistent with the practice and ex- perience of others. Also the opinions and sugges- tions of some experienced mechanics have been adopted, which give to a great part of the work more the character of a compilation than an original treatise j and it is presumed this concentration of talent and experience, will give it a degree of im- portance that it would not otherwise possess. For if it contain little original matter, yet what was known partly to one and partly to another, is here collected and arranged in systematical order, and viii rREFACE. brought within the reach of all who choose to avail themselves of it ; so that the whole theory of the business may be studied as a system, independent of the practical part. The articles were mostly writ- ten at different periods, and in the midst of other avocations, which will account for various apparent repetitions, and other little discrepancies. There is no pretension to literary merits — the chief embel- lishments that have been studied throughout are perspicuity and simplicity » As much depends on the plan of a Mill, and the arrangement of its different departments, for pro- moting the progress of the various operations, it was deemed proper, in the first place, to lay down a plan, and point out the manner in which the apart- ments might be advantageously arranged. And with a view to have the large gearing represented in the most approved form, several respectable me- chanics were consulted ; and it is believed that it is represented on the plan that is now generally a- dopted by mill-wrights and engineers in this country. In the detail of the process, the raw material is traced from the cotton bag, throughout the various stages of its progress, till it becomes finished yarn. Every machine employed in the process is intro- duced in its order, their use and operations described, and how to adjust and adapt them to suit the vari- ous kinds of cotton, and the different sizes of yarn pointed out. Rules for performing all calculations PREFACE. ix connected with the business, are distinctly laid down and exemplified : but in order to illustrate the de- scriptions and calculations, it was necessary to have drawings of the different machines, for the purpose of reference ; the newest and best machines were therefore selected, and the most exact measurement of their various proportions taken ; so that each of the engravings may be relied on for accuracy of representation, according to the different scales to which they are drawn. And with a view to the utmost simplicity, the calculations are generally w^r ought out at full length ; so that any operative acquainted with the common rules of arithmetic, may easily comprehend, and be able to apply them to practice. To the manager, carding or spinning master, who may be young in business, and desirous of informa- tion, the following treatise, it is hoped, may prove acceptable. And even to those who may have been long in business, it, perhaps, may be found to contain something not unworthy of their favourable regard; as there is much of it, though not entirely, new, yet not generally known. Many of the calculations are original, and it is hoped all of them will be found useful. The historical sketch of the rise and pro- gress of cotton spinning, and the article on cotton, if not useful, may, at least, be found interesting. Proprietors and others having neither time nor desire to attain a knowledge of the business by X PREFACE. laborious practice, may find this work an important auxiliary in acquiring it. It may also be interesting to mechanics employed in making and fitting up machinery, as each machine employed in the pro- cess forms the subject of a separate article. Late improvements are described, and the best machines pointed out — their operations explained, and rules for calculating their various movements exemplified. Should this work prove useful to those for whom it is designed — should it be the means of enabling them to acquire a more correct and systematic knowledge of the real principles of their art — should it in any degree prove worthy of their favourable regard, let the desire to be useful be accepted as an apology for its imperfections. J. M. July, 1832. PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. The extensive circulation which the former editions of this work have obtained both in this country and America, and the flattering assurances of its utility, which the author has repeatedly received from prac- tical men, both in England and Scotland, must be highly gratifying to him, and sufficiently testify the approbation with which it has been regarded. In order to render the present edition still more useful to those engaged in the practical department of Cotton Spinning, as well as more interesting to the public in general, no labour or expense has been spared. For this purpose the author has been induced to visit the manufacturing districts of Eng- land, with a view to obtain the most important and useful general information relating to the various departments of the business. He is aware there is a general sameness runs through all the ramifica- tions of cotton spinning, wherever it is carried on ; at the same time, there are many peculiarities and improvements to be found in certain districts and xii PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. Factories, which may give them a decided advan- tage over others, but which may not be generally known. His object in view, therefore, in visiting the manufacturing districts of England, has been to collect the most important and useful information that could be obtained, in order to combine, in the present edition, a much more general detail of the process of Cotton Spinning, as it is at present car- ried on both in England and Scotland. How far he has succeeded, is left to the public to decide ; yet, as a much fuller and more explicit detail of the business is given in this edition, than in the preceding ones, and from being more adapted to the English mode of spinning ; also, as the peculiari- ties of both countries are pointed out, and their probable advantages laid down, it is hoped that the present edition will be found to merit an additional share of that approbation which the work has hitherto received. J. M. October, 1836. CONTENTS. Page, Plan or Form of a Cotton Spinning Factory, - - - 17 The method of calculating the speeds of all the different shafts and machines throughout the Establishment, - - 26 Detail of the Process of Cotton Spinning, - - 47 On Mixing Cottons, 48 The Willow, 53 The Scutching Machine, 54 The Spreading Machine, - - - - - -62 The Carding Engine, - - - - - - 71 The Drawing Frame, - - - - - - -100 The Slabbing Frame, 120 The Can Frame, 121 The Skeleton Frame, 122 The Jack Frame, 123 The Fly Frame, 126 The Tube Frame, 148 The Eclipse Roving Frame, 154 The Stretching Frame, 157 SPINNING MACHINES. The Common Jenny, 160 Water Spinning Frame and Throstle, - - - - 163 Mule Jenny, 177 IMPROVEMENTS ON VARIOUS SPINNING MACHINES. Self-acting Mule, 196 Danforth Throstle, 208 Glasgow Patent Throstle, 211 xiv CONTENTS. Calculations of the Produce of various Spinning Machines. Common Hand Mule, - - - - - - - 215 Common Throstle Frame, - - - - - - 216 Glasgow Patent Throstle, 217 The Ring Throstle, 223 Miscellaneous Problems, ------ 225 Estimates of a Spinning and Weaving Establishment, - 248 Remarks on the Management and Government of Spinning Factories, - - 257 An Historical Sketch of the Rise and Progress of Cotton Spinning, - 274 Statements of the Cotton Manufacture of Great Britain, 303 Present State of the Cotton Manufacture of America, - 310 Statement of the Weight of Cotton Wool grown in Ame- rica, &c. from 1826 to 1835 inclusive, - - - 312 Statement of the Supply and Consumption of Cotton Wool in Europe, from 1826 to 1834 inclusive, and the Stock in the Ports at the end of each year, - - - - - 313 Statement of the growth of Cotton in Egypt, - - _ 340 On Cotton ; its mode of Cultivation, Import and Consumpt, Prices, different Qualities, &c. - - - - 314 Different Growths of Cotton, 334 Method of Cleaning Cotton Abroad, - - - - 343 Circumstances connected with the Cotton Trade, chronologi- cally arranged, - 345 EXPLANATION OF SEVERAL TERMS USED IN THE FOLLOWING WORK. Fly of a MulCi — (see Plate III. Fig, 2d. J is, in England, generally denominated the Rim; but, in Scotland, is always called the Fly. It is that part of the Mule, by which the operative regulates the rotary motion of the spindles, in winding the yarn on to the cope. A number of the English Mules are wrought with a handle or winch. Bevel Shafts — sometimes called the Diagonal Shaftf or the Long Driver, is a small shaft that connects the rim shaft with the front rollers. Wharve, Warfi or Warve, — a small pulley fixed on a spindle in the Stretching Frame or Mule. Grist Pinion, — sometimes called the Altering or Changing Pinion, is the pinion that regulates the draught or draft, f see B, Fig. 4}th, Plate III. J Crown Wheel, — sometimes denominated Stud Wheel oy Top Car- rier, (see C, Fig. 4>th, Plate III. J Delivering Ball, — or Delivering Rollers, are the rollers that de- liver the cotton from any machine. In Carding Engines and Drawing Frames, that part of the roller over which the cotton passes being larger in diameter, is called the Ball of the Roller, hence the Delivering Ball. Calender Boilers, — the Delivering Rollers of a Spreading Machine, so called from the great pressure which they exert upon the cot- ton whilst passing through between them. Radial Arm, — from Radius. — The Arm of a Quadrant, the length of which is equal to one-half the diameter of a circle. Cam, — a part of a Machine which partakes of the form of a Cylinder, a Cone, and a Spiral. Size of Yarn, — in England called the Counts of Yarn ; signifies the number of hanks in one pound. Lea, Slip, or Cut, — the seventh part of a hank. Warp and Weft. — Warp is frequently called Twist. — It is the yarn prepared for the longitudinal part of the web of cloth. — Weft is that which is used for the transverse threads. ARITHMETICAL SIGNS USED IN THE FOLLOWING WORK. -|- Plus, the sign of Addition, — used to denote that the numbers between which it stands are to be added together. = The sign of Equality, — used to denote that the quantities be- tween which it stands are equal to one another ; thus the ex- pression 4 + ^ = ^> means that 4 and 5 added together are equal to 9. — Minus, the sign of Subtraction, — when placed between two numbers, denotes that the lesser is to be taken from the greater. X The sign of Multiplication, — when placed between two numbers, denotes that they are to be multiplied together. ~- The sign of Division, — when placed between two numbers, de- notes that the former is divided by the latter. The division of one number by another is also denoted by writing the dividend above the divisor, with a line drawn between them, thus, 144 — g — =24, denotes that 144 is divided by 6, and the quotient is 24. : : : The sign of Proportion, or equality of ratios. THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COTTON SPINNING. PLAN OR FORM OF A COTTON SPINNING FACTORY. Before proceeding to detail the process of cotton spinning, it has been deemed proper, in the first place, to lay down the plan of a Cotton Mill, and point out the manner in which the different de- partments should be arranged. And, in the second, place, to show the method of tracing out the speed of the different shafts and machines, from the power which gives the first motion, to the remotest move- ment in the establishment. First, with respect to the plan of a Mill, or the form in which it ought to be built. In all Factories where a variety of machinery is employed in the manufacturing of any particular kind of goods, it has always been found that the manner in which the machinery is placed, together with the arrangement of the different departments, has a particular influence in either retarding or ac- celerating the progress of the work. And in no place B 18 PLAN OF A is this influence more sensibly felt than in a Cotton Spinning Factory. These arrangements, however, will entirely depend upon the plan of the buildings; for unless these are on the most approved plan, the various departments cannot be arranged in the most advantageous manner. Yet the plan of many Spin- ning Factories, is often the result of particular cir- cumstances rather than choice or design on the part of the proprietors. The situation of the ground or space upon which the Mill is to be erected, must always be taken into consideration in laying down the plan, or fixing upon the particular form of the buildings ; but when these are such as to admit of the Mill being built on any plan or form the proprietors may think proper, it would add much to their profit, and be advantageous to the workers generally, that the buildings be erected upon that plan which ex- perience points out as best adapted for having the machinery, and the various departments and offices, arranged in such a way, as to afford the greatest facility for accelerating the progress of the work in its different stages. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary that the various departments be situated, so as to prevent all unnecessary going to and from any apartments of the work by those employed in the establishment ; it is therefore considered advantage- ous that the different offices, such as ware-room, picking-room, mechanic's shop. Sec, should, if possi- ble, be contained within the walls of the Mill, and not in any separate or detached buildings, there be- ing a constant communication with these and the other departments of the work ; and when situated COTTON SPINNING FACTORY. 19 at a distance from each other, a great deal of time must be consumed in going from one to another. The following plan is considered particularly adapted to admit of all the departments being ar- ranged in the manner recommended. Plate I. contains the ground plan of a Cotton Mill, 145 feet long, and 37 feet wide within the walls. There is also a wing attached to one end, the length of which is 64 feet by 20. The thickness of the walls are supposed to be 1^ feet, and built of brick. A house of these dimensions will cover a space of 7461 square feet, besides the staircase and water closets. The same Plate contains the plan of a spinning- room, wherein is represented the seats and outlines of the jennies, together with the top gearing and carrying belts. As many prefer having the fly or rim in the middle, and as a house 37 feet wide affords ample space for jennies of 300 spindles each, their head stocks and all the top gearing are repre- sented in the centre of the house. The situation of the engine and boiler-houses are also laid down in Plate I. The whole extent of ground required for all these would be 24,765 square feet, including sufficient space for an outer court and a wall to surround the whole premises, if deemed necessary. Regarding the most proper situation for the engine, there is much diversity of opinion amongst mechanics and spinners. Some contend that it should be placed at one end of the Mill ; as when the engine and boiler-houses are ranged in a line with the other buildings, it gives the whole a more neat and uniform appearance: others consider ^0 PLAN OF A the situation represented in the Plate the fittest place for it. But without expressing any opinion of my own, as either of these situations for the engine is, perhaps, more frequently adopted as a matter of convenience rather than utility, the site of the en- gine and boiler-houses are laid down in Plate I. in the situation best suited for giving a full and accurate representation of the whole. In Plates I. and II. there is represented a wing attached to the body of the Mill, the different depart- ments of which should be occupied for the various offices, or separate apartments, necessarily required in Cotton Spinning Factories, as it must be very disadvantageous to have any of these in separate or detached buildings. The body of the Mill being 145 feet by 37 within the walls ; and supposing it to be 6 stories high, a house of these dimensions would be capable of con- taining 23,000 spindles, with all the necessary pre- paration for average numbers. It would require an engine of from 40 to 50 horses' power to drive a Mill of this extent. And here it may be remarked, that every Spinning Factory ought to have a little more power than is merely necessary to drive it ; because it is well known that the weight of the ma- chinery will often vary with, the weather, the quality of the oil used, &c.; consequently, when there is barely a sufficiency of power, the engine will fre- quently be so overburdened, as to render it incapa- ble of driving the machinery at a regular speed, thus requiring more trouble and expense for fuel, &c. It is, therefore, strongly recommended that this point be particularly attended to. COTTON SPINNING FACTORY. 21 The breadth of the Mill laid down in Plates 1. and II. being 37 feet, affords ample room for ar- ranging all the different machines in the carding de- partment in the best order, both for promoting the progress of the work, and allowing the different workers in this department, to attend to their em- ployments, without being in the least incommoded for want of sufficient room. 145 feet in length would afford ample space for 8 pairs of mule jennies in one flat ; and the whole machinery contained in this space might, with perfect safety, be driven by two upright shafts. But for a Mill much longer, two upright shafts would scarcely be sufficient. There is no particular reason for laying down the plan of a Mill of the dimensions specified ; only in drawing out a plan, it was necessary to fix upon a given length and breadth, and that which is con- tained in the Plates has been adopted, merely as be- ing supposed to represent in extent (of length and breadth,) the average of the Spinning Mills in this country. New Mills are in general much wider than 37 feet, particularly in England, where many of those lately erected extend to upwards of ,50 feet, and, indeed, from 40 to 50 feet in breadth, within the walls, seem now to be most generally approved. But the object at present is, not so much to show what ought to be the dimensions of a Cotton Spin- ning Factory, as to point out the form or plan upon which the house would require to be built, so as to admit of having all the departments arranged in the best order. It has been stated that the wing should be appro- priated for the different offices, or separate apart- PLAN OF A ments, required about the establishment; it is there- fore suggested, that the ground flat should be used for the yarn room, (or ware-room,) as being the most suitable place for it. The second flat of the wing, should be ap- propriated for a mechanic's shop, at one end of which there might be a small private room for the manager. Mechanics employed about Cotton Mills are gen- erally paid by stated wages ; therefore, when their work-shop is situated at a distance from the body of the work, a great part of their time will be consumed in going to and from the different depart- ments where they may have occasion to be em- ployed ; and will prevent them from accomplishing their work so expeditiously as they might do if more commodiously situated ; consequently, what- ever enables them to perform their work in the shortest time, will, of course, cause less expense to the proprietor. The 3d and 4th flats of the wing should be appro* priated for picking-rooms, and the cotton bags could be brought up and taken in by the door M (Plate II.) by means of power from the engine. The other flats of the wing may be occupied for reeling-rooms, holding furnishings, &c. The want of some places for such purposes has often been the cause of much trouble and expense. The cot- ton and waste cellars should be a detached building to lessen the risk and save insurance. The other departments might be arranged as follows : As the raw material is prepared in the €arding-room for all the spinning departments, the COTTON SPINNING FACTORY. ^ carding engines should be placed as near the centre of the Mill as possible. A Factory of the dimen- sions recommended, viz. six stories, would require two preparation rooms ; these might be placed in the 3d and 4th flats, on the same floor with the picking-rooms. And as there is a constant com- munication between these two departments, a great deal of time must, unavoidably, be lost in passing from the one to the other, if at a distance from each other ; but by the arrangement here recom- mended, very little time will be lost ; for the laps can be carried direct from the spreading machines to the back of the breaker carding-engines by the door L (Plate II.) and the tops, strips, or other waste, returned in the same way, without trouble or hinderance. If the preparation machinery be placed in the 3d and 4th flats, then the 1st, Sd, 5th, and 6th, together with the garret flat, must be filled with spinning. The length of the Mill within the walls being 145 feet ; allowing 8 feet 10 inches for the breadth of each jenny, would give sufficient room for 8 pairs in each flat, besides leaving a vacant space of about 4 feet at one end, which might be appropriated for containing roving boxes, and would likewise allow room for two hatchways J J, Plate I. for conveying the rovings from the carding to the spinning-rooms, by the power. In the plan of a carding-room in Plate II. there is represented a vacant space at one end, which might also be appropriated to the same use as that in the spinning flats, that is, for holding roving boxes, and for the two hatchways J J. And that £4 PLAN OF A the rovings may be conveyed from the carding to the spinning-rooms when wanted, in a regular and orderly manner, the following arrangement is re- commended:— Let three boxes be prepared for each spinner, and numbered according to the number of the jennies to which they belong ; two of these boxes to be always in the spinning flat, and the other in the carding-room ; when any spinner re- quired rovings, he could send one of his boxes to the carding-room, and have the other box returned full: and that no time may be lost in receiving the empty one into the carding-room, and returning the full one back to the spinning flat, small bells might be fixed in the carding-room close to the hatchways, each bell numbered according to the number of the spinning flat, with a wire fixed, one end to the bell, and the other in the spinning flat to which the bell belongs. When rovings are required in any of the spinning flats, the person requiring them would only have to ring the bell in the carding-room, and thus give notice to the boy appointed to wait upon the hatchway, when he, by looking at the number of the bell, would know in which flat the rovings were required, and, by sending the roving-conductor to that flat, the empty box would be returned, and he could immediately send back a full box of rovings of the same number as the empty one received. All this could be done with very little trouble, or loss of time, and without the rovings sustaining the smallest injury ; whereas, when they have to be carried from the carding to the spinning- rooms, by piecers or others, besides the time lost, they are liable to be injured, and not unfrequently COTTON SPINNING FACTORY. destroyed. No method, therefore, of conveying the rovings from the carding to the spinning-room, can be so safe or expeditious. In the plan of a Mill represented in Plate I., the staircase is placed on the outside, by which it will at once be perceived that the outer door may be kept shut during working hours, when all commu- nication out and in to the Mill would then be by the front door M, and through the ware-room. Such then is the plan of a Cotton Mill, which is supposed to be particularly adapted to admit of the different departments being properly arranged, and which presents the greatest facilities for enabling each class to pursue their various employments. Hence it is best adapted for accelerating the pro- gress of the work as a whole ; because, whatever gives freedom to a workman in the performance of any piece of labour, or removes incumbrance out of his way, enables him to perform a greater quantity in the same time. I have been more particular upon this subject, because it is one of the very highest importance as regards the most profitable management of Cotton Factories. It is owing to the most minute division of labour that this country is enabled to excel all others in the cheap production of cotton goods. But this division and subdivision of labour depends entirely upon the plan of the work, together with the arrangement of the machinery, and the different departments. The more perfect the arrangements, the more complete the proper division of labour. And as these arrangements entirely depend upon the particular plan of the buildings, the advantage ^6 CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. or importance of having the whole arranged in the most approved manner which practical knowledge or experience can suggest, and the house built upon a plan that will admit of these arrangements, must be obvious to all. There are three things of the utmost importance to be attended to in the plan and arrangement of all Cotton Spinning Factories. 1st, An adequate supply of propelling power, so that a regular and uniform speed may always be kept up. 2d, A full command of preparation machinery. And, 3d, A sufficiency of room so as to admit of the most ad- vantageous arrangement of the machinery. Any Factory where these three things have been attended to, must possess a decided advantage over all others not placed in so favourable circumstances. THE METHOD OF CALCULATING THE SPEED OF ALL THE DIFFERENT SHAFTS AND MACHINES THROUGH- OUT THE ESTABLISHMENT. In the second place, it was proposed to show the method of tracing out the speed of the different shafts and machines, from the power which gives the first motion to the remotest movement in the establishment. In calculating the speed of the various shafts, the first thing to be done is to find the revolutions per minute of the first or main shaft ; and when this is known, the principle upon which to proceed in trac- CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. 27 ing out the speed per minute of all the other shafts is both simple and easily understood, and will be illustrated in the following pages. Suppose the first moving power to be a water wheel : Find how many revolutions it makes per minute, then, how many teeth are in the spur or bevel wheel. Multiply this number by the revolu- tions of the wheel per minute, and divide the last product by the number of teeth in the pinion acting in the same, and the result will be the revolutions of the first shaft per minute. Bat if the first moving power be an engine, find the number of strokes the engine makes per minute; and if the engine crank be attached to a wheel, then every double stroke of the engine will make one revolution of this wheel, and it will be the first driving wheel. Multiply the number of teeth which it contains by its revolutions per minute, and divide the product by the number of teeth in the pinion fixed on the end of the first shaft ; the result thus obtained will be its revolutions per minute. When the speed of the first shaft is thus found, the pro- cess of tracing out the speed of all the others, will be comparatively easy. In the plan of the large gearing, represented in Plate I., the crank of the engine is supposed to be attached to the end of the first shaft A; therefore, every double stroke of the engine will make one revolution of this shaft. Now suppose an engine of 50 horses' power, and making 40 single strokes per minute equal to 20 revolutions of the first shaft A; therefore this shaft revolves 20 times per minute. Upon the end of the 28 CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. first shaft there is a large driving wheel B, contain- ing 96 teeth, driving the second shafts D D. Upon one end of the second shafts are two pinions C C, containing 48 teeth each, driven by the large wheel B. Upon the other end are two wheels E E, con- taining 56 teeth each, driving the upright shafts ; upon the under ends of which are the pinions F F, containing 32 teeth : upon the tops of the upright shafts are the wheels A A, (Plate II.) containing 54 teeth each; these wheels drive the cross shafts G, (Plate 1.) and C, (Plate II.) The pinions upon the ends of the cross shafts (which receive the motion from the upright shafts) contain 42 teeth each. Required the revolutions per minute of each shaft? Rule. Multiply the speed per minute of the first shaft A, by the number of teeth in the first driving wheel B, and divide the product by the number of teeth in the pinion C, which is fixed upon one end of the second shaft D, and the result will be the speed per minute of the second shaft D. In like manner, the speed of the upright shaft may be ob- tained by multiplying the speed per minute of the second shaft D, by the teeth in the driving wheel E, which is fixed upon the other end of the second shaft D, and dividing the product by the number of teeth in the pinion F on the foot of the upright shaft. And to find the speed of the cross shafts G and C (Plates I. and II.) multiply the speed per minute of the upright shaft by the teeth in the wheel A, (Plate II.) on the top of the upright shaft, and divide the product by the teeth in the pinion B on the cross shaft : and so by the same process, the CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. 29 speed of any shaft may be traced out, however re- mote, or at whatever distance it may be situated from the first moving power. EXAMPLES. Speed per minute of the first shaft A, 20 revolutions. Number of teeth on the first driving wheel B, 96 Number of teeth in the pinion C, 48)1920(40 speed per min- 192 uteof2dshaftD. Speed of 2d shaft D per minute, ... 40 revolutions. Number of teeth in the wheel E, . . 56 Number of teeth on the pinion F, . 32)2240(70 speed of upright 224 shaft. Speed of upright shafts per minute, . . . . 70 Teeth in the wheel A on the top of upright shaft, 54 Plate II. Teeth on the pinion B on the cross shaft, 42)3780(90 speed of 378 cross shafts. To find the speed per minute of any given shaft. Rule. Begin at the first moving power, and trace out all the driving and all the driven wheels separately. Multiply all the driving wheels to- gether, and their product by the speed per minute of the first shaft; then multiply all the driven wheels together, including the first driven wheel on the given shaft ; (the speed of which it is wished to ascertain ;) divide the product of the drivers by the product of the driven, and the result thus obtained will be the speed of the given shaft. Required the speed of cross shafts G and C, Plates I. and 11. ? 30 CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. EXAMPLE. Driving Wheels, I Driven Wheels or Pinions, First Wheel B Plate I. . 96 Second Pinion C Plate I. . 48 Third Wheel E do. . . 56 Fourth Pinion F do. . . 32 Fifth Wheel A Plate II. . 54 Sixth Pinion B Plate II. . 42 96 48 56 32 576 96 480 144 5376 1536 54 42 21504 3072 26880 6144 290304 64512 Speed of shaft A, 20 64512)5806080(90 speed of the cross shafts G and C. 580608 The preceding examples sufficiently illustrate tlie process of tracing out the speed of all the different shafts ; for by the same process the speed of any number of shafts throughout all their windings, may be traced even to the remotest department of the Factory. The speed per minute of the cross shafts, which gives motion to all the machinery in both the card- ing and spinning-rooms, may in general range from 90 to 98 revolutions. By the preceding examples the speed of the cross shafts will be found to be 90 revolutions per minute (according to the plan of the large gearing represented in Plates I. and II.) When the speed of the cross shafts is known, the speed of all the different machines in either the carding or spinning departments, may be easily as- certained. CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. 31 The speeds of the different machines are regulated as follows : Those of the scutching and spreading machines, by the revolutions of the scutcher per minute. The carding engine, by the revolutions of the main cylinder per minute. The drawing and tube frames, by the revolutions of the front rollers. The throstle and fly frames, by the revolutions of the spindles ; and the can or roving frames, by the revolutions of the cans. The speeds of the stretch- ing frame and the mule, are regulated, generally, by the revolutions of the rim or fly per minute, and some times by the spindles. To find the speed per minute of the Fly on the Jenny. Rule. Begin at the cross shaft G, (Plate I.) and trace out all the driving and driven pullies and drums separately, from the large driving pullies H, on the cross shaft, to the fast and loose belt pullies on the axle of the fly on the jenny. Multiply the diameters of all the driving pullies and drums to- gether, and their product by the speed of the cross shaft G.* — Then multiply the diameters of all driven pullies and drums together, and with their product divide the product of the drivers as found above; the result will be the revolutions of the fly per minute. * In all calculations of this kind where the drivers and driven are separated and multiplied together, with a view to ascertain their relative speed ; should wheels, containing the same number of teeth or drums, or pullies of the same diameter, occur on both sides, they may be omitted in the operation. 3^ CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. The driving pullies H, upon the cross shaft G, are 20 inches in diameter; and the top speed pullies O, are 18 inches in diameter ; likewise, all the belt drums a a Plate I. and belt pullies A, (Plate III.) are the same in diameter, viz. 18 inches. Required the revolutions of the fly or rim per minute ? EXAMPLE.^.S'^e Plates L and III. Driving Drums and Pullies. Pullies H on cross shaft G, 20 inch. Belt drums, a a a^ . 18* do. Driven Drums and Pullies. Top speed pullies O O O, 18 in. Belt pullies A, Plate III, 18* in. Speed of cross shaft G per minute, . 90 Diameter of pullies H 20 Diameter of top speed pullies O, 18)1800(100 revolutions per 18 minute of the belt pullies AAA, Plate III. Fig. 1st. 2d. 3d. The wheel B, on the same shaft with the pullies A, contains 74 teeth, and working into the wheel C, of 84 teeth, on the axle of the fly. Speed per minute of belt pullies A, 100 Teeth in the wheel B, . . . . 74 Teeth in the wheel C, . . 84)7400(88.09 revolutions of the 672 fly per minute on the 680 1st speed. 672 800 756 44 * The drums a a a, Plate I. and the belt pullies A, Plate III. being of the same diameter, are therefore omitted in the operation. CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. S3 The wheel D, on the same shaft with the pullies A, contains 84 teeth, and working into the wheel F, of 74 teeth, on the axle of the fly. Speed per minute of belt pullies A, 100 Teeth in the wheel D, . . . . 84 Teeth in the wheel F, . . 74)8400(113.5 revolutions of the 74 fly per minute on the 100 2d. speed. 74 260 222 380 370 10 The revolutions of the Fly being known — To find the revolutions of the Front Roller of the Jenny per minute. Rule. Begin at the bevel wheel a, (Plate III.) on the axle of the fly, and trace out the driving and driven wheels from it to the wheel on the front roller. — Multiply the number of teeth in the drivers together, and their product by the revolutions of the fly, and multiply the number of teeth in the driven together. — Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter, and the result will be the revolutions of the front roller per minute. EXAMPLE.— Plate III, Fig, 2d. Drivers, Driven, Wheel a on axle of fly, . 50* Wheel h on top of hevel Wheel c on under end of bevel shaft, 50 shaft, 34 I Wheel on front roller, . 50* * The wheel a on axle of fly, and the wheel on the front roller containing the same number of teeth, are therefore omitted. See Note, page 31. C 34 CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. Revolutions of the fly per minute, . . . 88.09 on first speed. Teeth in the wheel c on under end of bevel shaft, 34> 35236 26427 Wheel b on top of bevel shaft, . . 50)2995.06(59.90 revolu- 250 tions of the front 495 roller per min. 450 450 450 6 It is difficult to lay down any rule by which the revolutions of the spindles for one of the fly can be accurately ascertained, and therefore in practice it is seldom found by calculation. The method gen- erally adopted, is to put a mark on the spindles, and move the fly once round with the hand, at the same time counting each revolution of the spindles. Suppose the revolutions of the spindle for one of the rim, to be 44,* this multiplied by the revolu- tions of the rim per minute, gives the revolutions of the spindle per minute. Revolutions of fly on the first speed, 88.09 X 44 = 3875.96 revolu- tions of spindle per minute on first speed. Revolutions of fly on the second speed, 113.5 x 44=4994.0 revolu- tions of spindle per minute on second speed. The cross shafts C C, (Plate II.) which give motion to the various machines in the carding and picking-rooms, revolve 90 times per minute. * It is necessary to remark here, that the mules made in Scot- land have in general a much larger rim than those made in England, hence the difference of the revolutions of the spindle for one of the rim. It is not uncommon to find only 12 or 14 revolutions of the spindle to one of the rim in England. CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. 35 Required the speed of the different machines in these departments ? To find the speed of the Cards per minute, KuLE. Begin at the cross shaft C, and multiply its revolutions per minute by the number of teeth in the wheel D, and divide the product by the teeth in the pinion E, on the card drum shaft F ; this will give the revolutions of the shaft F per minute. — Multiply this by the diameter of the card drums G G, and divide the product by the diameter of the belt pullies H H, on the axle of the card cylinder ; the result thus obtained, will be the revolutions of the card cylinder per minute. EXAMPLE.— Plate II. Teeth in the pinion E, . .36 Teeth in the wheel D, . .40 Diameter of card drums G, 18 in. Speed of cross shaft C, . . 90 Teeth in driving wheel D on do. 40 Diameter of belt pullies H, 16 Teeth in driven pinion E, 36)3600(100* revolutions per minute of 36 the card drum shaft F. Revolutions of shaft F per minute, . . . ,100 Diameter of card drums G, 18 inches. Diameter of belt pullies H on axle of card, 16)1 800(1 12.5 revolutions 16 of card cylinder 20 per minute. 16 40 32 80 80 * The shafts F F, in carding and picking-rooms, revolving at the rate of 100 times per minute, the speed of all the different machines in these departments aie calculated accordingly. S6 CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. To find the revolutions per minute of the Delivering Shaft in the Card, Rule. Begin at the pinion on the main axle of the card cylinder, and trace out the driving and driven wheels, or pinions, separately, from it to the pinion on the end of the delivering shaft. Multiply all the drivers together, and their product by the revolutions of the cylinder per minute ; then multi- ply all the driven together, and with their product divide the product of the former. EXAMPLE.— ^S^e Plate IV. Fig, 2d. Drivers. Teeth in pinion E on main axle, 20 Teeth in pinion G, ... 48 Driven, Teeth in wheel F, . . 144 Teeth in pinion J, . . .22 Revolutions of cylinder per minute, 112.5 Teeth in pinion E on main axle, . 20 2250.0 Teeth in pinion G, 48 Teeth on wheel F, 144 Teeth on pinion J, 22 288 288 3168 180000 90000 3168)1 08000.0(34.09* revolutions of de- 9504 livering shaft per minute. 12960 12672 28800 28512 288 The revolutions of the delivering shaft per minute being 34.09 ; which, multiplied by the circumference * The revolutions of the feeding roller are found by the same method as the delivering shaft. CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. 37 of the delivering ball, will give the length produced per minute. To find the speed per minute of the Cylinder Shaft in the Drawing Frame. Rule. Multiply the diameters of the drums O and R together, and their product by the speed per minute of the shaft F, and multiply the diameters of the driven puUies T and P together. Divide the pro- duct of the former by the product of the latter ; the result is the speed per minute of the cylinder shaft. EXAMPLE— .^^^ Plate IL Driving Drums. Speed of shaft F, ... 100 Diameter of drum O, . . 18 1800 10050 Diameter of drum R, . . 18 1675 Driven Pullies. Diameter of pulley T, . 16.75 Diameter of pulley P, . . 16 1 4^400 268.00 1800 268.00)32400.00(120.89 revolutions of cylinder 268 shaft per minute. 660 536 2400 2144 2560 2412 148 To find the speed of the Fly or Tube Frames per minute. Rule. Multiply the diameters of the driving drums S and N together, and their product by the 58 CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. speed of Shaft F ; and multiply tlie diameters of the speed-pulley M, and the belt pulley K, on the end of the frame shaft together. Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter, and the result is the speed per minute of the frame shaft. EXAMPLE.— See Plate 11. Speed per minute of shaft F, 100 Diameter of drum S, . 18 in. Diameter of drum N, . 18 in. Diameter of speed -pulley M, 13| Diameter of belt-pulley K, 11 J Speed of shaft F, 100 Diameter of pulley M, 13.75 Diameter of drum S, 18 Diameter of pulley K, 11.5 1800 6875 Diameter of drum N, 18 1375 14400 1375 1800 158.125 158.125)32400.000(204.90 speed of fly or tube frame 316250 shaft per minute. 775000 632500 1425000 1423125 18750 To find the speed per minute of the Scutching or Slowing Machine, Rule. Multiply the speed per minute of the shaft V in the picking-room, by the diameter of the main drum A, and the product by the diameter of the drum C; then multiply the diameter of the drum B by the diameter of the belt-pullies E, on the shaft O on the machine. Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter ; the result will be the speed per minute of the shaft O. CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. 39 EXAMFLE.—See Plate IL Speed of shaft F per minute, 100 Diameter of drum A, Diameter of drum C, 24 22 Diameter of drum B, 18 100 24 Speed of shaft F, . Diameter of drum A. 2400 Diameter of drum C, 22 4800 4800 Diameter of belt pullies E, 10^ 180 9^ 189 189)52800(279.36 revolutions per minute of shaft 378 O in scutching machine. 1500 1323 1770 1701 690 567 1230 1134 ~96 To find the speed of the Willow per minute. Rule. Multiply the speed of the shaft F and the diameter of the drum A together, and divide the product by the diameter of the belt pullies H on the axle of the willow j the result is its revolutions per minute.* * The drums B B being merely intermediates, are, therefore, not talien into the calculation. 40 CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS* EXAMPLE.— Plate II, Speed of shaft F, .... 100 Diameter of drum A, . . . 24- Diameter of belt pullies H, 7.5)2400.0(320 revolutions of willow 225 per minute. 150 150 To find the speed of the Spreading Machine per minute* Rule. Multiply the diameter of the drums A and X together, and their product by the speed per minute of the main shaft F ; then multiply the diameter of the speed pullies Y and the belt pullies J together. Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter ; and the result is the speed of the machine per minute. EXAMPLE.— ^6'^ Plate 11. Speed of shaft F per minute, 100 Diameter of drum A, . 24? Diameter of drum X, . 22 Diameter of pulley Y, . 18 in. Diameter of belt pullies J , 17 i n. 126 18 Speed of shaft F, . , 100 306 Diameter of drum A, . . 24* 2400 Diameter of drum X, . 22 4800 4800 306)52800(172.54 speed of spreading machine 306 per minute. 2220 2142 780 612 1680 1530 1500 1224 276 CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. 41 The speed of shaft F multiplied by the diameter of drum A, and divided by the diameter of pulley Y, gives the speed of drum X. 100x24 jg — = 133.33 revolutions per minute of drum X. — See Plate II, SUMMARY OF SPEEDS. The speed of the willow may be regulated at from 315 to 320 revolutions per minute, supposing its diameter ^\ feet* The scutchers in the scutching machine, may be regulated at from 1300 to 1800 revolutions per minute; and 100 revolutions of the scutcher for one of the feeding rollers. Double scutching machines are now generally made with the first and second scutchers to revolve at equal speeds. The scutcher in the spreading machine, may be regulated at 1000 revolutions per minute. The main cylinders in carding engines, when regulated at 120 revolutions per minute, is con- sidered a good medium speed; in many cases, how- ever, it extends to 140 and upwards ; but when it exceeds 140, it is likely to prove more injurious than otherwise. The front rollers in the drawing frame, supposing their diameter 1^ inch, may be regulated at from 290 to 330 revolutions per minute : and the front rollers of the fly frame, supposing their diameter one inch, at from 110 to 130 revolutions per minute: CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS* those in the tube frame, from 360 to 400 revolu- tions per minute. The front rollers of the common throstle, if their diameter be one inch, may be regulated at 54 or 60 revolutions per minute, when spinning No. 20 : those in the Glasgow Patent and Danforth throstles, at about 90 revolutions for the same Nos. No general rule can be laid down for the speeds of the mule and stretching frames, as these are regu- lated according to circumstances. And although the above be a summary of what is considered good medium speeds, yet the speeds of all the machinery are often varied according to circumstances ; this, however, should be done as seldom as possible, as it is always found that every machine works to the best advantage when driven at a medium speed. The preceding calculations are merely intended to exemplify the method of tracing out the motions of the various shafts and machines, from the power which gives the first motion, to the remotest move- ment in the establishment. Here it may be remarked, however, that the plan of the shafts and other gearing, in some of the old establishments especially, will be found much more complicated than that which is represented in the plans contained in Plates I. and II. ; yet still the principles upon which the various speeds are calcu- lated are always the same, and have been exempli- fied in the preceding pages ; and if once these are properly understood, the method of tracing out the speed of every shaft throughout all the ramifica- tions, of even the most complicated establishment, will be comparatively easy. CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. 45 Millwrights have now attained great perfection in the plan and form of the large gearing in Cotton Factories. In almost all those that have been lately- built, the plan of the shafts and other gearing, forms a striking contrast for neatness and simplicity to that which is to be seen in old establishments erected about thirty or forty years ago. Not only does the former excel the latter for neatness and simplicity, but it is also more safe and durable — not so liable to accident, and exhausts less of the moving power. Brass, from the peculiar fineness of its particles, has long been esteemed by mechanics for bushes for the journals of shafts to run upon; yet, contrary to all expectation, cast iron bushes have been found even superior to them for durability : in proof of this it may be mentioned, that there is, perhaps, no ma- chine that cuts up the bushes faster than the scutcher, owing to the rapidity of its motion, which is from 1300 to 1800 revolutions per minute ; yet scutchers are to be found in this neighbourhood, that have run on cast iron bushes for about fourteen years, and at this day seem to be as close and tight as when first fitted up ; and from their present appearance, may be expected to run double that time before they re- quire to be replaced. It is proper to state, however, that thin plates of steel had been welded on the journals of the scutchers, which, after being turned and adjusted, perhaps the thickness of the steel did not exceed of an inch : the cast iron bushes were also case-hardened ; and wherever cast iron bushes are used, both the journals and bushes should be prepared in the same manner ; which, if properly done, will be found to suit the intended purposes far 44 CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. beyond expectation : yet it is not uncommon to find a common cast iron journal running upon a bush of the same metal, and suiting the purpose equally as well as a malleable iron journal on a brass bush. Indeed, cast iron is now used for a variety of pur- poses which, a few years ago, it would have been considered ridiculous to attempt. It is used for steps and collars to the spindles in both mules and throstles — for small studs for pinions and pullies — for spindles to fly frames ; and, in some instances, for spindles to the Danforth Throstle. The Ameri- cans also make flyers to the fly frames of cast iron, which, after being cast, goes through a process of heating with the oxide of iron, by which the carbon is extracted, and the flyer rendered sufficiently mal- leable. The author has a very beautiful one of this description now in his possession, which he received from a gentleman in Boston, (U. S.) and for strength and finishing, excels any thing he has yet seen in this country. The mode of coupling shafts together is likewise greatly improved ; instead of the clumsy square coupling-box formerly used, various methods have been adopted, all attended with more or less success : but the neatest and simplest of any that I have yet seen, (especially for light gearing, that is shafts of of three inches diameter and under) is the common male and female screw; and when there is a flanche on the male screw, just at the termination of the thread, this, when screwed up close to the female, turned and polished on the outside, looks extremely neat, and runs perfectly smooth and free, without CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. 45 the least shake or vibration, to which square coup- lings are always liable. Amongst the many improvements that have been made in Cotton Factories, that of heating them with steam is none of the least important. The merits of this invention belongs to Mr. Neil Snodgrass, an ingenious mechanic in Glasgow. By steam being conveyed through pipes into the different flats, an agreeable, safe, and wholesome heat, can be equally diffused throughout the whole Factory, by which means all kind of humidity is completely absorbed, which, next to the comfort of the workers, is the only use for which heat is required in Cotton Fac- tories at all. But steam pipes require to be very accurately fitted up and adjusted, and particularly so as to allow the cold air and waste water to escape freely at their extremities upon the introduction of the steam. To accomplish this, many different plans have been tried ; but, perhaps, the expansion valve is the most approved : these are made in various forms ; and the one, of which a sketch is given in Plate I. Fig. 2d, is not excelled for neatness and efficiency by any that I have yet seen : for a descrip- tion of which see the Plate. A is the steam pipe ; C is a small cylinder fixed on the extreme end of it : when the pipe expands with the heat, the rod D is pressed forward at the bottom; but being connected with the wire E at the top, which is supposed to be a fixture, it only turns on the stud J, by which means the cross arm R is brought downward at the point F, and thereby depresses the piston G, which shuts the valve H on the mouth of the waste water pipe B. Again, when the pipe A contracts, the 46 CALCULATIONS OF SPEEDS. valve H is opened by the same means ; and by- lengthening and shortening the wire E, the valve can be opened to any degree that is required. In the subsequent detail of the process of cotton spinning, each machine will be introduced in the order in which it is employed, the latest improve- nxents will be pointed out, and the method of cal- culating the draughts, together with all other cal- culations connected with cotton spinning, shall be accurately described and exemplified. DETAIL OF THE PROCESS OF COTTON SPINNING. In detailing the process of cotton spinning, it is not the design of the writer to advert to all the little casualties, or point out the many difficulties that frequently occur in practice ; his object is merely to give a general outline of the whole process, by tracing it step by step, from its commencement with the raw material, through the various stages of its progress, from the cotton bag, until it is finished into yarn. Each machine employed in the process, will be introduced in its order, and form the subject of a separate article. The manner in which they should be adjusted, and how to adapt them to suit the various kinds of cotton and qualities of yarn, will be pointed out. His object is to lay down a complete theory of the business, without entering into all the minutise of the practical department of it. And in prosecuting this design, he will not scruple to avail himself of the best information he can obtain. 48 ON MIXING COTTONS. ON MIXING COTTONS. The first thing to be done with the cotton previous to its being put into any machine, is to mix a num- ber of bags into one heap, commonly called a bing or bunker of cotton, the necessity of which arises from the great variety in the qualities of the different bags, which renders it impossible to pro- duce a yarn of uniform quality, unless a number of these are incorporated. To make up a bing of cotton properly, is a matter of great importance, and should never be left to the charge of those who are ignorant of the evil that may arise from careless or unequal mixing of the cotton. When making up the bing, every bag or bale that is to be mixed, should be brought forward one by one, opened and spread out equally over the whole surface of the bing, beginning at the bottom, and so on alternately, layer above layer, or bag above bag, and pressed down, or trampled, exactly in the same manner as building a hay stack. And when the cotton is taken out, it should be pulled from the one side in a regular cut, as it were, from top to bottom. In some Factories, an instrument, made in the form of a gardener's rake, is employed for tearing down the cotton from the sides of the bing, which tearing down is considered to be nearly of as much benefit to the cotton as putting it through the willow. No general rule can be laid down for the particular kinds of cotton that should be used for making any ON MIXING COTTONS. 49 given quality of yarn. Every manager must make up the mixture according to the quality of the yarn required, the machinery he has to make it, and the price at which it is to be sold. Cotton that is soft and short in the staple or fibre, is best adapted for wefts ; that which is long and strong, is better suited for warps. But when short and long cottons are mixed together, the long staple being a heavier body, tends to throw out the short, and renders the yarn unequal and unevenly. Therefore, whatever cottons are to be mixed, it will be of great benefit to the yarn that they be nearly equal in the length of the staple. The cottons generally used for coarse weft, are Bengal, Surat, the common and middling qualities of Upland and Orleans, and the better kinds of waste, such as tops and flowings. For fine weft, Upland, Orleans, Bahia, Demerara, Egyptian, Sea-Island. For coarse warp. Upland, Orleans, Maranham, Egyptian. For fine warp, Orleans, Pernambuco, Egyptian, Sea-Island. Some experienced managers disapprove of mix- ing more than two or three different kinds of cotton together, because they frequently find that when too many sorts are combined, they do not incorporate so equally as might be required for making a uniform quality of yarn ; but when only two kinds of cotton are to be combined, the best place for doing it equally is at the breaker carding engines, or at the lapping machine ; or whatever be the varieties of cottons to be united, it will be proper to have them mixed up into two separate lots, which can more easily be combined at either of the above places. Before leaving this article, it may again be re- 50 ON MIXING COTTONS. marked, that the greatest care and attention is requisite at making up the bing, so as to have it equally and uniformly mixed : and the same at- tention is equally required, when taking the cotton out of the bing, so as to have it done by a regular cut, as it were, from top to bottom: and unless this be particularly attended to, a regular and uniform quality of yarn cannot be produced. It is also ne- cessary to have the cottons used regularly entered into a book, denominated the mixture book, and to have the mixture made up in such quantities, as that the price of one pound of the compound can be easily ascertained. The methods of keeping the cotton book are various. Indeed, every manager has his own method of making up his mixtures ; but, perhaps, the following is as good as any. Make it up by 100 lbs. containing the proportions of the various qualities ; and when the full cost of each proportion in the 100 lbs. is added together, the amount divided by 100 gives the nett price of one pound of the mixture. The following are a few specimens of mixtures for making different qualities of yarn. Fictitious prices are attached to each kind of cotton, as the object in view is merely to show the principle of making up the mixtures, and keeping the cotton book. For spinning No. 36 pirns, 40 lbs. of Boweds . . . @ SJd F lb. = 340d. 40 do. Surats . . . @ 7d. do. = 280d. 20 do. Waste . . . @ 5 id. do. = llOd. Too lbs. 100)730" 7-^^d. price lb. ON MIXING COTTONS. 51 For spinning No. 40 wefL 45 lbs. of Boweds . . , @ S^d. r lb. = 382id. 40 do. Surats . . . @ 7d. do. = 280d. 15 do. Waste . . , @ 5^d. do. = S2Xd. 100"lbs. 100)745 7^d. nearly. spinning JVo. 40 tvater twist. 50 lbs. Egyptian . . @ 14Jd. ^ lb. = 725d. 20 do. best Orleans . . . @ 12|d. do. = 255d. 30 do. Stained Sea Island (S 12d. do. = 360d. 100 lbs. 100)1340 13fd. ^rib. For spinning No. 50 weft. 50 lbs. Boweds . . . . @ SJd. r lb. = 425d. 20 do. Orleans . . . . @ lOd. do. = 200d. 20 do. Surats .... @ 7id. do. = 150d. 10 do. Waste . . . , @ 6d. do. = 60d. Too'lbs. 100)835 8|d. nearly. For spinning No. 60 ivpft. 80 lbs. Orleans .... @ lid. rib. = 880d. 20 do. Boweds . . . . @ S^d. do. = 170d. lOcTlbs. 100)1050 Toid. r lb. For spinning No. 50 twist for power looms. 50 lbs. best Orleans . . @ 12id. r lb. = 625d. 20 do. best Boweds . . @ lOd. do. = 200d. 30 do. best Bahia ... @ 13d. do. = 390d. Too lbs, 100)1215 12id. nearly. ON MIXING COTTONS. For spinning No. 64 tivistfor hand looms. 50 lbs. best Orleans . . . @ 121(1. ^ lb. = 625d. 30 do. Stained Sea Island @ lOfd. do. = 322 id, 20 do. Denierara . . @ IS^d. do. = 263d. 100 lbs. 100)1212J For spinning No. 20 lbs. Sea Island . . 20 do. Egyptian . . . 40 do. Deraeraia . 20 do. Bahia . . . . 100 lbs. > twist for pnicer looms. , @ 17d. r lb. = 340d. . @ 14id. do. = 285d. . @ 13d. do. = 520d. . @ 12id. do. = 250d. 100)1393 14d. nearly. For spinning No. 70 iveft. 70 lbs. best Orleans . . @ 12id. r lb. = 875d. 13 do. Pernambuco . @ ]3id. do. = 198|d. 15 do. Stained Sea Island @ 1 Old. do. = 153|d. 100 lbs. 100)12271 12^d. nearly. For spinning No. 80 weft. 60 lbs. Orleans . . . . @ 12id. W lb. = 735d. 20 do. Pernambuco . . @ 12id. do. = 250d. 10 do. Bahia . , . . @ 12d. do. = 120d. 10 do. Stained Sea Island . lOfd. do. = 107 Ad. 100 lbs. 100)12121 12id. r lb. THE WILLOW. 53 For spinning No, 80 twist for hand looms. 30 lbs. Sea Island . . . . @ 18d. r lb. = 540d. 30 do. Egyptian . . . . @ 15d. do. = 450d. 20 do. Pernambuco . . . @ 13Jd. do. = 270d. 20 do. Demerara .... @ 13d do. = 260d. Too lbs. looYiiio" TsXd r lb. The preceding mixtures of cotton for spinning the different numbers of yarn are merely selected at random, with fictitious prices attached, intended only to exemplify a simple and easy method of keeping the cotton book. THE WILLOW. The first machine the cotton passes through is the Willow. All cotton imported into this country comes from a great distance, hence it is requisite that it be put up into as little bulk as possible ; for this pur- pose it is put into a press of great mechanical power, where it is compressed as hard as a piece of wood, then sewed up into bags, and bound round with hoops or cords ; so when these bags are opened, the cotton is found gathered up into hard clotted lumps. Now the use of the willow is to tear these asunder, and open up the cotton, so that it may spread equally at the scutching machine. The willow is considered to be very destructive to the cotton, having a great tendency to break the 54 THE SCUTCHING MACHINE. staple or fibres, and thereby weaken tbe strength of the yarn; hence it is not very popular amongst a number of managers, who think that its use might be superseded by hand teasing, or by a regular and systematic pulling down at the bing, either by the hand or with a cotton rake. The willow also cleans the sand and seeds out of the cotton, and prevents them from injuring any other machine which they might pass through. Tops, strips, or any other very soft cottons, should never be put through the willow; and even good cotton, should never be allowed to remain long in operation; for it has often been observed, that the cotton sustains less injury by being put twice hurriedly through^ than by keeping it long in, at only one operation. THE SCUTCHING MACHINE. From the Willow the cotton is carried direct to the Scutching Machine, the use of which is to open up the cotton, so as to make it spread equally into a given length and breadth at the spreading machine, and that it may be taken into the feeding rollers of the same, in a uniform body of equal thickness. This machine also beats out the sand, seeds, and dead cotton, and makes the fibres open and spread out ; so that when the cotton enters the cards, the fibres are separated in such a manner, that the card teeth may take hold of each one by itself. In former times all this was accomplished in a very simple but effectual manner, by having a frame THE SCUTCHING MACHINE. 55 made exactly like the frame of a common table, and covered with small cords, fixed at both ends, and parallel with the two sides ; upon these cords the cotton was laid, and beaten with switches that were smoothed and kept for the purpose. By beat- ing the cotton in this manner, the fibres were opened so as to separate easily, the sand and seeds fell down between the cords, the gins and dead cot- ton that did not fall down in this way, were picked out with the hand. By undergoing this operation, the cotton was perfectly cleaned and prepared for being spread and put into the cards. This practice of beating the cotton is still con- tinued in some Factories that spin very fine numbers, because the best cottons are sometimes very full of gins or seeds; if these are broken into the cotton, it is impossible to make clear and level yarn; and fine yarn requires to have the cotton perfectly cleaned and purified from all these substances, which cannot be accomplished so effectually with machinery as by beating and picking it with the hand. Yet simple and effectual though this method may have been, still it was attended with a good deal of labour, besides a considerable expense : to obviate both of which, various machines have been invented; but none of these seem to have given satisfaction for any length of time, except the common scutching machine, invented by Mr. Neil Snodgrass at John- ston, in 1 806, and which has now become so popular, as to be generally used in most of the spinning fac- tories in this country.* * In former editions of this work the merit of inventing the scutching machine was ascribed to Mr. Neil Snodgrass and Mr. 56 THE SCUTCHING MACHINE. Scutchingmachines are now made in various forms, according to the taste of the managers of Factories ; but whatever be the form in which they are con- structed, the principles upon which they operate are always the same. Plate IV. Fig. 1st, contains a ground view of a section of one of these machines, which has been found to answer the purpose re- markably well. In front of the machine, two wooden rollers are fitted up at proper distances from each other, one of them G, close in front of the feeding- rollers E, by which it is driven ; roimd these, there is a cloth joined at each end and made to revolve ; on the upper side of which the cotton is spread, and by it carried up to the feeding-rollers, through which it passes by a slow motion, when the scutcher, re- volving at the rate of about I6OO times per minute, the beaters a a, strike the cotton so rapidly, that the fibres are forced to open and spread out, while the sand, seeds, &c. falling upon wires, called the harp,* drop down beneath the machine altogether; but the cotton being carried round by the velocity of the beaters, is met again by another revolving cloth, moving in the same manner as the former, by which it is again carried up io the second feeding-rollers H, Cooper. The author has now to acknowledge, that he was deceived by information upon which he thought he could rely ; and that he has since received the most satisfactory evidence to show tliat tlie entire merit of the invention belongs eccchisively to Mr. Snodgrass. * Harps are sometimes made of iron rods 1^ inch broad, and f thick, and placed with their edge uppermost, only a little beveled, so as to allow the cotton to pass freely over them, while the sand, seeds, he. drop down between them. THE SCUTCHING MACHINE. 51 where it passes through the same operation, only a little quicker Instead of a cloth in front of the second feeding-rollers, and at the back of the second scutcher for delivering the cotton, straps are some- times used with small slips of wood fixed upon them, the length of which is nearly the breadth of the ma- chine, and about \ inch broad, and ttt thick ; these set a little separate, allow sand or seeds to drop down between them, while the cotton is carried forward. The above description shows that the scutching machine may be regarded as an excellent substitute for the old method of beating the cotton with switches; at the same time, it must be obvious, that all kinds of cotton will not require to undergo the same scutching. If, for example, Surats, Boweds, &c. be made to pass through the same operation as Egyptian and Sea-Island cotton, the one will either be destroyed, or the other will not be sufficiently done ; therefore, the speed of the scutcher, or beat- ers, should always be adapted to the nature of the cotton. Short and soft cottons require much less scutching than long; and when tops, strips, or flow- ings, are to be put through, they ought to get as little as possible, just as much as beat out the seeds or gins: and, indeed, if the short cottons, such as Boweds and Orleans be very clean, and free of seeds and sand, the operation of scutching may safely be dis- pensed with. I have seen the yarn much improved in strength, by taking these cottons direct from the willow to the spreading machine, without under- going any scutching whatever except what they received at the latter machine. When scutching long stapled cottons, the beaters should always be 58 THE SCUTCHING MACHINE. set at a proper distance from the rollers, lest they break the fibres, and thereby weaken the strength of the yarn. How to calculate the speed of the various movements in the Scutching Machine. Begin at the shaft O, on which are the fast and loose belt pullies A, Plate IV. Fig. 1st, the speed of which was found to be 279-36 revolutions per min- ute, Seepage 39. On the one end of this shaft there is a large pulley B, 42 inches diameter, driving the first scutcher by a belt passing round the pulley C 7^ inches. The pulley D is 8^ inches, and drives the second scutcher by a belt passing round the pulley F 7i inches diameter. Required the revolutions per minute of the first and second scutchers ? Rule. Multiply the speed per minute of the shaft O, by the diameter of the pulley B, and divide the product by the diameter of the pulley C on the end of the first scutcher shaft; the result is the re- volutions of the first scutcher per minute. — Multiply it by the diameter of the pulley D, and divide by the diameter of the pulley F, on the end of the second scutcher shaft \ the result is its revolutions per minute. THE SCUTCHING MACHINE. 59 EXAMPLE.— Plate IV. Fig, 1st. Speed per minute of pulley B, 279.36 Diameter of do. 42 35872 111744 Diameter of pulley C, 7.23)11733.12(1618.36 revolutions of first 725 scutcher per minute. 4483 4350 1331 725 6062 5800 2620 2175 4450 4350 100 3618.36 X 8^ _ 1897.38 revolutions of second scutcher per minute. ' 4. To find the revolutions of the Feeding 'Hollers per 7ninute. Upon the end of the shaft O there is a pinion r, containing 19 teeth, working into the wheel z of 140 teeth, to which is attached the pulley y, of 7 inches diameter, and driving the second feeding- rollers H by means of a belt passing round the pulley .T, the diameter of which is 13 inches. The pulley u is 7 inches diameter, and drives the first feeding- rollers E by a belt passing round the pulley n, 13 inches in diameter. 60 THE SCUTCHING MACHINE. Required the revolutions of the first and second feeding-rollers per minute ? Rule. Multiply the number of teeth in the pin- ion r and the diameter of the pulley y together, and their product by the revolutions per minute of the shaft O. Multiply the number of teeth in the wheel z by the diameter of the pulley x\ divide the product of the former by the product of the latter, and the result is the revolutions of the second feeding-rollers per minute. Multiply it by the diameter of the pul- ley and divide by the pulley which gives the revolutions of the first feeding-rollers per minute. EXAMPLE.— ^ee Plate IV. Fig. \st. Revolutions per minute of shaft O, 279.36 Teeth in pinion r, 19 Teeth in wheel z, 140 251424 Diameter of pulleys, 13 27936 420" 5307.84 140 Diameter of the pulley . . . . 7 1820 1820)37154.88(20.41 revolutions of 2d 3640 feeding-rollers Hper min. 7548 7280 2688 1820 "868 feeding-rollers, 20.41 7 . . . 13)142.87(10.99 revolutions of 13 first feeding-rollers 128 E per minute. 117 TTT 117 Revolutions of second Diameter of pulley u, Diameter of pulley THE SCUTCHING MACHINE. 61 By the above examples the speed of the different parts of this machine is as follows. Revolutions of first feeding-rollers per minute, 10.99 Do. of first scutcher do 1618.36 Do. of scutcher for one of feeding-rollers, 147.26 Revolutions of second feeding-rollers per minute, ... 20.41 Do. of second scutcher do 1897.38 Do. of scutcher for one of feeding rollers, ... 92.96 Single scutching machines are those with only one scutcher ; double machines have two scutchers; see Plate IV. Fig. IsL Some prefer the single ma- chine with three blades in the scutcher: they suppose that the cotton is both cleaner and better opened when put twice through this machine, than when put only once through one having two scutchers. To have the cotton well opened and cleaned at the scutching, is doubtless an object of essential impor- tance: whatever therefore can accomplish this object in the shortest time, and with the least injury to the cotton, ought certainly to be adopted; and a machine, having two or three scutchers into it, is undoubtedly the most preferable : it is not uncommon, indeed, to find these machines with even four scutchers. Man- agers are now generally disposed to give the cotton a considerable degree of more scutching than was the practice a few years ago ; hence double machines are now most approved of. 62 THE SPREADING MACHINE. THE SPREADING MACHINE. The Spreading Machine, althougli but a recent in- vention, has now become so popular, that there are few Spinning Factories in this country where it has not been adopted. The use of this machine is to spread a given weight of cotton into a given length and breadth, so that it may be led into the cards in a uniform body of equal thickness. There are still a number of managers somewhat prejudiced against this machine, particularly in those Factories that spin fine numbers, where the feed or lap requires to be very light and thin spread, which cannot be done so perfectly with the machine as by hand-spreading ; but, perhaps, the evil here complained of might be obviated, by spreading heavy, and leading the cotton proportionably slower into the cards. Other managers object to this machine, because of the inequality of the spread- ing : upon one lap there may be about 6 or 7 dif- ferent weighings, each from 8 to 10 oz. : it is fre- quently found that these vary one, two, and some- times three oz., which renders it impossible to produce a regular and uniform size of yarn : this, no doubt, arises, in a great measure, from careless- ness on the part of those who attend the machine. The weight of cotton for each spreading ought to be weighed with the most scrupulous exactness. And unless this be particularly attended to, it is impossible to produce a regular and uniform quality of yarn. But sometimes the cause of this inequality THE SPREADING MACHINE. 63 in the spreading arises from the particular make of the machine, or the principle upon which it operates. There are a number of spreading ma- chines fitted up with a drawing-head in front of the scutcher, as at the feeding-rollers ; others with a drawing-head between the scutcher and calender- rollers. Neither of these are generally approved of ; and, indeed, the impropriety of cotton passing through a drawing-head before the fibres are well straighted, must be obvious ; and this is not done until it passes through the carding engines. In all that part of the process through which the cotton has to pass previous to its being put through the carding engine, the fibres are lying in every direction in which they may accidentally be thrown ; and while in this state, it is impossible to spread the feeding perfectly equal : some parts will be found a little thicker, and some thinner than others ; but passing it through a drawing-head, would tend rather to enlarge than remove these inequalities : besides, a drawing-head at the back of the scutcher especially, wall have a great tendency to what is called string- ing the cotton the effects of which are considered to be very injurious to the yarn. That there ought to be a draught in the spreading machine is admit- ted ; but this ought to be through the body of the machine, and not at a drawing-head, that is to say, the calender-rollers should be made to deliver more than the feeding-rollers receive. The chief advantages of the spreading machine is supposed to lie in its economy, a considerable ex- pense being saved, by fewer hands being required than is necessary for hand-spreading : yet when 64 THE SPREADING MACHINE. constructed upon proper principles, made sufficiently strong for the work tliey have to perform, and at- tended to with proper care and attention, they are, in many cases, found to suit equally, and some- times better, than hand-spreading, as well with re- spect to the quality of the w^ork produced, as their economy. Although the spreading and scutching machines are generally made separately, it is not absolutely necessary that they should be so, as there are no apparent objections to have the two combined into one. Machines, indeed, of this description, have been in operation for some years, and found to suit perfectly well. They are fitted up with four scutchers, and the cotton is weighed and spread into a given length and breadth before entering the first feeding-rollers ; and after passing through the whole operation of being four times scutched, it is delivered on to a wooden roller exactly the same as the common spreading machine: the speeds of the scutchers are varied according to the nature of the cotton, as that which is soft and clean re- quires less operation than that which is hard and full of seeds, &c. Plate V. contains a representation of a spreading machine, constructed on the most approved prin- ciple, which, for simplicity of form, strength of all its parts, and the excellent work which it produces, is decidedly the best I have yet seen. The operations of the spreading and scutching machines are so exactly alike, that it is unnecessary, after having described the one, to take up time explaining the other. THE SPREADING MACHINE. 63 In tracing out the first motions of the various machines, the speed per minute of the belt-pullies J J, (Plate 11.) of the spreading machines, was found to be 172.54, ( See page 40.J and that of the drums X X 133.33 per minute, ( See page 41.^ The same drum X and the belt-pullies J, are represented in Plate V. Fig. 1st. To find the revolutions per minute of the Scutcher in the Spreading Machine, Rule. Multiply the speed per minute of the drum X by its diameter, and the diameter of the drum C ; then multiply the diameters of the pullies B and D together, and divide the product of the former by the product of the latter ; the result is the speed per minute of the scutcher. EXAMPLE.— ^'^e Flate V. Fig, \s(. Revolutions of drum X per minute, 133.33 Diameter of do. ...... 22 26666 26666 Diameter of pulley B, 9 2933.26 Diameter of pulley D^ Diameter of drum C, .... 17.5 5^ 1466630 2053282 293326 54)51332.050(950.593 revolutions per 486 minute of the scutcher* 273 270 320 270 505 486 190 162 28 E 66 THE SPREADING MACHINE. The shaft E revolves 172.54 times per minute, on the one end of which are the helt pullies J ; and passing under the machine, it also gives motion to the wheels and pinions on the opposite side. See Plate V. Fig* ~^st, and ^d. On the end of this same shaft are the two pinions F, driving the feed- ing and calender rollers by a range of wheels. — See Fig, M. To find the revolutions per minute of the Feeding- Rollers, Rule. Multiply the number of teeth in the pinion F, by the revolutions per minute of the shaft E, on which it is fixed, and divide the product by the number of teeth in the wheel A, on the end of the feeding-roller ; the result is the revolutions of the feeding-rollers per minute. EXAMPLE.— AS'ee Plate V. Fig. \st. and 2d Revolutions per minute of shaft E, Fig. 1st. 172.54 Teeth in pinion F, Fig. 2d 18 138032 17254 Teeth in wheel A, Fig. 2d. . . 144)3105.72(21.56 revolutions 288 per minute of 225 feeding rollers. 144 817 720 972 864 108 Note, The wheels G G G being merely inter- mediate, are, therefore, not taken into the above calculation. And here it may be remarked once THE SPREADING MACHINE. for all, that intermediate wheels or drums are never taken into the operation of calculating the speed or draught of any kind of machinery : and likewise, when wheels of the same number of teeth, or drums of the same diameter, occur on both sides, (that is both as drivers and driven, or leaders and follow- ers,) they are also omitted with a view to abridge the process. To find the revolutions per minute of the Calender- Rollers, Rule. Multiply the number of teeth in the pinion F, Fig. 2d. by the revolutions of the shaft E, Fig. 1st. per minute, and the product by the teeth in the pinion and multiply the number of teeth in wheels M and P. Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter ; the result is the revolu- tions of the calender-rollers per minute. EXAMPLE.— Plate V, Fig, 1st and 2d. Revolutions per minute of shaft E, Fig. 1st 172.54 Teeth in pinion F, Fig. 1st & 2d. 18 138032 17234 3105.72 Teeth in wheel M, 48 Teeth in pinion N, . . . . 22 Teeth in wheel P, 96 621144 288 621144 432 4608)68325.84(14.82 revolutions ^ jl608 4608 minute of calen- > 22245 der-rollers. ) 18432 38138 36864 12744 9216 3528 68 THE SPREADING MACHINE. To find the draught of the Spreading Machine, Rule. Begin at the wheel A on the end of the feeding-roller, call it the first leader, and the next wheel or pinion the first follower;* and so trace out all the leading and following wheels from the wheel A to the wheel P on the end of the calender-roller, which will be the last follower. Multiply all the the leaders together, and their product by the diam- eter of the calender-roller ; then multiply all the followers together, and their product by the diam- eter of the feeding-roller. Divide the product of the leaders by the product of the followers, and the result is the draught of the spreading machine. All intermediate wheels are omitted. EXAMPLE.— -A^ee Plate V. Fig, \st and 2d, Leaders, "Wheel A on feeding roller, 14i4 teeth Pinion F on driving shaft, 18f do. Pinion N, .... 22 do. Diameter of calender rollers, 4 J in. I Follow ers. Wheel P on calender rollers, 96 teeth Wheel F on driving shaft, 1 8f do. Wheel M, .... 48 do. Diameter of feeding rollers, 1 \ in. * The distinction of leader and follower is chosen in this place, rather than driver and driven, because the two wheels A and P, at both extremes of the machine, are driven wheels, and to call either of them drivers, might, perhaps, be misunderstood. f Omitted as occurring on both sides. THE SPREADING MACHINE. 69 Teeth in wheel A, T^eth in pinion N, 144 288 288 Teeth in wheel P, Teeth in wheel M, 96 48 3168 Diameter of calender ro ller, 4.5 15840 12672 768 384 ~4608 Diameter of feeding roll ers, ] .5 23040 4608 6912.0)14256.0(2.06 draught of spread-! 6912.0 138240 ing machine. 432000 414720 17280 The cotton is weighed previous to being put into the spreading machine, and when spread into a given length, breadth, and thickness, is called a feed; a number of these follow each other, so that a con- tinuous web of cotton passes through the machine, and is rolled on a wooden roller, until it be of suf- ficient size, when it is carried to the carding engine, in which state it is called a breaker lap. Since the above was written, another spreading machine has been introduced, containing various in- ventions not to be found in the one described in the preceding pages. And as it is attracting some no- tice amongst cotton spinners at present, it may not be thought superfluous to give a short description of it. In the machine here referred to, the cotton is led into the scutcher by two pairs of fluted rollers, be- tween which there is a draught of about two to one : and after passing the scutcher, instead of a revolving cloth, it is received on to a cast iron cylinder, and thus carried forward to another pair of fluted rol- 70 THE SPREADING MACHINE. lers, which receive it off the cylinder, and deliver it forward to two pairs of calender-rollers, where it is firmly compressed, and then rolled upon a wooden roller, preparatory to its heing taken to the carding engine. The cylinder is full of small holes of about § of an inch in diameter, and right under it there is a pair of fanners, which are all covered with sheet iron, except a small opening at each end for admit- ting the current of air, and an opening below com- municating with a funnel by which the air is dis- charged. The use of the fanners is to collect all the air generated within the machine, by the revolu- tions of the scutcher ; and being placed right under the cylinder, the air rushes down through the small holes, by which a considerable portion of the light dust which mixes with the cotton is carried away, and discharged by the funnel at one side of the ma- chine ; while, at the same time, the cotton is caused to lie close upon the cylinder, by which it is thereby carried forward to the delivering rollers. This machine, it will be perceived, is very com- plex in its construction : none, however, has yet been invented, that can make a more beautiful lap to look upon ; yet in all the most essential qualities of a spreading machine, viz. uniform and equal spreading, the one formerly described, a drawing of which is contained in Plate V, is equal, if not su- perior to it ; besides, being much less complex, it is more easily adjusted and kept in repair. CARDING ENGINE. 71 CARDING ENGINE. The Card is a kind of brush, made of wires stuck through a sheet of leather, and made to point all one way at a certain angle ; two of these nailed on separate boards, to which handles were attached, formed the rude instruments by which the process of carding was performed in the early period of cotton spinning in this country. Previous to the year I76O, various improvements had been attempted in the process of carding. James Hargreaves, a weaver at Stanhill, near Church, in Lancashire, an illiterate man, is said to be the inventor, or at least to have improved the stock cards which succeeded the hand card. By their means one person was enabled to perform double the work, and with more ease, than by the former method. This improved mode of carding consisted in having one of the cards fixed, while the other being suspended by a cord over a pulley fixed to the roof, was worked by the carder; and in this way, two or three cards might be applied to the same stock. But this contrivance, however ingenious, was still a slow and laborious process, and was soon superseded by the cylinder cards, or the carding engine, the inventor of which has not been recorded. But it is known that the father of the late, and grandfather of the present Sir Robert Peel, was amongst the first who used it : and that as early as the year I762, he, with the assistance of Hargreaves, erected a carding engine with cylinders, at Blackburn, which differed very little from those 72 CARDING ENGINE'. now in use, except that it had no mechanism for detaching the cotton from the cards, an operation which was performed by women with hand cards. Afterwards, this was done by the application of a roller with tin plates, like the floats of a water- wheel, which, revolving with a quick motion, scraped the cotton off the cards. This was a rude contrivance, and in its operation injured both the cotton and the cards. Mr. Arkwright, afterwards Sir Richard Arkwright, about this period, had made some most valuable and ingenious improvements in the process of spinning cotton, for which he ob- tained several patents. By him, also, the carding engine was greatly improved : in place of the roller with tin plates, he substituted a metal plate, toothed at the edge like a comb, which, instead of being made to revolve like the other, was moved rapidly, in a perpendicular direction, by a crank, and with slight, but reiterated strokes, detached the cotton from the cards in a uniform fleece. In place of sheet cards, with which the doffing cylinder had hitherto been covered, he employed narrow fillet cards, wound round it in a spiral form ; by this contrivance a continuity of the fleece was produced, which, as it left the card, was gradually contracted by the conductor, and delivered by rollers into the can, in the form of a continued carding, or rowan, which is now called a card end. The taking off the cotton from the cards in this manner, is one of the most beautiful and curious operations in the whole process of cotton spinning, and renders the carding engine one of the most important machines employed in the process. CARDING ENGINE* 73 Carding engines have sometimes been made to consist of one large cylinder, and a number of smaller ones, called urchins, disposed at proper distances over above the main cylinder, and re- volving in opposite directions to it, but nearly in contact ; by which means the cotton was delivered from cylinder to cylinder, until it came to the fin- ishing cylinder called the dofFer, from which it was taken off by the comb. At present, carding engines are generally made in this country to consist of only two cylinders, sometimes three ; one at the feeding- rollers, called the lickerin. But the main cylinder is covered with a kind of arch, composed of several pieces of wood called tops or flats, which have no motion, having sheet cards fixed on them, and nearly in contact with the cylinder. If any machine in the whole process of cotton spinning be of more use and importance than another, it is the carding engine ; nor do I see how its use can at all be dispensed with ; and in fact it may be said, that the process of cotton spinning (properly speaking) begins only at the carding ; for all the previous departments of the process are merely preparatory to this, and consist chiefly, in mixing, cleaning, and opening the cotton, so as that the carding engine may take the best effect upon it. Previous to the cotton being put through the carding engine, the fibres may be lying in every direction into which they may be accidentally thrown ; but the use of the carding is to draw out the fibres of the cotton, to straight, and lay them side by side, and form them into a thread commonly called an endj this is the first formation of the 74 CARDING ENGINE. thread of yarn. It is first begun in the carding engine, and advanced onward, step by step, through each successive machine in its order, until it is completed at the spinning machine. When the fibres are properly straighted, and the end equally formed at the carding, there is good reason to expect a superior quality of yarn, but failing this, an inferior quality is unavoidable ; for no skill or attention applied to any subsequent department of the process, can altogether remedy the injuries the cotton may have sustained in this ; hence, it is an object of the highest importance in cotton spinning, to have the carding engines always properly set and adjusted to suit the particular kind of cotton used, and the quality of the yarn required. If the carding engine could straight the fibres perfectly, and reduce the grist of the thread or end to its requisite degree of fineness, nothing more would be required to complete the process, than merely to twist this thread which had been formed; but though such perfection is not yet attained at the carding, still their use is the same, viz. to straight, or in some degree divide, the fibres of the cotton wool, and form a uniform, even, and level thread or end, and the better they can be made to accomplish this, the nearer are they brought to perfection. In adjusting and fitting up carding engines, great care should be taken to have all their parts properly levelled ; the bite of the feeding-rollers should espe- cially be on a perfect level with the centre of the main cylinder, both cylinders should be turned until perfectly exact, and always kept so if possible ; but through the influence of the variations of the tem- CARDING ENGINE. 75 perature, &c. the cylinders are frequently found to swell or shrink, and thereby become unjust, not- withstanding all the care that may be taken to prevent it : when this takes place, the only remedy is to strip them of their sheets, and turn them anew, until they are perfectly just ; for to work with card cylinders not exactly circular, is attended with the most injurious effects upon the cotton. To obviate this tendency of card cylinders becom- ing unjust, cast iron ones have lately been invented, but do not seem to have given general satisfaction. The difficulty of fixing the sheets upon them, to- gether with their great weight, seem to be much against their being generally approved of: it is known that one carding engine with cast iron cylin- ders will weigh 9 cwt. ; now two flats of a mill filled each with upwards of ^0 of these, together with other frames of great weight, might, perhaps, be attended with some danger. But leaving this altogether out of view, I consider it an important improvement to have the doffing cylinders made of cast iron, as they are much more exposed to the variations of the temperature ; and, besides, there is no difficulty whatever in fixing the filleting on a cast iron doffing cylinder. Seeing it is an object of some importance to keep card cylinders from going ofif the truth, to which they have a great tendency, particular care should be taken to have the wood well seasoned before it is made into cylinders. New carding engines should be allowed to stand at least two months in their place, exposed to the heat of the mill, before they commence operations; during which they should be 76 CARDING ENGINE* turned and adjusted several times. When the wood appears to be sufficiently seasoned, and to have shrunk as much as may be expected, let any of the seams which may have opened, be then ploughed out, and pieces of well dried mahogany soaked in glue, hammered into the place as hard as possible ; after which they may be turned, adjusted, and rub- bed with lintseed oil, and immediately sheeted and covered in on all sides ; and the filleting being put on the doffing cylinder, the fast grinders are then to be applied to both, until the teeth are brought to the requisite exactness. If the tops be also sheeted and ground, the carding engine is then prepared to be set and adjusted in all its parts, in order to com- mence operations. Card cylinders are made in Manchester of sheet iron, in the following manner : the rings being three in number, are first fitted on the axle, and adjusted in a lathe. The sheet iron is then put through a pair of large rollers, so as to bend it into a circular form, to fit the circumference of the rings upon which it is fixed with small bolts. Thin plates of cast iron are then bolted on to the sheet iron, which is now formed into a cylinder : these plates of cast iron are only about ^ of an inch thick, and 3^ broad, and placed cross the cylinder, but made to fit very close to the sheet iron: a space is left between the plates of about 1^ inch, which is filled up with a piece of mahogany f thick ; this is also bolted on to the sheet iron cylinder ; and as the cast iron plates are only about ^ of an inch thick, whilst the slips of mahogany are f , there is a space left between each, which is filled up with a CARDING ENGINE. 77 composition of ground chalk boiled in lintseed oil, with a small mixture of glue, and laid on with a brush, coat above coat, until the whole surface of the cylinder is equal: when it is allowed to harden for a day or two, the cylinder is turned and adjusted in a lathe, and is never afterwards found to cast or go off the truth. The setting of the different parts of a carding engine requires particular attention, that it may be done in the manner most adapted for making them perform their office to the best purpose. The follow- ing method of adjusting them is recommended. The feeding-rollers, and both cylinders, as already mentioned, should be fitted up to a perfect level, and the bite of the rollers directly opposite the centre of the main cylinder. The doffing cylinder and feeding-rollers, are also to be set as close to the main cylinder, as will just allow them to revolve without touching, and no more. Some carding- masters use a piece of tin for a gauge, which they place upon the main cylinder, and press up the rollers and the doffer as close as the tin will allow, and there fix them ; others employ no other gauge but the eye and the ear, and certainly when these are good, they are preferable. In setting the tops, the fore-side, or the side next to the feeding-rollers, should be raised up about jfiths of an inch off the cylinder sheets ; but the side next the doffing cylin- der should be set as close as just to allow the one to pass the other without touching. At first thought, one would naturally suppose, that the most proper method of setting the tops, would be to have them equally flat at both sides , but a very little reflection 78 CARDING ENGINE. will convince any, that the former is the most ap- proved. The main cylinders are generally about three feet in diameter, and when revolving at the rate of about 112 revolutions per minute, they must exert a considerable centrifugal force, which will make the cotton that adheres to the cylinder sheets have a great tendency to fly off ; consequently, when the tops are set perfectly flat, it will strike, as it were, against the fore-side of the top sheet, without taking proper efl'ect ; but if the tops be set in the manner recommended, the cotton, by the centrifugal force of the cylinder, will be forced right into the teeth of the top sheets, when they and the cylinder sheets, both taking hold at the same time, will have the best efl'ect in straighting the fibres, while the seeds, gins, &c. being driven into the top sheets, will remain fast, until they are taken out by the person appointed to clean them. If the carding engines be set in this manner, close, sharp, and well cleaned at the bottom, there is nothing to fear, if proper care and attention be taken when working them. And as a proper manner of working and keeping the carding engines in good trim, is deemed of equal importance to that of fitting up and setting them in the most approved manner, a few remarks upon that subject may not be out of place. To keep or manage carding engines properly, they require at all times to be kept particularly clean and well oiled, especially the axles of the cylinders ; for if these be allowed to cut and wear down, the cylinders will be thrown off the level, and when in that state, it will be impossible to make them produce superior work. A regular and uni- CARDING ENGINE. 79 form system of topping and stripping should at all times be punctually kept up ; the cylinders should be brushed out at least once a-day, and at the same time sharped with a hand grinder ; the fast grinder should be applied, at least, once every eight or nine months, or oftener, if required. Tlie tops might be brushed out and sharped once a-week. The laps should be neatly joined to one another ; one should never be allowed to overlap the other, nor should the one be consumed before the other be joined to it ; either of these might cause an inequality in the grist of the end which the carding engines produce, and of course, a cloud in the yarn. The cans should never be too hard pressed, nor allowed to choke up and run over; for here the end is so soft and tender, that it cannot endure much handling without being- strained. And however prevalent the practice of making- two or more carding engines deliver into one can, I still think it is attended with injurious effects, because the end which comes from the far card, when suspended, is found incapable of bearing itself without stretching ; and to prevent it from sinking on the floor, the can-card requires to be driven a little quicker, in order to keep it up : now if the end was to stretch equally at all parts, no evil what- ever would result therefrom ; but this is not to be supposed, owing to the very unequal produce of the carding engines: and if their motions be attentively observed, it will frequently be found that this end hangs down near to the floor, at other times that it is drawn up close and tight ; which proves both the unequal produce of the carding engines, and the 80 CARDING ENGINE. unequal stretching of the ends which come from the far carding engine to the cans ; and hence the im- propriety of making more than one carding engine deliver into one can. In all the manufacturing districts of England which I have had an opportunity of visiting, I never found two or more carding engines delivering into one can ; yet nothing is more common in Scotland. The general breadth of carding engines in England, is indeed 36 inches, while in Scotland it is 24 inches. The very fine Mills in both countries employ carding engines only 18 inches in breadth. The fact of two or three feet long of the end which the carding engines produce, being unable to sustain its own weight, proves its weakness and its unfitness for enduring much handling without being injured ; and therefore it should not be too hard pressed into the cans, because it is apt, in conse- quence of its weakness, to be strained or stretched when pulled out of the cans, and thereby rendered uneven and unequal in its grist. It is not uncommon, in many respectable Fac- tories, to find the manager much puzzled to prevent the finisher laps from hanging down, or what is called " bagging," in the middle, or at either of the sides ; their only remedy for which is to have the under feeding-roller fluted, and the upper one per- fectly smooth. But to remove the evil here complained of, by having the upper feeding-roller made perfectly smooth, is only to introduce another much worse in its effects, it being generally admitted, that the cause of the lap bagging, arises from the bend of the CARDING ENGINE. 81 incumbent roller. When there is a great weight suspended from each end, the roller springs up in the centre, and hence the lap does not take up evenly, but hangs down in the middle ; but the same spring or bend will take place with a smooth roller as with a fluted one ; and if the lap does not slack or bag with a smooth roller, it is because it does not hold so fast, but allows the cards to pull in the lap faster at times than the rollers deliver it ; and if the lap be not led into the cards equally at all times, neither will the end which they produce be equal in its grist at all parts. Let the lap be equally built on the wooden roller, firm and compact, and let the feeding-rollers be properly set ; the friction or weight at both ends equally balanced ; and the carding engine kept sharp and well cleaned and oiled, then there is no- thing to prevent the finisher laps from taking up equally at all parts. Most of the carding engines used in England, have the feeding-rollers covered with fillet cards, denominated diamond fillets, one-half inch broad. Those not covered with this fillet are generally 1| inch diameter, and very coarsely fluted. It is often recommended that all breaker-cards should be fitted up with a lickerin ( See Plate IV, Fi^» ^d.^) because it saves the sheets from being injured by any hard substance which might chance to pass in with the cotton; it also cleans the cotton, and makes it card considerably better. Where there is only single carding, a lickerin is altogether indis- pensable, and, perhaps, it might be of some benefit to have it on carding engines that are to prepare F 82 CARDING ENGINE. the cotton for power-loom warps ; but in all other circumstances it is not supposed to be indispensably necessary. What is technically called single carding, is when only one set of carding engines is used : double carding is when two sets of carding engines are employed, denominated breakers and finishers. Double carding has the advantage of the lapping machine, which the other cannot have. The lapping machine is considered to be an improvement of great utility in the preparatory department of cotton spinning ; because, however equally the cotton may have been mixed together at the bing, or however carefully it may have been taken out, still there will be found a great irregu- larity in the produce of the carding engines, espe- cially the breakers ; but when these ends which are produced from the breaker-cards are all intermixed, and blended together at the lapping machine, for the purpose of forming a lap for the finisher-cards, a much more equal and uniform produce from the finishing-cards is thereby obtained, than could be from the breakers. Double carding is generally used in almost all the Spinning Factories in this country, being found in- dispensable to the making of good yarns : yet it is attended with considerable expense, both in the ori- ginal cost of the machinery, as well as in the work- er's wages. Hence the invention of a carding engine, that might combine within itself the properties of both breaker and finisher, has long occupied the attention of cotton spinners and machine makers. Various contrivances have been attempted, all at- CARDING ENGINE. tended with more or less success. Mr. Buchanan of the Catrine Works uses entirely single carding, with patent self-acting engines. They are exactly in the common form with two cylinders, a main cy- linder and doffer; but with 20 working tops, so con- structed, that they clean themselves by means of a revolying brush, which cleans every top in rotation, and, at the same time, deposites the cotton into a tin box fitted up for the purpose. Mr. Smith of the Deanston Works, has also taken out a patent for a self-acting carding engine, which is certainly a most ponderous, complex, yet power- ful machine, and capable of doing the work of any four S4« inch broad cards. It is too complex to give any thing like an intelligible description of, without drawings. One engine is said to cost £100, and cannot be mounted and started for less than from £40 to £50. It is chiefly adapted for coarse numbers. The carding engines used throughout most of the Cotton Factories in England, are fitted up with a lickerin and two carding-rollers, together with two cleaners placed right above the lickerin : between these and the doffing cylinder there are 8, 10, and sometimes 12 tops, called flats, by which means the cotton is first carded with the rollers, and after- wards straighted with the tops or flats. In some parts of Scotland again, the carding-rollers are placed right above the dofler, so that the cotton passes first through the flat tops, and afterwards through the rollers. By this latter method of fitting up and mounting the carding engine, very good work is produced. Yet the former is certainly pre- 84 CARDING ENGINE. ferable, viz. a llckerin, two carding-rollers, and two cleaners, and after that 10 or 12 flat tops. These are extensively used for single carding, and produce very superior work when properly managed. Many of the new carding engines made in Manchester, are mounted entirely with rollers, viz. a lickerin, five carding-rollers, and five cleaners. Mostly all the carding engines employed throughout England, are mounted with a drawing-head or drawing-box at the delivering rollers, a peculiarity scarcely to be seen in Scotland ; so that though those used in England have, in general, from 36 to 48 inches of wire, those in Scotland have seldom more than 24 inches ; yet the card-end or sliver, delivered from a 36 inch carding engine of England, will, in conse- quence of the draught it undergoes at the drawing- box, be finer than the same end delivered from a 24 inch broad card. The drawing-box in front of the carding engine must, therefore, be regarded as an improvement, tending to straight the fibres of the cotton, and prepare it for the drawing frame. I have also observed, that there is in general a greater excess of draught in the drawing frame in Scotland, than is to be found in England. There is a species of carding engines employed about Oldham, called double carding engines, which are certainly the most powerful machines I have seen. They are properly two engines united, both of which are mounted with a lickerin, five carding- rollers, and five cleaners. The cotton is introduced into the first card in the ordinary way, and after passing through the usual operation, is delivered on to the doffer, from which it is again delivered on to CARDING ENGINE. 85 the second card, where it passes through the same operation ; and from that through the drawing-box into the can. The two main cylinders are about four feet in diameter, and revolving at the rate of 170 times per minute. The doffing cylinders are 22 inches diameter, while the first doffer moves at the rate of 18, and the second, 12 times per minute. The breadth of the cylinders are 48 inches of wire. The quantity of yarn produced from these machines is equal to about 150 lbs. per day of No. 36 to 40', and in many cases this is even exceeded. No card- ing engine which I have seen has ever been able to equal this. Those made by Mr. Smith of Deanston, are said to produce 80 lbs. per day, that is about one-half the other. These double engines of Old- ham, are sometimes employed to prepare for num- bers as high as 80 and 90, but generally for 50 downward. An improved method of forming the finisher lap has been adopted in some places, and very much approved of. It is done as follows : The doubler is entirely laid aside, and two laps are made in the common way, but containing only one-half the number of ends; these are afterwards run together, so as to form one lap ; that is, suppose the lap to contain 6O ends in all ; two are first made contain- ing only 30 ends each ; these are placed the one a little above the other, and passed through between the rollers of the machine, where their fleeces are united together, and rolled on a wooden roller, so as to form only one lap for the finisher carding engines, containing the same number of card ends as the former, viz. 60 ; or, to abridge the labour a 86 CARDING ENGINE. little, one lap may be first made ; and while tlie second is forming, let the first be united with it, in the same manner as if uniting two together. Laps made in this way are found to take up much more uniformly at the back of the finishers, than those made in the common way, that is, with a doubler attached to the lapping machine. The speed of the lapping machine may be regu- lated to 30 revolutions per minute. To adapt or adjust the carding engines to suit the difi^erent kinds of cotton used, and the qualities of the yarn required, managers generally prefer a particular quality of sheets to suit a certain range of numbers ; for low numbers a course quality of sheets, and a finer quality, for fine numbers, &c. The tops next to the feeding-rollers are always coarser than those next to the doffing cylinder. A table or scale for sheeting carding engines is given next page, adapted to suit any number from No. 10 to No. 200. It may be proper to mention, that the quality of card sheets are always distinguished in this country by the number of wires in the breadth of the sheet, which is understood to be 3^ inches for the cylinder, and 2 inches for the tops. In England the cylinder sheets are generally four inches broad. CARDING ENGINE. 87 Scale of Sheets and Filletings for Carding Engines, To Card for all sizes of Yarn between No. 10 and No. 36,1 Between No. 36 & No. 100. Between No. 10O& No. 200.^ 80 80 80 90 90 100 20 24 26 30 30 35 26 28 30 35 38 40 28 30 35 40 40 45 90 90 90 100 100 110 To find the fineness of Wire in Card Sheets and Fillets, First, for sheet cards — Multiply the number of rows in the breadth of the sheet by the number of crowns per inch, and the product by the length of the sheet in inches, which will give the num- ber of staples in any given sheet. 2d. Then to find the number of staples per square inch, divide the total number of staples in the sheet by the number of square inches. As, for example, suppose a sheet 4 inches, breadth of wire by 06, 90 rows, and 10 crowns. 1st. 90 X 36 X 10 = 32.400 staples in the whole sheet. 2d. 4 X 36 = 144 32.400 = 225 staples to the square inch. 88 CARDING ENGINE. Or, take the following method : — Count the num- ber of rows contained in the breadth of one sheet, and the number of rows in each inch, which, multi- plied by 10, will give the total number of staples in a square inch. For example; suppose a 4 inch sheet, 100 rows in breadth, equal to 25 in one inch, which, multiplied by 10, gives 250 staples per square inch. For 90 rows 221 x 10 = 225 per square inch. For 80 rows 20 x 10 = 200 per square inch. All others of 10 crowns are the same. When the crowns are either 8, 9, H, or 12 per inch, take either of those numbers instead of 10, to multiply the number of rows in one inch, which will, in like manner, give the number of staples to the square inch for any length of crowns. To find the fineness of Tweeled Fillets. Count the number of tweeled rows per inch in length, and multiply that number by 20, the product will be the number of staples per square inch. EXAMPLE. Fillets containing 10 tweeled rows per inch, multiplied by 20, gives 200 — No. 80, 11 i do. do. 20, — 225 = No. 90. 12J do. do. 20, — 250 = No. 100. 13| da. do. 20, — 275 = No. 1 10. These numbers being the same per square inch, as the sheets contain their respective number of rows as stated. CARDING ENGINE. 89 The following table of card sheets and filletings is much used in Manchester for carding, for all numbers of yarn from No. 10 to 40' Top sheets, 25, 30, 33, four of each being 12 tops to the card. Sheets for main cylinder, 100, four inches broad. Doffer fillets, 120 do. Lickerin fillets, 70 do. Roller and cleaner fillets, 90 do. The above is for single carding, with a carding engine containing 12 working tops or flats, a lick- erin, two carding-rollers, and two cleaners. When carding engines are fitted up and adjusted in the manner which has been recommended, and kept or attended to with care and attention, they may be fairly expected to give satisfaction. The following is a short description of the way in which they operate. The cotton is led into the cards by a very slow motion, the feeding-rollers being only one inch in diameter, and revolving at the rate of about 2 times per minute, and the main cylinder at the rate of 112, by which the teeth in the sheets take hold of the fibres as they come through the rollers, straighting and carrying them up to the tops, which acting against the cylinder sheets force the fibres to stretch out and lie all one way ; the teeth in the filleting on the doffing cylin- der being also pointed right against the teeth in the cylinder sheets, and set as close to the main cylinder as just to allow the one to pass the other without touching, by which the cotton is thrown off the main cylinder on to the doffer, from which it is 90 CARDING ENGINE. taken off by the comb in the form of a thin web or fleece : this is again compressed by the conductor that leads it into the delivering roller, from which it is delivered into the cans in the form of a thick soft thread called a card-end or sliver. To take the cotton better off the main cylinder, and make it deliver freely from the doffer by the operation of the comb, some prefer having the teeth of the fillet- ing on the doffing cylinder set with a considerable angle; others disapprove of this, as should the teeth of the filleting meet with any accident by which they might be flattened, those that are set at the greatest angle will be most difficult to set up and adjust, and hence more likely to injure the cotton by unequal carding. From the above description, it may easily be per- ceived that the carding engines will have a great tendency to break the staples of the cotton ; hence experienced managers disapprove of allowing it to remain long in operation at the carding : but par- ticularly, cotton that is coarse and short in the fibres, ought to be put quickly through the carding engine, as otherwise it is very likely to be turned into naps and flowings, and cannot produce yarn so smooth and evenly as might be desired. In recom- mending to pass the cotton quickly through the carding process, it is not intended to approve of feeding it in by a quick motion, but rather the op- posite ; it should be spread thick, and led into the card by a very slow motion, by which means it is more likely to be better straighted, and produce smoother yarn. But again, the doffing cylinder should be driven at a quick speed, so as to take the J CARDING ENGINE. 91 cotton faster olF the main cylinder, and thereby pre- vent it from being injured by too much operation between the main cylinder and the tops. After what has been said respecting the method of fitting up, adjusting, and working the carding engines, it now only remains, that the method of performing the various calculations required about them be exemplified. At page 35, the revolutions of the main cylinder per minute was found to be 11^^, which is con- sidered to be a very good medium speed for fine numbers. The revolutions of the main cylinder per minute may range from 90 to 130, according to the quality of the yarn for which it is to prepare cotton, that is, supposing it to be three feet in diameter. The revolutions per minute of the delivering shaft was also found to be 34.09. Required the length produced per minute by the carding engine ? Rule. Multiply the res^olutions per minute of the delivering shaft by the circumference of the de- livering ball. EXAMPLE. Revolutions per minute of delivering shaft, 34.09 Circumference of delivering ball, . . . 7.5 inches, 17045 23863 255.675 length in inches pro- duced per minute. 92 CARDING ENGINE. To find the revolutions of the Doffing Cylinder per minute. Rule. Multiply the number of teeth in the pinions E and G together, and the product by the revolutions of the main cylinder per minute ; and multiply the number of teeth in wheels F and H together. Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter ; the result is the revolutions of the doffing cylinder per minute. EXAMPLE.— .S'ee Plate IV. Fig. 2d, Teeth in wheel F, . . 144 Teeth in wheel H, . 144 Teeth in pinion E, ... 20 Teeth in pinion G, ... 48 960 576 Revolutions of main cylinder, 112.5 per minute. 576 4800 144 1920 20736 960 960 20736)108000.0(5.20 revolutions of the doffing 103680 cylinder per minute, 43200 41472 17280 To find the revolutions of the Main Cylinder for one of the Doffing Cylinder, Rule. Multiply the number of teeth in the wheels F and H together, and the number of teeth in the pinions E and G together. Divide the pro- duct of the former by the product of the latter ; the CARDING ENGINE. 93 result is the revolutions of the main cylinder for one of the dofFer. EXAMPLE.— iS'ee Plate IV. Fig, 2d. Teeth in wheel F, . . 144 Teeth in wheel H, . . 144 Teeth in pinion E, . . 20 Teeth in pinion G, . . 48 576 960" 576 144 960)20736(21.6 revolutions of the main cylin- 1920 der for one of the doifer. 1536 960 5760 5760 The revolutions of the main cylinder for one of the dofFer, ranges from l6 to 30, according to the kind of cotton used, and the quality of the yarn required. To find the revolutions per minute of the Feeding- Hollers, Rule. Trace out the driving and driven wheels, or pinions, from the pinion E on the axle of main cylinder, to the wheel R on the end of the feeding- rollers. Multiply the number of teeth in the driving pinions together, and the product by the revolutions of the main cylinder per minute ; and multiply the number of teeth in the driven wheels together, then divide the product of the former by the product of the latter ; the result is the revolutions per minute of the feeding-rollers. 94 CARDING ENGINE. EXAMPLE.— Plate IV. Fig. 2d. Drivers. Pinion E on main axle, 20 teeth. Pinion D, ... 18 do. Pinion A, ... 18 do. Driven. Wheel C, 36 Wheel B, 144 Wheel R, 144 Revolutions W min.of main cylinder, 112.5 Teeth in pinion E, on do. ... 20 Teeth in pinion D, 2250.0 . 18 180000 22500 40500.0 Teeth in pinion A, . . . . . 18 3240000 405000 Teeth in wheel C, 36 Teeth in wheel B, 144 144 144 36 5184 Teeth in wheel R, 144 20736 20736 5184 746496 746496)729000.0(0.97 revolutions W rain- 6718464 ute of the feeding- 5715360 rollers. 5225472 489888 To find the revolutions of the Main Cylinder for one of the Feeding -Rollers. Rule. Multiply tlie number of teeth in the wheels C, B, and R together, and the teeth in the pinions E, D, and A together. Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter ; the result is the revolutions of the main cylinder for one of the feeding-rollers. CARDING ENGINE. 95 EXAM?L¥.—See Plate IV. Fig. 2d, Teeth in wheel C, . . 36 Teeth in pinion E, . . 20 Teeth in wheel B, . . 144 Teeth in pinion D, . . 18 144 360 144 Teeth in pinion A., 18 36 2880 5184 360 Teeth in wheel R, 144 20736 20736 5184 6480 6480)746496(115 revolutions of the main cylin- 6480 der for one of the feeding- 9849 rollers. 6480 33696 32400 1296 According to the form in which carding engines are generally made in Scotland, the wheel R (Plate IV. Fig. 2d.) is driven by the pinion A, on the pap of the stud wheel B ; and when it is necessary, to feed the cotton very slowly into the card, the feed- ing pinion requires to be so small that the pap of the stud wheel cannot receive it : to obviate this difficulty and give a full command of the speed of the feeding-rollers, an improvement has lately been made upon the side gearing of the carding engine, which, though simple, yet is found so perfectly adapted to the intended purpose, that it gives gen- eral satisfaction. It consists of an additional stud wheel and pinion C, D, (Plate IV. Fig. 2d.) by 96 CARDING ENGINE. means of which, the proportion between the speed of the main cylinder and feeding-rollers may be varied to any degree that can necessarily be re- quired. By the last example, it was shown that the revolutions of the main cylinder is 115 for one of the feeding-rollers, and by smaller pinions it might be varied still farther; but even this, it is pre- sumed, will be found too much for general purposes. The revolutions of the main cylinder for one of the feeding-rollers, should generally range from 7^ to 100, according to the quality of the cotton ; that is, supposing the main cylinder to be three feet in diameter, the feeding-rollers one inch, and the dof- fing cylinder fourteen inches. But the wheels and pinions on the carding engine, represented in Plate IV. Fig. 2d. are supposed to be adapted for single carding, and are calculated to show how much the speed of the main cylinder and the feeding-rollers might be varied. A lickerin (a) is also represented on the carding engine, in Plate IV. Fig. 2d. as being much recommended. To find the draught of the Carding JEngine, Rule. Begin at the wheel R on the end of the feeding-rollers, and call it the first leader, and the small pinion A the first follower, and so trace out all the leaders and followers separately from the wheel R to the pinion J on the end of the delivering shaft, which is the last follower. Multiply the num- ber of teeth in all the leaders together, and their product by the diameter of the delivering ball. In like manner, multiply all the followers together, and their product by the diameter of the feeding- CARDING ENGINE. 97 rollers. Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter ; the result is the draught of the carding engine. EXAMPLE Leaders, Wheel R on feeding-roL 144i teeth Wheel B, . . . . 144* do. Wheel C, .... 36 do. Pinion E on main axle, 20* do. Pinion G, .... 48 do. Wheel H on dofFer, . 144* do. Diameter of delivering ball, 2\ in. Teeth in wheel R, . 144 Teeth in wheel C, . 36 864 432 See Plate IV, Fig, 2d. Followers. Pinion A, . . . . 18 teeth. Pinion D, .... 18 do. Pinion E on main axle, 20* do. Wheel F, ... 144* do. Wheel H on doffer, 144* do. Pin. J. on delivering shaft, 22 do. Diameter of feeding-rollers, 1 in. Teeth in pinion G, 3184 48 41472 20736 Teeth in pinion A, Teeth in pinion D, Teeth in pinion J, 248832 Dia. of delivering ball. 497664 62208 2^ inches. 7128)559872(78.54 draught of carding engine. 49896 60912 57024 38880 35640 32400 28512 3888 18 18 144 18 324 , 22 648 648 7128 * The wheel H on the axle of the doffing cylinder, and the pinion E on the axle of the main cylinder, are both leaders and G 98 CARDING ENGINE. After passing the carding engine, the cotton hav- ing been formed into a thick soft ribbon called an end, is received into cans, and carried from thence to the drawing frame, which is the next machine in the process. A patent has lately been taken out by Mr. Hugh Bolton of Sharpies, in the parish of Bolton Le Moor, county of Lancaster, for an improvement on the carding engine, which consists of a plate of iron or steel, the length of which is equal to the breadth of the main cylinder, and four or five inches broad ; the one edge of the plate is kept as sharp as possible, and the other is turned up about one inch ; this is placed right under the blank top next to the doffing cylinder, with the sharp edge close upon the teeth of the sheets on the main cylinder, so as merely to allow the one to pass the other without touching. By this means, whatever motes, gins, or other sub- stances, adhere to the surface of the main cylinder, are cut by the sharp edge of the patent blade, and received on above, whilst the opposite edge of the blade being turned up, prevents them from being carried over upon the doffing cylinder. There is also a small waste roller, moving with a slow motion above the plate or blade, which takes up any Sow- ings or particles of cotton that may be thrown up by the centrifugal force of the cylinder. The object of this improvement, is to smooth the surface of the main cylinder, and clean the cotton; and seems par- followers, and therefore omitted in the operation ; also the wheels B and F, because containing each the same number of teeth. The wheels K K K, are intermediate wheels. CARDING ENGINE. 99 ticularly adapted for the purpose for which it is in- tended. It has been tried in Johnstone, and gives great satisfaction. The sand, seeds, &c. collected in one day upon eight carding engines, were weighed, and found to weigh eleven ounces. It is particularly adapted for coarse numbers. It would be quite impossible, nor could it serve any good purpose, to notice all the experiments that have been tried upon carding engines for some years past ; there is, however, one exception, in an entire- ly new system of carding, lately introduced by Mr. Neil Snodgrass of Glasgow, which, from its impor- tant advantages, compared with the common system, is considered more entitled to notice than any other with which we are acquainted. The principle of the improvements alluded to, was first noticed by Mr. Snodgrass in America; and he has successfully intro- duced these into this city, with important additional improvements of his own. During the eight months this new system has been in operation here, it has fully realised the most sanguine expectations of all concerned, and excited the admiration of those who have been permitted to see it. These improvements are not confined to one carding engine separately, but may, and are applied, to a system of 6, 8, or 10 in connection. At present, however, we are only at liberty to mention a few of its more prominent advantages, without attempting any thing like a description of its working parts. In the first place — This improved system of card- ing, which may be applied to either silk or woollen work, as well as cotton, has all the advantages of a 48 inch-broad engine, with every convenience of a 100 THE DRAWING FRAME. S4 inch card ; and a system of these stands in a sixth less room than the common kind of carding engines : the parts are beautifully arranged, and adapted to each other. ^clly^ The simplification is such, that only one-half the usual wheel and pinion gearing is necessary ; also, only one-fourth of driving belts are required in comparison with what is used in the other. Sdly^ The system produces much more accurate work, makes less waste, and fewer piecings, and is adapted for the coarsest or finest carding, and can be managed with fewer hands, in addition to consider- able power saved in driving. It costs much less money to fit up and put this new system in opera- tion, and it is equally applicable to old as well as new carding engines, &c. Mr. Snodgrass has also brought from America an entirely new plan of a tube frame, which is noticed at the end of the article relating to that machine. THE DRAWING FRAME. Previous to the inventions of Richard Arkwright, all the cotton yarn spun in this country was drawn by the spinner between the finger and the thumb, in the operation of spinning. But we are indebted to him for those valuable inventions, by means of which that slow and laborious process is entirely superseded, and the operation performed by machinery in a more perfect and expeditious manner, than ever could have been accomplished by the former method. THE DRAWING FRAME. 101 Arkwrigbt, upon seeing a bar of red hot iron elongated by passing it throngb between a pair of rollers, immediately conceived the idea of drawing- cotton by a similar process, and upon this first idea all his subsequent inventions and improvements are founded. It is obvious, that to pass cotton through between a pair of rollers, may compress, but cannot stretch it ; and the analogy between the elongation of a bar of iron, and the drawing of cotton by passing them through between rollers, must, indeed, be very remote. But the hint once given to an in- genious and inventive mind, seeming impossibilities are soon overcome; and although one pair of rollers cannot draw the cotton, yet, by passing it through between two pairs, and making the front rollers re- volve faster than the back ones, it may be drawn to any extent required. The invention and application of this simple process to the art of cotton spinning, laid the foundation of those various improvements which followed each other in rapid succession, and introduced a new era in the history of our country. The effect produced by the relative motion of the rollers, is called the draught ; and the Drawing Frame is the first machine where this principle is applied, from which it derives its name. Attempts have lately been made to introduce this principle into the spreading machine, but these have not been approved of for reasons already stated. The use of the drawing frame is to straight the fibres of the cotton, and lay them longitudinally in a parallel direction, so as to form a more smooth and level thread than could be produced otherwise. To take a given weight of cotton, and straight out 102 THE DRAWING FRAME. the fibres ; to lay them side by side, and twist them together, may be said to comprehend the whole art and process of cotton spinning. The elementary operations through which it passes, in being brought into a state of yarn, are comprehended under the general terms of drawing, doubling, and twisting. Upon a proper arrangement and adjustment of these the particular quality of the yarn, in a great measure, depends. In the spreading machine a given weight of cotton is spread into a given length, breadth, and thickness. The carding engine straights out the fibres, although very imperfectly, and forms the thread, which, by doubling, drawing, and twist- ing, is advanced onward step by step, through each successive machine, in their order. As it proceeds through the various machines, the end which has been formed at the carding engine is reduced in its grist, and the fibres are laid in a more uni- form and parallel direction, until it is finished into yarn at the spinning machine. But after passing the carding engine, perhaps there is no machine in the whole process so well adapted for straighting the fibres as the drawing frame; and the means here employed for that purpose, is the doubling of two or more ends together, and drawing them out again to their former grist. When the whole doubling and drawing throughout the process are judiciously ar- ranged to suit the particular kind of cotton that may be used, a superior quality of yarn may be reason- ably expected ; but if these be not arranged with proper judgment and experience, nor adapted to suit the nature of the cotton, the yarn, however good the raw material, cannot fail to be inferior in its THE DRAWING FRAME. 108 quality; therefore, as a proper system of doubling and drawing is a most essential part of cotton spin- ning, the following remarks are suggested from experience. Too many doublings may be as injurious to the yarn as too few, because it is not so much from the mere multiplicity of doublings that it is to be im- proved, as from a suitable arrangement of them in the proper places, and their adaptation to the quality of the cotton and the yarn required. Cotton that is long and strong in the staple or fibre, requires to be oftener doubled than that which is short and weak ; and for spinning very low numbers from Waste, Surat, or Madras cottons, the fewer doub- lings the better. I have seen some excellent No. 36 wefts made from Waste and Boweds, with no more than 64 doublings throughout the process. Where- ever there is an unnecessary doubling, there will be an additional drawing required: now much draught upon short cotton always tends to injure and weaken the thread. Long cotton, again, requires to be fre- quently doubled and drawn, in order to have the fibres properly straighted and laid in a parallel di- rection. When there is a sufficiency of doubling at the most suitable departments of the process, when the fibres are well straighted and twisted together, the yarn will be more level and evenly, as well as stronger and smoother, and hence better adapted for warps than wefts; for while warp yarn requires to be strong and smooth, weft requires to be soft and woolly, that it may throw a kind of wool upon the cloth into which it is woven, and give it a more full and rich appearance ; therefore the cotton should 104 THE DRAWING FRAME. be much often er doubled to prepare it for warpSy than is necessary for wefts. The drawing frame appears to be the most suit- able place in the whole process for doubling ; and if at this department the cotton receive its full quan- tum of doubling, there is less need for it being far- ther continued. It is not asserted that a doubling at either the slabbing or stretching frame, will have no good effect upon the yarn ; but, on the contrary, a doubling at either or both of these frames may greatly improve it, when it can be done with safety; this, however, cannot always be obtained without being attended with injurious effects. For to admit of being doubled at the slabbing frame, the end will require to be reduced very fine at the last heads of the drawing frame ; and for being doubled at the stretching frame, the rovings must be reduced at the slabbing frame. Now the ends as they leave the drawing frame are so soft and tender, that it seems impossible to make them pass through the operation of pressing into, and pulling out of the cans again, without stretching or overstraining them ; and more especially, if they have been reduced very fine, with a view to be doubled. Again, if the slab or coarse rovings be winded on bobbins at the winding ma- chine, they are there more liable to injury than at any other stage of the process ; for owing to the tugging and pulling they must endure while winding, they cannot escape being damaged by overstraining, and every little stretch makes a weak part, or a cloud, in the yarn. And if thus liable to injury, it certainly would be much safer to have no doubling at all at the stretching frame, when the rovings be- THE DRAWING FRAME. 105 ing single would have double the strength, and be better fitted to undergo their necessary operations without injury. But when the rovings are prepared in a fly or tube frame, the winding process is en- tirely superseded, and, consequently, the risk of stretching them avoided, and therefore a doubling at the stretching frame might, in these circumstances, be obtained with greater safety. To have a doubling at the slabbing frame, and, at the same time, give sufficient strength to the ends, so as to prevent them from stretching when pulled out of the cans, sometimes the two last heads of the drawing frame are made to deliver into one can ; thus, by uniting the two ends together, they are made stronger, and not so likely to yield to the strain of pulling them out again. This, however, is much objected to as making too much waste. As the principal use of the drawing frame is to straight the fibres, and lay them side by side ; so the design of any doubling after the drawing frame, is not so much the better straighting the fibres, as to equalise the grist of the end or thread ; for how- ever carefully the cotton may have been managed throughout the different departments of the process, or however perfectly the various machines may be adjusted, it will still be found, after it is made into yarn, that the thread is more or less unequal in its grist ; some parts will be smaller, and some thicker than others : now frequent doubling tends greatly to remove these inequalities ; but, perhaps, there is no stage of the process where the benefit of a doubling is so perceptible as at the jenny. A doub- ling at the slabbing frame, as already remarked, is 106 THE DRAWING FRAME. often attended with injurious effects, owing to the extreme weakness of the ends, which cannot bear the slight pull that is necessary to draw them out of the cans, without stretching them a little. The tender rovings are equally liable to injury from the same cause, viz. weakness. But at the spinning ma- chine the thread is reduced to its proper grist, and re- ceives its full quantum of twist, therefore it is liable to no further damage by stretching; consequently a doubling here, may be regarded as the grand specific for all the little injuries the end may have sustained in any department of the previous process. And if the cotton has been sufficiently doubled and drawn at the drawing frame with a doubling at the spinning machine, one at any of the intermediate machines, may, with more safety, be dispensed with. No yarn can equal that which is made from double rovings ; for in doubling here, it seldom happens that two weak parts come exactly together, and hence the thread is more level and uniformly equal in its grist, than can otherwise be produced from the spinning machine. Yet a doubling at the last stage of the process is often objected to; because, should any part be allowed to pass, through the negligence of the workers, wanting even one ply of its necessary doublings, it is likely to be detected and remedied at some part of the after process : but when these faults occur at the spinning machine, if not instantly detected, they are beyond all remedy ; and nothing can be more injurious to yarn than what is techni- cally called singles: therefore a finishing fly frame is sometimes introduced between the slabbing and stretching frames, where a doubling is obtained, and THE DRAWING FRAME. from which process very superior yarn is produced, whilst a doubling at the spinning machine is dis- pensed with altogether. Plate VI. Fig. 3d. represents a ground view of one head of the drawing frame. Suppose a frame having six of these heads, with the two that are placed in the centre reversed, or delivering the con- trary way from the two first and the two finishing heads. Four cans are placed at the back of each of the two first heads, containing two ends each, which may be supposed to have been united at the carding engine, or at a doubler fitted up at one end of the drawing frame for that purpose. These four double ends, making eight in all, are combined together whilst passing through the head; and by the relative motion of the rollers, are drawn out generally about eight inches ; so that the single end, which is de- livered into the can in front, may be supposed to be a very little finer than one of those that was taken up at the back of the head. And if eight of these are again united at each of the centre heads, this will make 64 doublings ; eight ends again united at each of the two finishing heads, would make the number of doublings 512, which, with a doubling at the slabbing and stretching frames, would raise the amount of doublings throughout the process to 2048, which would in general be sufficient for com- mon yarns from fifties downwards. But for fine numbers, or for a superior quality of warp yarn, such as is required for power-looms, a drawing frame, with eight or ten, instead of six heads, is certainly preferable, by which the cotton could be put four or five times through the frame ; whereas, 108 THE DRAWING FRAME. by the other, three times drawn is the utmost that can be obtained ; and in place of doubling the card ends together, by making two carding engines de- liver into one can, a small doubler might be fitted up at one end of the drawing frame, with a drawing head upon it, and calculated to give a draught of two or three to one, when the cans could be brought direct from the carding engine to this doubler, where three single ends might be united into one, and afterwards passed through the drawing frame, in the regular order of eight ends to the head ; by this means the number of doublings throughout the process would be increased to a considerable amount, as may be seen by the following : Number of ends united at the doubler, 3 Do. at the first heads of drawing, 8 Do. at second heads, 8 192 Do. at third heads, 8 1536 Do. at fourth heads, , 8 Total doublings in the drawing frame, 12288 And suppose a doubling at the slabbing frame, finishing frame, and stretching frame, the whole amount of doublings throughout the process would then be 98304, which I would consider the utmost that could necessarily be required for any quality of yarn whatever. That much depends upon a proper system of doubling and drawing for making a superior quality of yarn, is generally admitted. And as I believe THE DRAWING FRAME. 109 that it is owing to the particular management of this essential part of the process that enables one spinner to excel another in the quality of the yarns they produce, too much importance cannot be at- tached to this subject. For whatever be the quality of the cotton that is used, or the yarn required, the whole doubling and drawing must be regulated accordingly. And unless the one be adjusted to suit the other, it is vain to expect a superior quality of yarn. Drawing frames are generally made with two beams, and a space of about six or seven inches between them. ( See Plate VI. Fig, 3d,) Now, in adjusting the draughts, care should be taken to have rather more on the front than on the back beam, and especially, there should be no draught whatever between the beams ; because all cotton being of a short nature, and inclined to shrink together when at liberty; if it be drawn while passing through the back beam, it will be apt to shrink together when passing through the space between them, and there- by make the end produced by the drawing frame rather clouded and uneven ; therefore, the draught should be so adjusted, as merely to prevent the cotton from falling down between the beams, and no more. This remark applies to all machines that have tw o beams, or two tiers of rollers, and a wide space between them. The space between the rollers of each beam, where the cotton is drawn by their relative motions, should likewise be adjusted to suit the length of the staple or fibres of the wool. It is difficult to point out the precise distance at which the rollers should 110 THE DRAWING FRAME. be set from each other, because the exact length of the fibres cannot be easily ascertained. But if the length of the fibres could be accurately pointed out, I would recommend the following scale of distances at which the rollers should be set. If the length of the fibres be f of an inch, for a draught from 1^ to 7 inches, the space between the rollers may be from f to 1^ inches from centre to centre. If the fibres be 1 inch, and the draught from 1^ to 7 inches, the space from centre to centre may be from 1 to It^ inches. If the fibres be 1^, draught as above, space from 1^ to 1§. If the fibres be lye to 1^, with a draught as formerly, the space between the rollers, from centre to centre, may be from ly^ to If inches, &c. : these various distances are easily regulated by shifting stands. It has often been disputed whether the drawing frame should be fitted up with dead or lever weights: upon this subject a considerable diversity of opinion exists among managers. The dead weight is, doubt- less, the most solid and uniform, as it acts always the same ; whereas the lever acts with a kind of vibratory motion, caused by the shaking and agita- tion of the machinery, together with the inequalities in the body of the cotton that passes through be- tween the rollers. Dead weight is only adapted for fine light cotton; for when there is a heavy body of cotton, that is long and strong in the fibre, passing through the frame, it requires a very great load of dead weight suspended from the rollers, to make it draw equally ; whereas the other, by shifting the weight upon the lever, can be adjusted to suit either heavy or light cotton, and, therefore, is preferable to THE DRAWING FRAME. Ill the dead weight. But, perhaps, it might be an im- provement to have drawing frames adapted for both, that they might be changed when found necessary. A method of pressing down the rollers with springs has been adopted in some Factories, and found greatly superior to weights of any description. The drawing head represented in Plate YL, is much approved of for its neat and handsome ap- pearance ; the fluted part of the rollers, as may be seen by examining the Plate, (Fig. 3d.) extends to between six and seven inches, which allows the cot- ton to spread over a broad surface, and thus draws more freely, than when, by the old plan, the fluted part of the rollers was made into four divisions, by which the cotton was collected into a small space, and, consequently, the upper rollers were frequently raised off the under ones, which prevented the cot- ton from drawing so equally as might be desired. The belt pullies P are placed before the front beam, so that motion is conveyed from them back- wards to the back beam ; consequently, the whole weight of driving the back beam, and back rollers of the front beam, is thrown upon the small pinion E, and therefore this pinion lasts but a short time : to obviate which, an improvement has lately been attempted, which consists of having the belt pullies placed between the front and back beams, and at- tached to a small shaft that extends to the opposite side of the head, and upon which two wheels are fixed, one drives the front and the other the back beam ; by this means the whole weight of driving the head is so equally balanced upon this shaft, that it moves perfectly smooth and uniform without any 112 THE DRAWING FRAME. vibratory motion to which old frames are sometimes subject. But this, though good in principle, has, notwith- standing, been disapproved of, as rendering the ma- chine rather too complex, and requiring too many wheels, simplicity being the great aim of all machine makers, either in improving the old, or constructing new machines. A new form of the drawing frame, or rather an old one greatly improved, has also been introduced of late, and seems to be giving general satisfaction. It consists of only one beam, with four tiers of rollers set close together, by means of which the draughts can be divided into three separate spaces instead of two, as in frames made in the common form. The only objection to this new form of the drawing frame is, that in consequence of the pinions being set so close together, and little or no space left for changing or shifting them, the draught of the frame cannot be altered more than about two or three teeth of a pinion. To find the revolutions per minute of the Front Hollers in the Drawing Frame. Rule. Multiply the revolutions per minute of the cylinder shaft by the diameter of the cylinder, and the product by the number of teeth in the wheel H, to which the belt pullies P are attached ; and multiply the diameter of the belt pullies P, by the number of teeth in the wheel F, which is fixed on the end of the front roller. Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter, and the THE DRAWING FRAME. 113 result is the revolutions of the front rollers per minute. EXAMPLE.— .S'^e Plate VI. Fig. 1st, 2d, and Sd. Suppose the revolutions of the cylinder shaft to be 120 per minute. — See Diameter of cylinder, 5| in. 600" 60 660 Teeth in the wheel H attached to the belt pullies P, 76 3960 4620 page 37. Diam. of pul- lies P, 6 in. Teeth in wheel F, 38 228 228)50160(220 revolutions 456 of the front rol- 456 lers per minute. 456 To find the Draught of the Drawing Frame, Rule. Begin at the wheel A on the back roller of the back beam, call it the first leader ; and the pinion B on the front roller, the first follower ; so trace out all the leaders and followers separately from the wheel A to the wheel G on the end of the delivering shaft, which is the last follower ; multi- ply the number of teeth in all the leaders together, and the product by the diameter of the delivering ball ; then multiply the number of teeth in all the followers together, and the product by the diameter of the back roller. Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter ; and the result is the draught of the drawing frame. H 114 THE DRAWING FRAME. EXAMPLE.—^S'^^ Plate VL Fig, Ist, 2d, and '^d. Leaders. Back roL A, back beam, 44 teeth. Front do. C, do. 44 do. Back rol. D, front beam, 42* do. Front do. F, do. 38 do. Diameter of delivering ball, 2\ in. Wheel A, 44 Wheel C, 44 176 176 Wheel F, 1936 38 15488 5808 73568 Diameter of delivering ba ll, 2\ 147136 18392 Followers. Front rol. B, back beam, 16 teeth* Back do. D, front beam, 42* do. Front do. E, do. 16 do. Wheel G on delivering shaft, 76 do. Diameter of back roller, 1 inch. Pinion B, Pinion E, Wheel G, . 16 . 16 "96" 16 256 . 76 1536 1792 19456 19456)165528(8.50 draught of the drawing frame. 155648 98800 97280 15200 To find the revolutions of the Back Roller per min. Rule. Begin at the pinion E on the front roller of the front beam, call it the first leader, and the wheel D the first follower ; trace out the leaders and followers from the pinion E, to the wheel A on the back roller of the back beam, which will be the * The wheel D on the back roller of the front beam, is both a leader and follower; and the wheels H H, &c. are intermediate wheels, therefore they are all omitted in the calculation. THE DRAWING FRAME. 115 last follower. Multiply the number of teeth in all the leaders together, and the product by the revolu- tions of the front rollers per minute, and the num- ber of teeth in all the followers together. Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter ; and the result is the revolutions of the back roller per minute. EXAMPLE.— iS'ee Plate VI. Fig. 1st, 2d, and 3d. Leaders. Pinion E on the front roller of front beam, . . 16 teeth. Wheel D on back rol. of do. 42 (lo.*| Pinion B on front roller of back beam, .... 16 teeth. Revolutions of front rollers per minute 220 Pinion E on front roller of front beam, .... 16 1320 220 3520 Pinion A on front roller of back beam, . . . . 16 21120 3520 Followers. Wheel D on back roller of front beam, .... 42 teeth.* Wheel C on front roller of back beam, .... 44 teeth. Wheel A on back rol. of do. 44 do. Wheel C on front roller of back beam, 44 Wheel A on back roller of do. 44 176" 176 1936 1936)56320(29.09 revolutions of back rollers 3872 per minute. 17600 17424 17600 17424 176 * These occur as both driver and driven, and are therefore omitted in the operation. 116 THE DRAWING FRAME. The revolutions of the back rollers per minute multiplied by the circumference, gives the length taken in by the back rollers per minute. Revolutions of back rollers per minute, . . . 29.09 Circumference of do 314 11636 2909 ^27 Length taken in by the back roller per minute, 91.3426 inches. If the back rollers of the two first heads of a drawing frame revolve at the rate of 29.09 times per minute, and take up 91.34 inches of a card end in the same time, how many carding engines will be required to supply these two first heads, supposing eight ends going up at each head, and that each carding engine delivers 256 inches per minute, ( see page 91.^ no allowance to be made for stoppages? Rule. Multiply the inches taken in by the back rollers per minute, by the number of ends put up, and divide the product by the inches delivered by each carding engine per minute. EXAMPLE. Length taken in by the back rollers per minute, 91.34 inches. Number of ends put up at the two heads, . . .16 54804 9134 Inches delivered by each carding engine, 256)146144(5.70 1280 1814 1792 224 THE DRAWING FRAME. By these calculations, each drawing frame is sup- posed to require about 5| carding engines to furnish it with a regular supply of cotton. In practice, how- ever, 5§ would scarcely be sufficient for each draw- ing, even though the carding engines are not subject to so many stoppages as the other. The above is merely intended to exemplify the method of per- forming these calculations, as the number of carding engines required for each drawing frame depends entirely upon the qualities of the yarn for which they are preparing the cotton, and the speeds at which they are driven. Every manager arranges these to suit himself, therefore no general rule can be laid down. It is not uncommon in practice, to find one drawing frame quite competent to take away the whole of what is delivered from eight or ten carding engines of 24 inches in breadth of cylinder. In the plan of a carding room in Plate II., the carding engines are supposed to be divided into four systems. The first contains eleven, the second ten, the third eight, and the fourth seven. To each of the first and second are represented two drawing frames, and one to each of the third and fourth. The length which each drawing frame is repre- sented, is supposed to suit six heads, but there is sufficient space allowed for any number of heads that may be thought proper. The vacant space be- neath the cross shafts C C is supposed to contain the lapping machines and racks for holding the lap rollers. Before leaving this subject, it may be proper to take notice of an improved method of filling the 118 THE DRAWING FRAME. cans, both at the drawing frame and carding en- gines, which is giving great satisfaction. Any one who has been in a carding room, must have ob- served the constant attention required to the filling of the cans, to change them when full, and press them gently when filling ; and the injury to which the ends are always liable at this stage of the pro- cess, either by being too hard pressed into the cans, or allowed to choke up and run over. Now the ob- ject of the improvement here referred to, is to make the cans fill themselves, without the aid of atten- dants. It consists of having a pair of rollers placed right under the delivering rollers of the carding en- gine or drawing head, and fixed about two or three inches from the floor; a round plate of iron is placed above these rollers, with a small hole in the centre; the mouth of the can is placed upon this plate with the bottom upwards, and as the end descends from the delivering rollers, it is brought up between the under rollers, which are pressed together with a spring ; and passing through the hole in the iron plate, it is then, by the constant operation of the rollers, forced up into the can, until it is full: when this takes place, a small counter, driven by the ma- chine, gives warning to the attendant, who imme- diately removes the full can and replaces an empty one, which is made fast to the iron plate with a set screw. Sometimes the cans are made with a loose bottom, which slides up and down within the can; so that when the mouth of the can is turned down- wards, the bottom also falls down within the can, but rises gradually as it falls, by which means the attendants may easily perceive when it is necessary THE DRAWING FRAME. 119 to change the can, as the bottom will then rise to the top, which can be easily either seen or felt. Motion is communicated to the under rollers, by a small upright shaft, driven by a bevel pinion on the delivering shaft, and moves the under rollers by bevel pinions at the same speed as the delivering rollers above. Sometimes the cans are filled from above; which is accomplished by having the deliver- ing rollers laid parallel with each other, and pressed together by a lever and weight ; a circular plate of iron with a small hole in the centre, is fixed close under the rollers : when an empty can is placed right below this plate, the motion of the delivering rollers presses the end down into the can, until it is full, of which the attendant is apprised by a warning bell or check, as in the former. By these simple contrivances, the cans are filled equally and gradu- ally, without being too hard pressed : they also empty perfectly free, without sustaining the smallest injury, and by which there is a great saving of both labour and waste. Cans will take two hours to fill by this process at the carding engine, and twenty minutes at the front of the drawing frame ; and when filled, they will take from eight to ten hoars to empty, either at the back of the drawing frame or tube frame : so that in consequence of the cans requiring so little trouble, and so seldom to be changed, the attendants, having more time, can thereby apply themselves with greater diligence to those parts of the operations that require most at- tention. 120 THE SLABBING FRAME. THE SLABBING FRAME. The principal use of those machines that intervene between the drawing frame and the jenny, is to reduce the grist of the end preparatory to its being spun into a small thread of the required fineness. The fibres of the cotton being straighted in the drawing frame, and laid side by side, parallel with each other; but not having as yet been twisted, it is therefore improper to reduce it too fine at this de- partment of the process, because it is so weak and tender, and unfit even to sustain its own weight, without being greatly injured; hence it is requisite, when reducing the grist of the end, to give it a de- gree of twist, so that it may have adhesion sufficient for its undergoing the necessary operations. The first machine which the cotton has to pass through, after the drawing frame, is called the Slab- bing Frame; and when the cotton is delivered from the slabbing frame, it is then called slab, slub, or coarse rovings ; this is also the first machine that communicates twist to the cotton. And here it may be remarked, that, to make good rovings, is a most important object in cotton spinning; they ought to be uniformly level and evenly in their grist, having an equal degree of twist in all their parts, and no more than is necessary to give the requisite strength. Various kinds of slabbing frames have been in- vented, and brought into use at diflferent periods, all of which seem to be making way for the fly and tube frames: these appear now to be the most po- pular, and therefore a short description of some of the others is all that shall be attempted in this place. THE CAN FRAME. 121 THE CAN FRAME. The first of which we have any information, is the Can Frame that was used by Arkwright, and which, like the drawing frame, consists of rollers fitted up in a similar manner : those with which I am ac- quainted, have generally four pairs, with the two back pairs a little separated from the front ones, and distinguished by the names of the front and back beams. The cotton, when passing through the rollers, undergoes a draught which is regulated by circumstances, or by the opinion of the manager; in general it may run from 10 to 14 inches : from the rollers it is delivered into a revolving can, made in the form of a truncated cone : on the top of the can there is a small funnel, through which the rov- ing passes ; while the revolving of the can gives it a degree of twist, which can also be regulated by the speed at which the can revolves ; and by its centrifugal motion, the roving is coiled round within until the can is full, when it is taken out, and wound on bobbins at a winding block or machine, driven either by the hand or by the power. The cans are supported at the bottom on pivots ; and to keep them steady when revolving, the funnel at the top is guided by a collar attached to the framing. There is also a pulley fixed to the bottom of the can, by which it is driven with a band from a cylinder that extends the whole length of the frame. The cans have each a door upon one side for taking out the rovings. This door is secured by a sliding ring which fits the outside of the can, and THE SKELETON FRAME. when pushed down, keeps the door shut ; but when drawn up to the top, the door may be opened, and the roving taken out. The can frame has for many years been the most popular machine that has been employed as a slab- bing frame, although it has been found defective in several respects; as the twist which it communicates is not equally and uniformly diffused over all parts of the rovings : to obviate this defect, Arkwright tried rollers at the top of the revolving can, moving at the same rate as the front rollers of the beam which delivered the rovings. This, however, was afterwards abandoned, as being attended with con- siderable objections in practice. Rovings that are prepared in can frames require to be winded on bobbins by a separate process, by which they are frequently injured, besides being attended with ad- ditional expense. Various inventions have been at- tempted to obviate this last objection, to which the can frame has all along been liable. The first that shall be noticed is the skeleton frame. THE SKELETON FRAME. To save the tender rovings from the injury to which they are liable while winding on bobbins at the winding block, or winding machine, a frame, known by the name of the Skeleton Frame, but which is properly only an improvement upon the can frame, was for some time much used in several Factories. It consisted of a revolving frame (called THE JACK FRAME. 123 the skeleton) with a top and bottom similar to the revolving can : a can was placed within this frame ; and when full of rovings, it was taken out and car- ried direct to the back of a stretching frame, where the royings were further reduced and prepared for the jenny, by which the operation of winding was entirely superseded ; and, perhaps, no method has yet been tried that made better rovings than the skeleton and stretching frames together. It may easily be perceived, however, that the process of the skeleton frame must have been very slow, and of course expensive, and therefore has never been brought very generally into use. THE JACK FRAME. Another machine called the Jack Frame, (some- times jack in the box) was long used in several places, which both prepared the rovings and wound them on bobbins at the same time. It was a very ingenious but extremely complicated machine. It had also a revolving frame, within which a small cylinder moved vertically, the surface motion of which was exactly the same as the front rollers of the beam; the bobbin resting upon this cylinder was moved by friction, by this means it took up the roving at the same rate as was delivered by the rol- lers, and, at the same time, twist was communicated to the roving by the horizontal rotatory motion of the jack, and was also built uniformly on the bobbin by means of a directing-wire. 124 THE JACK FRAME. All these machines, however ingeniously con- trived, or well adapted to the purposes for which they were invented, must still he admitted to have been slow in their operations, and expensive for tear and wear ; and although they were at one pe- riod greatly approved of, yet they are now become old and obsolete, and are generally laid aside to make way for the fly and tube frames, which, from the great satisfaction they have hitherto given, seem likely to be the only machines that will be generally employed as slabbing frames throughout the trade, and therefore the remarks upon each of these will be a little more detailed. The attention of spinners has long been occupied endeavouring to contrive some means by which to dispense altogether with the slabbing frames, as well as all other machines that intervene between the drawing frame and spinning ; but so far as known to the author, none have been so successful as Mr. Buchanan of the Catrine Works. At these works there are only five machines which the cotton has to pass through from the cotton bag till it is finished into yarn: these are the following; 1st, the Willow; 2d, the Scutching and Spreading Machines, (both of which are combined into one;) 3d, the Card- ing Engine; (single carding;) these are self-acting; 4th, the Drawing Frame ; and 5th, the Self-acting Mule or Throstle Frame. This is the whole pro- cess by which excellent yarns are produced, both water twist and weft. The cans at both the card- ing engines and drawing frames are filled from the bottom upwards, as described at page 118, and by which means they are hard pressed, and contain a THE JACK FRAME. 125 greater quantity of stuff than they otherwise could do : those used for the finishing heads of the draw- ing frame are small, being only about 18 or 20 inches long, by 3 inches in diameter. These are carried direct from the drawing frame to the self- acting mule or throstle, where the end is made to pass through three beams of rollers in order to reduce it to its proper grist : the first and second beams contain two tiers, or two pairs of rollers each; and the third, or finishing beam, contains three pairs of rollers. But the cans being carried direct from the drawing frame to the spinning machine, there is no twist communicated to the end until it is de- livered from the front rollers of the finishing beam. And in consequence of the draught which it under- goes while passing through the rollers, it is liable to spread too much, and thereby cause a rough unequal thread : to obviate this, Mr. Buchanan introduced a small tube between the middle and back rollers of the finishing beam: this tube is driven by an endless screw upon a small shaft which is placed right under it, but extending from end to end of the roller beam, so as to give motion to all the tubes required, which is one tube for every thread of yarn. And the sliver or roving being drawn up out of the can, it passes through the first and second beam rollers, where it undergoes a draught of from three to four inches in each, and then enters the back rollers of the finishing beam ; passes through the tube, which acts upon it the same as in the common tube frame, so that the roving is thereby twisted and compressed in such a manner, that, when it is delivered from the front rollers, it appears ex- 126 THE FLY FRAME. actly the same as if it had been a common roving prepared in a stretching or fly frame, but reduced by the ordinary draught of the beam rollers. The yarn produced by this process is perfectly level and uniform in its grist, and admits of the twist being equally diffused over all parts of it. This is, perhaps, the shortest and cheapest process of cotton spinning that has been attempted in this country, at least with any degree of success ; yet it has been practised in Catrine Mills for a number of years, and given the utmost satisfaction, as very superior yarns are made at these works, both water twist and power loom weft. It is proper to re- mark, however, that this process of spinning is only adapted for numbers of yarn from 40' downward. THE FLY FRAME. This important machine having undergone con- siderable improvements a few years ago, has now become one of the most popular machines employed in the whole process of cotton spinning, whether it be used merely as a slabbing frame, or, both for slabbing and finishing. When used for the latter, it prepares a superior quality of roving,* abridges the process, and saves a considerable expense. It * The produce of the fly frame, or any other machine when employed merely as a slabbing frame, is generally called slab or slub ; but when this is reduced into a fine state for the spinning ma- chine, it is then denominated rove or roving. THE FLY FRAME. V27 is, perhaps, one of the most ingenious machines employed in the preparatory department of the process, though somewhat complex in its construc- tion, and can be adapted for making rovings of any grist, from a ^ hank to 30 hanks. This frame has become so popular, and attracted so much notice, that the other frames already mentioned have now become nearly obsolete, and are generally thrown aside ; so that, in the course of a few years, they will be known only by name to many of those employed in the operative department of the business. The fly frame, instead of revolving cans, has a certain number of spindles placed at equal distances from each other : a forked piece of iron is adjusted on the top of each spindle, called a flyer, both the legs of which are now made in the form of a tube, for the purpose of receidng the roving, and convey- ing it to the bobbin. The rollers deliver the roving to the top of the flyer, where it passes through a small hole right above the centre of the spindle, called the eye of the flyer, and from which it de- scends through the tube to the bobbin, which is fitted loosely on the spindle. The flyer revolves ra- pidly round the bobbin, and winds the roving on it as fast as it is delivered by the rollers. The motion of the rollers and spindles are equal and uniform at all times; hence the twist is equally diffused over all parts of the roving. But to adapt the taking up of the roving to the uniform delivery of the rollers, the speed of the bobbin must be variable and unequal ; for while it increases in diameter, the velocity of its acting circumference must always remain the same; therefore the ratio of its accelerating motion must 128 THE FLY FRAME. be equal to the ratio of its increasing diameter, that is supposing the bobbin to follow the flyer ; some- times, however, the flyer follows the bobbin, in which case the speed of the bobbin must decrease in the same ratio as above. Various contrivances have been attempted for accomplishing this change on the velocity of the bobbins ; a short description of a few of them will be quite sufficient for our present purpose. In some machines this variable motion of the bobbins is produced, by means of two cones placed with the thick end of the one directly opposite the small end of the other ; the one of these cones, revolving uniformly, communicates motion to the other, by means of a revolving belt passing round both ; and by being shifted to either extremity, varies the speed of the other. From the second cone, the bobbins receive their motion by bands from a pulley connected with it, which pass round pullies resting on an iron rail, called the bobbin rail ; the bobbins resting on these pullies, are carried round along with them: both bobbins and pullies are loosely fitted on the spindles, that they may the more freely rise and fall by the ascending and de- scending motions of the bobbin rail. The diameter of the one cone increases in the same proportion as the other decreases ; so the velocity of the bobbins is accelerated, or retarded, according to the shift of the belt: this is also adjusted to suit the grist of the rovings. The fly frames now generally in use are greatly improved, and the mechanism, by means of which the variable motion of the bobbins is accomplished. THE FLY FRAME. 131 is various, according to the make of the different machines. In the one, generally denominated the patent fly frame, the variable motion of the bobbin is accomplished, by means of a most ingenious and curious invention. It has only one cone, and upon the shaft which passes through the centre of the frame, called the frame shaft, ( see patent motion for fly frame, Plate VII, Fig, 4d, Plate VIL) to be exactly the same in diameter ; but the pulley S — as represented in the Plate — is six, and the pulley T eight inches in diameter ; therefore, to adapt the cone to suit them, it would require to be less in the proportion of 4 to 3 than that which is given above ; its graduating form, however, must still be the same ; and as it is obvious that the difference between the diameters of the cone for the different layers, become gradually less as the bobbin fills ; so must the length, which the cone shifts for the different layers, gradually de- crease in the same proportion ; but the cone is shifted by means of the rack, consequently the rule by which the teeth of the rack are divided, must be founded on the principles laid down above. Plate VIII. Fig. 1st, represents a cone, with the different shifts drawn according to the preceding rules ; the distance between each shift, as repre- sented on the cone, is exactly proportioned to the difference between the diameters for the difJ'erent layers, as found by the above calculations. If parallel lines, corresponding with the number of layers that are laid on the bobbin, be set at equal distances from each other, and divided into various lengths, according to the divisions of the cone for the different layers, it will be found that the differ- ence of their lengths will form a perfect parabolic curve ; ( see Fig, ^d, Plate VIIL) hence the reason why this has been adopted, as the most proper figure by which to divide the teeth of the rack, ( see THE FLY FRAME. 139 Plate IX, Fig. \st,) A A is a segment of a para- bola. The two sides A B and B A, are a right angle, forming two sides of a square, the length of each is equal to the length of the rack to be divided. Having a piece of hard wood, formed exactly the same as the figure A E B F A, the rack is placed right under the side E, and the side F being divided into equal divisions, the number of which are the same as the number of teeth intended to be cut in the rack. From each of these divisions on the side F, lines parallel with the side E are drawn across the segment of the parabolic curve. From the points where these lines intersect the curve, per- pendicular lines parallel with the side F are drawn down to the rack ; and the teeth are marked, one on each side alternately, at the points on which the perpendicular lines fall, ( see Plate IX. Fig. 1st.) If the rack be divided in this manner, and the cone formed according to the rule mentioned above, every shift of the cone can be adjusted so perfectly, as to adapt the ratio of the increasing speed of the bobbin to its increasing diameter with the greatest exactness, and thereby regulate the velocity of its acting circumference, to the equal and uniform de- livery of the rollers. Fig. 3d. Plate VIII. exemplifies the method of forming a parabola. A circle is divided into 3^ equal parts ; the distance from the centre to the point B, is one-eighth of its diameter: the arc A B has the same radius as the circle ; and within the arc A B, each division of the circle is subdivided into four equal parts. Now the parabola A A A is formed, by taking the distance from the centre of 140 THE FLY FRAME. the circle, to the points where the subdivisions in- tersect the arc A B, and transferring them to the respective divisions of the circle; as 1 to 1, 2 to 2, 3 to 3, &c. A much more simple and easy method of forming a parabola is given in Simpson's Geome- try, The above, however, is, perhaps, more gen- erally practised, and has been found particularly adapted to the intended purpose. A machine has likewise been constructed on the same principle, and can be used for dividing a rack into any number of teeth that can possibly be required, by means of a scroll or snail wheel ; ( see Plate IX, Fig, ^d,) A A is a dividing plate similar to those used for cutting the teeth of pinions; B B, a snail wheel fixed on the axle of the dividing plate ; E E, a sliding square. The range of the snail wheel is exactly equal to the length of the rack to be divided, and is connected with the sliding square, moving in the direction of its centre. The rack is placed within the range of the square (as represented in the Plate) which is in its proper position for marking the first tooth. The dividing plate is to be divided into circles, each of which is again divided into as many parts as may be required. The catch H is set upon the outer circle, which is respresented as containing ^20 parts or di- visions, by moving the dividing plate, and of course, the snail wheel in the direction of the figures 2, 3, 4, &c. to 20, moving the square, and marking a tooth at every division of the circle: a rack containing 20 teeth may be formed every way adapted to the fly frames. And in the same manner, it is obvious, that to form a rack, containing any number of teeth, it is only necessary to move the catch H to the circle THE FLY FRAME. 141 containing the number of divisions required, and proceed as above. The catch is supposed to hold the plate at every division, when the sliding square moves downward in the direction of the centre of the snail wheel, until the point a rests upon the side of the snail ; (the rack being always fixed) the square is then brought into a proper position for marking another tooth. F F F, is the framing upon which the whole is fitted. Arkwright, upon finding the defects of his can frame, attempted a fly frame for preparing his rovings, which he constructed upon the same prin- ciple as his water frame. But as the bobbin filled with roving, it became heavier, and, consequently, required more force to drag it round ; it rested on a wooden rail, and was retarded by friction from moving as fast as the spindle and flyer. Now it is obvious, that if the bobbin remains stationary, while the flyer revolves swiftly round it, the roving, in- stead of winding on the bobbin, would instantly be broken ; and again, if the bobbin revolved as fast as the flyer, it could not take up the roving; therefore the bobbin requires a slow motion, and that motion to increase gradually as it fills ; for the length of roving taken up by the bobbin depends upon the dif- ference of the speed of the bobbin and flyer. Ark- wright, however, with all his ingenuity, could not invent the mechanism required to produce this vary- ing motion of the bobbin ; and hence his fly frame was abandoned as inadequate to the purpose for which it was intended. But in the fly frames de- scribed above, this motion of the bobbin can be adjusted to the greatest precision. 142 THE FLY FRAME. Ill the common flax wheel, the flyer has a number of teeth, for the purpose of guiding the thread on to the bobbin, and when the thread is shifted from tooth to tooth, the bobbin is filled equally from end to end. In the fly frame, however, this is accom- plished by a piece of very ingenious mechanism, by means of which the bobbin rail is made to rise and fall by a regular motion, which, like the speed of the bobbin, varies in proportion to its circumference. For if the delivery of the rollers be uniform, it is obvious that the circumference of the bobbins will increase as they fill; and, consequently, more length of roving will be required for each revolution of the bobbin ; therefore, the alternate ascending and de- scending motion of the bobbins must be retarded in the ratio of their increasing circumference. In the common fly frame this varying motion is produced by the friction pulley E, ( see Plate VIL Fig, ^d,) the traverse lever D D, as already mentioned, is fixed to the rack at the top, while at the point C it supports the shaft G, on the top of which is the friction pulley E, which has no teeth, but is covered with leather or cording, and bearing against the face of the friction plate J, is moved by contact, and at the same time is connected with the shaft F by wheel-work. On the end of this shaft there is a small pinion driving the mangle wheel K, the teeth of which are so contrived that the pinion works on both sides; so when the mangle wheel moves round a certain length, the pinion, by shifting to the op- posite side, drives it as much in the contrary direc- tion ; therefore, the wheel being fixed on the end of the shaft P P, which raises or depresses the bobbin THE FLY FRAME. 143 rail by means of the pinion N acting into the rack O, the alternate movement of the mangle wheel causes a constant alternate ascending and descending motion in the bobbin rail : and as the rack shifts one tooth every time the bobbin rail ascends, and another when it descends ; so the traverse lever be- ing fixed to the rack, shifts along with it, always in the direction of the cone, while at the point C, it raises the shaft G ; and as the friction pulley ap- proaches the centre of the plate J, its motion de- creases in the proportion of the increasing circum- ference of the bobbin. Considerable improvements have lately been made upon the fly frame, and it was intended to have given a new plate in this edition, representing a fly frame of the newest construction ; but finding such a variety of contrivances in these machines, adopted by the diflierent machine-makers, and various opin- ions amongst spinners regarding their merits, that design was given up : and it may here be merely stated, that all those now made, have the spindles and bobbins driven by teethed wheels instead of bands. And, in general, there is a spring presser attached to one leg of the flyer, by which the roving is bound hard on the bobbin, so as to make it con- tain a much greater quantity, and thereby last much longer in the spinning machine. Bobbins built in this way, will sometimes run for 8 or 9 days in the mule or throstle. Mostly all the new fly frames made in Manchester, are made upon this plan, except those used for very fine numbers. Fly frames are made in America upon the same plan as that of the Glasgow Patent Throstle, with 144 THE FLY FRAME. the top of tlie flyer running into a collar, and the extremity of each leg joined together, and attached to the wharve or small pulley below. The author has a very beautiful flyer of this description now in his possession, which he received from a gentleman in Boston, and is credibly informed, that frames of of this kind, employed in America, can, with safety, be driven at the rate of 200 revolutions of the front rollers, and 1200 or 1400 revolutions of the flyers per minute. It is presumed that none that have yet been made in Britain, can admit of being driven at so high a speed. Cones, denominated geared cones, are used in fly frames, employed in America, in- vented by Mr. Ottis Petee of Newtown, U. S. These cones are fitted on two shafts parallel with each other, and having a pair of teethed wheels for every ply of roving that is to be laid on the bobbin. The wheels upon the one cone are fast, upon the other they are loose ; notches are cut out of the internal circumference of the loose wheels, and the shaft upon which they are mounted is hollowed with a deep groove : into this groove there is a steel slider, with a feather or hook on the point : this slider is shifted by the rack, and the hook on the point of the slider enters into the notches of the loose wheels, taking one after another at every shift of the rack, so that there is at no time more than one pair of wheels in action, while all the others, though always in gear, are working loosely. The one cone is the driver, while the other is the driven: the number of teeth into each pair are adapted to suit the gradually increasing or decreasing speed of the bobbin, according to the ratio of its increasing circumference. THE FLY FRAME. 145 The above is a very brief description of the geared cones, which, though an ingenious contrivance, must be considered an expensive one, and therefore not likely to be adopted in this country. At page 38, the speed of the fly frame shaft, A A, (Plate VII. Fig. 2d.) was foimd to be 204.90 revolu^ tions per minute. The pinion R upon this shaft, that gives motion to the front rollers, contains 28 teeth, driving the front rollers by intermediate wheels. The wheel M on the front roller is sup- posed to contain 56 teeth : required the revolutions of the front rollers per minute ? Rule. Multiply the number of teeth in the pin- ion R on the frame shaft by the revolutions of the shaft per minute, and divide the product by the number of teeth in the twist wheel M, which is fixed on the end of the front roller ; the result is the revolutions of the front rollers per minute. EXAMPLE. Revolutions of frame shaft A W minute, 204.90 Teeth in the pinion R on do. ... 28 163920 40980 Teeth in twist wheel M, . . 56)5737.20( 102.45 revolutions of 56 the front rollers , 137 per minute. 112 252 224 280 280 K 146 THE FLY FRAME. To find the revolutions of the Spindles per minute. Rule. Multiply the revolutions of the shaft A (Plate VII. Fig. 2d.) per minute, by the diameter of the twist pulley B, and divide the product by the diameter of the small pulley on the spindle, which is driven by the band. EXAMPLE. Revolutions of fi-ame shaft A per minute, 204?.90 Diameter of the twist pulley B, . . . 10 Diameter of pulley on the spindle, 3.5)204;9.00(585.42 revolutions 173 of spindles per 299 minute, 280 190 175 150 140 100 70 30 To find the twists per inch on the roving in the Fly Frame. Rule. Multiply the circumference of the front roller by its revolutions per minute, this will give the length produced per minute. Divide the re- volutions of the spindle per minute by it j the result will be twists per inch on the roving. THE FLY FRAME. 147 EXAMPLE. Revolutions of the front roller per minute, 102.45 Circumference of do. suppose, 3.93 30735 92205 30735 402.6285 Rev. of spindle. 402.62)585.42(1.45 twists per inch on the roving. 40262 182800 161048 "217520 201310 16210 The method of calculating the draughts of the drawing frame, fly frame, tube frame, &c. being exactly the same, and having exemplified one, viz. the method of calculating the draught of the drawing frame, it is unnecessary to exemplify the method of calculating the draught of the others. The fly frame has of late acquired a considerable degree of importance ; and from the improvements now in progress, it is supposed that it will still be- come more popular. It is somewhat complex, and requires very accurate adjustment ; but by subse- quent improvements, may yet be much simplified and more easily managed. It would be of great advantage to those who may have the charge of managing and adjusting this machine, that they understood correctly the principles upon which it is constructed, and how its various parts are adapted to each other ; for it cannot be supposed, that one whose knowledge is derived merely from having 148 THE TUBE FRAME. witnessed its operations, can be so well qualified for managing or adjusting it, as those who are thoroughly acquainted with the principles of the machine, the methods by which its component parts are calculated to suit each other, and the purposes for which they are intended. These considerations will therefore justify the space allotted to it in this treatise. THE TUBE FRAME. The Tube Frame is but of recent date, has already given great satisfaction, and is considered a very important machine, especially for spinning coarse numbers, as it is generally used for a finishing frame : but when employed as a slabbing frame, and where the roving is afterwards to be reduced at a stretching or fly frame preparatory to its be- ing spun into a fine thread, it may be used in the preparation department for any numbers of yarn whatever. Tube frames seldom prepare rovings finer than 4^ hanks, as owing to their peculiar construction they communicate no twist ; consequently the rov- ings require to have some body or thickness to give them strength sufficient to pull round the bobbins without being overstrained. Although some excel- lent yarn, as high as Nos. 60 and ^0, have been spun from rovings prepared in these frames, yet, in general, they are not used for any numbers above 50. The chief merit of the tube frame is in the THE TUBE FRAME. 149 quantity of roving it produces in a given time ; for in respect to quantity, it seems to possess capa- bilities which belong to no other machine employed in the whole process of cotton spinning. The tube frames, instead of revolving cans, have revolving horizontal cylinders parallel with the beam rollers, and placed about 12 inches in front of the beam for single frames ; but double tube frames have one cylinder about 10 inches from the beam, and the other about 19 or 20: the velocity of the acting circumference of the cylinders is gener- ally the same as th^ front rollers. Sometimes it has been tried, with good effect, to drive the cylinder rather faster than the rollers, by which the thread of roving is kept firm and tight, and, consequently, the tubes take better hold of it, and build it harder on the bobbins ; the bobbins rest upon the cylinder, and are moved by contact : a small hollow cast iron tube, about 4§ inches in length, is fitted up in front of the bobbin, through which the roving passes, until about f of an inch from the point, where it is brought out by a small opening, and carried over what is called the bridge of the tube, when it again enters, and is brought out by a hole at the point, called the eye, while the roving is passing through : the tube is made to revolve about eight or nine thousand times per minute ; and by being brought over the bridge, it is taken hold of by the tube, and twisted as hard as a piece of cord between the tube and the rollers ; but all of which is entirely thrown out again between the bridge of the tube and the bobbin ; so that when the roving is laid upon the bobbin, it has no twist whatever; the bobbins merely 150 THE TUBE FRAME. revolve in the same manner as the front rollers, so as to take up the roving exactly as it is delivered ; but they have no rotatory motion, and, therefore, it is impossible to give the roving any degree of twist while it is winding on the bobbin. In the making and fitting up of the tube frame, the great object to be attended to, is the proper form and adjustment of the tube ; it must stand at a right angle to the bobbin, and pointing rather below the centre ; the width of the eye must be proportioned to the grist of the roving. The angle formed by the roving while passing over the bridge, must be sufficiently acute, to make the tube take hold of it, and at the same time allow it to pass freely through. To have the fibres of the roving well smoothed, and laid close on the bobbin, is a most essential object in the ad- justment and management of this frame. The front rollers of the tube frame can be driven at the rate of 400 revolutions per minute with per- fect safety; while the utmost speed of the fly frame rollers, seldom exceeds 130 or 140, and even that is above their average. But even with the front rol- lers revolving 390 times per minute, the tube frame is capable of supplying rovings for the jennies in the proportion of 80 spindles to each tube, the roving 3^ hanks, and each spindle producing about 19 hanks of No. 36 wefts per week. There are tube frames that supply rovings for a greater number of jenny spindles to each tube, but the above, it is presumed, will be found nearly their average. If one tube supply roving for 80 jenny spindles, producing 19 hanks of No. 36 per week, then the weekly produce of each tube will stand as follows. THE TUBE FRAME. 151 Spindies, Hks. 80 X 19 = 1520 hanks, or 1520 = 42 lbs, 3 oz. of yarn, No. 36 per week from each tube.* The history of cotton spinning, does not furnish an example of any machine, the capabilities of which can bear a comparison with this. If 42 lbs. 3 oz. of yarn be spun from the produce of one tube, 1181 lbs. 4 oz. may then be obtained from the pro- duce of a frame containing 28 tubes. But its capa- bilities will appear more prominently, if contrasted with other frames employed for similar purposes. The following results have, therefore, been taken in several respectable Spinning Factories, as the aver- age produce of the stretching frame, fly frame, and can frame. With a 3^ hank roving, and each mule spindle producing 19 hanks per week of No. 36 wefts. Each stretching frame spindle prepares roving for 13 jenny spindles. Each fly frame do. do. 24} do. Each tube of the tube frame do. 80 do. And suppose the slab or coarse rovings, to be ^ hank, and prepared for the same numbers, viz. 36, each jenny spindle producing as above. Each can of the can frame prepares rovings for 70 jenny spindles. Each spindle of the fly frame do. 142 do. Each tube of the tube frame do. nearly 480 do. * It is to be observed that, in order to make each tube supply roving for 80 jenny spindles, a superior quality of cotton is required. When using low mixtures of waste and dirty cottons, we seldom find each tube supply roving for more than 70 spindles upon an average. 152 THE TUBE FRAME. The above comparison of the produce of these frames, is intended to show that the productive capabilities of the tube frame exceed that of the fly frame, in the proportion of 80 to 24, and the stretching frame, in the proportion of 80 to 13. And when employed as a slabbing frame, it exceeds the fly frame, in the proportion of 480 to 142, and the can frame, in the proportion of 480 to 70. If to all this is added, the expense incurred for winding the rovings by a separate process, where the can and stretching frames are still employed ; besides the quantity of waste that is made at the winding pro- cess, together with the injury to which the rovings are liable when passing through that operation, it will be admitted that the can frame is the least pro- ductive, the most expensive, and injurious to the cot- ton. The tube frame far exceeds any of the others for quantity ; but in point of quality, the roving produced by it, is inferior to that produced by either the stretching or fly frame. In consequence of the tube frame rovings having no twist, they are so ex- tremely soft and tender, that they are frequently breaking, and thereby cause a greater quantity of waste than any of the other frames, which must be regarded as an insuperable objection to this machine, notwithstanding its great produce ; and should the improvements now in progress upon the fly frame succeed, it is confidently expected that it will yet supersede the tube frame altogether: as the fly frame, when properly adjusted, always makes a superior quality of roving ; and could it only be driven with safety at a quicker speed than has THE TUBE FRAME. 153 hitherto been found practicable, it would certainly become the most popular of any.* The method of calculating the revolutions of the front rollers, is exactly the same as for the fly frame, and the draught is calculated by the same method as the drawing frame ; it is, therefore, un- necessary to exemplify them in this place. The method of dividing the teeth of the racks for tube frames, is exactly the same as for that of fly frames; only the proper figure (instead of a segment of a parabolic curve) is a segment of a circle, the radius of which is equal to the length of the radius bar of the frame. If the radius bar be six feet, then a segment of a six feet circle is the proper figure. The tube frame is an American invention, and, as already stated, its chief merit is in the quantity of work it produces in comparison to other frames used for the same purposes. It was introduced into this country by Mr. Dyer, of Manchester, who took out a patent for it in 1825, and another in 1829, for improvements of his own. The high rate of wages paid to work people in America, renders it absolutely necessary to devise every means by which the processes may be expedited, and the expense of labour thereby abridged : this circumstance has ex- cited the inventive energies of that enterprising people, one of the chief traits of whose character is, mechanical ingenuity ; and hence the invention of * Since the above was written, the fly frame has been greatly- improved, and is capable of being driven at a much higher speed than formerly. Its produce may now be rated fully one-third higher than that given in the preceding pages. 154 THE ECLIPSE ROVING FRAME. some of the most important improvements in cotton spinning machinery. The tube has also been greatly improved since first put into operation. Mr. Neil Snodgrass has lately imported one from America, constructed upon an entirely new principle, which, instead of tubes, effects the same purpose by means of friction plates, about three inches in diameter, and revolving rapidly in opposite directions. The roving passes through between the two plates, which are placed towards each other, so as to form an acute angle, and set close together, but not so as to touch each other. The face of the plates are teethed somewhat like the teeth of a cutting tool for cutting the teeth of brass pinions. During the eight months it has been in operation in Glasgow, it has given great satisfaction. It obviates all the de- fects, whilst it possesses all the merits of the common tube frame, and is adapted for any grist of roving, or for dirty as well as clean cottons. THE ECLIPSE ROVING FRAME. In addition to the preceding, another machine, de- nominated the Eclipse Roving Frame, has lately been brought from America, for the purpose of making slubbings or rovings without twist, and for which patents have been obtained for the United Kingdom. The principle of this machine is similar to that of the tube frame, it only produces the same effect by a different contrivance. One part of the invention consists of an improved arrangement of mechanism, THE ECLIPSE ROVING FRAME. 155 or apparatus, by which the rovings, as they descend from the drawing rollers to be wound on to the spools, or bobbins, are passed through between two opposing surfaces of a travelling endless belt, by the friction of which the fibres of the rovings are com- pressed, and, at the same time, as they enter between the upper edges of the endless belt, they receive a temporary degree of twist, which twist, however, is discharged as they pass out from between the lower edges of the belt ; so that the rovings are conveyed to the bobbins with the fibres compactly compressed, but free from twist, the same as in the common tube frame. In order to keep the two surfaces of the travelling endless belt sufficiently close together to produce the above described effect, a series of guide loops, equal in number to the bobbins, are affixed to a sliding rail, through which loops the belt slides, and, by means of adjustable springs, the surfaces are brought into a proper degree of contact. The spools, or bobbins, on which the slubbings, or rovings, are wound, rest on the surface of a horizontal travelling endless belt, revolving on a moveable frame, and are held in their proper posi- tion by means of forks, or staples, fixed in the moveable frame, in which the axles of the bobbins are confined : they are then caused to revolve by the friction of the travelling belt, and, consequently, as the rovings continue to descend from the rollers, and pass between the opposing surfaces of the travelling endless belt first mentioned, they are, by the rotation of the bobbins, respectively wound on, exactly in the same manner as in the common tube 156 THE ECLIPSE ROVING FRAME. frame. In order to wind them on with a suitable degree of compactness, one of the guides, or loops, fixed in the sliding board, rests upon each bobbin, and, by a contrivance for counterpoising any portion of the weight of the sliding board and guides, any requisite portion can be allowed to press on the bobbins, so as to cause the rovings to wind on suf- ficiently firm and compact. During the process of winding on, the belt on which the bobbins revolve is caused to traverse to and fro, so that the rovings are wound on in regular coils, and by means of a self-regulating apparatus, the extent of the traverse is gradually shortened, for the purpose of laying the rovings on the ends of the bobbins, in the form of a frustum of a cone. The eclipse roving frame, of which the above is but an outline description, is extremely simple in its construction, occupies very little room, and requires little power to work it, whilst its power of produc- tion is astonishingly great. The front roller, which is 1^ inches in diameter, may be driven at the rate of from 700 to 7*50 revolutions per minute. A ma- chine, therefore, of ten bobbins, the size generally made, will produce 40 to 50 hanks of roving per hour, allowing for time to remove and replace the bobbins, or spools, as they are filled. The tube frame, therefore, with all its power of production, can bear no comparison to this. This machine has but lately been introduced into several Mills in Manchester; and where it has been at work, the report of its operations, and the quality of the rovings produced, is very favourable. It has undergone several alterations since brought to this THE STRETCHING FRAME. 157 country, by which it is greatly improved, and ren- dered much better adapted to its intended purpose. THE STRETCHING FRAME. Stretching Frames appear to be going out of use altogether, as almost every manager seems to prefer the finishing fly or tube frame in their stead ; and therefore it will be unnecessary to occupy much time in describing them, especially as they bear so close a resemblance in all respects to the mule jenny, which is afterwards to be noticed. The use of the stretching frame is to reduce the grist of the roving, and prepare it for being spun into a fine thread. A doubling at the stretch- ing frame, when it can be conveniently obtained, tends to equalise the grist of the roving, and, consequently, improve the quality of the yarn. The name of this machine would seem to import that it reduces the roving by stretching it, but this is not the case ; the roving is reduced here by drawing it between the rollers, which is a dis- tinct process from that of stretching. In the ad- justment of the stretching frame, an important ob- ject to be attended to, is to make it so as to give the roving no stretch whatever. The carriage should recede from the beam exactly as the rollers give out the reduced roving ; and instead of stretching, it should rather, if any thing, lose a very little ; and while the spindles are receding from the rollers, they should communicate the full portion of twist that is necessary ; so that when the carriage comes to the head, the twisting should immediately stop. 158 THE STRETCHING FRAME. The metliod of calculating the draught of the stretching frame, is exactly the same as the jenny, which shall afterwards be exemplified. To find the diameter of a Mendoza Pulley^* that will make the carriage and spindles recede from the rollers exactly as the roving is delivered, with- out either gaining or losing. Rule. Multiply the number of teeth in the men- doza wheel by the diameter of the front roller; and divide the product by the number of teeth in the pinion on the front roller that drives the mendoza wheel ; and from the result thus obtained, subtract the diameter of the mendoza band ; the remainder will be the diameter of the mendoza pulley required. EXAMPLE. Teeth in mendoza wheel, 112 Diameter of front roller, 1^ inch. 112 Teeth in pinion on front roller, 19 Diameter of mendoza band, | in. 112 14 19)126( 6.63 114 .5 diameter of mendoza band. 120 6.13 = 6^ inches, diameter of pulley required. 114 60 57 ~3 * The proper name of this pulley is the taking-out pulley ; but the name mendoza being commonly used amongst operatives and mechanics, it is therefore retained as best understood. THE STRETCHING FRAME. 159 The rovings produced by the stretching frame being very soft and tender, require to be carefully- handled, as the least injury sustained by them will also injure the yarn; therefore the stretching frame requires to be adjusted with the greatest exactness, and the rollers especially, should be kept particularly clean and well oiled. Stretching frames are preferred by some managers for the purpose of obtaining a uniform size of yarn at the spinning machine ; for by weighing the sets of roving thrown off by the stretching frame at regular intervals, the variation of the cotton is more easily discovered and checked by changing the pinions, and hence a more regular and uniform size of yarn will be produced. They are also preferred by some for obtaining a doubling at the jenny, as the rovings produced by the stretching frame, being built on the spindles in the form of a cone, occupy less space than bobbins, and hence are better suited for being set close together, so as to have two plies for one thread of yarn. But it is obvious that a doubling might be conveniently enough obtained with bob- bins, by adapting their dimensions to the space they are to occupy. 160 THE COMMON JENNY. SPINNING MACHINES. THE COMMON JENNY. The spindle and distaff seem to have been the only implements used for spinning yarn, by the most an- cient nations, of whose early history we have any authentic record. And even to this day, in India, and many other of the less civilized parts of the world, the same rude instruments are used for similar purposes, and appear to have been intro- duced into Britain only in the reign of Henry VIII. These simple implements of domestic industry, have long been superseded in the more enlightened na- tions of Europe, by the invention of the well known machine called the spinning wheel; the name of the inventor has not been handed down to us ; but for many years it continued to be the only machine used for the spinning of cotton yarn in this country, until about the middle of the last century, when the extending commerce of Great Britain increased the demand for cotton yarn, and various contrivances were attempted to expedite the process of spinning by the application of machinery, none of which seem to have succeeded until the invention of the spinning jenny in I767, by James Hargreaves, who has already been mentioned as the inventor of the stock card. As some of the most important dis- THE COMMON JENNY. 161 coveries in the arts and sciences have been suggested from the most trivial occurrences, so it was with the spinning jenny. Hargreaves npon seeing a common spinning wheel accidentally overturned, continue its motion for some time whilst lying on its side, immediately conceived the design of attempting to form a spinning machine, which he afterwards con- structed in a very rude manner, containing only eight spindles, driven by bands from a horizontal wheel; but which, by subsequent improvements, was greatly enlarged, till at length it contained upwards of 80 spindles. The spinning machine, thus in- vented, was denominated the common jenny, which is carefully to be distinguished from the mule jenny,* the one now generally used. The cylinder cards were in use several years before the invention of the common jenny, and prepared the rovings for it: these rovings, when so prepared, were placed in a row, upon pegs in a moveable carriage, opposite to which were revolving spindles. The threads of roving being extended from the pegs to the spindles, passed through between two horizontal bars of wood, called the clasp, which opened, and, somewhat like a parallel ruler, when pressed together, this clasp held the threads fast, and attached to the moveable carriage. The spinner, seizing the carriage with his left hand, drew it out from the spindles to a * As the common jenny is now almost entirely out of use, and unknown to the greater part of those employed in the operative department of the business ; the single term jenny is generally em- ployed throughout the whole of this Treatise, when the mule jenny is spoken of, but it is easy to determine from the sense of the passage that it is the mule that is referred to. L 162 THE COMMON JENNY. distance of between four and five feet, by which the threads of roving were stretched out and reduced to their proper tenuity ; while, at the same time, a wheel was turned with his right hand, by which the spindles were caused to revolve rapidly, giving twist to the yarn while stretching, and the proper portion of twist having been communicated to the yarn, the carriage was returned home to the spindles; and by means of a presser wire, which was wrought by the spinner's foot, the yarn was wound on the spindles in the form of a cone. These jennies continued long in use for making weft yarn, even after Arkwright's mode of spinning had been introduced. The cotton was prepared for being spun with the common jenny, by immersing it in soap and water, and after- wards pressing out the water in a screw-press, and drying the cotton in a stove. The common jenny underwent many alterations and improvements ; the vertical was substituted for the horizontal wheel, which rendered it a more neat and commodious machine. It entirely superseded the one thread wheel, and, for a considerable time the whole wefts, used in the manufacture of cotton goods, continued to be spun by this machine, until, by the invention of the mule jenny, the other, in its turn, was also superseded. In the common jenny, the cotton was stretched, but not drawn ; as the mode of drawing cotton between rollers, was a later invention, and belongs wholly to Arkwright. WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. 163 WATER SPINNING FRAME AND THROSTLE. While Hargreaves was suffering persecution and encountering poverty, Arkwright was busily em- ployed in endeavouring to construct a machine which was destined to change the mode of spinning altogether ; but, from his want of mechanical know- ledge, it was long after the invention of the common jenny before he could bring to perfection the idea he had formed in his own mind. Arkwright's in- vention consisted in a peculiar application of rollers, to perform precisely the same operation as was per- formed by the spinner with the finger and thumb, in drawing out and disengaging the fibres of the wool, so as to bring the thread to its proper grist. The combination of this original and ingenious in- vention, with the spindle and flyer of the common domestic spinning wheel, formed the spinning ma- chine for which Arkwright obtained his first patent in 1769, and on which all his subsequent improve- ments were founded. The first Mill he erected for his spinning frames, was at Nottingham, and was driven by horses. In 1771) erected another at Cromford, in Derbyshire, which was moved by wa- ter. And as these were the first spinning machines that were moved by water, they have, in conse- quence, been generally denominated Water Spin- ning Frames. The yarn produced by this machine, from its strength and smoothness, was found to be peculiarly adapted for warps ; hence it derived the name Water Twist, from the name of the machine 164 WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. in which it was spun; and the throstle being merely an improvement on the water frame, the yarn pro- duced from either still retains the name Water Twist. For many years after the invention of the water spinning frame, the yarn spun from it was used by most manufacturers for w^arps, while that spun by the common jenny, from its woolly softness, was made choice of for wefts. But previous to the invention of Arkwright's spinning frame, linen yarn was generally used for warps. Arkwright is said to have obtained his first idea of substituting rollers, in place of the finger and thumb for drawing out the fibres of the wool in the process of spinning cotton, from seeing the action of the common rolling mill in iron works, used for the purpose of elongating red hot bars of iron, as formerly mentioned. By others, it is said, that he got the first idea of his in- vention from one Kay, a watchmaker in Warring- ton. But be that as it may, the merit of bringing the first idea into practice belongs to Arkwright alone. The spinning frame is universally admitted to be a most wonderful and ingenious invention ; and, in its consequences, as a source of national or indi- vidual wealth, has not a parallel in the history of our country.* This admirable machine underwent * Some estimate may be formed of the importance of Arkwright's invention of the spinning machine, by comparing the present state of our cotton manufacture with what it was fifty years ago. " It has been said that the yarn produced at that time in England by the one thread wheel, the only spinning machine then known, did not exceed in quantity what 50,000 spindles of our present machinery can yield." But at the present time, the cotton manufacture of this country (next to agriculture) is the most extensive occupation in WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. 165 rarious important improvements after it was first set to work, and was brought to its highest state of improvement, by Arkwright, in the year I775. Another machine, known by the name of the throstle frame, but which is only an improvement on the former, was brought into use some time after the introduction of the water frame ; both machines are the same in principle. The throstle is only a little more simplified, and requires less power to drive it. Each head in the water frame, has a dis- tinct set of gearing, and is driven by a separate mo- tion, and, consequently, each head can be stopped. which our diversified population is engaged. " Mr. Owen calcu- lates that two hundred arms with machines, now manufacture as much cotton as twenty millions of arms were able to manufacture without machines forty years ago ; and that the cotton now manu- factured, in the course of one year in Great Britain, would require, without machines, sixteen millions of workmen with simple wheels." The value of the cotton goods now manufactured in Great Britain amounts to the enormous sum of forty millions a year^ twenty millions of which are exported. The amount of capital invested in the whole manufacture is estimated at upwards of £56,000,000, and the number of persons employed is rated at a ynillion and a half. Every country in Europe has participated in the benefit of the spin- ning frame. America manufactures cotton yarn to a great extent by means of machinery. Egypt and India have likewise employed the spinning machines in manufacturing their cottons. In fact, the ex- tension of the cotton manufacture through the different parts of the world that has been accomplished by the inventions of Arkwright and his successors ; the influence it has had upon the manners and customs of mankind, by the vast source of commercial intercourse it has opened amongst nations; and the happiness and comforts it has introduced amongst the lower classes of society, by providing em- ployment, and furnishing them with cheap and healthful clothing, are incidents altogether unprecedented in the history of commerce. 166 WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. or set agoing at pleasure, independently of the others. In the throstle frame, all the rollers on either side are connected together, and the spindles on both sides are driven by bands from a cylinder B, (see Plate X, Fig, \st,) extending the whole length of the machine ; on the one end of the cylinder are the fast and loose belt pullies, and from its axle, mo- tion is conveyed to the rollers by a range of wheels and pinions to each side ; and therefore, by stopping the cylinder, the whole machine is immediately stopped. Both the water frame and throstle have three sets of rollers A, (see Plate X, Fig. \st,) through which the rove is made to pass, and under- goes a draught of from 5 to 8 inches ; and instead of being twisted and wound on the spindle, as in the jenny, it is twisted by a flyer, and wound on a bob- bin similar to the spindle and fly frames, which have already been described. In the fly frame, the bob- bins require to be driven by a separate motion from that of the spindle, which must also vary in propor- tion to the increasing diameter of the bobbins, so as to regulate the velocity of its acting circumference to the uniform delivery of the rollers. But the thread spun by either the water frame or throstle, has sufficient strength of itself to bear the drag of the bobbin, and therefore no mechanism is necessary for regulating its motion : in both of these frames the velocity of the bobbin is retarded by friction, which can be increased, to any degree that may be required, by means of washers of cloth or leather ; and being thus retarded, the thread, by the motion of the flyer, drags round the bobbin after it, with a Telocity equal to the difference between the motion WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. 167 of the flyer and the surface motion of the front rol- ler, or the length of thread delivered out hy the roller. The flyer, fixed on the spindles of both water frame and throstle, resembles that which is em- ployed in the fly frames, and consists of a forked piece of iron, both legs of which are solid, not tubu- lar, but twisted somewhat like a cork-screw at the lower extremities, aa ; (see Plate X, Fig* \st,) a piece of iron is also fixed on the top, the point e of which is twisted in the same manner, and serves for the eye of the flyer. Sometimes the eye is made of a hooked piece of wire attached to the framing. The thread is put through this eye, which keeps it steady, as, otherwise, it might be thrown out by the centrifugal force of the flyer, and form a consider- able arch between the rollers and the eye a at the lower extremity that conducts the yarn on to the bobbin. The flyer, revolving rapidly, communicates twist to the yarn, which is kept from vibrating by the eye e at the top, from which it descends to the eye a ; but the bobbin resting on the traverse rail, and retarded by washers from revolving with the same velocity as the flyer, the thread is thereby wound on as fast as given out by the rollers; whilst the traverse rail, ascending and descending by a regular alternate motion, fills the bobbins equally from end to end. This alternate motion of the tra- verse rail, is accomplished by means of a heart, with cranks and levers, and is called the heart motion. As the yarn is only wound on the bobbin with a velocity equal to the diflierence between the velocity of the flyer and the acting circumference of the 168 WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. front roller, it, therefore, requires to have sufficient; strength, to drag round the bobbin after the flyer without breaking the thread ; consequently these machines are only adapted for spinning from No. 50 and downwards ; they likewise require a rather bet- ter quality of cotton than might be necessary for mule yarn of the same numbers. The spinning frames that were constructed undet the auspices of Arkwright himself, were brought to a very high state of improvement ; and those that have been generally used since his time, are con- structed upon the same principle : any alterations that have been made, are chiefly upon the form or framing of the machine; as that which was formerly made of wood, is now made of cast iron, which gives it a more neat and handsome appearance, and renders it more durable. Plate X. Fig. 1st, represents an end view of a throstle frame, that is greatly admired both for strength and neatness, as well as for simplicity; and seeing the water frames are generally superseded by the throstles, which have now become so important, as to cause a considerable excitement throughout the trade, the following part of this article will be chiefly confined to the latter. Between twenty and thirty years ago, or particu- larly during the late French war, when the com- merce of Great Britain had increased to an unpre- cedented extent, in so much that the whole supply of manufactured goods were, on several occasions, inadequate to the demand, especially those of the finer qualities ; the throstle frames not being adapted for spinning fine yarn, were, in a great measure, su- WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. 169 pcrseded by the mule jenny : and a number of pro- prietors of Spinning Factories, who had both water frames and throstles in active operation, threw them aside entirely, for the purpose of introducing mules. The consequence was, that very few water frames or throstles were left in the country. Those few manufacturers who still retained them, frequently enjoyed a brisk demand for their Water Twist, even when miile yarn (in consequence of the general stagnation of trade which followed) was scarcely asked after ; and since so many Power Loom Fac- tories have been established, by which the coarser fabrics of cotton cloth are manufactured from 70 to SO per cent, cheaper than formerly, the demand for yarns of the lower description has completely pre- ponderated ; and Water Twist, from its strength and wiry smoothness, being peculiarly adapted for warps to the power looms, is therefore much in demand by manufacturers ; hence a most evident reaction has taken place among the proprietors of Spinning Factories regarding the supposed merits of the throstle frame and the mule. The attention of the trade seems now wholly engrossed with the throstles ; the quality and quantity of the yarn they produce; its cheapness; and the improvements now in course of trial, the issue of which is exciting the most intense interest: such, indeed, is the importance now attached to these machines, that it is supposed they will, in a short time, entirely supersede the use of mules for spinning all numbers of yarn below No. 50 ; and, indeed, several proprietors are con- templating the probable advantages that might re- 170 WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. suit from throwing out their mules, and supplying their place with throstles. Although the throstle frames generally in use are the same in principle with those invented by Arkwright ; yet by the various improvements that have been made on their form, or general construc- tion, they are now capable of producing a superior quality, as well as a greater quantity of yarn, in a given time, than could formerly have been supposed. The yarn produced from these machines, as already remarked, is principally used for warps ; but in some places, owing to late improvements, they are employed for spinning a superior quality of wefts, which, instead of being lapped on bobbins, is built on the spindle, the same as in the mule, in the form of a neat compact pirn cope, every way prepared for putting into the shuttle. Other improvements upon the throstle, or rather new inventions of equal, or, perhaps, higher importance, are just now attracting considerable notice, both in Scotland and England ; as it is confidently asserted, that by means of these improvements, the throstles will be rendered capable of producing a greater quantity, in a given time, than any other spinning machine that has ever yet been tried. But without taking further notice of these inventions in this place, as they will afterwards be described at the end of the article on the mule jenny, where the productive powers of the different spinning machines will be more conveniently con- trasted, and a comparison of their relative merits more distinctly pointed out; the method of perform- ing some calculations connected with the throstle frame, will here be exemplified. WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. To find the revolutions of the Front Rollers in the Throstle Fi^ame. Rule. Begin at the pinion C on the axle of the cylinder, call it the first driver, and trace out the driving and driven wheels and pinions from it to the wheel G on the end of the front roller. Multiply the number of teeth in the driving wheels together, and the product by the revolutions of the cylinder per minute; and multiply the number of teeth in the driven wheels together.* Divide the product of the former by the product of the latter, and the result is the revolutions of the front rollers per minute. EXAMPLE.— Plate X. F\g. \sU Drivers. Driven. Pinion C on cylinder, .... 38 teeth. Wheel D, 1 10 teeth. Pinion E, 34 do. Wheel G, 100 do. 152 11000 114 1292 Revolutions of the cylinder ^ min. 500 I 11000)646000(58.72 revolutions of the 55 front roller per minute. "96 88 ~80 77 30 22 ~8 * The wheels F F are intermediate wheels, and therefore omitted^ 172 WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. To find the revolutions of the Spindle per minute* Rule. Multiply the revolutions of the cylinder per minute by its diameter; and divide the product by the diameter of the wharve. The cylinder revolves 500 times per minute, the diameter of which is eight inches; and the diameter of the wharve one inch. EXAMPLE. Revolutions of cylinder, 500 X 8 .... , . ^ . „ . ^1 — ^ =4000 revolutions of spmdle 'W mm. Diameter or wharve, . 1 To find the Twists per inch on the Yarn, suppose No. 36. Rule. Multiply the revolutions of the front roller by its circumference, and divide the revolu- tions of the spindle per minute by the product. EXAMPLE. Ke volutions ^ minute of the front roller, 58.72 Circumference of do. . 3i inches. 17616 734 183.50)4000.00(21.70 twists 3670 r inch on 3300 the yarn. 1835 14650 12845 18050 WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. The spindles of the throstle frame are supported at the foot by a brass step ; and the collar a little above the middle, guides it in its place, and keeps it steady ; but the flyer being fixed on the top, the weight of which causes the spindle, when revolving with too great rapidity, to vibrate to such a degree, as will either throw off the flyer, or destroy the spindle ; hence they cannot with safety be driven much above 4000 revolutions per minute. This vibratory tendency of the spindle retards the speed of the machine, and prevents it from producing that quantity of which it is otherwise capable. Its pro- duce per spindle seldom exceeds 4^ hanks per day of 12 hours, and even this is above the average. Mr. Henry Gore, machine-maker, Manchester, obtained, in December 1831, a patent for a peculiar throstle spindle. His improvement relates to those parts which are called the collars, or upper bearings of the spindles, retaining them in vertical position as they revolve. For the ordinary collar he substi- tutes a tube made fast at the lower end to the spin- dle rail, in the same manner as the ordinary collar is fixed therein ; this tube stands in a vertical posi- tion above the rail, and is interiorly larger in dia- meter than the spindle which passes through it, ex- cept at the upper end, which rises up into the hollow within the barrel part of the bobbin : this end is made to fit the spindle exactly, and forms its collar, or upper bearing ; the upper bush of the wooden bob- bin is fitted upon the spindle as usual, but the lower bush is bored out larger, and made to fit the out- side of the tube, so as to slide freely up and down 174 WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. upon it. The bobbin rests on, and traverses along with the copping rail, and, indeed, the machine is worked every way in the same manner as the common throstle frame. An improvement has been made on the above, by fixing the tube on the copping rail instead of the spindle rail, by which means the tube traverses up and down the spindle along with the bobbin and cop- ping rail, which causes the spindle to wear much longer, makes it more convenient for oiling, (which is done with a brush dipt in the oil and rubbed across the spindles when the lift is at the top) and when the bobbin is at the top of the spindle, the tube is nearly there also, which keeps the top of the spindle always steady. By this improvement, the upper bearing being raised higher towards the top of the spindle than usual, it will be more securely retained in its vertical position, and less liable to lateral vibration when driven with greater rapidity; and as there is less length of spindle, and, conse- quently, less weight of moving parts above the col- lar, so there may be less length of spindle below that upper bearing, without impairing the steadiness when urged by very rapid motion; also, the spindle being shorter, it admits of being made considerably lighter than usual; by which improvement the spin- dles are said to be capable of being driven upwards of 6000 revolutions per minute, and seems well cal- culated to produce the desired effect. It has been much approved of by several enterprising spinners, and successfully put into operation in several Mills both in England and Scotland. WATER FRAME AND THROSTLE. l?^ Mr. William Shanks, Jun., of the Bridge-of-Weir, near Johnstone, has likewise made an improvement on the throstle frame, which, from the originality of the contrivance, is worthy of being recorded. It has already been observed, that the yarn spun upon the throstle frames, from its strength and smoothness, is particvilarly adapted for warps, and that it requires a better quality of cotton to produce the same Nos. of yarn on the throstle frame, than is required for the mules; hence to make weft yarn on the throstle, from an inferior quality of cotton or waste, has always been a desideratum ; to supply which is the object of this improvement. In the common throstle, the flyer is fixed right on the top of the spindle, and placed at a short distance from the rollers. Now Mr. Shanks conceived, that if the spindles were placed at a greater distance from the rollers, and a slight vibration communicated to the threads as they descended to the flyers, it would have a tendency to start the fibres of the cotton, and make the yarn more full and woolly, so as to adapt it for wefts. Hence this improvement consists in having the spindles placed at the distance of about eighteen inches from the rollers, and the flyer, in- stead of being fixed on the top of the spindle, is fixed about three inches from the top, that is, the spindle ascends three inches above the flyer, and the yarn as it descends from the rollers, twists two or three times round the point of the spindle the same as in the mule, and is conveyed from that to the lower extremities of the flyer, by which it is wound on the bobbin. There is a circular piece of tin about 1^ 170 THE MULE JENNY. inches in diameter, fixed on tlie top of the flyer, with a concave side uppermost ; this keeps the yarn out from the spindle, only allowing it to twist two or three times round the point ; so that it descends freely down to the bobbin without much strain, and thereby admits of being soft twisted. This is the whole improvement. The twisting of the yarn on the top of the spindles and their distance from the rollers, gives a slight vibration to the yarn, which raises the fibres of the cotton, and makes the threads more rough and woolly than can be produced on yarn spun upon the common throstle. Throstles made upon the above principle, have been working for some time in Mr. Shanks' new Mill, at Bridge-.of-Weir, and are found completely suited to their intended purpose, viz. to make coarse weft yarn from an inferior quality of cotton or waste, and at a cheaper rate than can be accom- plished by the common mule. The improvement is not secured by patents. Mr. Shanks, in the most generous manner, freely admits any person to witness their operations, or appropriate all its advantages to themselves, if they choose. There are various other important improvements in course of trial upon the throstle frame, both in England and Scotland, which might have been no- ticed had it been considered necessary ; the above, however, is sufficient for our present purpose. THE MULE JENNY. 177 THE MULE JENNY. After Arkwright's spinning frames had been about ten years in operation, another spinning machine was announced to the public, the invention of Mr. Samuel Crompton. This was properly not a new machine, but a compound of the two ah^eady in use, hence it derived the name of the mule jenny. The essential part of Arkwright's mode of spinning lay in the drawing of the cotton by rollers, instead of the finger and thumb. In Hargreaves' jenny the cotton underwent the operation of stretching, not drawing. The combination of both these elementary operations by means of one machine constitutes the mule. Here the roving is both drawn and stretched. The stretching takes place after it has been drawn by the rollers, the effect of which is twofold. It makes the yarn finer, and likewise more level and uniform in its grist ; for those parts of the thread that are thickest when delivered by the rollers, do not take on the twist so freely as the smaller parts ; hence being softer, they yield more easily in stretch- ing, meanwhile the twist becomes more equally diffused over the whole thread. The yarn produced by either the water frame or throstle, must have sufficient strength to bear the drag of the bobbin ; for this reason, these machines are seldom employed to spin any yarns above No. 40, and perhaps No. 50 is the highest. But in the mule no bobbins are used ; and the yarn is built on the spindles in such a manner as to throw little or no stress upon it. In this respect, therefore, the M 178 THE MULE JENNY. mule possesses a most decided advantage over the others, both in the varieties of quality and fineness of grist; for it can be adapted for spinning any quality or size from No. 1 to 350. The mule being a compound of the water frame and common jenny, the roving is prepared for it in the same manner as for the water frame, and re- duced to its proper grist by the elementary opera- tions of both. In the rollers it is drawn, and by the spindles receding from the roller, it is stretched. The amount of draught in the rollers is regulated by circumstances, and the length stretched is regulated by the grist of the yarn. The spindles are disposed on a carriage at equal distances from each other. The machine being put in motion, the carriage re- cedes from the rollers as fast as the reduced rovings are delivered ; the spindles, at the same time, revolv- ing rapidly, giving twist to the yarn sufficient to make it bear stretching. The distance which the spindles recede from the rollers is called the stretch, which is generally about 54 or 56 inches; and when the spindles recede faster from the rollers than the yarn is given out, this is called the gaining of the carriage, or the inches gained ; sometimes it is called the mendoza stretch, as being accomplished by means of the mendoza pulley. After delivering a certain length of yarn, the rollers stop ; but when spinning fine numbers, the carriage continues to recede, and the spindles to revolve; this is denominated the second stretch; and even when the stretching is completed, the spindles continue still to revolve, until the full quantum of twist has been communicated. But in order to save THE MULE JENNY. 179 time, they revolve more rapidly after the rollers stop, and while the yarn is twisting: the mechanism by means of which this increased rapidity is accom- plished, is generally denominated the double-speed ; but the slow speed, while the carriage is receding, is called the first speed ; and the quicker motion of the spindles, when the carriage arrives at the head, is called the second speed ; when the full portion of twist has been given to the thread, the mule disen- gages itself from the other moving parts by which it is driven. The operative then returns the carriage home to the rollers ; while, with the one hand, he manages the fly or rim, and by it the spindles; with the other, he guides the wire of the faller, so as to build the thread on the spindle in a conical form, called a cope: he also knows from habit, or practice, the necessary force, or motion, he should communi- cate to the fly, so as to keep the yarn always at that degree of tension which, without injuring it, will make the cope firm and compact. The mule was originally wrought by the opera- tive's hand, but in the year 1792, Mr. William Kelly, at that time manager of Lanark Mills, obtained a patent for a mode of working this machine by power: yet it was not till a considerable time afterwards that it was generally adopted. Mr. Kelly, although the undisputed inventor of the process, and in pos- session of a patent right to it, freely allowed all who <3hose to avail themselves of its advantages. The spinning machines, whether water frame, throstle, or jenny, being the last employed in the process, they, for that reason, require particular attention. If the cotton sustain injury by any ma- 180 THE MULE JENNY. chine in the previous departments, it may sometimes be remedied a little in the after process ; but the yarn, being completed at the spinning, if it be dam- aged there, it is then past all remedy ; hence these machines require to be adjusted with the greatest exactness; and, indeed, every machine in the whole process requires to be adjusted in this manner, in order to produce a superior quality of work. The mule is rather a complex machine, and there- fore all its parts should be fitted and adjusted with great precision. The beam and rollers should be perfectly level and straight ; the top rollers, being driven by friction, should be kept clean, and well oiled about the friction points. The space between the rollers must be suited to the length of the staple of cotton. The following scale of distances between the rollers from centre to centre is recommended.* For cotton J inch in length of staple, Do. 1 do. do. do. Do. do. do. do. Do. lyfido. do. do. Do. 11 do. do. do. Draught from 6 to 12 Distance from I ^ ■'it * One of the best or most important improvements that has ever been made on the mule, is the invention of shifting stands and saddle bars, by which the distance between the rollers can be adjusted to suit any kind of cotton. And, certainly, if proprietors were aware of their advantages, they would be more generally adopted. THE MULE JENNY. 181 The carriage should be equally balanced, and all the gearing so adjusted, as to work with freedom, or without the least interruption whatever. And to have the faller and spindle frame set with the greatest exactness, is an object of the utmost impor- tance, in order to make a neat and compact cope. The spindles also should be all precisely the same length and thickness. The inches gained on the length of the stretch should vary according to the size of the yarn. The following scale has been adopted with good effect : For spinning from No. 25 to No. 32, the gaining of the carriage may range from 1 to 2^ inches. Be- tween No. 32 and No. 46, gaining from 2^ to 4 inches ; between No. 46 and No. 54, from 4 to 5 inches ; between No. 54 and No. 64, from 5 to 6 inches ; between No. 64 and No. 70, from 6 to 6^ inches, &c. The second stretch might commence at No. 70, and from that to No. 84, it may range from 1 to 1^ inches. Above these numbers it will in- crease according to the size of the yarn. From No. 120 to 200 the second stretch will range from 4^ to 7 inches. To regulate the twisting of the yarn, and the gaining of the carriage, so as to suit the quality of the cotton and the particular size of the yarn, is an object of essential importance in the atiju sting of the mule. The amount of twist should always be suf- ficient to make the yarn sustain its own weight per- fectly, or to keep it at that degree of tension that will prevent it from hanging down, and at the same time allow it to stretch freely without breaking. 182 THE MULE JENNY. For spinning warp yarns, the carriage sometimes is fitted up with an ingenious piece of mechanism, by which it is made to run in a little after the yarn has been fully stretched, and during the time it is receiving its full portion of twist ; and by allowing it thus to twist in, gives the thread a kind of elastic quality that is of great benefit to it, especially when intended for power-loom warps, which have to un- dergo a considerable number of operations, as wind- ing, warping, dressing, &c. The method of calculating the speed of the fly, the front roller, and the spindle per minute, was ex- emplified at pages 32, 33, 34. And here it may be remarked, that the revolutions of the fly, with the single speed, may range from 108 to 116 revolutions per minute, for numbers between No. 20 and No. 80. It is not necessary to use the double-speed for any numbers below 80, unless the yarn be very weak, or for a particular quality of warps. But whatever be the speed of the fly, the revolutions per minute of the spindles should never exceed 4600 : for to raise them above that, might cause them to vibrate so as either to destroy the spindle or injure the yarn. Plate III. Fig. 4th, represents an end stand of a jenny, with the pinions, Sec, The number of teeth in the wheels and pinions are as follows : The pin- ion A on the front roller, 18 teeth ; grist pinion B, 24 teeth ; crown wheel C, 7^ teeth ; back roller wheel D, 56 teeth. Diameter of front roller one inch, and back roller | inch. THE MULE JENNY. 183 To find the draught in the Rollers of the Jenny ^ with the above Wheels and Pinions, Rule. Multiply the immber of teeth in the driv- ing pinions A and B together, and the product by the diameter of the back roller ; and multiply the number of teeth in the wheels C and D together, and the product by the diameter of the front roller. Divide the product of the latter by the product of the former, and the result is the draught in the rollers of the jenny. EXAMPLE.— 5ee Plate III. Fig. 4/h. Driven. Crown wheel C, . 72 teeth. Back roller wheel D, 56 do. Drivers. Front roller pinion A, 18 teeth. Grist pinion B, . . 24 do. "432" '12 360 36 4032 432 Dia. of front roller, f — 8 Diameter of back roller, ^ z=. 7 3024)32256(10.66 draught on jenny. 3024 3024 20160 18144 20160 18144 2016 If the roller draught of the jenny be 10.66, and length of the stretch 56 inches, gaining of the car- riage 5 inches : what size of yarn will be produced from a 5 hank roving ? 184 THE MULE JENNY. Rule. Multiply the hank roving by the roller draught, and the product by the length of the stretch. Divide the last product by the inches of yarn given out by the roller, that is, the length of the stretch wanting the inches gained. EXAMPLE. Roller draught on jenny, 10.66 Hank roving, 5 5330 Full length of stretch, 56 inches. 31980 26650 Length ofstretch wanting the inches gained, 51)2984.80(58.52 size of 255 yarn required. 434 408 268 255 130 102 28 The following Table of draughts is calculated for the wheels and pinions mentioned above. And it would be advantageous for every spinning master to have tables of this sort adapted for every kind of jennies under his charge, as it would often save much trouble and uncertainty, especially when mak- " ing changes in the numbers of the yarn, or shifting roving from one kind of jennies to another. THE MULE JENNY. 185 TABLE OF DRAUGHTS, Calculated for a crown wheel of 72 teeth, back roller wheel 56, and front roller pinion 18 teeth. Diameter of front roller 1 inch, hack roller J, showing the draughts produced hy any grist pinion from a 20 to 35 teeth* Grist Pinions. Draughts. Grist Pinions. Draughts. Grist Pinions. Draughts. Grist Pinions. Draughts. i 20 12.8 24 10.66 28 9.14 32 8.00 21 12.18 25 10.24 29 8.82 33 7.75 22 11.63 26 9.84 30 8.53 34 7.52 23 11.12 27 9.48 31 8.25 35 7.31 The hank roving being given — Find the grist pinion required to produce any given size of yarn. Rule. Divide the size of the yarn required, by the hank roving given, and the quotient will be the extension or draught which the roving must undergo in order to reduce it to the grist of yarn required ; and having ascertained this, find by the above Table what grist pinion will produce that draught nearly, as there must be some allowance for the gaining of the carriage. 186 THE MULE JENNY. EXAMPLE. What grist pinion will produce No. 60 from a 5^ hank roving ? 5.5)60(10.90 draught required to reduce a 5J hank roving to 55 No. 60 yarn. 500 495 50 By referring to the foregoing Table, it will be found that a grist pinion of 26 teeth gives a draught of 9.84 ; now No. 60 will require 5 inches of men- doza stretch, therefore proceed, as in the last exam- ple, to find the size of yarn produced from a 5^ hank roving, with a draught of 9.84 in the roller, and 5 inches of gaining in the carriage. Roller draught, 9.84 Hank roving, 5.5 4920 4920 54.120 Full length of stretch, 56 324720 270600 Length of stretch wanting the inches gained, 51)3030.720(59.42 size 255 of yarn pro- 480 duced, which 459 is about equal 217 to 591 204 132 102 30 THE MULE JENNY. 187 From the preceding example, it will appear, that to produce No. CO from a 5^ hank roving, will require a grist pinion with 26 teeth, allowing 5 inches of gaining or mendoza stretch, although the result is only 59^, yet this is as near 60 as can be produced. To find what Grist Pinion to put on the Jennies^ so as to change the size of Yarn, they are presently spinning, to any other given size required. Rule. Multiply the number of teeth in the present grist pinion by the present size of yarn, and divide the product by the size of yarn required. EXAMPLE. If at present spinning No. 60 with a grist pinion containing 28 teeth, what pinion must be put on to produce No. 70 ? Present size, . . . No. 60 Present grist pinion, . . 28 teeth. Size of yarn required, 70)1680(24 pin. required to produce No. 70. 140 280 280 Spinning masters who have occasion to be fre- quently changing the sizes of yarn, may sometimes be at a loss to know the precise quantity of twist that particular numbers will require, unless they have some rule to direct them how to find what twist will suit any given numbers of either weft or warps. There are several rules for finding this, but only two shall be mentioned, which are con- sidered as correct as any that can be given. 188 THE MULE JENNY. Rule 1st. If for warp yarn, allow 25 twists to the inch, or 25 revolutions of the spindle for the inch of yarn of No. 50, and the same for No. 60 wefts. Taking the above for the data upon which to proceed. To find the twists per inch that any given size of yarn will require. Rule 2d. If for warp yarn ; as No. 50 is to the square of 25, so is the given size to the square of the twists per inch which the given size requires. EXAMPLE. How many twists per inch will No. 64 warp yarn require ? As No. 30 : 25 X 25 = 625 : : 64 64 2500 3750 50)40000 Find the square root of . 800(28^ twist per inch required for 4 No. 64 warps. 48)400 384 Rule 3d. If for weft yarn, as No. 60 is to the square of 25, so is the given size to the square of the twists per inch, which the given size of yarn requires. THE MULE JENNY. 189 EXAMPLE. How many twists per inch will No. 80 wefts require ? As No. 60 : 25 X 23 = 625 : : 80 80 60 )50000 Find the square root of 833.33(28.86 twists per inch required 4 for No. 80 wefts. 48)433 8 384 568)4933 8 4544 5766)38933 34596 4337 There is another short and simple rule approved of by some managers for finding the twists per inch, which any given size will require ; which may be shortly stated without exemplifying it. Rule. Multiply the square root of the given size by 3f if for warp yarn, and by 3^ if for wefts ; the result of either will be the twists per inch which the given size of yarn requires. The following Table has been taken from prac- tice, and as a general rule will perhaps be found as good as any ; although from the great variety of the qualities of cotton and the different purposes to which the yarn is applied, the results will not always be found to be correct to a fraction. 190 THE MULE JENNY. TWIST OR WARP YARNS. Nos. Twisis. 40 requires '22^ W inch. 50 — 25 — 60 — 27i — 70 — 30 — 80 — 32i — 90 — 35 — 100 — 371 _ 110 — 40 — Nos. Twists. 120 requires 42^ ^ inch. 130 — 45 — 140 — 471 _ 150 — 50 — 160 — 521 _ 170 _ 55 — 180 — 571 _ 190 — 60 — WEFTS. Nos. Twists. 40 requires 20 ^ inch. 50 — 22J — 60 — 25 — 70 — 27i — 80 — 30 — 90 — 32^ — 100 — 35 — 110 — 374 — Nos. Twists. 120 requires 40 W inch. 130 — 421 140 — 45 — 150 — 471 — 160 — 50 — 170 — 521 180 — 55 — 190 — 571 To find the proper diameter of a Mendoza Pulley that will produce any given mendoza stretch. Rule. Multiply the number of teeth in the men- doza wheel M, ( see Plate III, Fig, 1st and Sd ) by the diameter of the front roller, and divide the pro- duct by the number of teeth in the pinion H on the front roller that drives the mendoza wheel ; from the result thus obtained, subtract the diameter of the mendoza band, and the remainder will be the diameter of a pulley that would make the carriage THE MULE JENNY. 191 recede from the rollers at the same rate as the yarn is given out. Suppose mendoza wheel M contains 112, and the pinion on the front roller that drives it 18 teeth ; diameter of the front roller 1 inch, and mendoza band f : required the diameter of a pulley that would give no mendoza stretch. 112x1 ^-g = 6^ from which subtract the diameter of the mendoza band f — 6J = 5^ diameter of pulley required. Required the diameter of a mendoza pulley P, (see Plate III, Fig, \st and ^d) that would give 5 inches of gaining on a stretch of 56 inches. Rule. Subtract the gaining required from the whole length of the stretch, then, as the remainder is to the full length of the stretch, so is the diameter of the pulley found above to the diameter of a pulley that would give 5 inches of gaining. EXAMPLE. Length of stretch, 56 Gaining required, 5 51 : 56 : : 5| 280 35 51)315(6.17 diameter of pulley (P) required to 306 give 5 inches of gaining on a 90 stretch of 56 inches, 51 390 357 THE MULE JENNY. A very ingenious mendoza pulley has lately been invented, which deserves particular notice. It is made of cast iron, and consists of two parts ; each part forms one side, and when placed together, they appear as one solid pulley, with a very deep groove. One side is fixed on the mendoza shaft, the other is moveable, and may be taken off at pleasure. The two parts are kept together by a screw and nut, and by merely unscrewing the nut, they are opened and the groove widened, so that the band sinks deeper into the groove; but by screwing the nut, the sides are placed closer together, and the band pressed out towards the circumference ; that is, the circumference of the pulley, as it were, admits of variation, and serves all the purposes of a variety of pullies with different diameters for in- creasing or decreasing the gaining of the carriage. By this pulley the gaining can be adjusted with the greatest precision to suit any grist of yarn ; and having experienced its peculiar advantages for spin- ning different numbers, it is recommended, with the greatest confidence ; and certainly if its merits were properly known, it would be more generally adopted. Managers of Spinning Factories do not seem yet to be agreed upon what is the most proper dimen- sions of a mule jenny. Some contend that mules containing from 264 to 28S spindles are the most profitable, because they generally turn off a much greater quantity of yarn, in proportion to their spindles, than those of a larger size ; and besides, they are easier to work or manage, and not so de- structive to the drum and fly bands, having less THE MULE JENNY. 193 weight to drive. Others again suppose, that as all mules, of whatever size, require the same gearing, as well as drums and belts, to move them, the larger the better ; as a Factory filled with mules of a large size will require less power to drive it ; having less gearing, it will require fewer belts, &c. &c. It is proper to remark, however, that large mules are become much more popular than they were some years ago. Several respectable spinners in Eng- land, who have mules containing from 300 to 500 spindles each and upwards, are said to be coupling two of these together with the fly in the middle, and thus forming large mules of from 600 to 1000 spindles out of two ; that is, making two pairs into one ; and instead of being placed across the house, they are set lengthwise ; no house being sufficiently wide to contain mules of such dimen* sions. Various ingenious contrivances have been at- tempted, with a view to enlarge the dimensions of the mule, without enlarging in the same proportion the space which it occupies ; as, for example, it has been tried to have one mule placed right above the other, and adjusted in such a manner, that it required only one operative to attend and manage these double tiered mules ; but however ingenious this contrivance, it was subject to many objections in practice, and therefore was abandoned. Another attempt to connect two pairs of mules together, was found much more practicable than the former. This consisted in placing one right in front of the other, and coupling them together in such a man- ner, that one set of gearing served both ; these are N 194 THE MULE JENNY. generally denominated daggers," and are still used in several Factories, but have never become very popular. And, indeed, neither these, nor several other contrivances which might have been men- tioned, seem to have been possessed of sufficient merit, to attract much notice ; they showed the in- genuity of the inventors, but were found inadequate to their proposed end, viz. to abridge the expense of workmanship, by enabling the operatives to produce a greater quantity of work at a cheaper rate. The common mule, with the fly at the one end, seems to be the most popular of any that has yet been tried ; although the greater part of the man- agers in this country seem to prefer having the fly in the middle for all mule jennies containing 300 spindles and upwards ; this, however, is matter of taste, as there are numbers of mule jennies in Eng- land, containing a much greater number of spindles than these, and having the fly at one end. The benefit supposed to be derived from placing the fly in the middle is, that it saves the rollers and pinions from the great strain to which they are liable when they are all driven from one end, as the first rollers having to move all the others, there is a great weight thrown upon them, and the pinions that drive them ; consequently, when the beam is very long, and containing, perhaps, thirty fifteen-inch rollers, the strain upon the pinions and first rollers is so great, that they soon cut and give way ; but when the motion comes from the centre, the strain on the pinions is equal only to one half the weight of the beam, and therefore the pinions and rollers last much longer, and run smoother. THE MULE JENNY. 195 There is a species of mule, called box organs, frequently used for spinning very fine numbers. They look extremely neat, as the gearing is mostly all concealed, and can be made to occupy rather less space than the common mule ; as that space which, in the common mule, is occupied with the gearing, may, in the organs, be in part occupied with spindles. They also possess all the advantages of mules having the fly in the middle, without being liable to their disadvantages ; for the faller, as well as the carriage, may be all in one piece, without requiring to be coupled together with bolts, coupling wires, &c. These mules, however, are only adapted for very fine numbers, and possess no advantages over the common mule, so far as I am acquainted, except those already mentioned. IMPROVEMENTS ON VARIOUS SPINNING MACHINES. SELF-ACTING iMULE. It is not designed to enumerate all the improvements and new inventions upon Spinning Machines, that have been brought into operation at different pe- riods : only a few of the most important, which are attracting particular attention at the present time shall be noticed, and of these, a general description is all that is intended. Important improvements and ingenious inventions are, at present, in course of trial upon the throstle frame : the mule has also underwent various altera- tions, and attained to great perfection ; but still the grand disideratum was yet unsupplied, viz. a mule to act itself, without the aid of attendants, further than merely to piece broken threads of yarn, and to clean, oil, and keep the machinery in order. At length, however, this has also been accomplished by Mr. Richard Roberts, civil engineer and machine- maker, Manchester. This gentleman has invented that which has puzzled the most intelligent mechanics for these thirty years past. For it is known, that for upwards of twenty-five years, the attention of vari- ous spinners and mechanics in England, Scotland, France, and America, have been occupied with the SELF-ACTING MULE. 197 invention of what is termed self-acting mules. Many have been invented and secured by patents, but few have been found practically efficient. And it is be- lieved that the inventions of the following parties only have been put into operation beyond the pur- poses of mere experiment, viz. the Messrs. Batons of Wiln, in Derbyshire and in France ; Mr. De Jongh of Warrington ; Mr. Roberts and Mr. Knowles of Manchester ; Mr. Buchanan of the Catrine Mills ; Mr. Smith of Deanston, Scotland ; and Dr. Brew- ster of America. Regarding the self-acting mules invented by the Messrs. Batons, it is supposed that not more than twelve of these have been put in operation at Manchester and at Wiln, besides a few in France. Those at the former place did not give satisfaction, and, consequently, were dismantled. A few are said to be partially kept in operation at Wiln, whilst those in France proved a total failure. Mr. De Jongh put about twelve in operation in a Mill at Warrington. He also obtained two patents for his self-acting mule, but, in practice, they were found defective, and were, therefore, abandoned. Mr. Buchanan of the Catrine Mills, has still a few in operation, but their principle has never been disclosed to the public. The self-acting mules invented by Dr. Brewster, are said to be adapted for spinning woollen only, and employed for that purpose on a very limited scale in America, but have not yet been introduced into this country. The first approximation to an entirely successful effort to render mules self-acting, was an invention 198 SELF-ACTING MULE. of Mr. Roberts of Manchester, for which he ob- tained a patent in 1825. One of the principal ob- jects of which, was the mode of governing the faller, in winding the yarn on the spindles in the form of a cope, during the running in of the carriage, by means of an imder or counter faller. The great novelty and ingenuity of which was universally ad- mitted, and proved the main step to the accomplish- ment of that object which had so long been a de- sideratum. Upon the above principle several mules were put in operation, but from various causes were not extensively adopted. Mr. De Jongh took out a third patent in 1827, for improvements on his self-acting mule, and hav- ing made arrangements with Mr. Roberts for the purpose of combining their inventions, about thirty mules were made under this patent for spinning woollen and cotton, which were fitted up with Mr. Roberts' counter faller, an accompaniment neces- sarily required to render Mr. De Jongh's mule in reality self-acting. But these mules, although re- ported to be still in operation, are said not to be giving satisfaction. Mr. Roberts obtained a second patent in 1830, for improvements on his former invention, and by a combination of these under his two patents, has constructed a self-acting mule, which is admitted by all who have had fair opportunities of witnessing its merits, to exceed their most sanguine expectations. Mr. Knowles of Manchester, obtained a patent for a self-acting mule in 1831, but upon the enrol- ment of his specification, it was found he had in- fringed on both of Mr. Roberts' patents, which led SELF-ACTING MULE. 199 to a suit in the Court of Chancery, that terminated in favour of the latter, consequently, the self-acting mule, which is at present attracting so much notice in the trade, and coming into general use, is ex- clusively the invention of Mr. Roberts. Mr. Smith of the Deanston Works, and Mr. Ro- bertson of Crofthead Mill, in Renfrewshire, have both obtained patents for certain improvements on self-acting mules, which they have both combined into one, called the Deanston Self-acting Mule. A few of which have been put in operation, but, as yet, little can be said regarding their merits. It appears to be a very substantial machine, and some- what more simplified than those of Sharp, Roberts Sc Co. ; but in no instance have I heard of them making better work. Indeed, from all the informa- tion I have been able to obtain upon this subject, the latter is more entitled to the notice of the trade than any that has yet been put in operation, espe- cially since the late improvements that have been made on it, by which it is found to give much more satisfaction than those that were first brought into operation. But to attempt any thing like a minute description of any self-acting mule, would be too difficult and laborious a task, owing to their com- plexity, or multiplicity of movements; and, perhaps, no description could be sufficiently plain to be gen- erally understood, unless accompanied with draw- ings for the purpose of reference. The following is therefore but a short descriptive notice of the self- acting mule invented by Mr. Roberts of Manchester. The two great and most formidable difficulties in the way of obtaining a perfect self-acting mule are, 200 SELF-x\CTlNG MULE. first, the invention of a proper combination of me- chanism by which to govern the faller, so as to build the yarn on the spindles in a conical form, and make a neat, firm, and compact cope : and second, to regulate the rotary motion of the spindles, so as to keep the yarn always at a proper degree of ten- sion, according to the gradually varying form and increasing diameter of the cope. Both of these great difficulties have been overcome by the ingenious contrivances of Mr. Roberts, and form the subject of inventions for which he has obtained two patents. The first thing that attracts attention upon seeing Roberts' self-acting mule, is the two fallers ; one of which is denominated the under or counter faller, having the horizontal wire placed beneath the yarn, and about two or three inches from the spindle points. The other faller is in all respects the same as that in the common hand mule. The invention of the counter faller, as already stated, was the first successful effort to the completion of an entirely self-acting mule. The whole machine is driven by means of a belt passing round fast and loose pullies, the same as the common mule ; from these, motion is conveyed to the different parts of the mule by shafts, wheels and pinions, pullies with endless bands. Sec, One of these bands, by passing round a pulley fixed on a rotary shaft connected with the front rollers, causes the carriage to recede from the rollers ; and when the receding carriage has reached its destina- tion, and the full portion of twist has been commu- nicated to the yarn, a cam upon a lateral shaft is brought to act against a lever, so as to move side- ways, and shift the driving belt from the fast, on to SELF-ACTING MULE. 201 the loose pullies, upon which the spindles stand still, until another movement immediately brings a clutch-box to act upon a part of the machinery, which turns them the reverse way, in order to un- coil the yarn from the top of the spindles; and while the yarn is being backed off the spindles, the counter faller rises ; at the same time, the other faller that builds the yarn on the copes is depressed ; and the wires of the two acting upon the yarn in opposite directions, effectually regulates its tension so as to prevent it from slacking or collecting into snarls : and during the running in of the carriage, while the yarn is winding on the copes, the wires of the fallers gradually approximate to the same level, until the counter faller is depressed down to its proper position, where it rests until another stretch has been completed. The faller that builds the yarn on the cope, is brought down at the time the backing offtakes place, by means of compound levers acted upon by rotary cams ; and as the horizontal wire of the faller directs the laying on of the yarn, its movements are deter- mined by a lever and friction roller running along a kind of inclined plane, called the shaper; which acts differently upon the lever, and by means of it, upon the faller^ at every successive stretch, and causes it to regulate the laying of the yarn upon the copes, in that particular form which the shaper directs. These contrivances govern the faller, when build- ing the yarn on the spindles, so perfectly, as to form a cope uniformly neat, firm, and compact, and which cannot be excelled by the hand of the most skilful and attentive workman. 202 SELF-ACTING MULE. The mechanism by means of which the rotary motion of the spindles is regulated during the run- ning in of the carriage, so as to suit the gradually varying form and increasing diameter of the cope, is equally as ingenious as the above. It is accom- plished by a small drum or barrel, placed at the end of the carriage next to the head-stock: two cords are fixed with their one end to this drum, and coiled round it in opposite directions, so that when one is coiling on, the other is winding off. The one cord ']f)asses over a carrier pulley at the back part of the machine, and has a weight suspended from its ex- tremity, which acts as a counterbalance to the op- posite cord : the weight causes the cord to which it is attached, to uncoil off the drum as the carriage recedes from the rollers, while at the same time the other cord is coiling on. The drum is also con- nected with teethed wheels, which come into gear with that part of the machinery that moves the spindles, exactly while the yarn is being backed off, after having received its full portion of twist. The cord which causes the winding-on drum to revolve during the running in of the carriage, has its one extremity attached to a radial arm of a quadrant, which describes an arc, whilst the winding-on drum is receding from the point of attachment in a straight line ; and as the carriage recedes, the cord is un- coiled, by which the drum revolves, and with it the spindles ; the amount of rotation communicated to the spindles, is regulated by the length of cord to be uncoiled : and suppose the rotation of the spindles to be adjusted, so as just to wind on the first stretch of yarn on the bare spindles ; as the diameter of the SELF-ACTING MULE. 205 cope increases by each succeding layer, fewer revo- lutions will be requisite to effect the wincling-on of the constant length ; therefore the whole quantity of motion imparted to the spindles during a run in, must undergo progressive diminution so long as the cope is increasing, which goes on until the bottom is formed: this decrease of motion in the spindles is obtained by lessening the quantity of cord to be un- coiled from the winding-on drum. To effect which, point of the radial arm to which the uncoiled cord is attached, progressively changes as the increasing bulk of the cope requires fewer revolutions of the spindles, to take up the length of yarn produced at each successive stretch. Such, then, is a brief description of this impor- tant machine, which, perhaps, is not sufficiently clear to be generally understood, as its vast multi- plicity of different movements renders it extremely complex and difficult to give any thing like an intel- ligible description of it. But its leading features are, 1st, The levers and their appendages, which depress the faller that guides the yarn on to the copes, and raises the counter-fall er in backing off. 2d, A method of regulating the movements of the faller, and forming the cope to its required shape, by the assistance of friction rollers and an inclined plane. 3d, Changing or reversing the motions of twisting and backing off, as the different parts of the operation are required to be brought into action. 4th, Regulating the coiling or winding of the yarn upon the copes, according to their gradually in- creasing diameter, by uncoiling a cord from a drum or barrel, which turns the spindles. The amount g04 SELF-ACTING MULE. of rotation imparted to the spindles, is adjusted by the length of cord to be uncoiled from the winding- on drum. The self-acting mule described above, is necessarily- complex; but, perhaps, it is one of the most beautiful specimens of mechanical combination that is to be found; exhibiting a rare degree of original inven- tion, highly creditable to the ingenuity and perse- verance of the inventor; whilst, at the same time, it furnishes an illustrious example of the wonderful perfection to which machinery has attained in our manufacturing processes. But whether, after a few years trial, it will be found practically efficient, re- mains to be proven : meantime, however, it seems to be coming into very general use, both in England and Scotland. For although but a short time since its completion, there are now self-acting mules in operation to the extent of 100,000 spindles, and orders to the amount of 120,000 more are just now (June 1833) in course of execiition. One ma- terial advantage of Mr. Roberts' inventions is, that the common hand mule can easily be made self- acting at a small expense, requiring only the self- acting head-stock and counter faller. Regarding the quantity of yarn produced in a given time by the self-acting mule, the following statements have been received from various places in England, where they have been in operation for a considerable time. Produce per spindle of medium qualities of yarn, in twelve working hours, including casual stoppages for doffing, &c. &c. SELF-ACTING MULE. 205 Nos. of Yarn. Twist. V/eft. 16 . . . . 4J hanks 4^ hanks. 24 H 4f 32 .... 4 4f 40 3J . 4J The produce of the intermediate numbers are proportionate to the above. None of the self-acting mules that have been tried in Scotland have, as yet, been able to produce the quantities given in the above statement; neither is the quality of their pro- duce equal to specimens that have been sent from different parts in England, where they are in full operation ; but this is to be expected ; as when our overseers become better acquainted with their prin- ciples, and the method of adjusting them, it is pro- bable they will make considerable improvements in both the quantity and quality of the work pro- duced. The numbers of the yarn chiefly spun upon the self-acting mule are, at present, from No. 10 to No. 50 ; but a mule, with considerable improve- ments, is nearly completed, which is expected to be capable of spinning any numbers that can be pro- duced from the common hand mule. In the early introduction of the self-acting mules, doubts were entertained regarding the relative quan- tum of power required to drive them, and their tear and wear, as compared with the hand mule. But from the experience of some eminent spinners, and others who have made experiments on the same, it appears that the extra power required, in cases of an equal number of spindles and speed, does not ex- ceed five per cent. And with respect to the addi- 206 SELF-ACTING MULE. tional tear and wear, it is the confident opinion of those who have had best opportunities of ascertain- ing the fact, that an extra mechanic, together with an overlooker to every twenty or thirty pairs of mules, will be an ample allowance for repairing and keeping them in working order, whilst the expense of material will be but trivial. It is unnecessary here to specify the advantages and disadvantages that may be expected to arise from the introduction of self-acting mules, in place of those now generally used; these, upon reflection, may be very obvious to every person. Meantime, however, the long acknowledged desideratum has at length been supplied by the ingenious inventions referred to in the preceding pages, and its results will very soon be ascertained. Since the preceding was written, (June 1833) the self-acting mule of Sharp, Roberts & Co. has, at the suggestion of several practical spinners, under- gone considerable alterations ; in particular, those connected with drawing out the carriage, and giving any required gain on the rollers, backing off the spindles, and the mechanism for communicating motion from the cam shaft, to the movements for taking in the carriage. None of these, however, aifect those parts of the invention for which the patents were granted, but consist of general modi- fications tending to simplify and render the mule more easy to manage. And since it has been so extensively adopted, and its management better understood, its produce per spindle has gradually increased. In many Mills, from 23 to 24 hanks of twist. No. 36, and from 26 to 28 hanks of weft, are SELF-ACTING MULE. produced in one week ; in some cases, indeed, those quantities are exceeded. This mule has also been successfully employed for spinning yarn of higher numbers, than was the case in the early stage of its introduction, viz. from No. 60 to No. 100, or up- wards, for which purpose a simple and effective apparatus for giving any required quantity of second or after draft has been introduced. With the exception of a temporary check during the latter part of 1834, and the early part of 1835, (owing to the highly favourable reports then cir- culated respecting self-acting mules being in the course of construction in Scotland) the demand for those of Messrs. Sharp, Roberts Sc Co. has been steadily increasing, being, at this time, (April 1836) I am credibly informed, used in nearly 100 Mills, and to the extent of 400,000 spindles or upwards, besides which, the patentees have very extensive orders in course of execution. A considerable impulse has recently been given to a more general adoption of these mules, in con- sequence of an extensive export of yarn in the pirn or shuttle copes, instead of in the bundle. And the degree of firmness with which copes are constructed by the self-acting mule, renders it peculiarly adapted for this branch of trade, which is likely to be an increasing one. During a recent visit to Lancashire, I had an opportunity of seeing these mules in operation in a number of Mills ; in all of which they seemed to be doing well. And from the inquiries I made at these places, I found that the various and great advantages of these most important machines, were generally SELF-ACTING MULE. admitted, as well by proprietors in whose Mills tliey were used, as by others engaged in their superin- tendence. Modified and improved as they now are, the rapid extension of these self-acting mules seems to be no longer a matter of doubt. The self-acting mules introduced by Mr. Smith of Deanston, are but yet in their infancy ; it would, therefore, be unfair to say any thing regarding their merits, until further trial ; perhaps, if once they are better understood, they will be more successful : meantime, however, those of Sharp, Roberts & Co. have got greatly the start of them, as having been longer in operation. But judging impartially, and entirely as a practical spinner, it occurs to me, that those invented by the latter approach much nearer the mode of hand spinning than the former. DANFORTH THROSTLE. At page 173 it was observed, that the flyer being fixed on the top of the spindle, and having nothing to keep it steady, its weight caused the spindle to vibrate, (when revolving with too great rapidity) to such a degree, as would either throw off the flyer, or destroy the spindle; and therefore the frame could not with safety be driven above a certain speed, which prevented it from producing that quantity of yarn in a given time, of which it is otherwise capa- ble. This circumstance having attracted the atten- tion of some mechanics in America, led them to the trial of various experiments, with a view to obviate DANFORTH THROSTLE. ^09 this vibratory tendency of the spindle, and allow it to be driven at a higher speed than had formerly been found practicable, which have issued in certain inventions of a most important nature, and are at present attracting particular notice amongst the pro- prietors of Spinning Factories in this country. The first of these inventions that claims our no- tice, is the one generally denominated the Danforth Throstle, being the invention of an ingenious me- chanic in America, of the name of Danforth. It consists of a stationary spindle, A A, see Plate X. Fig* 3d) which, instead of a flyer, has a circular polished cone, or cape, B, suspended from the top. The wharve a is fitted loosely on the spindle, and resting on the traverse rail C C, similar to the roving fly frame. The bobbin also rests upon the wharve, and is carried rapidly round with it, and thereby twists the yarn as it descends from the rol- lers. A tin case, called the guard, is fixed behind the cones, and constructed so as to form a kind of recess for each, with a vacant space of about one- half inch between them ; and the thread while twisting, is thrown out by the centrifugal force of the bobbin, and passing through this space between the cone and the guard, is retarded by atmospheric resistance, aided by the slight friction against the guard and the bottom of the cone, which (retarda- tion) causes it to lap up or wind on the bobbin, whilst both wharve and bobbin, by means of the traverse rail, ascends and descends by a uniform alternate motion ; meanwhile the rim or edge of the cone directs the yarn on to the bobbin, and causes it to fill equally from end to end. o 210 DANFORTH THROSTLE. The yarn is brought through an eye the same as in the common throstle, to prevent it from vibrating; but being thrown out by the centrifugal force of the bobbin when revolving rapidly, forms a considerable arch between the eye and the bottom of the cone : and as soon as the motion of the bobbin ceases, the thread slackens, and collects into a long snarl, which cannot again be removed by any operation of the machine itself, and must therefore ever be regarded as an insuperable objection to it; besides being thus thrown out by the centrifugal force of the bobbin, the thread is always at a considerable angle to the eye, which tends to start the fibres of the cotton, and make a rough woolly thread, suitable enough for wefts, but not so well adapted for warp yarn. In other respects, however, this is a very ingenious machine, exhibiting a good deal of original inven- tion, and capable of producing a much greater quan- tity of yarn in a given time, than any other spinning machine that has ever been tried on an extensive scale in this country : and were it not for the objec- tions mentioned above, it might, by this time, have been more generally adopted. To an on-looker, they appear to work in a satisfactory manner, but the general opinion in this country seems to be against them; and it is likely they will not be adopted on an extensive scale, without undergoing some very mate- rial alterations. The invention is secured in the dif- ferent European States by patents ; that for England is in the name of John Hutchison, Esq., Liverpool. The yarn produced from the Danforth throstle being very rough and woolly, may be greatly im- proved by the following process at the winding ma- GLASGOW PATENT THROSTLE. 211 chine, viz. Boil a quantity of lintseed in water for the space of 12 or 14 hours, or until the water ac- quires nearly the consistency of oil: pour this liquid into a copper trough or box, mounted on the wind- ing machine, parallel with the skewers on which the copes are placed. The box extends from end to end of the machine, with a copper roller about 2^ inches in diameter, placed into this box so, that J or ^ of its surface may be always immersed in the liquid. The yarn, as it descends to the bobbin, is made to pass over the roller, which revolves with a slow mo- tion, and the glutinous liquid that adheres to its sur- face, tends to lay the fibres of the thread, and make it more smooth and wiry, by which it is found to dress and weave much better than it could possibly do without this process. GLASGOW PATENT THROSTLE. Since the introduction of the Danforth Throstle into this country, Robert Montgomery, Esq., Johnstone, has taken out a patent for a throstle frame, which is looked to with considerable interest by the cotton spinners, and from the opinion expressed by some of those who have had fair opportunities of proving its merits, it appears very likely to become an import- ant and valuable machine. The merits of the prin- ciple of this improvement, as that of Danforth, we must in candour yield to our persevering rivals, the Americans, as from, one of these gentlemen Mr. Montgomery received the first notice of it. But the ^1^2 GLASGOW PATENT THROSTLE. important additions, which have since been made to this machine, we claim for our own countrymen, which not only obviate the defects of the Danforth throstle, in producing a much better quality of yarn, than it has as yet given, but from present appear- ances, these improvements promise other and im- portant advantages, particularly the application of the principle to the roving or fly frames. This ma- chine being but newly introduced, and not having yet been tried on an extensive scale, all that is con- sidered necessary is to give a general outline de- scription of it, and to point out its produce so far as can be ascertained by actual experiment. This im- provement, like the Danforth, consists of a station- ary spindle, with a flyer acting with great velocity. ( See Plate X, Fig, ^tli,) The flyer is not, as is the case in the old throstle, fixed on the top, — but the legs B B descend so low as the wharves, and are there rivetted into a plate, C C, which, at the same time, forms the wharve below it, — being by this means carried rapidly round, whilst the bobbin, at the same time, remains at rest; not, however, upon the wharve, as in the Danforth, but on the small iron plate which is fixed to the spindle, and re- tarded from revolving so fast as the flyer by wash- ers, in the same manner as the old throstle. The thread drags round the bobbin after the flyer, wind- ing on the yarn with a speed equal to the velocity of the acting circumference of the front rollers. On the top of the flyer is placed a small funnel A, guided by a collar attached to the framing, to keep it steady and prevent vibration, to which there is a great tendency, owing to the rapidity of the move- GLASGOW PATENT THROSTLE. 213 ment. The yarn passing through the funnel at the top, descends to the eye a, fixed to the leg of the flyer, from which it is conveyed to another eye that winds it on the bobbin. The foot of the spindle is fixed to the traverse rail D D, and passing through the rail E E, a little above the centre ; which, al- though it has no motion, tends to steady the spindle, and serves as a bearer or rest to the wharve, when the spindle, ascending and descending with a regular motion, thus raising and depressing the bobbin, it becomes uniformly filled from end to end ; and this is attained by means of a heart or cone, with cranks and levers acting on the traverse rail. By this simple and very ingenious contrivance, the flyer may be driven with the greatest safety, at the speed of 6000 revolutions per minute, whilst the old throstle seldom, if ever, exceeds 4000, By another ingenious improvement, the yarn, in place of being wound upon a bobbin, is built on the spin- dle, in the form of a cope, as in the mule, see Fig. 5t7i, This improvement has various contrivances not required in the former operation ; for by the first, the spindle is stationary, ascending and de- scending with a uniform motion, whilst the bobbin is dragged round by the velocity of the flyer ; but in this case there is no bobbin : thus the spindle, in- stead of being stationary, is now dragged round after the flyer, with a speed equal to the difl*erence be- tween the velocity of the flyer and the acting cir- cumference of the front roller ; and instead of the uniform motion, as required in the former, in this it ascends and descends by a graduated motion, ter- minating in a short space as the cope finishes. In S14i GLASGOW PATENT THROSTLE. the former, the motion of the bobhin is retarded by washers ; in the latter, the spindle is retarded by the flyer, or balance A, at the bottom. The above is only a general description of this machine, and considered all that is necessary, as it will easily be perceived, that the principal difference between the common throstle and it, lies entirely in the form of the flyer: in the former, the flyer is fixed on the top of the spindle, and revolves with it ; in the latter, the two legs or horns of the flyer are fixed in the plate C C, and revolves with the wharve, while the top runs in a collar that keeps it steady, and prevents it from vibrating. This is the whole improvement for which the patent has been taken out, and so far as experiment can prove, it gives complete satisfaction. The quality of the yarn produced from it, is equal to any that can be pro- duced from the common throstle, whilst it far ex- ceeds the latter regarding the quantity produced in a given time ; but the following tables and calcula- tions, will more distinctly show the produce of the difl*erent machines from which their relative merits can more easily be ascertained. CALCULATIONS OF THE PRODUCE OF VARIOUS SPINNING MACHINES. COMMON HAND MULE. The Mule, upon an average, when spinning No. 36, performs 2^ stretches per minute, including all casual stoppages, except what may occur from acci- dental breakages, &c. Suppose the length of each stretch to be 56 inches, and working nine hours on Saturday, and twelve hours each of the other five days, equal to 69 working hours per week. Required the number of hanks produced from each spindle weekly ? Rule. Reduce the working hours in one week to minutes. Multiply the product by the length of the stretch, and the stretches per minute; the result will be the length of yarn in inches produced in one week, which being divided by the inches in one hank, gives the hanks produced from each spindle per week. 216 CALCULATIONS OF THE PRODUCE OF EXAMPLE. Working hours in a week, Minutes in an hour, Length of stretch, . . 69 60 4140 56 Stretches per minute, 24840 20700 231840 : n 463680 115920 Circumference of reel, 54 inches. Threads in a lea or cut, 80 Leas in a hank, 4320 . 7 30240 inches, in one hank. Inches in a hank, 30240)579600(19.16 hanks produced from each 30240 spindle per week. 277200 272160 50400 30240 201600 181440 20160 COMMON THROSTLE FRAME. The front roller of the Common Throstle revolves about 54 times per minute when spinning No. 36, and may be supposed to lose about thirty minutes each day, or three hours per week, for doffing. Required the number of hanks produced from each spindle per week of 69 working hours ? Rule. Multiply the revolutions of the front rol- ler per minute by its circumference, and the product by the working hours in a week, deducting three VARIOUS SPINNING MACHINES. hours for time lost in doffing. Reduce the last pro- duct to minutes, and divide by the inches in a hank; the result thus obtained will be the hanks produced from each spindle per week. EXAMPLE. Revolutions of tlie front roller per minute, . 54 Circumference of do. do. . . 3^ 162 8_ 170 Working hours in a week, less three for doffing, 66 1020 1020 11220 Minutes in an hour, 60 Inches in one hank, .... 3024|0)67320|0(22.26 hanks pro- 6048 duced from each 6840 spindle ^ weeko 6048 7920 6048 18720 18144 576 GLASGOW PATENT THROSTLE. The front roller of this Throstle revolves 91 times per minute when spinning No. 36, and loses about 45 minutes each day, or four hours per week, for doffing. Required its produce per week of 69 working hours ? 218 CALCULATIONS OF THE PRODUCE OF EXAMPLE. Revolutions of the front roller per minute, . 91 Circumference of do. do. . . 31 273 13 286 Working hours in a week, less four for doffing, 65 1430 1716 18590 Minutes in an hour, 60 Inches in one hank, . . . 3024|0)111540|0(36.88 hanks pro- 9072 duced from each "20820 spindle W week. 18144 26760 24192 25680 24192 1488 DANFORTH THROSTLE. The front roller of the Dan forth Throstle revolves about 88 times per minute when spinning No. 36, and loses 45 minutes per day for doffing. Required its produce per week of 69 working hours ? EXAMPLE. 88 X 3f X 65 X 60 -f- 30240 = 35.59 hanks produced from each spindle per week. VARIOUS SPINNING MACHINES. 219 H «5 ^101 O CO 1— < GO O CO CO CO CO * 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 HRO 59 JO ?[3aAv aad aDnpoi j CO (M o © © [■ENT T Suiaq anoq ^ 'sanoq I> 1 Ol|tO CO 1 CO 1 CO 1 CO 1 1 1 PAI JO iCep aad aonpojj to O o O O o © © (kSGOW ua^o^ ?uojj aq; jo ainuiui jad suoprqoAa^ 001 CO CO QO GQ 00 h3 0 o CO CO CO O © •Sugjop aoj paAvo^^B CO CO © GO CO CO CO Gvi H g Suiaq sjnoq [aaAv jad aonpoj^j rH o o © © HRO •SuLyop joj paAVo^G CO CO CO 70RTH T Suiaq anoq f *sanoq ^t^; JO Xbp jad aonpojj CO <5 1 O 1 o 1 o 1 O 1 o 1 © 1 © DANI Majp'g^ ^uojj aqj jo a^nuim jad suojjnjOAa^ o o l-H CO as G^l 00 00 GO CO © •ujBjt JO -sojsc o o CO CO o © •Suxjjop aoj paMOj^B to -Iw CO G^ G^J o G^J OS r— 1 COlO) GO r-H H H Suiaq sanoq g 'sjnoq 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 99 JO >[aaM aad oonpoj^j CO o o O o © © THROS •SuinOD aoi DaAVOITB CO CO 00 CO Suiaq anoq f 'sinoq 1 1 I 1 1 1 1 z o Y^y JO Xep jad aanpojj O © o o o © © o o * -janoj ;uojj aq^ JO ajnuiux jad suopn^oAa-jj CO o CO »o QO CO •UJV^ JO -so^ o o CO CD CO o © CALCULATIONS OF THE PRODUCE OF SPINNING, No. 20. One spindle of the common mule produces 22 hanks per week of 69 working hours, or nearly 4 hanks per day, and costs one penny per pound for spinning. 500 spindles require one horse power. One spindle of Roberts' self-acting mule produces 24 hanks per week of 69 working hours, or 4 hanks per day, and supposed to cost f d. per pound for spinning. 475 spindles require one horse power. One spindle of the common throstle produces 26 1 hanks per week of 69 working hours, or nearly 4J hanks per day, and costs |d. per pound for spinning. 300 spindles require one horse power. 200 do. one piecer. One spindle of the Danforth throstle produces 41 hanks per week of 69 working hours, or about 7 hanks per day, and costs about f d. per pound for spinning. 290 spindles supposed to require one horse power. 200 do. do. one piecer. One spindle of the Glasgow patent throstle produces 41 hanks per week of 69 working hours, or about 7 hanks per day, and costs Jd. per pound for spinning. 285 spindles supposed to require one horse power. 200 do. do. one piecer. Mr. Gore's improved throstle is said to produce 6 hanks per spindle per day, or 36 hanks per week, and requires the same power and piecing as the common throstle. VARIOUS SPINNING MACHINES. 221 The Glasgow Patent Throstle has now been tried on an extensive scale, but has not come up to the expectations entertained regarding it when first in- troduced. It no doubt admits of being driven at such a speed as to produce the quantities of yarn stated in the preceding pages: but it requires a great excess of power to drive them, besides, they con- sume a much greater proportion of oil and banding, &c. than the common throstle. The latter also oc- cupies rather less room, and requires fewer hands to attend them, than is necessary for the former; so that yarn can be produced as cheap from the com- mon throstle as from the Glasgow Patent, it there- fore possesses no advantage whatever over the com- mon throstle : indeed, the advantage is rather in favour of the latter, at least in as far as regards their price ; the Glasgow Patent Throstle being sold at 13/6 per spindle, whilst the other costs only from 10/ to 10/6. Considerable improvements must therefore be made upon the Patent Throstle before they supersede those already in use. The Danforth Throstle has undergone some im- provements, and is now more extensively adopted than was at first anticipated. It is seldom used for any numbers above 30, as its advantages decrease when used for higher numbers. Mr. Gore's improvement on the throstle frame, is reported to be very popular about Manchester, and found to be particularly adapted to the purpose for which it is designed, viz. to steady the spindle and prevent vibration, to which it has a great tendency when driven at a high speed. This, Mr. Gore has accomplished by a very simple contrivance, and I CALCULATIONS OF THE PRODUCE OF have no doubt but his improved throstle spindle will be very generally adopted. Mr. Shanks' throstle, though a very ingenious contrivance, has not yet been adopted by any other spinner, so far as I have heard. There are various other improvements on the throstle in course of trial, to which it is unneces- sary here to advert. It is believed that those men- tioned above are the most important that have yet been made known to the public. The important improvements and new inventions described in the preceding pages w^ill, doubtless, be attended with the most important results to the cot- ton manufacture. It will introduce facilities into the process of spinning that will enable our manufac- turers to bring a cheaper article to the market, and compete more successfully with foreign spinners. The ultimate effects of which will be to promote the general good, by extending our trade, and fur- nishing a greater demand for labour and capital. Hence these improvements ought to be regarded with feelings of satisfaction by all, but especially by the working classes, as they tend to benefit them more than any other class of the community, both by providing employment, and cheap, healthful, and comfortable clothing, &c. VARIOUS SPINNING MACHINES. 223 THE RING THROSTLE. A Throstle under the above title has been recently introduced from America, the principal novel fea- ture of which, is a substitute for the flyer and heavy spindle of the common throstle, and for the cone or cape, and the barrel tube of the Danforth throstle. This throstle consists of a flat thin ring, of the form of a washer, with a hole in it large enough for the bobbin to pass freely through. This is fixed on a rail, so that one ring shall be centrically over each spindle, on the inner edge of which ring is formed a small bead. A small spiral loop made of spring steel, somewhat of the form of a twisted letter C, is placed on the inner edge of the ring ; and as the points of the loop are less distant than the diameter of the bead, they are opened so as to pass over it ; and then by its collapse, the loop is prevented from repassing over the bead, but does not press so hard on the flat part of the ring as to prevent it from revolving freely round its inner edge. The spindle is short and light, and revolves as in the common throstle, with a fixed wharve on it, upon which the bobbin rests, and is secured so as to revolve with it. In the process of spinning, the yarn, as it descends from the drawing-rollers to be wound on the bob- bins, is passed through the spiral loop, which is car- ried rapidly round the inner edge of the ring by the action of the yarn, as it is being wound on the bob- bin ; the loop thus acting as a flyer, is opposed by friction and atmospheric resistance, to such a de- CALCULATIONS OF THE PRODUCE, &C. gree, as to produce what is termed the drag," and causes the yarn to be wound firmly on the bobbin. This throstle admits of being driven at a higher speed than either the Danforth or common throstle; and owing to the lightness of the spindle, requires much less power to move it than any other throstle that has yet been introduced. It has, indeed, but recently been completed, and is as yet only intro- duced into a few Mills; but its operations, and qua- lity of the yarn produced, are highly spoken of; and it is said to be capable of spinning yarns as high as No. 80, of excellent quality. The speed recom- mended by those who have made trial of it, is from 110 to 120 revolutions of the front roller of one inch diameter, for spinning No. 20; and even this, though not recommended, is sometimes exceeded. Though the ring throstle and eclipse roving frame, have both been introduced from America, it is but justice to the skill of British mechanics to state, that, when first introduced, they were by no means in a state fit for practical operation in this country, and that both machines had to undergo several important modifications, which were essen- tially necessary to render them practically useful. This remark will, indeed, apply to almost every in- vention imported, or communicated, from any other country whatever. MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. The following calculations have been reserved for a separate article, being cbiefly of a general nature. They are wholly taken from practice, and are use- ful in as far as they exemplify the principles upon which to proceed in similar cases : it is obvious, however, that many things will occur in practice, requiring calculation, which cannot be embraced in this treatise, therefore, the following are only a few examples out of many that might have been given. With respect to the first, viz. the method of cal^ culating the prices of yarn ; the utility, nay, the necessity for every manager of a Cotton Spinning Factory having a correct method of ascertaining the cost of every pound of yarn made under his charge, both the price of the mixture, and the expense of workmanship, is surely so apparent, as to require no further demonstration. The difference between the cost price (viz. the price of material and expense of workmanship) and the selling price, is the nett profit gained upon the pound, and therefore the manager should know this in order to ascertain whether the proprietors are gaining or losing by their establishment. The other calculations con- tained in this article, are sometimes useful in prac- tice, especially when making changes in the qualities of the yarn ; in which cases it will often save much time and trouble, to be expert in performing any calculations that may be required. 226 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. PROBLEM L CALCULATIONS OF THE PRICES OF YARN. To find the cost of one pound of Yarn from the whole produce in any given time, suppose 12 days. Rule. Add together the whole expense of work- manship, and the amount of all the incidental charges, such as interest, insurance, feu duties, coals, oil, banding, leather, paper, &c. &c. Reduce the whole sum to pence, and divide by the lbs, produced. Reduce the remainder, if any, to l6ths, and divide again by the lbs. produced ; the result thus obtained, will be the cost of one lb. in pence and l6ths of a penny. EXAMPLE L Suppose the quantity produced in 12 days to be 13,736 lbs. equal to 45,440 spyndles, and the ex- pense of workmanship as follows : In picking-room department, £5 10 6 Carding do 41 14 8 Spinning and stretching, 177 10 4 Ware-room and reeling department, 37 6 3 Mechanics, 8 17 0 Sweeper, Porter, and others, 114 0 Overseers, &c 2 18 0 Expense of workmanship, £275 10 9 Incidental charges for 12 days, suppose, 140 0 0 £415 10 9 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. £415 10 9 20 8310 12 Produced in 12 days, 13736 lbs.)99729(7^d. cost of 1 lb. of vain, 96152 3577 16 21462 3577 13736)57232(y% 54944 2288 The above operation shows the nett cost of one lb. of such yarn to be 7Tcd. nearly. To find the cost of one pound of Yarn, including the price of the raw material. Rule. Find how many ounces of cotton are re- quired to make one pound of yarn. And if two or more kinds of cotton are to be mixed together, find the proportion of each, its price, and likewise the price of the compound, add it to the former result, and this will give the full cost of one lb. of yarn including the raw material. To find the price of any compound mixture. Rule. Find the proportion of ounces of each kind of cotton in the mixture, and their price per lb. which reduce to l6ths. Then, as one lb. is to the price of one lb. so is the proportion of ounces of each kind of cotton in the compound (separately) to its price : and having found the price of each kind of cotton according to its proportion in the 228 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. mixture, then add these together, and their sum to the expense of workmanship ; the result will be the cost of one lb. of yarn, including material. EXAMPLE IL Suppose it takes 19 oz. of cotton to make one pound of yarn, the yarn No. 60, and the mixture 17 oz. of Orleans, at 6fd., and two oz. of Pernam- buco, at 8|d. Reduce 6|d. to 16ths thus, 6|d. oz. 1 6 oz. Then, ... as 16 : 106 : : 17 17 742 106 leths. 16)1802(112.62 price of 17 oz. of Orleans. 16 20 16 42 32 100 96 40 32 8 Reduce 8|d. to 16ths tbus 8| oz. 1 6 oz. Then, . . . as 16 rlio : : 2 ^ leths. 16)280(17.5 price of 2 oz. of Pernambuco. 16 120 112 80 80 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. 229 Add these together, viz. leths. 17 oz. of Orleans, @ 6fd. r lb. = 112.62 2 oz. Pernambuco, @ 8|d. r lb. = 17.50 Price of the mixture, .... 130.12i6ths. Which is equal to 8y%d. And added to the expense of work- manship, viz. 7j%d. + 8y%d. = \5j%(\. r lb. To find the average number or size of the yarn, having the quantity given and the number of spyndles produced therefrom. Rule. Heduce the spyndles to hanks, and divide by the number of pounds. EXAMPLE III. Suppose the lbs. produced to be 13736, equal to 45440 spyndles. Spyndles produced, 45440 Hanks in a Spyndle, 18 363520 45440 Lbs. produced, 13736)8 17920(59 J average number or size. 68680 131120 123624 7496 To find the cost of each number or size in the whole range of Spinning, say from 50 to 80. Rule. Divide the number of hanks produced in all by each number separately, and take the quo- tients for the lbs. produced, and divide the expense of workmanship by it, and the quotient arising from 230 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. this operation will be the cost of each number re- spectively. Or by another and better method : Find first the number of hanks produced in all, and divide it by the two extremes, or by the highest and lowest numbers separately, and divide the whole expense of workmanship by each of the quotients ; the re- sults arising from this operation, will be the cost of each of these numbers, that is, the highest and low- est in the whole range of spinning, which was sup- posed to be 50 and 80. Having found the cost of the two extremes, subtract the lowest from the highest, and let their difference be equally divided amongst all the intermediate numbers. EXAMPLE IV. The hanks produced are 817920, (see Example III.) divide these by 50 and by 80, which were supposed to be the two extremes, and each of the quotients will be the lbs. produced, supposing the whole spinning to have been either of these num- bers : — Divide the expense of workmanship by the number of lbs. Size. Hanks. 5|0 )81792|0 16338 lbs. produced, supposing the whole spinning to have been No. 50. Size. Hanks. 8|0 )81792|0 10224 lbs. produced, supposing the whole spinning to have been No. 80. MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. 231 Expense of workmanship in pence, 99729d. (see Example I.) Lbs. produced of No. 30, 1 6338)99729(6^^ cost of one lb. of No. 50. 98148 1381 16 9486 1381 16338)23296(yV 16358 8938 Lbs. produced of No. 80, 10224)99729(9|f cost of one lb. of No. 80. 92016 7713 16 46278 7713 10224)123408(11 122688 720 From cost of 80=9|fd. Take cost of 30=6y'^d. The difference is 3J-id. which being divided by 14, the number of intermediate Nos. gives Therefore let the cost of each intermediate No. or size advance by ^^d. thus : No. 50 52 54 _56_ _58_ _60_ _62_ _64_ coste^Vd. 6Ad. 6^. 6|fd. 7^1. 7^. 7^. TJfd. No. 66 68 _70_ 72 _74_ _76_ 78 80 costSJ^. 8^. 8^%d. 8||d. 9^^. 9Ad. 9^. 9lfd. The cost of the material added to each will show the nett cost of yarn. To find the cost of Yarn produced from a single system in any given time. Rule. Find how many feet of carding are in the whole Mill by measuring the length of all the 232 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. finisher doffing cylinders; and again, how many feet of carding are in each system ; then find the expense of those departments which are common to all the systems, and take the proportion of that expense according to the proportion which the number of feet in the system bears to the number of feet of carding in the whole mill, and likewise the same proportion of the incidental charges, add them to- gether with the wages paid to the hands employed in the system, and proceed as formerly. EXAMPLE V. Suppose 120 feet of carding in the whole mill, 30 feet in each system, and 12 pairs of jennies spinning 3168 lbs. of No. 64 warp yarn in 12 days. Picking-room, 3 hands, @ 14/ ^ 12 days, Do. 1 do. @ 9/ do. Do. 1 do. @ 18/ do. Feet. Then, as 120 feet of carding : £3.9 : : 30 : 17/3 20 69 30 120)2070(17/3 120 870 840 30 12 120)360(3 Carried forward^ £2 2 0 0 9 0 0 18 0 £3 9 0 £0 17 3 £0 17 3 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. 233 Brought forward, - - - £0 17 3 One spreader who spreads for 50 feet @ 14/ 12 days. As 50 feet : 14/ : : 30 feet : 8/5 0 8 5 1 hand @ 4/, and card feeder-breakers 6/ - -- 010 0 1 do. do. finisher ----070 2 do. first drawer @ 8/6 0 17 0 2 do. second do. @ 10/ ^ 10 0 1 do. slabbing frame, - 090 2 toppers @ 14/ 18 0 1 hand, lapping machine, - -- -- -- - 0120 2 sharpers, one @ 8/ and one @ 14/ - -- --120 Carding master 200 3 stretchers @ 21/ 330 Spinning 3168 lbs. @ 3id. 42 18 0 Reeling @ 1/ for 50 spindles - -- -- --1153 Mechanics @ f 12 ^ 12 days. As 120 feet of carding : £1 2 :: 30 feet of carding : £3. 3 0 0 30 120)360(3 360 Overseer @ £4 ^ 12 days. As 120 feet of carding : £4 : : 30 feet of carding : £1. 10 0 Wareroom hands, 3 @ 14/ = £2 2 0 Do. do. 1 @ 12/ = 0 12 0 Do. do. 2 @ 7/ = 0 14 0 £3 8 0 As 120 feet of carding : £3 . 8/ : : 30 ft. of carding : 17/ 0 17 0 20 68 30 120)2040(17/ 120 840 840 Porter, sweeper, or others, 18/ ^ 12 days. Ab 120 feet of carding : 18/ : : 30 feet of carding : 4/6 0 4 6 Incidental charges, £160 ^ 12 days. As 120 feet : £160 : : 30 feet : £40 ----- 40 0 0 £111 18 5 234< MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. The whole proportion of the expense of work- manship belonging to one system is £111 . 18 . 5. Divide this by the pounds produced, and the quo- tient will be the cost of one pound, to which add the price of the material, and the result will be the nett cost of one lb. of yarn. £111 . 18 . 5 20 2238 12 Lbs. produced, 31 68)2686 i(8/^d. expense of workmanship for 25344? one lb. of yarn. 1517 16 9102 1517 3168)24272(7 22176 2096 Cost of material, 9 J oz. of Egyptians, @ 8Jd. ^ lb. = ^yV^* 9;^ oz. Demerara, @ 7^d. ^ lb. = 4/^d. Expense of workmanship, ^ lb. Nett cost of one lb. of yarn. 17i|d. The following Statement exemplifies a very sim- ple and correct method of calculating the balance of Profit or Loss from the whole establishment per fortnight, (each pay day) of any Spinning Factory, and which may be done as speedily as the minuter calculations, when the annual cost is ascertained. MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. ^35 Supposed Annual Expense in A, B. ^ Co.'s Factory, and not entered in Wages Boohf January 1836. Stock in Trade, £5000, at 5 r cent £250 Machinery, £10000, at 7^ do, for tear and wear, 750 Coals and Grease for Engine, &;c 250 Paper, Twine, Banding, &c 80 Oil, 70 Materials for Tradesmen to keep Machinery in repair, 70 Carriage of Cotton and Yarn, , 50 Skins and Cloth for covering Rollers, 50 Manager's Wages, 150 £1720 Divide by 26, being the number of fortnights in the year, and each, the period when the workers are paid, ....£66 3 1 Is o I II (-5 o 3<« C H CO < OD Q O CO GO Amount of Charges. X O r-i CO CO to CO . ^ as CO ,-H CO ^ Ol OT) to Price: of Yarn. •^s ^ : : : r-i : : : Average Size of Yarn. o : : : : : : Price of Cotton. Cotton consumed. Lhs. 10000 Yarn spun ^ fortnight. Lhs. 8000 ■4-? "a o QO 03 o o -s a ^ 5 O o 3 S o s J3 O Oh p, o MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. 237 PROBLEM IL The length and weight of the lap being given- how to find the size of the yarn. The lap to he taken at the finishing carding engines. Rule. Multiply the length of the given lap by the whole amount of the draughts through the process, beginning at the finishing carding engines : and di- vide the product by the number of doublings, the result will be the number of inches produced from the given length of the lap. Divide these by the product of the circumference of the reel, multiplied by the threads in a lea, and the leas in a hank of yarn ; the last result will be the hanks produced from the given weight of the lap ; then, as the given weight of the lap (deducting so much for flowings) is to the drachms in one lb. so is the hanks produced from the given lap to the hanks in one lb. Suppose the weight of the lap (taken at the fin- ishing carding engines) to be 122 drachms, length of ditto 70 inches, and the draughts as follows. Draught of carding engine 6O. Draught of drawing frame, 1st heads 8.5 X 2d. heads 8.5 x Sd. heads 8.5 = 614.125. Draught of fly frame 11^. Draught of jenny 8. The number of doublings in all 512. Allowing 10 drachms for tops, strips, flowings, &c. Required the size of the yarn. MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. EXAMPLE L Draught of drawing frame, 614.125 Draught of carding engines, . 60 36847.500 Draught of fly frame, . ^ 11^ 405322500 18423750 423746.250 Draught of jenny, . . j 8 3389970.000 Length of lap, .... 70 inches. Number of doublings, 512)237297900.0(463472.46 inches produced 2048 from the given lap. 3249 3072 1777 1536 2419 2048 3710 3584 1260 1024 2360 2048 3120 3072 ~48 The given lap multiplied by the whole draught, and divided by the number of doublings, gives as the result 46347^.46 inches. These reduced to hanks, gives the number of hanks produced from 122 drachms, the weight of the given lap. MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. EXAMPLE IL the reel, 54 inches. . . . 80 4320 . . . 7_ 30240)463472.46(15.32 hanks produced 30240 from the given lap, 161072 viz. 122 drachms. 151200 98724 90720 80046 60480 19566 The hanks produced from 122 drs. being 15.32. Then to find the hanks produced from one lb. De- duct 10 drs. for flowings, &c. and as the remainder is to the drs. in one lb. so is the hanks produced from 122 drs. to the hanks in one lb. EXAMPLE III. Weight of the given lap, . . 122 drs. Deduct for tops, strips, flowings, &c. 10 — — Drs. in a lb. Hks. 112 : 256 : : 15.32 256 9192 7660 3064 112)3921.92(35.01f size 336 of yarn 56 1 required. 560 192 112 ,.^"80 , Circumference of Threads in a lea, Leas in a hank. ^40 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. Multiply the result thus obtained by the full length of the stretch, and divide the product by the length of the stretch, wanting the inches gained, the quotient will be the nett size of the yarn obtained by practice. EXAMPLE IV. Size of yarn produced as above, .... 35.0 Full length of the stretch, 56 21006 17505 40 Length of stretch wanting inches gained, 54)1960.96(36.31 nett size 162 produced by 340 practice. 324 169 162 76 54 22 PROBLEM in. T/ie length and weight of the lap being given, to- gether with the size of the yarn obtained by prac- tice ; how to find the quantity of cotton lost in the process, by tops, strips, flowing s, 6fC, Rule. Proceed as in last Problem to find the size of the yarn without making an allowance for flowings, &c. and subtract the result from the real or true size obtained by practice ; then as the real or true size is to their difference, so is the weight of the giv^en lap to the quantity lost in the process. Proceeding as in last Problem to find the size of MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. the yarn, making no allowance for flowings, &c. the result obtained is 33,33 ; subtracting this from the size obtained by practice, the result is as follows. EXAMPLE. Size obtained by practice, 36.31 Size obtained as above, 33.33 Drs. 36.31 : 2.98 : : 122 122 598 596 298 36.31)363.56(10 drs. lost in tl>e process by tops, 3631 strips, flowings, &c. 46* Though the last Problem does not give the quan- tity lost in the spreading machine and breaker carding engines, this does not detract from its u- tility ; it is useful for showing the loss or gain on the different qualities of cotton that may occasion- ally be used. PROBLEM IV. Suppose an establishment where the can and stretching frames have long been used, but which are now to be laid aside for the purpose of intro- ducing tube frames in their place, and the draught which formerly was divided between the can frame, stretching frame, and jenny, is now to be divided between the tube frame and jenny, in the proportion of 2f in the former, to one in the latter. Required the nett draught in each (according to the above proportion) that will produce No. 36, with a doubling at the tube frame. Q MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. Rule 1st. Find the size of the end delivered at the last heads of the drawing frame, by measuring off a certain length, suppose 17^ yards, and weigh- ing it ; then its size will be as its weight (suppose two ounces) multiplied by the number of yards in one hank is to one hank, so is the length of the given end multiplied by the ounces in one lb. to its size. EXAMPLE L Wt. of given end. Yds. in one hk. Hk. Length of given end. Oz. in a lb. As 2 oz, X 840 : 1 : : 17J x 16 2 _17J 1680 112 16 8_ ^^^^ the given end. The end delivered at the last heads of the draw- ing frame being ^ hank, this when doubled at the tube frame is equal to yV hank. To find the whole amount of draught required to reduce this end to No. 36. Rule Sd. Divide the size of the yarn required by the size of the end, and the quotient is the amount of draught required to produce that size of yarn : having ascertained the amount of draughtj then find by the rule of double position the nett draught for the tube frame and jenny, according to the proportions required. Size of the end after being doubled yV j No. 36 yV = 432, amount of draught required to produce MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. 243 No. 36. If the draught required for the jenny be once known, by multiplying it by 2f , the draught required for the tube frame is also found. To find the former, the question now resolves itself into a simple problem in double position, and may shortly be stated thus. What figure is that which being- multiplied by 2f , and again by itself, the result will be 432 ? EXAMPLE IL Suppose for the first position 10 X 2f = 27^ x 10 = 275 first result. Suppose for the second posi- tion 12 X 2| = 33 X 12 = 396 second result. Result of first position subtracted from 432 — 275 = 157 error. Result of second position subtracted from 432 — 396 = 36 error. Difference of the errors, 121 Difference of errors. Difference of position. Error of second position. As 121 : 2 : : 36 2 121)72.0(0.59 correction to be applied^ 605 to second position. 1150 1089 61 The result obtained as above is 0.59, which is rather more than ^ that is to be added to 12 the second position. Then supposing the draught for the jenny to be 12^, required the draught for the tube frame. 12.5 X 2.75 = 34.375 draught of the tube frame. Multiply the draught of the tube frame and jenny together to find the amount, thus 12.5 x 34.375 = ^44 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. 429.6875. The amount of draught being 4^9.6875, tliis multiplied by the size of the end gives the size of the yarn. EXAMPLE III. 429.68 X xV = 35.80 size of yarn wanting the gaining of the carriage. Suppose the full length of the stretch to be 56 inches, and the gaining in the carriage two inches ; then multiply the above result by 56, and divide the product by 54, the result thus obtained will be the nett size of the yarn. EXAMPLE IV. 35.80 Full length of stretch, ....... 56 21480 17900 Length of stretch wanting inches gained, 54)2004,80(37.1 2 size of 162 yarn required. 384 378 68 54 140 108 32 The above calculations are intended to exemplify the method of producing any given size of yarn from the end delivered, by the last heads of the MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. 245 drawing frame ; and it is obTious that whatever may- be the alterations that are made, whether the card- ing engines be made to feed quicker or slower, the spreading made heavier or lighter ; or should the draught upon the drawing frame be increased or diminished ; by ascertaining the size of the end de- livered at the finishing heads of the drawing frame, it is easy to find what draughts are required to pro- duce any given size of yarn ; and therefore it is of great utility in practice, both for saving time and preventing a waste of cotton, especially when mak- ing such alterations or changes as those referred to. PROBLEM V. To find the size of roving in Stretching Frames, Rule. Multiply the number of teeth in the counter pinion by the teeth in the bell wheel,* and the product by the circumference of the front roller, and multiply the last product by the number of spindles in the frame. Then multiply the circumference of the reel by the threads in a lea, and the product by the leas in a hank of yarn. Divide the former result by the last product. * The counter pinion is moved by an endless screw or worm, attached to the front roller ; and the bell wheel, by one connected with the pinion ; so that the pinion moves one tooth, for every revolution of the roller; and the bell wheel one tooth, for every revolution of the counter pinion. 246 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. EXAMPLE. Counter pinion, . . .21 Bell wheel, .... 120 2520 Circumference of roller, 3.14 Circumference of the reel, 54? inch. Threads in a lea, . . 80 4320 10080 Leas in a hank, ... 7 2520 7560 7912.80 Spindles in the frame^ 120 30240)949536.00(3 1 .40 90720 42336 30240 120960 120960 Multiply the above result by the ounces in a lb. and divide the product by the weight of a set of roving. 31.40 16 ounces in a lb. 18840 3140 Oz. Suppose a set of roving, 116)502.40(4.33 size of roving required. 464 384 348 360 348 12 The preceding calculations may, perhaps, be con- i^idered too diffuse to be of much practical utility ; MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS. 247 but it was necessary to extend them out at full length, in order to render them sufficiently simple to be generally understood: and when the principle of any calculation is distinctly understood, the ope- rations can easily be curtailed. The object in view throughout the whole work, has been to render all the calculations as simple as possible, so that any operative acquainted with the common rules of arith- metic might easily comprehend them, and be able to apply them to practice. Those occupying a charge in Spinning Factories, and who may occasionally require to make calculations, such as have here been exemplified, soon acquire as much expertness as to be able to perform any of them, even in less time than is necessary to read some of those contained in the preceding pages. One example only of each kind is given, as being quite sufficient to exemplify the principle laid down ; more might have been added, had it appeared neces- sary; but any ingenious carding or spinning master can easily diversify these, or suggest others. And for young carding and spinning masters, who may have newly entered into a charge in any of the de- partments ; or for operatives and mechanics, who may be looking forward to such a situation, it is of the utmost importance that they exercise themselves in performing all kinds of calculations connected with the business, and thereby acquire expertness in performing them when necessary, as it will be the means of saving much trouble and uncertainty afterwards. ESTIMATES OF A SPINNING AND WEAVING ESTABLISHMENT, Estimate of the expense of buildings, machinery, &c. for a small manufacturing establishment, con- taining 4500 mule and throstle spindles ; and weav- ing, &c. in proportion. Also, calculations of their produce, cost of materials, expense of workmanship, incidental charges, profits, &c. Sec. Extent of the buildings, supposed to be five stories, and 90 feet by 38 within the walls. Engine and boiler houses at one end, with a small building for ware-room at the other. The other departments of the work may be arranged as follows : The first and second flats may be occupied with dressing and weaving. The house will contain five looms in the breadth for 40 inch cloth. The third and fourth flats for mule and throstle spinning. The fifth flat for carding, and the garret for pick- ing or scutching-room. At the one end of the carding and spinning flats, there will be sufficient room for a mechanic's shop, Hs well as for winding, warping, twisting. Sec, ESTIMATES, &C. 249 The prices attached to the different machines, and the rates of workers' wages, are the same as paid in Glasgow at the present time, 1836. Cost of Buildings, Machinery^ ^c, A Mill of five stories, each about 10 feet high, and 90 feet by 38 within the walls, (brick work) including brick, mason, slater, plumber, plas- ter, glazier, and wright work, £960 0 0 A good condensing steam engine, having a 26 inch cylinder and four feet stroke, equal to 20 horses' power, fitted up with a steam- boiler, and every thing complete, Large gearing, including wheels, shafts, gallowses, drums, fitting up, &c. Lathes, Tools, &c. for mechanics, Steam and gas pipes, including gas metre, fitting up, &c. Warehouse furniture and other mis- cellanies, - 660 0 0 290 0 0 170 0 0 110 0 0 100 0 0 £2290 0 0 Carding Machinery, ^c. A willow, £20, scutching machine, £58, 78 0 Spreading machine for 24? inch broad carding engines, _ . _ 38 0 0 Two systems of carding, each contain- ing 8 breakers, and 8 finishers, mak- ing 32 carding engines in all, at £20, 640 0 0 Mounting for 32 carding engines, about £8 for each, 256 0 0 One lapping machine, 20 0 0 Two drawing frames, six heads each. at £9 per head, - - - 108 0 0 Carried forward, £1140 0 0 £2290 0 0 250 ESTIMATES OF A SPINNING Brought forward, £1140 0 0 £2290 0 0 Six fly frames, 48 spindles each, at 38/ per spindle, - - . 547 4, q One top grinder and cylinder brush, 20 0 0 Two cylinder grinders, at £5 each, 10 0 0 Hand grinders and brush for cleaning cylinders, - - - - 1 0 0 Four dozen card and waste cans, at 3/9 per can, - - - - 9 0 0 25 dozen fly and drawing frame cans, 3/6 per can, - - - - 52 10 0 Eight oil cans, at 6d. each, and one large can, at 3/ - - - 0 7 0 Eight banister brushes, at 1 / each, and four sweepers' brushes, at 1/6 each, 0 14 0 Tools, spare pinions, and other mis- cellaneous articles, for carding and scutching-rooms, - - - 14 0 0 1794 15 0 Spinning Machinery^ ^c. Four pairs mules, 600 spindles each. at 5/6 per spindle. 660 0 0 2100 throstle spindles, at 10/ per spindle, _ - - - 1050 0 0 74 gross fly frame bobbins, at 19/ per gi'oss, 70 6 0 59 gross throstle bobbins, at 8/ per gross, 23 12 0 18 oil cans, at 6d. each, and two large cans, at 3/ each, - - - 0 15 0 18 Banister brushes, at 1/ each, and six sweepers' brushes, at 1 /6 each, 1 7 0 Rove and waste boxes, baskets, water cans, &c, - - - _ 20 0 0 Tools, spare pinions, and other mis- cellanies, - - - 30 0 0 1856 0 0 Carried forward, - £5940 15 0 AND WEAVING ESTABLISHMENT. 251 Brought forward, £5940 15 0 Weaving Machinery/, ^c. 128 power looms, at £9 each, 1 152 0 0 Mounting' for do. - - _ 141 4 0 Six dressing machines, at £38 each, 228 0 0 Mounting for do 65 9 0 Three warping machines complete. at £17 each, - 51 0 0 Three winding machines, 36 spindles each, at £7, - 21 0 0 Three twisting frames, at £1 each. 3 0 0 Boiler, tubs, &c. for making dressing, 14 0 0 Miscellaneous articles. 20 0 0 Tin boxes, baskets, &c. for holding yarn, 16 0 0 Roller covering machine. 15 0 0 Cleaner and roller covering, painting, &c. 170 0 0 Belling, banding, &c. for the whole Mill, 130 0 0 Painting and starting machinery. 100 0 0 Miscellanies, - 100 0 0 2226 13 0 Total cost of buildings, machinery, &c. £8167 8 0 Estimate of the amount of wages paid per fort- night, in a Factory containing 32 carding engines, one lapping machine, two drawing frames, six fly frames, 2400 mule, and 2100 throstle spindles, with wearing, &c. in proportion. Preparation Departments. 1 hand for willow and scutching machine, £0 12 0 2 spreaders, at 13/ each, - - 16 0 2 card tenters, at 8/ each, - - 0 16 0 2 topers, at 15/ each, - - - 110 0 1 hand at lapping machine, - - 0 12 0 Carried forward, - £4 16 0 252 ESTIMATES OF A SPINNING Brought forward, £4 16 0 4 drawers, at 14/ each, 2 16 0 3 fly frame hands, at 15/ each, - - 2 5 0 2 assistants for do. at 9/ each. 0 18 0 2 sharpers, one at 24/ and one at 12/ 1 16 0 1 sweeper, . - - - 0 12 0 Carding master, - _ - - 2 2 0 £13 5 0 Spinning Departments. 12 throstle frames, or 24 sides. 12 piecers, allowing two sides to each, at 9/ - - - - 3 8 0 2 slippers and sweepers, at 12/ each, 14 0 2400 mule spindles, each producing 42 hanks of No. 18, equal to 100800 hanks, or 3600 lbs. of pirn copes, at 1.044d. per lb. - - - 24 7 2 J Spinning master, - - - 2 10 0 33 9 2J £48 14 21 Produce of the ahove per fortnight^ and cost of yarn per lb. Produce of each throstle spindle per week, 23 J hanks of No. 16 r= 47 hanks per fortnight. Spindles. Hks. Hks. Size. 2100 X 47 = 98700 ^ 16 = 6168 lbs. Produce of mule spindles, 21 hanks per week, of No. 18 = 42 hanks per fortnight. Spindles. Hks. Hks. Size. 2400 X 42 = 100800 -j- 18 = 3600 lbs. Produce of throstles, . . . 6168 11768 lbs, AND WEAVING ESTABLISHMENT. ^53 Wages paid per fortnight, . £48 14 2 J 20 974 12 11690 4 lbs. Z. Divide by the produce, 11768)46761(3.973 = .994d. cost of spin- 35304 ning per lb, 114570 105912 86580 82376 42040 35304 6736 Cost of raw material per lb. 9Jd. produce, 14| oz. of yarn, from one lb. of cotton. Oz. Oz. 14| : 16 : : 9ld. : 10.574d. cost per lb. to which add the cost of spinning, viz. .994d. + I0.574d. = 11.568d. cost of yarn per lb. 2400 mule spindles, each producing42 hks. per fortnight = 100800 hks. 2100 throstle do. do. 47 do. = 98700 Total produce in hanks, . . . 199500 hks. One piece of cloth 25 yards, 10°° 11 shots on the glass, and 35 inches broad, will require of warp 67.2 hanks. Ditto. of weft, 73.92 141.12 hanks into one piece 25 yds. Each loom will produce 11 pieces per fortnight, 141.12 x U — 1552.32 hanks. Consumpt of one loom, 1552.32 hanks, consumpt of 128 x 1552.32 = 1 98696.96 hanks, which allows 800 hanks of 47 lbs. for waste per fortnight, the produce of the spinning being 199500 hanks. 128 looms producing 11 pieces each of 25 yards, equal to 1408 pieces, or 35200 yards of cloth per fortnight, of which the cost of weaving, dressing, &c. &c. is as follows. ESTIMATES OF A SPINNING Windinglp. .645d.= 7.095d. for lips, or 908.160d. for 1408 pieces. Warping do. .600d.= 6.600d. do. 844.800d. do. Twisting do. .300d.= 3.300d. do. 422.400d. do. Dressing do. 2.250d. = 24.750d. do. 3 1 68.000d. do. Weavingdo.8d. =88d. do. 11264.000d. do. Total for weaving, dressing, &c. 1408 ps. 16607.360d. = £69 3 11 1 Yarn produced per fortnight, 1 17681bs. at 1 1.578d. per lb. 567 14 2 Cost of flour for dressing 1408 pieces, at 2d. per piece, 11 14 8 2 weaving tenters, at £2 . 12/ each, . - - 3 4 0 3 mechanics, at £2 . 6/ each, 6180 Clerk, £2 . 2/— porter, £1 . 12/— engine keeper, £2.2/5 16 0 Brush washer and sweeper, - - - - - 0120 3 ware-room hands, at 14/ each, - - - - 2 2 0 Roller coverer, - - - - - - - 0160 Manager, 500 £675 0 9J The above cloth will make superior shirting of the first quality, at about 9 lbs. per piece, or 18 lbs. to the fifty yards clear of dressing ; and sold by the manufacturers at 6^d. per yard, or 13/6^ per piece, with a discount of per cent. The cost for wages, material, &c. for 1408 pieces, being £675 . 0 . 9^, to which add the on-cost per fortnight, yiz. Capital invested in the business, £12000, at 5 per cent. £600 0 0 Machinery, £8200, at 7 J per cent, for tear and wear, 615 0 0 Coals and grease for engine, _ _ . - 250 0 0 Paper, twine, belt-leather, banding, &c. 100 0 0 Oil and tallow, £80— gas, £36, - - 116 0 0 Cloth and skins for covering rollers, - 70 0 0 Materials for tradesmen to keep machinery in repair, 80 0 0 Carriage of cotton and cloth, - - _ - 60 0 0 Feu duty, £30 — water for engine, &c. £20, - - 50 0 0 Insurance on £12000, - - , _ - 60 0 0 Incidental expenses, - - - - - - 300 0 0 Total of yearly on-cost, £2301 0 0 AND WEAVING ESTABLISHMENT. ^55 The yearly on- cost divided by 26, tlie number of fortnights in one year gives the on-cost per fortniglit — thus, 26)2301(88.3 on-cost per fortnight, - £88 10 0 208 221 208 130 130 Amount of wages per fortnight, - - - 073 0 9i Total of charges per fortnight, - £763 10 9 J Produce per fortnight, 1408 pieces, at 13/6i per piece, - - - £933 6 8 Discount, 7 J per cent, £71 10 0 Guarantee and commission, 8J per cent, - - 81 0 8 152 10 8 Nett value of produce per fortnight, £800 16 0 800 16 0 Deduct amount of charges per fortnight, - - 763 10 9 J Gain per fortnight, £3732J 1408 pieces per fortnight, at £800 16/ =: 11/4 J per piece, or about 3Jd. per yard. The chief design of the preceding, and of all the other calculations in this work, is merely to illustrate and exemplify the principles by which similar results may be found, that the manager who may not have had much experience in the business, may know how to proceed in corresponding circum- stances. Yet in the estimate of the expense and profits of a small manufacturing establishment, I have studied as much accuracy as possible. The cost of buildings, gearing, &c. are all calculated from the cost and expense of establishments that have been lately erected. The whole of the machinery, S56 ESTIMATES, &C. as will be seen from the prices affixed, are supposed to be the best and most improved that is made in Glasgow. The full portion of workers are allowed, and all wages calculated at the highest rate generally- paid, although I am aware that it is possible to pro- duce as much work with rather fewer hands, and even some of these at rather lower wages. The price of the mixture of cotton is, perhaps, rather too high ; at least, first quality yarns of No. 18 may be, and are made from cheaper cottons. I have supposed the produce to be 14§ oz. of yarn from one pound of cotton ; and no allowance is made for the waste that may be sold : this may be supposed to defray various little casual expenses that cannot be taken into calculation. The allowance for guarantee and commission, viz. 8^ per cent, is perhaps the highest that is paid in Glasgow. The whole charges, in- deed, against the establishment, are all to the liberal side : and from the quality of the machinery, the cost of the material, and the rate of wages paid to the workers, the goods produced may be supposed a fair average produce of the very best quality made for sale. The price per yard, and the discount, accord- ing to the quality and weight of goods stated, has been furnished by cloth merchants who purchase from manufacturers. The amount of clear profit upon the whole, must be considered as very moder- ate, viz. £37 .5.2^ per fortnight on a capital of £12000, which amounts to £968 . 15 . 5 yearly; and if we take £300 off this as an allowance for the proprietor who superintends the general business, the sum left as real profit will be £668 . 15 . 5. REMARKS ON THE MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT OF SPINNING FACTORIES. Cotton Spinning Factories, like all other establish- ments where a large capital is invested for the pur- pose of manufacturing any particular kind of goods upon an extensive scale, require to be very skilfully managed in order to make them profitable, either for producing a superior quality of yarn, or turning off a large quantity in proportion to the extent of the machinery. All the different departments may be arranged in the most judicious manner, and every machine made and adjusted on the most approved principles, and yet the establishment, from the way it is managed and the mode of government which generally prevails, may be greatly deficient in re- spect both to the quantity and quality of its produce. And considering the amount of capital invested in these establishments, it might be expected that pro- prietors would be much more scrupulous in the choice of those to whom they confided the charge of them, than they frequently are: for it is now become R MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT proverbial, that interest and influence, not merit, are the only means by which these situations are obtained ; hence the reason why certain proprietors realise a high profit from their establishment, whilst others can scarcely secure the interest of the sunk capital. It is an erroneous opinion, which too much prevails, to suppose that any person, who may not have been early and long practised in the business, can, notwithstanding, acquire as much knowledge by their own experience, in the course of a few months, as will qualify them for taking the full charge of a Spinning Factory. At all events, it will be admitted, that those who have been brought up to the business, and had long experience in the different departments, where they had many oppor- tunities of seeing the methods of adapting the differ- ent machines to suit the various qualities of cotton, and sizes of yarn, and who know how to adjust ma- chinery in the event of any little accidents or casu- alties that frequently occur in practice, must possess a decided advantage over those who have not en- joyed so favourable opportunities. But it is not intended here to enter into a minute disquisition on the management of Cotton Factories, but only to give a few hints, and mention some of the qualifica- tions, which may be useful for those to cultivate who may be looking forward to the situation of manager. It would be advantageous for the manager of a Cotton Mill to have a thorough knowledge of the business in all its details, as without this he must sometimes leave much of the management of certain departments to others, and they, occupying only a subordinate situation, are likely to feel a subordinate OF SPINNING FACTORIES. 259 responsibility, and hence may arise much misman- agement, attended with loss to the proprietors, and followed with reflections on the manager ; and if he is not himself thoroughly acquainted with the bus- iness, he will not be so able to detect the deficiencies of others, and therefore be more liable to be taken advantage of. But the manager who knows his business, can both give directions to those that are under him, as well as discern whether they are qualified for the situations they occupy, and when they fail in their duty. It is a most essential qualification on the part of the manager, that he be expert in performing all hinds of calculations connected with the business ; the advantages of which will be apparent in various respects. First, in regulating the speeds of the dif- ferent machines ; second, in adjusting the draughts of the various machines ; and third, in making changes in the qualities of the cotton and sizes of the yarn. In regulating the speeds of the various machines, particularly in the preparation department, it is im- portant to have them so that the one shall not be overdriven, nor the other working at an under speed. Let the carding engines be adjusted to such a speed as will suit the nature of the cotton and the quality of the yarn for which they are preparing it ; the speed of the drawing frame should also be regu- lated to take up exactly what the carding engines bring forward, without any unnecessary loss of time on the part of either, and all the other machines should be regulated in the same manner. But it might be desirable to ascertain the most advantage- S60 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT ous speed, at which the different machines should be driven for the various qualities of yarn. The num- ber of carding engines that should be allowed to the drawing frame, supposing the carding engines to be two feet broad, and the heads of the drawing frame paired two by two. It might, likewise, be proper to know the number of fly frame and jenny spindles that should be allowed to the foot of finishing card- ing, that is to every foot in the breadth of doffing cy- linders. But, perhaps, there is nothing in the whole process, regarding which there exists a greater diversity of opinion amongst managers than these particulars ; in fact, it is almost impossible to find two Mills exactly alike in this respect ; some man- agers drive their machinery at a greater speed than others; some spread the cotton heavier; others pass it quicker through the carding: there are also some carding engines with more working tops than others, which admit of the cotton being put quicker through, whilst the same effect is produced upon it, Sec. &c. It is, therefore, impossible to lay down any rule that might be taken as a standard for every Factory; be- cause what would suit one could not be adopted in another, as their system of working might be very difi'erent in various respects. After a good deal of inqiiiry at a number of different Mills, and after having obtained the opinions of various managers, carding and spinning masters, the following Table has been drawn up, — examined by several man- agers, and considered as good an average as could be selected. To prepare for all numbers from No. 200 and upwards, allow five or six carding engines to one OF SPINNING FACTORIES. 261 drawing frame, supposing the heads to be paired two and two, and the carding engines eighteen inches broad: — and from No. 200 down to No. 150, allow six or seven carding engines to the drawing frame : — and eight or nine from No. 150 down to No. 100. From No. 100 down to No. 80, allow seven or eight carding engines, two feet broad, to each drawing frame, heads paired as above : — and from No. 80 downwards, the carding engines may range from eight to ten. Every foot in the breadth of finisher carding engines prepares for jenny and fly frame spindles according to the following Table. Jenny Spindles. Sizes of Yarn. Hanks ^ week. Fly Frame Spindles. 130 Spinning these 20 And producing 21 1 ... 16 138 30 20 J 148 40 19 17 162 30 18 186 60 17 !■■■ 18 213 70 16 242 80 13 }... 20 278 90 14 315 100 12 j... 22 330 110 11 390 120 10 |... 25 430 130 9 This Table has been drawn up, after the minutest inquiry, and it is presumed will be found a pretty fair average, although the weekly produce may per- haps be rated rather too high, especially for warp yarn, but not so for wefts. It might also be useful 262 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT when commencing a new Factory. For if the range of numbers designed to be spun is once known, it is not difficult to ascertain from the aboye Table the proportions of the different machines required. And though throstle frame spindles are not included, yet it is easy to calculate the number that should be allowed for each foot of carding, by comparing the hanks they are capable of producing in a given time with the produce of the mules. The proper adjustment of the draughts on the different machines is also of equal importance to a proper arrangement of the speed. Excess of draught on any one machine, while there is less than necessary on another, should be uniformly avoided ; indeed, the draughts should be as nearly equalised as is consistent with a profitable and ap- proved mode of either preparing or spinning the different qualities of cotton, as that which is long and strong in the fibre, requires both more doubling and drawing than that which is short and weak, especially in the preparation department. To change the sizes of the yarn and qualities of the cotton are things of frequent occurrence, and therefore to be expert and correct at these is a mat- ter of the most essential importance ; but this can only be properly acquired by practice and experi- ence. Yet it is important for the manager to know at all times the effect arising from any change in the qualities of the cotton, the manner of preparing it, or any other alteration he may have occasion to make in any department of the process. A rule is given at page 240, by which to ascertain the quan- tity of cotton lost in the process by tops, strips. OF SPINNING FACTORIES. 263 flowings, Sec. ; and it is absolutely necessary that the manager should always keep a correct account of this loss, that he may know what cotton, or which mode of working is the most profitable; as it is pos- sible enough that he may sometimes make changes, with a view to economy, but which, at the same time, may be attended with a loss of which he is not sensible. But to render this a little more apparent; suppose one system in a Mill spinning No. 36, from a mixture of cotton that costs 6d. per lb., each pair of jennies at these numbers may be supposed to throw off 55 lbs. of yarn per day ; and after de- ducting all expenses the nett profit gained is 2d. per lb. But with a view to realise a still higher profit, the quality of the cotton is reduced ^d. per lb. ; this inferior cotton is not so productive as the former, for instead of 55 lbs., as formerly, each pair of jen- nies now produce only 50 lbs. of yarn per day, from the same weight of cotton as that from which 55 lbs. had been obtained when using the better quality of cotton : now here is a deficiency of 5 lbs. per day at 2d. per lb., amounting to lOd. of loss on the profits of 55 lbs. besides having 5 lbs. of cotton at 5^d. per lb. converted into waste, supposed to be worth only 3^d. per lb. ; this is another loss of 2d. per lb. on the quality of the cotton, amounting to lOd. on the 5 lbs., which, being added to the former, makes Is. 8d. And taking an estimate of all the permanent ex- penses incurred in one day* (taking one day with * In this estimate is included the wages paid to all classes of workers about the establishment, who are paid by the day, together with all other incidental expenses, for furnishings, tear and wear of machinery, insurance, interest, &c. &c. 2C4 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT another throughout the year) it is found that each of the 55 lbs. of yarn costs 3d. per lb. to prepare it into roving for the spinning. Now 55 lbs. at 3d. per lb. = 13s. 9d., consequently, if it costs 13s. 9d. to prepare roving for 55 lbs. of yarn, when using the first quality of cotton, it will also cost 13s. 9d. to prepare roving for 50 lbs. when using the second quality — the weight of cotton required for each quantity of yarn supposed to be equal ; here then is 3d. per lb. paid for the 5 lbs. of deficient yarn = Is. 3d., and adding it to the former loss makes 2s. lid. But by reducing the quality of the cotton ^d. per lb. there was gained upon the 55 lbs. 2s. 3^d. There- fore the loss upon the whole will stand thus : Loss, £0 2 11 Gain, 0 2 34 which leaves a nett loss of, ... . £0 0 72 on 55 lbs. of yarn. That these statements are not exaggerated will, it is presumed, be generally admitted by practical men, who have had fair opportunities of witnessing the effects arising from different qualities of cotton. They are also intended to show that the profit sup- posed to be derived from using a cheaper quality of cotton is often much more imaginary than real : for when an inferior cotton is used, there is a loss sus- tained upon it throughout every department of the process, which can only be known by tracing it through the various stages of its progress. Like- wise, in working an inferior quality of cotton, there is always a less quantity of yarn produced in a given time, but a much greater quantity of waste ; besides, the yarn being of an inferior quality, is OF SPINNING FACTORIES. 265 likely to hurt the credit of the manufacturer ; whereas a superior quality will always support his credit, command a fair price, and secure a sale ; so that he will often have his money when others have their stock. In addition to the preceding, it will be advantage- ous for the manager to have a general knowledge of the different modes and methods adapted for the various processes of spinning the coarse, fine, and middle numbers of yarn; for though there is a gen- eral sameness throughout all the processes of cotton spinning, yet there are peculiarities in certain dis- tricts and Factories, which may give them advantage over others, and therefore the manager can never have too much general knowledge regarding the varieties and improvements introduced into every branch of the business. The following is a short outline, descriptive of the general process of cotton spinning, as presently practised in Britain. The cottons to be combined are, first, properly mixed. In England, I find that the mixing estab- lishment is generally upon a larger scale than in Scotland. After being properly mixed, the cotton is put through the willow and scutching machine, and from that to the spreading machine. For the very fine yarns, the cotton is not scutched, but beaten with switches, and picked with the hand, and afterwards weighed and spread upon clothes into a given length and breadth ; in which state it is car- ried to the carding engine, which is generally the first machine it passes through. For the finest yarns, the carding engines used are all 18 inches in 266 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT breadth of wire. Breakers and finishers are always employed. After the carding, the cotton passes four or five times through a common drawing frame, with one beam, containing three 'pairs of rollers ; then from that to the slabbing frame ; next, the fly frame and stretching frame; and latterly, the mule: at all of these machines the roving is doubled. All the machines used in the finest spinning are driven at a very slow speed. The carding engines are mounted entirely with flat tops, no carding rollers, nor drawing box at the delivering rollers. The finest yarns, after being finished at the mule, is doubled again at a doubling machine. And when intended for making fine lace, each thread of yarn is made to pass rapidly through a blaze of gas, so as to burn ofl" the loose fibres of cotton without injuring or colouring the yarn ; by this means the thread is made perfectly smooth and clean. For spinning the middle numbers of yarn the process is nearly similar to the fine, only the cotton is first put through the willow and scutching ma- chine previous to the spreading machine and carding engines. Breaking and finishing is used for middle as well as for fine numbers. And it is remarkable that all the breaker carding engines which I had an opportunity of seeing in any part of England, with a very few exceptions, were all mounted with the old lap drum. No lapping machines are used in the great majority of Cotton Factories in England, (that is the lapping machine that intervenes between the breaker and finisher cards.) In Scotland, the lap drums are entirely laid aside, and all the breaker cards deliver into a can the same as the finishers. OF SPINNING FACTORIES. These cans are taken to what is properly called the lapping machine, where, from 50 to 6O plies of card ends or slivers are united to form a lap for the finisher cards. For spinning low numbers of yarn, single carding is general in England, and mostly double carding in Scotland ; in both, it is generally put three times through the drawing frame. In England, there is a slabbing and a finishing frame previous to the spin- ning machine. In Scotland, one machine does both slabbing and finishing. Having lately visited a considerable number of Spinning Factories in the several manufacturing dis- tricts of England, during which I had a full oppor- tunity of witnessing their various peculiarities, and conversing particularly with a number of respectable managers and overlookers, it appeared to me, that the English spinners chiefly excel the Scotch, first, in their better method of mixing the cottons. The former have their mixing establishments generally upon a larger scale than the latter, and particular attention is paid to the manner in which the bing of cotton is made up. Second, the English spinners are more careful to avoid an excess of draught in any one machine: rather than have too much in one part or machine, they divide it into several. And third, the English spinners carry their doubling process to a greater extent than is general in Scotland. Another primary object in the management of a Spinning Factory, that ought to be studied by the manager, is the avoiding all unnecessary expenses by alterations on the plan of the gearing, or ar- 268 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT rangement of the machinery, especially such as might only be adapted to please the eye rather than improve the productive capabilities of the establish- ment. To have the large gearing all fitted up on the most approved plan, and the machinery arranged in the manner best calculated to facilitate the pro- gress of the work, are, doubtless, objects of the greatest importance ; but when once the establish- ment has been filled with machinery, and all its arrangements completed, it is better to let it remain as it is, than try to improve it ; and, indeed, to begin then to make alterations, would be highly objectionable, because the money expended on these alterations might far exceed all the advantages arising from the supposed improvements. To keep all the machinery in good repair, and in the best working order, cannot be too highly recommended; as without doing so, it is impossible to produce a regular and uniform good quality of yarn ; and to keep machinery in good order, by regular care and attention, is much easier than to repair it after it has been allowed to go out of repair from negligence and want of care. But if it be necessary in order to render the bus- iness a source of profit to the proprietors that the manager know how to adjust the various machines, and adapt them to suit the different kinds of cotton and qualities of yarn, and that he be properly quali- fied to superintend and direct the various operations through which the cotton must pass, in being manu- factured into yarn; it is no less necessary that a proper mode of government should generally prevail throughout the whole establishment, and, doubtless, OF SPINNING FACTORIES. it requires much wisdom and consideration, to know how to act on all occasions in the government of a large establishment, where there are a number of different classes of workers employed, so as to avoid all unnecessary severity, and, at the same time, maintain proper authority. I do not hesitate to assert, that a Spinning Factory can never be man- aged more profitably, and more to the satisfaction of the proprietors, than when there exists a good feeling and a good understanding between the man- ager and workers. But to the manager who has an extensive charge, the duties of which he is anxious to discharge faithfully, circumstances will frequently occur, tending to agitate the mind and ruffle the temper, on which occasions it is difficult for him to act with that consideration and prudence which he himself would approve of ; and it is, per- haps, much easier for one person to lay down rules for another to walk by, than to act up to them himself. But this is a very tender point to touch upon, and shall, therefore, be treated very briefly. It may, therefore, be stated, in a general way, that in governing a Spinning Factory with propriety, it would be prudent for the manager, while guarding against too much lenity on the one hand, to be care- ful to avoid too much severity on the other; let him be firm and decisive in all his measures, but not overbearing and tyrannical ; not too distant and haughty, but affable and easy of access, yet not too familiar. In the giving of orders or directions, it is much better to give them in a pleasant manner, but with few words ; they are then likely to be received with a good grace, and promptly obeyed. But to be 270 MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT frequently giving orders and laying down rules, which are never followed up, tends only to harass the mind without any good effect. If the manager be strictly just and impartial, showing no desire to favour one more than another, but always treating every person according to their merits, it generally has a good effect on the minds of those who are under him, by impressing them with the assurance that it is only by uniform attention to their business that they can secure his approbation : in a word, let the manager, at all times, maintain that dignified deportment which good sense would dictate — let him conduct himself so as to make this impression on the minds of all who are under him, viz. that while they continue to attend their work quietly and diligently, they will not be causelessly interfered with, but allowed to attend their employment in peace. In the above remarks there is no reference to any particular manager, or individual Mill, they are merely suggested from the complaints and ob- servations that are constantly to be heard amongst the various classes of workers employed in Cotton Factories. And whilst it is absolutely necessary to maintain a proper authority, and keep uniform good order, as the end of all government is order ; yet it must be pleasant for the manager to have no jarring contentions with the workers ; and unless he know what are subjects of general complaint, he cannot be supposed to know how to frame his conduct so as to support his authority, and, at the same time, avoid some of those unpleasant disputes between managers and workers which have frequently oc- curred. OF SPINNING FACTORIES. ^71 There are a few things that may next be men- tioned, which have often been subjects of complaint amongst operative spinners, and if they could be avoided, might be the means of preventing some of those unhappy disputes which bring the parties before the public. First, operatives are generally unwilling to submit to fines either for bad work or improper conduct : it seems to be a general feeling amongst them, that they would much rather have the master to turn them away than fine them. It is vain to tell them, that it is for their own benefit, that a fine of one or two shillings is exacted rather than throw them out of employment. If the fines were given to some benevolent or charitable insti- tution, it would not be so objectionable ; but when they are retained by the proprietor, the operatives generally ascribe it to a certain propensity. Opera- tives frequently complain of the sizes of their yarn, and are sometimes doubtful that they do not get strict justice : and perhaps there are few things about Spinning Factories that have caused more disputes between the masters and operatives. But were it known to the operatives that it is the par- ticular wish and order of the proprietors, to give the fair and exact size of the yarn, so as to render equal justice to both parties, it might be the means of preventing much private murmuring and dissatis- faction amongst them. When a master has occasion to expostulate with the operatives about any par- ticular faults, — if he apply any opprobrious or de- grading epithets, — swear over them, — and use such language as is calculated to hurt their feelings, it is likely to be attended with unpleasant efifects, as it is MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNMENT not soon forgotten, and is apt to make the workers forget their own faults, and think only upon the overbearing conduct of their masters, and thereby prevent the exercise of that affection between mas- ter and servant that is necessary for the comfort of both. Such, then, are a few of those things which cause frequent disputes between the masters and opera- tives ; they are merely stated here without saying whether they are right or wrong, or whether it is the duty of the masters to attend to them or not. But to proceed with this delicate subject. In regard to the carding and spinning master's situation, these being rather different, require somewhat different modes of government. In the spinning department there are men who have the charge of their own work, and are paid only for what they do, and responsible both for the quantity and quality of their work ; they can also be made sensible of the consequences that would result from any degree of carelessness or negligence on their part; and hence it is not necessary that the spinning master should be always present. But this is not the case in the carding department, for there they are mostly women on set wages, whom it is difficult to make sensible of their responsibility, and the evils result- ing from carelessness on their part ; and, therefore, they require to be constantly looked over : hence, the carding master should never be out of their view, as much depends upon the proper management of the carding department for making good yarn ; so, of course, the carding master should seldom, if ever, be absent, as his very presence might prevent OF SPINNING FACTORIES. many faults that would otherwise take place. It is the duty of both carding and spinning masters to superintend all the machinery under their charge ; to see that it is kept in good order ; to trim and ad- just it ; to suit the various qualities of cotton and sizes of yarn. But whilst the spinning master re- quires to act with prudence and caution — to be just and impartial — firm and decisive — always on the alert to prevent rather than check faults, after they have taken place ; yet good discipline is of the very first importance in the carding room. The carding master must act with the utmost vigilance and promptitude, and sometimes with a degree of seem- ing severity, that is not so necessary in the other* s AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OP COTTON SPINNING. The surprising perfection to which the art of Cot- ton Spinning has attained — the yast amount of capital invested in the business — the important place it now occupies amongst the staple manufactures of our country — and the number of our industrious population, to whom it furnishes employment, unite to render a short historical sketch of its rise and progress a subject of interesting inquiry : and al- though such knowledge is not considered necessary in order to qualify any one for taking a charge in a Spinning Factory ; yet it is presumed that an out- line of the history of cotton spinning will not be thought superfluous in a work professing to be a treatise on the art. The manufacturing of cloth was introduced into Great Britain by the Romans. " Our ancestors, previous to their arrival, being partially covered with the skins of animals, and the parts exposed were painted red of various figures. The Romans soon after established a woollen manufactory at THE RISE AND PROGRESS, Scc, Winchester for clothing their army, and instructed the natives in the culture of flax and in weaving. Little farther is known of the art till the reign of Edward III. who is distinguished as the first mon- arch in this island who directed his attention to the promotion of the arts and manufactures. The par- ticular branch that he encouraged was the woollen manufacture ; introducing, for this purpose, in the year 1331, a number of weavers and cloth workers from the continent of Europe. They were followed by two Brabant linen weavers, who also received the patronage of the king, and settled at York. They were again followed by numbers of their coun- trymen ; so that in 1351 foreign weavers are de- scribed as being numerous in London." But respecting the cotton manufacture, it is well known to have had its origin in the East, the coun- try where the cotton plant is indigenous ; and from the earliest ages India has been celebrated for the manufacture of cotton cloth, large quantities of it being annually imported into Europe. Notwith- standing this, however, and although the Indian stands unrivalled even by the British manufactures, their implements are rude and simple, evidently the invention of an early period. The fitting out of an Indian weaver, with all his necessary machinery for cleaning, preparing, and spinning the wool, to the converting it into the finest muslin, does not exceed, in value, a few shillings. Yet though the manufac- turing of cotton cloth has long been practised in the Eastern world, no progress has ever been made by them in improving the machinery, by which the spinning of yarn is accomplished. The distaff and 276 THE RISE AND PROGRESS spindle are the only implements used for that pur- pose ; the same that appears to have been used for the spinning of yarn by nations of the remotest an- tiquity. " And it is worthy of observation, that in all the countries which have been discovered by navi- gators for the last three centuries, these simple ma- chines have been employed for the above purposes. Hence it has been inferred that the same wants lead to the same means of relief. The use of the needle, too, has been cited as a farther proof of that opin- ion, and Pagan nations, unable to trace such useful contrivances to their true origin, attribute their in- vention to some one of their false deities." It is supposed that in Europe cotton cloth was first manufactured in the commercial states of Italy: by others, it is said that the first attempts to manu- facture cotton goods were made by the people of the Low Countries. But the latter is doubted by several writers, who suppose that from Italy it made its way into the Netherlands, and that it was brought from thence to this country* by Protestant refugees, about the end of the sixteenth, or beginning of the seventeenth century. It is known to have existed in Spain as early as the tenth century. And according to the researches of the most indefatigable Baines, it * The earliest records of the cotton manufacture of Britain that are extant, are from Lewis Roberts' Treasure of Traffic, published in 1641, in which he says, " The town of Manchester buys cotton wool from London that comes from Cyprus and Smyrna, and works the same into Fustians, Vermillions, and Dimities." Fustians were also manufactured at Bolton about the same period, and in 1756, cotton velvets were made by Jeremiah Clarke, and cotton quiltings, by Joseph Shaw, at Bolton. OF COTTON SPINNING. 277 appears to have flourished in that country for a con- siderable period, particularly during the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries. And the ear- liest records of the cotton manufacture in Italy, is about the beginning of the fourteenth century. But whether it existed there prior to its introduction into the Low Countries, or when, and by what means, it was introduced into either, is not apparent. The spindle and distaff are said to have been introduced into this country, only in the reign of Henry VIIL, but were soon laid aside upon the in- vention of the well known machine called the spin- ning wheel, which, in a commercial point of view, was no great improvement ; but for many years it continued the only machine used for the spinning of cotton yarn, until about the middle of the last cen- tury, when the increase of the manufacture of cotton goods increased the demand for yarn ; in so much, that a pause would naturally have ensued, and be- yond which there could have been no advance, but with the slow and gradual increase of population ; but as the demand for goods increased, various con- trivances were attempted for expediting the process of spinning ; and several men of genius directed their attention to it, but all with equal want of suc- cess, until the invention of the spinning jenny, in 1767, by James Hargreaves." The form of this ma- chine, and the incident that suggested the first idea of it to his mind, have already been mentioned. Its invention gave a new impulse to the cotton manu- facture, by increasing the produce of yarn, and with it the demand for cotton goods. Cylinder cards were invented some time previous to the invention 278 THE RISE AND PROGRESS of the jenny, and prepared the cotton for it, by which the progress of the manufacture was greatly facilitated. It seems uncertain who was the inven- tor of the cylinder cards : but it is known that the father of the late Sir Robert Peel erected one at Blackburn, with the assistance of Hargreaves, as early as the year Hargreaves is also said to have been the first who employed the stock card, used in the woollen trade, in the carding of cotton. But this ingenious man was not allowed to reap the fruits of his own inventions in peace. For the po- pular prejudice being raised against him — as the peo- ple who had hitherto earned their subsistence by hand spinning conceived that the spinning machine invented by him would cause their ruin, they, there- fore, mobbed Hargreaves' house, broke into it, and destroyed his machine ; and when experience had shown to others the value and importance of his new mode of spinning, the people again rose, scoured the country, and destroyed every spinning machine they could find. But by this time he had found it prudent to remove to Nottingham, where he assisted various persons in the construction of machinery, and where a serious afifray took place, in opposition * Mr. Lewis Paul of Birmingham, took out a patent for an im- proved mode of carding in 1748 ; and according to the specification, it appears he had used a cylinder covered in its whole circumference with parallel rows of card sheets, and under the cylinder was a con- cave frame, lined internally with cards exactly fitting the lower half of the cylinder; so that when the handle was moved round, the cards of the cylinder and the concave frame worked against each other and carded the wool ; from which it is probable that Mr. Peel's cylinder carding engine might be an improvement on this. OF COTTON SPINNING. 279 to the new machines, in which he and others are said to have been severely wounded. Some time after this he died in poverty, neglected and little known to the country that has since reaped the fruits of his important inventions.* Hargreaves' spinning jenny was at first but rudely constructed, but in a short time was greatly improved, and, not- withstanding the determined opposition it met with at first, it soon spread rapidly over the country, and may be considered as a first step in that series of in- ventions which has made so great an alteration in the state of manufactures in this country, substitut- ing the power of machinery for the labour of man, and tending so much to increase the production of capital ; and it is worthy of observation, that those who were most strenuous in opposing these inven- tions, were the first to avail themselves of their advantages. * Such, at least, has hitherto been the current opinion regarding the subsequent history of Hargreaves, until the publication of Baines' History of the Cotton Manufacture in 1835 ; wherein evidence is brought forward to prove, that Hargreaves died, if not in affluent, at least, in comfortable circumstances. Such evidence, however, is now too late to obtain our implicit confidence. For if Arkwright, upon the trial of his claims to the patents he had taken out, pub- licly asserted, that Hargreaves died in obscurity and poverty, at a lime when the facts of the case must have been known to many ; and if the same opinion has been generally entertained until the present time, it certainly cannot be expected Mr. Baines' views can be entertained on this point, without further proof. It might have suited Arkwright's case very well, to have made such assertions, but it could not have done so if these were false, and at a time when they could have been so easily detected ; this would only have exposed him to merited scorn and contempt. 280 THE RISE AND PROGRESS Shortly after the invention of the spinning jenny, Mr. Arkwright, afterwards Sir Richard Arkwright, brought forward that wonderful piece of mechanism, the spinning frame, in the construction of which he had long been laboriously engaged ; but from his want of mechanical knowledge, he had great diffi- culty in getting any combination of machinery to answer the idea he had formed in his mind; and, in- deed, after his plans had been sufficiently matured, and the construction of his machine so far advanced, as to demonstrate its value, other difficulties of a still more formidable nature presented themselves, and would have disheartened any but the most ardent genius. His finances not being sufficient to enable him to commence business on his own account, few seemed willing to hazard capital sufficient to enable him to secure his invention by patents, and com- mence operations with them in the spinning of cot- ton yarn. At length, however, he was so fortunate as to secure the co-operation of some persons who had sufficient discernment to see the merit of the invention, and he, consequently, obtained his first patent for spinning with rollers in I769. The first Mill he erected was at Nottingham, which was worked with horses; but this mode of working being found expensive, another larger Mill was erected in I77I) at Cromford, in Derbyshire, which was moved by water : at this place he generally resided during the remainder of his life. The spinning machine invented by Arkwright is called the water spinning frame, a description of which is given in a former part of this treatise, and therefore need not be repeated ; but as the name of OF COTTON SPINNING. ^281 Arkwright is so identified with the history of cotton spinning, perhaps a sketch of his life may not be uninteresting. " Richard Arkwright was born at Preston, in Lancashire, in the year 173^. He was the young- est of thirteen chikh'en. He was brought up to the occupation of a barber, and supported himself by this employment till he was more than thirty years of age. We are not informed of the peculiar circum- stances that first directed his attention to the cotton manufacture, but it seems probable that his re- sidence in a manufacturing district gave him some knowledge of the common mechanical processes, and that he took an interest in the complaints made by his neighbours of the deficient supply of cotton yarn. Almost the only part of England where the cotton manufacture was introduced was Lancashire, and there all the processes of art were extremely defective. Down to the year 1765, calicoes^ then, and now one of the staple fabrics of that wealthy district, were obliged to be made of linen warp, as cotton could not be spun strong enough for the pur- pose. But the ingenuity of the people was now at work, changes were daily introduced, and in this, as well as other manufactures, England began that prodigious career of improvement by which she has ever since distanced the other nations of Europe." Great improvements had been made in the card- ing process, and about this time Hargreaves' jenny was invented, which caused considerable excitement in the country. But Arkwright's machine, with which he was busily occupied for some years, was the most important improvement that had ever yet THE RISE AND TROGRESS been introduced into the process of cotton spinning; " and, indeed, if the steam engine be excepted, we do not know any mechanical invention that has made such an amazing addition to the activity, in- dustry, and opulence of this country, as the inven- tion of Arkwright's spinning frame," which he brought forward some years after the invention of Hargreaves' jenny. " Some doubts have been en- tertained of the justice of his claims to the first idea of his invention ; but it is beyond all doubt that he was the first person who rendered it of practical utility, and by that means he was raised from one of the most humble occupations in society, to one of affluence and fame." The allegations brought against the originality of his inventions are in sub- stance as follows : " In the year 1767? Arkwright had given up his business as a barber, and was travelling through the country for the purpose of buying hair. He came to Warrington, formed an intimacy with a watch- maker, named John Kay, and showed him some plan of his for obtaining perpetual motion, Kay ridiculed his idea, and told him that his ingenuity might be better employed in finding out some me- thod of spinning to supersede the common one thread wheel. Kay had formerly been employed to make a spinning engine for a Mr. Highs, and the knowledge he had by that means acquired, he com- municated to Arkwright. The mechanical know- ledge of the latter was but slender, while Kay, as might be presumed from his business as a watch- maker, was well acquainted with machinery and me- chanical combinations. Kay and Arkwright made OF COTTON SPINNING. 285 a machine in conjunction, but the merit of the first suggestion of the principle, it is said, is attributable to Highs." " Such is the account that describes the invention to Highs, and merely the improvement of the ma- chinery to Arkwright. But it must be observed, in the first place, that the machine which Kay con- structed for Mr. Highs did not succeed, and it is well known that many others besides Highs were at that time engaged in making experiments to change the mode of spinning, — but all these w^ere uniformly unsuccessful. Had Kay's communication been at all important, it is very unlikely that Arkwright would have had so many difficulties to encounter in bringing his machine into practical operation, nor would he have required so much pecuniary aid, nor so much important information from skilful me- chanics, as we know he received.* From the time that Mr. Arkwright began his experiments on spin- * According to the most incontestable evidence brought for- ward by Mr. Baines, it appears that the merit of the original in- vention of spinning with rollers belongs neither to Arkwright nor Highs, but to a Mr. John Wyatt ; and that as early as the year 1738, a patent was taken out in the name of one Lewis Paul for a spinning machine, constructed on this principle, of which Mr. Wyatt was the inventor. It further appears, that Paul and Wyatt erected a Mill at Birmingham, in 1741, or 1742, for the purpose of spin- ning cotton with these new machines, which were moved by two asses turning round an axis. The undertaking, however, did not succeed, as the machinery was sold in 1743. From which it is not improbable that Highs may have seen or heard a description of the machine invented by Wyatt, and communicated the same to Kay, and he again, may have suggested the first idea of spinning with rollers to Arkwright. ^84 THE RISE AND PROGRESS ning, till he brought his machinery to perfection, five years elapsed, and he expended more than twenty thousand pounds without receiving any re- turn. This money was of course advanced by per- sons who had confidence in his integrity, as well as his talents ; his rivals (as usual) reproached him in after life with having made his fortune by means of borrowed capital^ and employed against him all those invidious reflections that are aimed at those whose success raises them above the dead level of mediocrity." " Mr. Arkwright entered into partnership with Mr. Smally of Preston, (his native place,) but as occurred to the unfortunate Hargreaves, the spin- ners rose to put down their machinery — their estab- lishment was ruined, and they were both forced to remove to Nottingham. At this place he persuaded two bankers, of the name of Wright, to advance him considerable sums for the purpose of bringing his machinery to perfection ; but when they found the advances becoming heavier than they antici- pated, and the success doubtful, they advised him to get Mr. Need, an eminent stocking manufacturer, to take their interest in the establishment off their hands. When Mr. Need was applied to, he referred to his partner, Mr. Shute, and said, he would be guided by his opinion of the utility of the improve- ment. Shute was a man of great mechanical skill ; he saw at a glance the advantages of the proposed plan, and the facility with which any of its remain- ing defects might be obviated. The advances of the Messrs. Wright were repaid to them ; and Messrs. Shute and Need entered into partnership with Mr. OF COTTON SPINNING. S85 Arkwrlght for the purpose of spinning cotton with rollers. He took out his first patent for his spin- ning frame in 17^9, as already mentioned, and erected his first Mill at Nottingham ; and after a short time, he erected a larger one at Cromford, in Derbyshire." The spinning frame has justly been held to be a wonderful invention ; it has nothing in common with the spinning jenny of Hargreaves, except that it performs the same process. The machinery for drawing and spinning the cotton was his grandest conception — all his subsequent inventions, though of great importance, did not require the same ori- ginality of mind, as they were rather improvements and combinations of his former inventions than new ideas. His patent was contested in the year 1772> on the ground that his improvements were not ori- ginal, but he obtained a verdict in his favour, and enjoyed the patent to the end of its term. His in- ventions being entirely new, he applied them, with the happiest success, in various forms, in the pre- paration of the raw material, for all of which he obtained a patent in 177«5' But after reiterated contests with rival manufacturers, this patent was cancelled in the year 1785 by the Court of King's Bench, under the pretext that all the mechanical applications combined with it were not original." The contests alluded to above, related chiefly to the operation of carding, which was now brought to a state of great perfection. Mr. Arkwright's right to the invention of the crank and comb, for taking ofi" the cotton from the doffing cylinder in a contin- ued fleece, was disputed in the last hearing of his ^86 THE RISE AND PROGRESS cause. His claims, however, to the spiral cards, which produce the continued carding, has never heen disputed. That all these inventions and improvements, which are ascribed to Arkwright, should have been the production of an individual without education, or any previous mechanical knowledge or experience, is most extraordinary. Yet he was engaged at the same time in many other concerns arising from the peculiarity of his circum- stances. While he was extending the business on a large scale, he was introducing into every depart- ment of it a system of order and cleanliness till then unknown in any manufacture ; and all these exer- tions, too, were made when he was suffering under an oppressive disorder, which at last terminated his life." Though his second patent was cancelled, Mr. Arkwright now enjoyed the full tide of prosperity ; wealth flowed profusely into his lap; and if his first difficulties were many, his final success was cheer- ing. He was for a short time in partnership with David Dale, Esq. of the Lanark Cotton Mills. His spinning machines were spreading over the king- dom, and he received an annual sum — the tribute of invention, it might be called, for each spindle em- ployed. His success raised him enemies, whom his irratibility of temper did not tend to conciliate ; while his competitors in the struggle for wealth, meanly taunted him with the lowness of his original station, and thereby showed that theT/ would never have emerged from obscurity, had such been their lot. It was in allusion to his original occupation, and to his connection with Mr. Dale, that he is re- OF COTTON SPINNING. 287 ported to have said of his enemies — that he would put his razor into the hands of a Scotchman who would shave them all. He was particularly friendly to Scotchmen, and gave them free access to his establishments.'' The improvements introduced by Watt into the steam engine, rendered it of primary importance in giving motion to machinery ; and the benefit of Arkwright's inventions were soon rapidly extended by its application to cotton spinning. The first steam engine erected by Boulton and Watt, for Ark Wright, was in the year 1790, at Cromford, in Derbyshire. " We have little more to relate concerning the remaining incidents of the life of Arkwright. On the 22d December I786, he received the honour of Knighthood^ on presenting an address to his Ma- jesty, from the Sheriff and Hundred of Wicks worth. He died at his seat at Cromford, in Derbyshire, 3d August, 1792." " Sir Richard Arkwright was of a hasty and ca- pricious temper, and though a man of great powers of mind, he could never entirely shake off the rude habits of early life, nor adopt the sentiments which befitted the rank to which his talents had raised him." Yet in his case we find a rare specimen of profound genius and invincible perseverance, strug- gling against their most formidable enemies, poverty ^Vi^ prejudice. Whether all the inventions ascribed to him were originally his own or not, is of no con- sequence to us ; it is, at least, more than probable, that, but for him, they would have perished with their authors, none of whom, except himself, had S88 THE RISE AND PROGRESS. the determination and courage, to face the multi- plied difficulties that lay in the way of achieving a practical exemplification of what they had conceived in their own minds, and thereby demonstrating their power and value. When Arkwright first com- menced to give a practical demonstration of the use- fulness of his invention, he was poor, friendless, and unknown. It is said of him, that, about this time, an election contest having taken place in the town of Preston, of which he was a burgess ; before he could be brought into the poll room, his friends had to subscribe as much as furnish him with a decent suit of clothes. It may also be added, that, upon one occasion, he and Kay together made ap- plication to a Mr. Atherton for some pecuniary assistance, to enable them to prosecute their plans ; but the poor appearance of Arkwright alone de- termined that gentleman to have nothing to do with the adventure. Can we have a more exciting ex- ample, then, of what a resolute mind may do in ap- parently the most hopeless circumstances? — of what ingenuity and perseverance together may overcome, in the pursuit of what they are determined to ac- complish ? And this is the grand lesson which the history of Arkwright is fitted to teach — to give our- selves wholly to one object, and never despair of attaining it (if an honourable one,) even though opposed by the most untoward circumstances. Previous to the inventions of the jenny and spin- ning frame, it was customary for the manufacturers, when employing their weavers, to give them a stated quantity of linen warp, and a proportional quantity of cotton wool, which the weaver had to OF COTTON SPINNING. 289 get spun into weft, and for weaving which he re- ceived a fixed price when he returned the web. So fast, however, was the weaving outstripping the spinning at this time, that the weaver often found himself obliged to pay more than he had been al- lowed by his employers for this part of the process. Yet he durst not complain, lest his looms should be left unemployed by the refusal of the spinner to spin his yarn. Had this state of things continued, the further progress of the art must have been stopped. But the inventions of Hargr eaves and Arkwright together supplied a desideratum then extensively felt and acknowledged, and gave a spur to the cotton manufacture of this country, which has been gradu- ally improving from that time till the present. But we must not omit to mention another spinning ma- chine, viz. the mule jenny that was invented during the term of Arkwright's first patent, and which aided, in conjunction with the others, to extend the manufacture, and advance our country to that state of commercial greatness which it has now attained. The mule jenny is a compound of the two former ; it partakes of the essential properties of Arkwright's invention, viz. the rollers producing the effect of the finger and thumb ; and on the application of this part of the system to the jenny of Hargr eaves, the merits of the mule, in a great measure, consist. Its utility, however, is very great, and, in fact, with its invention commenced an entirely new era in our cot- ton manufacture: all the finer descriptions of cotton goods may date their origin from the introduction of this machine, and much greater variety in the qualities of yarn has been spun by it, than ever T S90 THE RISE AND PROGRESS before had been attainable. As an example of the extreme divisibility of matter, and degree of tenuity or fineness of which it is found practicable to spin cotton yarn with the mule, it may be mentioned, that one pound of cotton wool has been spun by it into 350 hanks, each hank measuring 840 yards, and forming together a thread I67 miles long. The finest yarn spun for muslins in England is about S50 hanks to the lb. ; but it is rare, indeed, that finer than 220' is used. The price usually paid by the Glasgow manufacturers for the finer descriptions of yarn, at first spun by the mule jenny, was twenty guineas per pound. The mule was invented by Mr. Samuel Cromp- ton, formerly of Hall in the wood near Bolton, in Lancashire, a person of very great ingenuity, and to whom the public is indebted for many other valu- able improvements in the cotton manufacture." He also laboured under many difficulties in bringing his machine to perfection, as may be gathered from the following extract of a letter he sent to a friend : In regard to the mule, the date of its being first completed, was in the year 1779 : at the end of the following year I was under the necessity of making it public, or destroying it, as it was not in my power to keep it and work it, and to destroy it was too painful a task, having been four and a half years, at least, wherein every moment of time and power of mind, as well as expense, which my other employ- ment would permit, were devoted to this one end, the having good yarn to weave ; so that destroy it I could not." The mule did not come into very general use, until after the dissolution of Arkwright's second OF COTTON SPINNING. patent in 1785, ten years after its discovery. Yet so rapid was the progress it made, that, in 1787j only two years after its introduction, no less than 500,000 pieces of cotton muslin — a species of fabric never before attempted — were made in Great Bri- tain, the manufacture of it having been begun simul- taneously in Bolton, Glasgow, and Paisley. Mr. Crompton never took out a patent for his invention, yet it is satisfactory to know, that Parlia- ment, in 1812, voted him £5000 as a reward for his discovery ; and during the investigation that took place at the time, before a Committee of the House of Commons, it was proved that there were then four rnillions of spindles employed on Mr. Cromp- ton's principle; that two-thirds of the steam engines for spinning cotton turned mules, and that the value of the buildings, machinery, &c. employed on the same principle, amounted to about four millions sterling, Mr. Kennedy, in his Memoirs of Mr. Crompton, has stated, that the number of mule spindles employed had, in 1829, been raised to 7,000,000 ; they were, in 1832, rated at 8,000,000. The mule was at first wrought by the spinner's hand, but Mr. William Kelly, of the Lanark Cotton Mills, early obtained a patent for moving them by power ; but in a short time he generously gave up his right, and allowed all who chose to partake of the benefit of it. Many different plans were tried with the mule, and its improvements were progres- sive : it has now, however, attained to a state of great perfection. " The spinning machines of Arkwright and others had not been long in operation in England, until 292 THE RISE AND PROGRESS they attracted the notice of traders in Scotland, who soon attempted what was then to many a most lu- crative branch of manufacture. But it is difficult to plant a manufacture in a new country, even where there is no secret in the process ; and the difficulty was still greater in this instance, where pains were taken to keep the business involved in mystery. Many who had been employed in the works of Ark- wright, left his service, pretending to a knowledge of the business which they did not possess; and those men were eagerly sought after by new adventurers in the manufacture in both kingdoms. But in most cases those adventurers were no gainers by the ac- quisition. This may easily be conceived, when we consider how very little a great proportion of the people now employed in our Cotton Mills know, and how much less they can communicate of the con- struction of the machinery, or the general system of the business ; and if such be the case at present, what must it have been at the period of which we are speaking, and among men very deficient in the simplest branches of education. Notwithstanding these obstructions, however, several establishments were soon formed in Scotland." It is supposed that the first cotton spun by water in Scotland was in the island of Bute, in what had been a Lint Mill, and was afterwards for some time the Corn Mill of Rothsay. But this was only by way of trial, and before the completion of the larger Cotton Mill. Nearly about the same period cotton was spun at Pennycuick Mills, near Edinburgh. About the year I78O, the Mill of Barrhead, in the parish of Neilston, was completed ; soon afterwards OF COTTON SPINNING. 293 that of Busby, in the parish of Mearns. And in the year 1782, a large Mill of six stories was erected at Johnstone, — a place still celebrated for the enter- prising spirit of its inhabitants. This was the first extensive establishment in Renfrewshire; and there is reason to suppose it was the first in Scotland that was productive of much profit to the proprietors. It now belongs to the respectable firm of Browns, Malloch & Co. Originally it was managed by peo- ple from England, but they proved of the descrip- tion alluded to above, and the proprietors were, in all probability, indebted to the discernment, per- severance, and mechanical genius of Mr. Robert Burns, a native of Paisley, for rescuing the concern from ruin, and rendering the business a source of affluence. Shortly after the completion of this Mill at Johnstone, another extensive establishment was erected at Blantyre, the property of James Monteith, Esq. and continues to this day in the same family, having hitherto been conducted and managed in a manner worthy of the honourable and enterprising spirit of its present proprietor, Henry Monteith, Esq. of Carstairs. Having already mentioned the establishment of Mr. Dale's Works at Lanark, in which Mr. Arkwright himself was for some time a partner, it is unnecessary to enter further into de- tail. Suffice it to say, that the number of Cotton Spinning Mills in Scotland is now considerably above one hundred, and the number of persons em- ployed, directly or indirectly, in the spinning of cot- ton yarn in Great Britain, is estimated at about a million and a half. Since the invention of the spin- ning machines mentioned above, the commerce of -294 THE RISE AND PROGRESS Great Britain has been advancing with gigantic strides, until she has attained an elevated rank among the nations, unparalleled in the history of the world. But how has she acquired all this great- ness? — Not from her numerical strength, for, in this respect, she cannot compare with many of the other nations of Europe — not from her geographical ex- tent of territory or situation, for she occupies but a small speck in the German Ocean — but from her manufactures and her commerce : and what would either of these have attained to without her cotton manufacture ? But this must ever have remained an insignificant branch of traffic, except for those invaluable machines, by which the spinning of yarn is accomplished ; their invention, therefore, forms an epoch in her history. Watt," said a celebrated French civil engineer, " improves the steam engine, and this single improvement causes the industry of England to make an immense stride. This machine represents, at the present time, the power of three hundred thousand horses, or of two millions of men, strong and well fitted for labour, who should work day and night without interruption and without re- pose, to augment the riches of a country, not more than two-thirds the extent of France. A hair- dresser invents, or at least brings into action, a ma- chine for spinning cotton ; this alone gives to British industry an immense superiority. Fifty years only after this great discovery, more than one million of the inhabitants of England are employed in those operations which depend, directly or indirectly, on the action of this machine. Lastly, England exports cotton spun and woven by an admirable system of OF COTTON SPINNING. 295 machinery, to the value of four hundred millions of francs yearly. The Indies, so long superior to Eu- rope — the Indies inundated the West with her pro- ducts, and exhausted the treasures of Europe — the Indies are conquered in their turn. The British navigator travels in quest of the cotton of India, — brings it from a distance of four thousand leagues, — commits it to an operation of the machine of Ark- wright and of those that are attached to it, — carries back their products to the East, — making them again to travel four thousand leagues, and in spite of the loss of time — in spite of the enormous expense incurred by this voyage of eight thousand leagues, the cotton manufactured by the machinery of Eng- land becomes less costly than the cotton of India spun and woven by the hand near the field that pro- duced it, and sold at the nearest market. So great is the power of the progress of machinery." ( See M, Dupin^s Address to the Mechanics of Paris in the Mechanics^ Magazine, In estimating the progress of the manufacture of cotton yarn, it is necessary to take into the account the small quantity produced formerly with what is produced now. The quantity produced previous to the invention of the spinning machines, must have been very small ; for to go no farther back than 178 1, fourteen years after the invention of Har- greaves' jenny, we find that in that year there were importecl of cotton wool 5,198,788 lbs. In 1835, the imports were about 339,379,683 lbs.!! In the former year the exports of cotton yarn were 96,788 lbs. ; in 1832, they exceeded 7^,500,000 lbs.!! On an average of three years, ending with 1814, the total imports of cotton wool were 58,100,000 lbs. 296 THE RISE AND PROGRESS Last year, the exports of cotton yarn alone, exceeded by more than a fourth the total imports of cotton for 1814 ! If the export of cotton yarn be a traffic not so desirable as that in manufactured goods, still it is of great importance to the country, since the value added to the raw material by spinning, is fully as much as is added to flax, silk, or wool, by the complete manufacture of the goods. This circum- stance, therefore, renders the spinning of cotton of vast moment to this country, in providing employ- ment for our industrious population. The number of yards of cotton cloth exported in 1829, was 402,517,196, valued at nearly thirteen millions of pounds sterling! Since that time, how- ever, a great increase has taken place. The num- ber of yards annually consumed at home, is now upwards of 400,000,000!! In I76O, the value of the whole cotton goods then manufactured, was es- timated at two hundred thousand pounds ; at pre- sent, they are rated at forty millions I ! twenty mil- lions of which are exported ! ! The total value of cotton goods annually manufactured in Scotland, was estimated by Sir John Sinclair, some years ago, at nearly seven millions ; at present, however, the value of cotton goods manufactured in and around Glasgow, is ascertained to be upwards of six millions yearly ! ! Mr. M'Culloch estimates the amount of capital employed in the whole manufacture as follows : Capital employed in purchasing the raw material, . £6,000,000 Capital employed in the payment of wages, . . . 15,000,000 Capital invested in spinning mills, power and hand looms, workshops, wareliouscs, he. ..... 35,000,000 Total, £56,000,000 OF COTTON SPINNING. 297 Eight per cent, of the above sum, is allowed for in- terest on capital invested in the manufacture, wages for superintendence, &c., which gives a sum of £4,480,000, two millions of which are allowed for the purchase of materials to repair the waste of buildings, tear and wear of machinery, and eifect insurances ; — purchase coals for engine, oil, tallow, banding, and meet all other outgoings necessary to keep the works in operation, which leaves the sum of £2,480,000, as profits for the proprietors' wages for superintendence, &c. If we are nearly right in these estimates, it will follow — allowance being made for old and infirm persons, children, &c. dependent upon those who are actually employed in the various departments of the cotton manufacture, and in the construction, re- pair, &c. of the machinery and buildings required to carry it on — that it must furnish, on the most mo- derate computation, subsistence for from 1,200,000 to 1,500,000 persons. And for this new and most prolific source of wealth, we are indebted, partly and principally, to the extraordinary genius and talents of a few individuals, but, in a great degree, also, to that security of property and freedom of industry, which give confidence and energy to all who embark in industrious undertakings, and to that universal diffusion of intelligence, which ena- bles those who carry on any work, to press every power of nature into their service, and avail them- selves of productive capacities, of which a less in- structed people would be wholly ignorant." The great and wonderful extent to which the cot- ton manufacture has arisen would almost exceed our S98 THE RISE AND PROGRESS belief, were we not certain that the above statements are all collected from the most authentic sources, and can be relied upon for their accuracy; nor could the most enthusiastic admirer of Arkwright's inven- tions, ever have anticipated the high state of perfec- tion to which our machinery has attained, and the quantities it is now capable of bringing forward, as compared with its original produce. The great increase in the quantity of yarn now produced, does not arise so much from a greater number of hands being employed, or more mills in operation, as from the improvements on the machinery, and the supe- rior skill and dexterity acquired by our artisans, in managing it in the different processes of the manu- facture. Not only does the improved state of our machinery enable us to produce a much greater quantity of cotton goods than formerly, but even that which we do produce, can be brought to the market seventy and eighty per cent, cheaper. And it is from these two taken together, that we estimate the advantages resulting to society from the inventions of Arkwright and others, which the following extract from the " Working Man's Companion" will tend more forci- bly to illustrate. " Nearly twenty years after Arkwright had begun to spin by machinery, the price of a particular sort of cotton yarn, much used in the manufacture of calico, was thirty-eight shillings a pound. That same yarn is now sold for between three and four shillings, or one-twelfth of its price forty years ago. If cotton goods were worn only by the few rich, as they were worn in ancient times, and even in the OF COTTON SPINNING. S99 latter half of the last century, that difference of price would not be a great object ; but the price is a very important object, when every man, woman, and child in the united kingdom, has to pay it. About four hundred millions yards of cotton cloth, are annually consumed by the inhabitants of Great Britain; this distributed amongst a population of twenty-five millions, gives sixteen yards to each in- dividual yearly. We will suppose that no individual would buy these sixteen yards of cloth, unless he or she wanted them ; that this plenty of cloth is a de- sirable thing ; that it is conducive to warmth and cleanliness, and therefore to health ; that it would be a great privation to go without the cloth. At sixpence a yard the four hundred millions yards amount to ten millions pounds sterling. At half-a- crown per yard, which we will take as the average price about five and twenty years ago, they would amount to fifty millions of pounds sterling — an amount equal to all the taxes annually paid in Great Britain and Ireland. At twelve times the present price, or six shillings per yard, (which proportion we get by knowing the price of yarn forty years ago, and comparing it with the current price of yarn at the present day,) the cost of four hundred millions yards of cotton cloth would be one hundred and twenty millions of pounds sterling. It is per- fectly clear that no such sum of money could be paid for cotton goods, and that, in fact, instead of ten millions being spent in this article of clothing by persons of all classes, in consequence of the cheapness of the commodity, we should go back to very nearly the same consumption that existed be- 300 THE RISE AND PROGRESS fore Arkwright's invention, that is, to the consump- tion of the year 1750, when the whole amount of the cotton manufacture of the kingdom, did not exceed the annual value of two hundred thousand pounds. At that rate of value, the quantity of cloth manufactured could not have heen equal to one-five- hundredth part of that which is now manufactured for home consumption : so that thirty-one individ- uals now consume sixteen yards of cloth each, where one person, eighty years ago, consumed only one yard." No improvement or inventions in any other branch of our national manufactures, it is presumed, has ever been the means of producing such a vast amount of good to society generally, as the improve- ments that have been made in the cotton manu- facture, and the facility with which each family or individual can now procure warm and healthful clothing. It is surely matter of gratulation to per- ceive that the trade is still improving, as may be seen from the increasing consumpt of cotton wool. The consumpt of the year 1835 having exceeded all that have preceded it ; and the extent to which it may yet be brought, cannot possibly be deter- mined, although there must be a limits beyond which it is impossible it can extend : but whether it has already reached that limit, or, having reached it, whether it shall remain stationary, and maintain that high pre-eminence to which it has already at- tained, or, begin to decline, are, doubtless, questions which it would be extremely interesting to be able to answer. One thing, however, is certain, that profits are now so low, that, in many cases, proprie- OF COTTON SPINNING. 301 tors do not realise above five per cent, of interest on the capital invested in the business ; therefore, our only hope of making farther progress, now lies in the improvements that may be made on the machinery, and the facilities that may be thereby introduced into any department, by which the pro- cesses may be expedited, and the goods produced at less expense. But so long as any of those impolitic regulations are avoided, by which the energies of our manufacturers might be cramped, and advantages given to foreigners which we do not ourselves pos- sess, it is confidently believed that we have nothing to dread from foreign competition. Upon this subject, however, the following very judicious remarks of Mr. M'Culloch, are highly deserving of notice. Such being the vast extent and importance of the cotton manufacture, the probability of our pre- serving our ascendency in it, becomes a very inter- esting topic of inquiry. But it is obvious, that a great deal of conjecture must always insinuate itself into our reasonings, with respect to the future state of any branch of manufacturing industry. They are all liable to be aflfected by so many contingent and unforeseen circumstances, that it is impossible to predicate with any thing like certainty, what may be their condition a few years hence. But abstracting from the eflfect of national struggles and commotions, which can neither be foreseen nor cal- culated, we do not think that there is any thing in our state, or in that of the different commercial and manufacturing countries of the world, that would lead us to anticipate that the gloomy forebodings of those who contend that the cotton manufacture of 302 THE RISE AND PROGRESS England has readied its zenith, and that it must now begin to decline, will be realised. The natural capabilities we possess for carrying on the business of manufacturing, are, all things considered, de- cidedly superior to those of any other people. But the superiority to which we have already arrived, is, perhaps, the greatest advantage in our favour. Oar master manufacturers, engineers, and artisans, are more intelligent, skilful, and enterprising, than those of any other country, and the extraordinary inventions they have already made, and their famili- arity with all the principles and details of the bus- iness, will not only enable them to perfect the pro- cesses already in use, but can hardly fail to lead to the discovery of others. Our establishments for spinning, weaving, printing, bleaching, Sec, are in- finitely more complete and perfect, than any that exist elsewhere : the division of labour in them is carried to an incomparably greater extent, the work- men are trained from infancy to industrious habits, and have attained their peculiar dexterity and sleight of hand in the performance of their separate tasks, that can only be acquired by long and unremitting application to the same employment; why then, hav- ing all these advantages on our side, should we not keep the start we have already gained? Every other people that attempt to set up manufactures, must obviously labour under the greatest difficulties, as compared with us. Their establishments cannot at first be sufficiently large to enable the division of employments to be carried to any considerable extent ; at the same time that expertness in mani- pulation and in the details of the various processes. OF COTTON SPINNING. 303 can only be attained by slow degrees. It appears, therefore, reasonable to conclude, that such new beginners having to withstand the competition of those who have already arrived at a very high de- dree of perfection in the art, must be immediately driven out of every market equally accessible to both parties, and that nothing but the aid derived from restrictive regulations and prohibitions, will be effectual to prevent the total destruction of their establishments in the countries where they are set up." See Commerciai JDictionary^ article^ Cotton Manufacture, The following Statements show the 'present state of the cotton yarn manufacture of Great Britain, — the quantity of cotton consumed or converted into yarn, — the weight of yarn pro-' duced, and the number of spindles and hands required to produce the same, — the estimated amount of capital invested in buildings, machinery, S^c. ^c. Cotton consumed in England in 1835, - - - - 861,500 bags. Do. do. in Scotland, 92,600 Total in England and Scotland, ----- 954,100 bags. Suppose the average weight of each bag, - - - 3 1 [ lbs. 10,495,100 28,623 Number of lbs. consumed, ^ 296,725,100 lbs. Suppose the quantity of cotton converted into yarn in 1835, to have been 296,800,000 lbs. Allowing oz. per lb. lost in spinning, - - 30,143,750 Quantity of yarn produced, 266,656,250 lbs. 304 THE RISE AND PROGRESS Suppose tlie above yarn to average No. 50, the number of hanks produced will be 13,332,812,500 Each spindle produces 3 hanks per day, 300 working days in a year — number of spindles employed, - 14,814,*236 The estimated valuation of building, machinery, power, &c. is 17/6 per spindle, (according to Burns' Commercial Glance) which shows the amount of capital invested in cotton spinning in Great Britain to be - - - £ 12,962,456—6 Suppose each person employed within the Factories to produce 200 hanks * per day, 300 working days in a year, the number of hands employed will be 222,213 * In former editions of this work the estimated produce per day of each person is taken at 120 hanks, but in that I followed the opinion of others rather than my own, particularly that of Mr. Kenrsedy of Manchester, contained in an article ' On the Rise and Progress of the Cotton Trade," published in 1817. As this is chiefly a practical work, it was not deemed necessary to be very minute upon these abstract subjects ; but finding that there are vari- ous opinions regarding what should be taken as the produce of each individual person employed within the Factories, I have thought it might not be out of place to give here the result of my own experi- ence and observation upon this point, viz. that in several Spinning Factories in Scotland, in which I have held a charge, I find that the average produce for each person employed within the Factories, taking young and old, from the door-keeper to the manager, and taking one day with another throughout the year, to stand as fol- Jows — about 234 hanks per day of No. 40 — 222 hanks of No. 50 — and 209 hanks of No. 60. But believing that there are many Spin- ning Factories that produce a much less quantity, I have taken 200 hanks per day as the average produce of each individual, which gives a result of 222,213 as the number of hands employed. The number actually employed, according to the report of the Factory Commissioners, is 220,134, which shows that the above estimate is nearly correct. OF COTTON SPINNING. 305 The above merely takes in those employed within the Factories. Machine-makers, engineers, masons, Wrights, card-makers, warehousemen, carriers, ship- pets, &c. &c. are not included. The Report of the Factory Commissioners for 1835, shows that the number of Cotton Factories in Great Britain and Ireland, and the number of males and females employed within the same, are as under. Factories employed. Factories empty. Males employed. Females employed. Total employed. England, 1070 42 87875 94217 182092 Wales, 5 452 699 1151 Scotland, 159 10529 22051 32580 Ireland, 28 1639 2672 4311 Total, 1262 42 100495 119639 220134 The total number of males and females employed in Cotton Factories, according to the above Report, is 220,134. Of these there are Males. Females. Total. From 8 to 12 years of age, 4528 3669 8197 From 12 to 13 years of age, 10663 9911 20574 From 13 to 18 years of age, 27251 38235 65486 Above 18 years of age, 58053 67824 125877 100495 119639 220134 u 306 THE RISE AND PROGRESS Rates of wages paid and hours of labour in Cotton Factories, taken from Commissioners Report* ^ week. s. D. In England, . . . 69 hours, 11 0 — America, . 78 — 10 0* - France, . . . 72 to 80 — 3 8 — Prussia, . . . . 72 to 90 — 5 8 — Switzerland, . . 78 to 84 — 4 5 - The Tyrol, . . . 72 to 80 — 4 0 - Saxony, . . . 72 — 3 6 - Bonn in Prussia, . 94 — 2 6 Total quantity of yarn spun in England in 1835, 248,914,331 lbs. Do. do. in Scotland do. 32,320,691 lbs. Do. do. in England and Scotland, 281,435,222 lbs. Total weight of yarn spun in England in 1833, and disposed of as under, - - - 248,914,531 lbs. Exported in yarn from England last year, - 82,437,885 lbs. Do. in thread, 1,842,124 do. Do. in manufactured goods, - - - 97,822,722 do. Estimated quantity of yarn sent to Scotland and Ireland, 5,359,000 do. Exports in mixed manufactures, such as banding, candle and lamp-wick, wadding, flocks, paper, &c. &c. not included in the above, - - - - 11,500,000 lbs. Total exports from England, - - - 198,981,731 do. Consumed at home, 49,932,800 do. Total manufactured and exported, - - 248,914,531 do. * The above tables are taken from " Burns' Commercial Glance," but, according to the report of a committee appointed by Congress in 1832, it appears that the average price of factory labour in the United States of America, is 14/11 per week to each person em- ployed, see page ^W, OF COTTON SPINNING. 307 Weight of yarn exported from England in manufactured goods, in 1835, - 97,822,722 lbs. @ 2/6i r lb. =£12,278,789 Do. of yarn, 82,457,885 do. 1/5^ do. 6,012,554 Do. of thread, 1,842,124 do. 2/4 do. 214,914 Total weight of yarn, 182,122,731 lbs.— Total amount, £ 18,506,257 Manufactured goods exported from England in 1835, 97,822,722 lbs. Yarn consumed at home, . - - - 49,932,800 do. Total, 147,755,522 do. Divided by 52, shows the weekly consumption, = 2,841,452 do. Suppose each loom to use weekly 12 J lbs. the number employed in England will be 217,316 Allowing each loom to consume 4 lbs. of flour weekly, the con- sumpt of flour per week will be - - - 869,264 lbs. Making the annual consumpt 45,201,728 lbs. or 230,621 barrels, (of 196 lbs.) or 188,340 loads (of 240 lbs.) each. If the number of spindles employed in England and Scotland, be 17,777,083, allowing 500 to each horse power, then, to move the above spindles, will require 35,554J horses' power, allowing 340 lbs. of coals to each horse power per day, the consumpt for the above will be 5,386 tons, 17 cwt. 2 qrs. 15 lbs. of coals, or 1,616,064 tons yearly, of 300 working days. The most of the preceding estimates are taken from " Burns' Commercial Glance, for 1835." Dr. Cleland in his " Historical Account of the Steam Engine/' says, that an engine of 30 horse power, working 10 hours per day in a Mill, will consume, on an average of summer and winter, about 4 tons of coal dross. Tons. Cwt. Qrs. Lbs. Oz. Coals 4x20x4x28x16 = 143360 oz. consumed in 10 bours. 143360 X Hi 1 . , or — yq = 164864 oz. consumed m 11^ hours. 808 THE RISE AND PROGRESS One horse power moves 500 spindles spinning No. 50, with the necessary preparation each spindle produces 2^ hanks in 11^ hours = 1250 hanks from 500 spindles per 11 J hours, therefore a 30 horse power engine will produce 37,500 hanks in the same time. Oz. Coals consumed in Hi hours, 164,864 . r i • , , , . ^ , -K^r^TTr: = oz. of coals estimated Hanks produced m do. 37,i)00 ^ to produce one hank. Cwt. Qr. Lb. Oz. Each horse power requires 3 . 0 . 7 . 7 of coals W day of 1 1 J hours, And produces 1250 hanks = 25 lbs. of yarn in do. According to Dr. Cleland's account of the num- ber and power of steam engines employed in and around Glasgow, the horses' power employed in spinning cotton in a space extending not more than two miles from the cross, was, in 1825, equal to 893, since that period there have been several additions to that number. At the present time, it is estimated that the power employed for spinning cotton, in the same space, is equal to upwards of a thousand horses, which may be supposed to consume 158 tons of coals per day, or 45,900 per year of 800 working days. It may assist to form a conception of the immense extent of the British Cotton Manufacture, when it is stated that the yarn spun in this country in a year, would, in a single thread, pass round the globe's circumference 203,77'^ times ; it would reach 51 times from the earth to the sun ; and it would encircle the earth's orbit ei^hf and a half times ! The wrought fabrics of cotton exported in one year, would form a girdle for the globe, passing eleven times round the equator ! OF COTTON SPINNING. 309 This manufacture furnishes nearly one-half of the exports of British produce and manufactures. It supports more than one-eleventh part of the po- pulation of Great Britain, and it supplies almost every nation of the world with some portion of its clothing. None of the kingdoms of Hanover, Wirtemberg, or Saxony, has a population exceeding that engaged in the cotton manufacture of this country. The receipts of our manufactures and merchants for this one production of the national industry, are equal to two-thirds of the whole public revenue of the kingdom. To complete the wonder — this manufacture is the creation of the genius of a few humble me- chanics ; it has sprung up from insignificance to its present magnitude within little more than half a century, and it is still advancing with a rapidity of increase, that defies all calculation of what it shall be in future ages. JBaines* History of the Cotton Manufacture, 310 THE RISE AND PROGRESS The following Table was furnished hy Mr, Kennedy of Man- chester^ to a Committee of the House of Commons on the East India Company's affairs, and shows the prices of Cotton Yarn — the average produce per spindle per day — the expense of workmanship — and the cost of the raw material in England in the years 1812 and 1830. Hanks ^ ^ day F Spindle. 1 Prices of Cotton & Waste lb. Labour ^ lb. Cost ^ lb. Nos. of yarn. 1812* 1830 1812 1830 1812 1830 1812 1830 40 60 80 100 120 150 200 250 Hks. 2. 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.25 1. .75 .05 Hks. 2.75 2.5 2. 1.8 1.65 1.33 .90 .06 s. d. 1— 6 2— 0 2— 2 2— 4 2— 6 2— 10 3— 4 4— 0 s. d. 0— 7 0—10 0— Hi 1- If 1— 4 1— 8 3— 0 3— 8 s. d. 1— 0 1— 6 2— 2 2— 10 3— 6 6— 6 16— 8 31— 0 s. d. 0— 7i 2—21 2—8 4-11 11—6 24—6 s. d. 2— 6 3— 6 4— 4 5— 2 6— 0 9—4 20—0 35-0 s. d. 1— 21 1— 101 2— 6| 3— 41 4— 0 6— 7 14— 6 28— 2 Present State of the Cotton Manufacture in the United States of America, according to the report of a committee appointed hy Congress in the beginning of the year 1832, to inquire into the progress of their spinning and manufacture of cotton goods. Number of Mills in 12 States, ^795 Spindles in do 1,246,503 Looms, 33,506 * Since 1812, there have been great improvements made on the spinning machinery, which accounts for the greater produce per spindle in 1830, as compared with the former year. The above estimates of the produce, however, are considered too low, at least as far as regards Spinning Factories in Scotland. OF COTTON SPINNING. 311 Weight of cotton consumed in 1831, .... 77,557,316 lbs. Allowing 2 oz. per lb. lost in spinning, .... 9,694,664 Total weight of yarn produced, 67,862,652 lbs. Do. do. do. weekly, .... 1,305,051 Averaging 16| oz. per spindle weekly. If the whole 1,305,051 lbs. were manufactured by the 33,506 looms, each loom, on an average, must have consumed 39 lbs. of yarn weekly, a proof that the goods manufactured were of a very heavy description. According to the same report, the number of males employed in the cotton manufacture was 18,539 Females do. do 38,927 Total employed in the whole manufacture, 57,466 The weight of flour consumed in their cotton manufacture in 1831, was 1,641,253 lbs. or 8,374 barrels, 196 lbs. each, the weekly average of which is 31,562 lbs. nearly one lb. to each loom. The amount paid for wages in 1831, was 10,294,444 dollars, or £2,144,780, being 42,895 per week, averaging 14/11 to each person employed as above. The American Tariff has been greatly modified of late ; as it now stands, the duties levied on cotton goods imported from foreign countries are as follows: Plain calicoes, &c. not exceeding in value 1/4J W square yard, to pay 4^d. ^ yard duty. Printed or coloured calicoes, &c. not exceeding ] /7 ^ square yard, to pay 4f d. ^ yard duty. Cotton yarn unbleached or uncoloured, and not exceeding in value 2/8|d. r lb. to pay 8/^d. r lb. duty. Bleached or coloured yarn, not exceeding 3/4, ^d. ^ lb. to pay lO^^jd. ^ lb. duty. 312 THE RISE AND PROGRESS By an Act passed 2d March, 1833, the present Duties are to be reduced from and after S]st December current ^ and a farther progressive reduction is to take place, as follows : " That, from and after the 31st day of December 1833, in all cases where duties are imposed on foreign imports by the Act of July 14th, 1832, entitled " An Act to alter and amend the several Acts imposing duties on imports," or by any other Act, shall exceed twenty per centum on the value thereof, one-tenth part of such excess shall be deducted ; from and after the 31st day of December 1835, another tenth part thereof shall be deducted ; from and after the 31st day of December 1837, another tenth part shall be de- ducted; from and after the 31st day of December 1839, another tenth part thereof shall be deducted; and from and after the 31st day of December 1841, one half of the residue of such excess shall be deducted; and from and after the 30th day of June 1842, the other half thereof shall be deducted." Statement of the weight of Cotton Wool grown in America, and the quantity taken for their own Consumption each twelve months, ending the SOth September, from the year 1826 to 1835, both inclusive* From Burns' Commercial Glance. Cotton Wool Grown in America, Weight in lbs. Taken for their own Consumption in lbs. 1826 to 1827 314,832,000 34,770,288 1827 to 1828 238,520,000 40,448,803 1828 to 1829 301,991,756 40,736,850 1829 to 1830 332,371,511 42,845,708 1830 to 1831 366,089,796 62,292,564 1831 to 1832 345,863,819 60,873,450 1832 to 1833 374,653,300 68,044,550 1833 to 1834 438,425,692 71,445,228 1834 to 1835 464,100,360 80,248,560 OF COTTON SPINNING. 313 Statement of the Supply and Consumption q/* Cotton Wool in Europe, y^'om 1826 to 1834 inclusive, and the Stock in the Ports at the end of each year. Supply. Consumption Stock. Great Britain Continent. Total. Bags. Bags. Bags. Bags. Bags. 1826 939,985 510,900 459,607 970,507 477,838 1827 1,244,844 674,800 455,000 1,129,800 447,315 1828 1,033,530 732,200 371,607 1,103,807 562,360 1829 1,077,681 745,200 460,655 1,215,855 492,083 1830 1,250,992 832,100 358,436 1,190,536 353,909 1831 1,244,111 857,800 441,193 1,298,993 414,365 1832 1,303,304 891,300 461,467 1,352,767 339,483 1833 1,327,646 880,000 496,077 1,376,077 289,593 1834 918,700 531,455 1,450,155 225,784* * Britain, 185,560— France, 24,407— Holland, 1610— Belgi- um, 3790— -Germany, 6406— Trieste, 4011. ON COTTON; ITS MODE OF CULTIVATION, IMPORT AND CONSUMPT, PRICES, DIFFERENT QUALITIES, &C. The word Cotton is derived from an Arabic word " Cootn." In our language it is a name which is very loosely given to any vegetable filamentous sub- stance, but is correctly appropriated to that peculiar vegetable matter, consisting of innumerable fine fila- ments, arranged together within an external coat, and enveloping the seed of the genus Gossypium ; this genus belongs to the class Monodelphia, order Polyandria. Botanists enumerate ten species of Gossypium, which are distinguished by the form of the leaf and the size of the tree. Only a few of the species are cultivated by Euro- peans. The mode of cultivation differs only in the general detail ; some species are annual^ others perennial: some are indigenous to the Eastern, and others to the Western world. The cotton plant is extensively cultivated in different parts of the East Indies, in which countries it requires three seasons to bring the seed to maturity. It is also cultivated to a considerable extent in the Mogul Empire, in the kingdoms of Siam and Pegu, in Sumatra, Persia, Arabia, Asia Minor, Natolia, Smyrna, and Aleppo : also, in Sierra Leone and other parts of Africa \ particularly in Egypt, where, within these ON COTTON. 315 few years past, a very superior quality of cotton has been raised, and seems to be cultivated to a great extent. The first imported into this country, was in the year 1823, where it now ranks in price and quality next to Sea-Island cotton. The cotton plant is also cultivated in Candia, Cyprus, Malta ; and attempts have recently been made to cultivate it in Spain and the South of France. It is grown in some parts of the Russian Empire; in Astracan, Orenburg, Levant, &c. But the chief supply of the British market is from South America, the East and West Indies, and the South- ern States of the American Union ; in all of w^hich countries it is cultivated to a great extent. The cotton plant has been known to ripen its pods or bulbs in sheltered situations in England. J. Blackburn, Esq., M. P. had a gown made from cotton grown in his own garden, for a dress for his lady to appear at court. Four ounces of the raw material made 7i yards muslin 1^ yard broad. The mode of cultivating the cotton plant de- pends upon its being annual or perennial. In gen- eral the annual cotton tree thrives best in a dry gravelly soil ; it is also said to answer better in old than in newly cultivated lands. An exposure to the East, where the country is hilly, is considered by some to be of importance. The planters generally commence preparing their lands in February, and put in the seed during March and April. Holes are made in rows, at the distance of from seven to eight feet ; into each of these an indefinite quantity of seed is laid, which, in a short time, begins to ger- minate ; and as soon as the young plants rise to the 316 ON COTTON. height of six or seven inches, they are all, except two or three of the most vigorous, pulled up by the roots. The surviving plants are pruned twice be- fore the month of August, so as to keep them down to the height of about four feet. This is absolutely necessary, as when there is great abundance, the difficulty of gathering the cotton is increased, with- out any addition to the quantity." At first, great attention is requisite to keep down the weeds and grass, which, if not eradicated, would soon destroy the young plants. The plant on its first appear- ance, and for a few weeks, is extremely tender; the slightest frost hurts or kills it. When this happens, a new crop is usually sown, though with dubious success. Light showery weather is said to be most favourable to the plentifulness of the crop. The gathering season commences partially in August, but is general in September and October, and con- tinues, when the weather is fine and dry, till Christ- mas, as the pods ripen and open gradually. On the coast of Guiana and the Brazils the pe- rennial cotton tree is almost exclusively cultivated. On the coast of Guiana, the land is all alluvial mud, thrown out of the great rivers that empty them- selves into the ocean in its immediate neighbour- hood. Land is daily formed by the same causes. The elevation above the level of the sea is so incon- siderable, as to render inundations not uncommon ; and the whole country is intersected by ditches, without which no cultivation could be carried on. This peculiarity of the country is to be considered, whatever be the object of cultivation; but there are some particulars that are to be exclusively attended ON COTTON. 317 to by the cotton planter. The land in which the cotton is to be planted, must be formed into beds of about 36 feet wide, which are to be surrounded by- drains that run across the estate. These beds are also to be raised a little in the middle, to allow the superabundant water to run off. When the land is properly prepared, it is divided into squares of from three to six feet, according to its nature ; but the average is about five feet. The squares are marked out by a line prepared for that purpose ; or by pickets stuck into the ground, in which small holes, four or five inches deep, and six or eight wide, are dug with a hoe ; a little light earth is then scraped into the hole, and a small handful of seed laid upon it ; the whole is then lightly covered with earth. If the weather be showery, (which it ought to be when cotton is planted,) the seed will spring up in the course of three or four days. When the plants are about three inches high, they are then thinned, leaving only three or four in each hole ; this is generally done within a month after being planted. About the same time the ground generally requires a first weeding, which is also repeated every month, until the trees are fully grown. At the second or third weeding, one tree only is left in each hole ; and then if it be eighteen inches, or two feet high, the tops are nipped off, to make it throw out a suf- ficient number of lateral shoots. The usual period of planting cotton in Dutch Guiana, is during the months of December, January, April, and May. If in the two first months, which are the most prefera- ble, the tree will require to be pruned in June, to prevent its becoming too high. This is done about 318 ON COTTON. three feet above ground : at the same time, all the shoots from the stem above one foot from the ground are pulled off ; but if the cotton be planted in April and May, the branches will only require to be nipped about twice with the finger, and the plant will generally yield some cotton before Christmas ; indeed, from the month of October, if the weather be dry. In general, however, the cotton tree rarely produces a full crop before it has attained its second year, and its duration is generally estimated at four or five years ; but in some places, it is said, that they are seldom cultivated more than two or three years in succession, as after that they cease to bear with the same abundance. The replanting is not done in any regular way; but whenever a tree fails, another is planted in its place, which is called sup- plying a field of cotton. This is particularly at- tended to at the period of weeding. The cotton trees that are a year old are regularly pruned once a year, between the months of April and July. The time of beginning depends, in a great measure, on the state of the weather, and the prospects of the tree yielding any more." " In regular seasons the crop in Guiana is gener- ally finished in April ; and if the season be mild. May is the fittest month for pruning, but the fields must be previously weeded ; and after the pruning, the utmost attention should be paid to keeping the ground free from grass and weeds, which grow very rapidly at this season. The cotton, if the weather be favourable, begins to throw out abundance of blossoms by the end of July, or the beginning of August ; the pods form in succession, and generally ON COTTON. 319 begin to open in about six weeks: it rarely happens that there is any general picking before the end of October, and it continues till about the end of De- cember, making what is called the first crop. After the gathering of the first crop, the ground should be well weeded — the rainy season then commences — the trees grow rapidly, and blossom so, that the second crop should begin in February, and last to the middle of April. In Guiana, however, the se- cond crop is frequently injured, if not destroyed, by the prevalence of cold winds and rains from Decem- ber to April." " The blue clay is considered in Guiana to be the soil best suited to the growth of this plant, but in other countries, dry or gravelly soil is equally pro- ductive, if situated near the sea, a circumstance which has given rise to the opinion, that salt con- tributes to the growth of the cotton tree." Salt clay mud is admitted to be the best manure that can be used in the cultivation of cotton for every description of soil in which sand predominates. In a favourable season, stimulating manures may yield a larger crop, but for a series of years, the former will more certainly repay the industry and skill of the planter. For the cultivation of the best cotton, other two requisites are absolutely necessary : First, a proper selection of the best seed : and second, the utmost attention and care in weeding, pruning, as well as in every other part of the cultivation. The seed should be selected from the most perfect early stalks, produced on the best land ; the situation and soil should also be frequently changed, in order to keep 3^0 ON COTTON. up the quality of the produce yielded hy any par- ticular kind of seed. Much inferior cotton is pro- duced from carelessness in using mixed and bad seed. It is usual to throw the seed into water before sowing it, when the bad seed will float, and the good will sink. Throughout the United States the cotton tree is an annual plant, and is not cultivated north of lati- tude 35° ; but some successful experiments as to the possibility of raising it, have been made in the neigh- bourhood of New York, or latitude 40°. Cotton was first shipped as an article of commerce about the year 1793, from the United States ; it had pre- viously been cultivated for domestic purposes only. All cotton, except Upland and New Orleans, yield black seed; but these two give green seed. In Charleston, and other parts of America, Sea-Island cotton is often distinguished by the name black seed. And Uplands, by the designation, green seed cot- tons. That which is grown in Paraguay, called the Mandigu, is produced by shrubs scarcely bigger than a hazel, with wood and bark like the elder, and clothed with plenty of soft woolly leaves. Between three and four leaves, with which the unripe nuts are surrounded, grow flowers larger than roses, composed of three broad yellow petals streaked with red, and white stamins grow in the bottom of the flowers. The blossoms at length become fruit of a green colour, oval, or rather conical, and, when full grown, larger than a plum. When ripe, it turns black, separates into three parts, thrusting out white cotton full of black seeds, resembling pis- tachio nuts in size and shape. ON COTTON, 321 The cotton plant is top-rooted, and, consequently, it requires sufficient depth of rich light soil. Being of a succulent nature, it is very liable to be injured by spring frosts, or very wet seasons, but more particularly, by a most destructive insect called chenille, a caterpillar, which has been known to destroy whole fields of the most promising crops in a single night. Several travellers have given various accounts of this insect. Dr. Chisholm de- scribes it as being very beautiful, and about an inch in length, with stripes of white down the back, and one on each side, the intermediate spaces being a fine glossy black. The head is round and corneous, armed with two lateral corneous jaws, forming a a powerful instrument of destruction. " The most singular circumstances respecting this insect, are the fragrant scent that is emitted from the plant on which it feeds, though neither the plant nor the insect possess any scent whatever when separate : also the manner in which the ova are sometimes preserved for a whole year, without any appearance of the chenille, and resisting the efforts of the planters to destroy them, by the use of fire and other methods; and the surprising speed with which its ravages are carried to the most distant parts of the plantation. Sulphureous vapours. Sec, have been applied to the infected plants, and found eflPec- tual, but attended with considerable expense to purchase apparatus, and apply it separately to each plant." The cotton tree is also subject to a disease called the blast or blight, which seems to be occasioned by two opposite causes ; an excess of vegetation, re- X 322 ON COTTON. sembling the plethora of animals, which destroys the fruit only ; and an exhaustion of vegetation, pro- ducing a state similar to gangrene, which nearly, if not entirely, destroys the whole plant. This dis- ease is also sometimes brought on by the root being for any considerable time immersed in water. Lit- tle progress has yet been made in the curious and useful study of tracing the resemblance between the diseases of plants and animals ; of this resemblance, however, the cotton tree is a striking example, and the treatment adopted should be of a similar kind. In cases where the disease is occasioned by the ex- cessive vegetation of the plants, produced by a re- dundancy of moisture, every means should be used for draining the fields, besides the common method of deepening the channels into the sea, and putting on larger flood-gates. The placing a steam engine, so as to throw the water over the dam into the sea, has been tried, and with good success. The want of sufficient moisture, which occasions a still more destructive disorder, is not so easily remedied ; the only thing to be done in this case, is to carry a canal into the interior of the country, so as to obtain a supply of fresh water from the springs. When the gangrene, (which is properly speaking the blast) appears, a cure is impossible ; all that can be done must be by prevention, or curing the first state of the disease. Insects, called by the planters cotton bugs, are fonnd by thousands in the pods of the diseased plants, and seem to hasten their de- struction." " After the cotton is gathered, it is exposed to the rays of the sun, on a tile or wooden platform, for ON COTTON. 328 two or three days, till it is perfectly dry and hard. The seeds are then separated by passing it through between two wooden rollers, which are slightly grooved, and about ^ of an inch in diameter ; this is called ginning the cotton ; and when ginned, it is carefully picked, to free it from broken seeds, dried leaves, or yellow locks of cotton, &c. Twenty lbs. of cotton from the plant usually produce five of clean cotton, and between three and four hundred lbs. of the latter, is considered a good crop off one acre. The practice of switching the cotton was introduced, but not generally adopted, because not approved of by manufacturers. The cotton is afterwards com- pressed into bales, which is done by means of a screw-press in this state it is sent to Europe, and employed for making those various beautiful fabrics that do infinite credit to British ingenuity and industry." * When cotton is packed up in square bales, it is done in a press. In the round bags, it is packed in the following manner : A negro going within the bag, (which is suspended from the ground) is sup- plied with cotton, which he puts in layers beneath his feet, and this being occasionally slightly wetted, acquires the requisite firmness. There are many instances of deceit practised in the packing of cotton ; this is well known to the cotton spinners in Britain, large stones, pieces of metal, sand, or cotton seeds, being found upon opening the bags. I once saw upon the wharf at Charleston, a wag- gon load of cotton, which, from the uncommon weight of each bale, excited the suspicion of the weigher, who caused them to be cut across, when the contents, excepting about two inches next the out- side, were found to be completely soaked with water. This was a very barefaced attempt at imposition ; but the owner of the cotton reaped the fruit of his ingenuity, by losing the whole; as the moment that the operation of cutting the bags commenced, did he make his 324 ON COTTON. " Cotton was known to the ancients, and is par- ticularly described by Pliny : we have not, however, been able to discover the mode of its manufacture in those early periods. The beauty of the sub- stance, and it is obvious applicability to many pur- poses, would, no doubt, excite a very early atten- tion ; but it was not until the wonderful facilities which were introduced into the spinning of the raw material, that it became an object of extensive cul- tivation. In India, indeed, where manual labour is cheap, it has long been cultivated, and manufac- tured into muslins and calicoes by the simple ap- paratus of the inhabitants. England boasts of hav- ing introduced those improvements in machinery which have rendered cotton an object of immense attention to Europeans." But previous to the year 1793, the cotton used in Britain for the manufac- ture of the coarser articles was (with the exception of a small quantity imported from India) wholly grown in our own and the French West India Is- lands ; that for the better kind of these goods, was retreat with his waggon as quickly as possible, for fear of worse con- sequences. At this time, cotton was worth a hundred dollars per bale, without any damping. It is very seldom that a merchant who has shipped cotton, can recover any thing here in case of false packing being discovered in Britain. When accused of such base practices, the people say, that they are merely retaliating upon the British for their gross fraud in their manner of putting up goods, especially those that come from Manchester. It would be well for both parties to conduct their commerce upon honourable principles. Much bad blood is engendered on account of these tricks, and many unworthy surmises cast upon merchants of integrity and honour. — ( SioG years residence in America bij Peter Neilson.J ON COTTON. 325 raised in Surinam, or Demerara and Berbice ; the wool for the fine goods was grown in Brazils, and that for the very few fine muslins, then manufac- tured, in the Isle of Bourbon. Had we continued to be confined to these countries for our supply of cotton, the progress of the manufacture would have been greatly retarded, from the difficulty that would have been experienced in making the production of the raw material keep pace with the increasing con- sumption ; and added to this, we might not have been able to obtain the qualities of wool suited to the finer descriptions of goods, which the improved state of the machinery now enables us to undertake. But fortunately, about the year 1790, the planters, in the Southern States of the American Union, be- gan to turn their attention to the raising of cotton wool, and besides carrying the cultivation to a great extent, they have produced qualities of cotton before unknown ; so that the quantity of cotton now produced in the western hemisphere, in Asia, Africa, and the South of Europe, is incredibly great, and might be increased in an indefinite pro- portion, provided that there was a market for it ; but, like every thing else for which there has been an unexampled demand, too much is produced, and its value has decreased in a corresponding ratio. In consequence of which, the inferior descriptions of cotton are now sold at prices scarcely sufficient to cover the expense of growing it. Hence planters are forced to employ every means likely to improve the quality of the wool, either by adopting the most approved methods of cultivation, or chiefly, by a proper selection of seed. Of late years, the 826 ON COTTON. latter has been much more successfully attended to by cotton growers than in former periods, when cotton wool sold at a much higher price. The black seed (Sea- Island) cotton of America, is now cultivated to some extent in the East Indies, Egypt, and other parts, from which much superior wools have been produced than was formerly grown in these countries. And even in America, superior qualities have been obtained by a careful selection of the best seeds of that commonly known by the name of Upland cottons ; in proof of which the following account of a new species of cotton has been received from a gentleman residing in South Carolina. A Mr. Burr ell Lyles brought to this market^ (Charleston) a few days since, three bales of cotton, in store at Messrs. Woods & Subers, the staple of which is said, by good judges, to be superior to any that has been seen here. Eleven cents, per lb. has been offered for it, and refused. 1 am told by Mr. Lyles, that, about four years ago, he discovered in his crop, a single stalk remarkable for its height and the number of pods that came to maturity, and opened earlier than the rest. He saved and planted the seed from this stalk separately, from year to year, and in the year 1832, he was enabled to plant about fourteen acres. The soil is of medium quality of Upland, and the average height of the stalk about eight feet, occasionally they shoot up the height of 12 or 13 feet. Mr. Lyles calculates the product at an average of a bale of 325 lbs. in the acre. The writer has seen the crop, and knows the description ON COTTON. 327 is not exaggerated ; and having some knowledge of cotton planting, confidently thinks the product per acre is not overrated. The contrast between that and the adjoining crop of the common stock upon lands of the same quality is so great, as to force it upon the attention of the mere passenger. Mr. Lyles has thus given a practical illustration of the advantages that may be expected to result from a proper attention to the selection of seed for planting in all the departments of agriculture, and it is to be hoped that, in the sale of his seed, he will reap the reward due to his care. For the present he has contracted to dispose of all, or most of his stock, at a moderate price, in such quantities, as to disseminate it pretty generally through that part of the country in which he lives. And if the an- ticipations of it be realised in a few years, it will be worth more to South Carolina than the com- bined products of all the gold mines of North and South Carolina and Georgia together." That suc- cess may attend every attempt to improve the quality of the cotton grown in the Carol inas and Georgia, is devoutly to be wished by every British spinner. Much inferior cotton comes from that quarter, which is of little profit to proprietors, whilst it harasses the minds of those who have to work it. While the price of cotton wool has been de- clining for a number of years back, the quantity consumed by British manufacturers has been gradu- ally increasing in the same proportion. Some esti- mate may be formed of the increasing consumpt of cotton wool in Great Britain, by taking into ac- 328 ON COTTON. count the quantities consumed at different periods; as for example: The quantity consumed in the year 1773 was, 137,160 lbs. Do. do. 1790 - 1,757,504 do. Do. do. 1805 - 59,700,000 do. Do. do. 1820 - 120,265,000 do. Do. do. 1831 - 262,700,000 do. Do. do. 1832 - 277,190,000 do. Do. do. 1835 - 296,725,100* do. From the above statement, it will be seen that the consumpt of cotton wool has been rapidly in- creasing these fifty years back, and it is impossible to form any idea of the extent to which the manu- facturing of cotton goods may yet be carried in this country. The following Tables show, more distinctly, the import, export, and consumpt of cotton wool in Great Britain, for a period of fourteen years, end- ing 1835 ; also, the extreme prices current, at Liverpool, at the close of each year. Together with the produce, export, and home consumpt of cotton yarn, during the same period, by which the gradu- ally improving state of the cotton manufacture may easily be ascertained. * The average weekly consumption of cotton wool in Great Britain in 1835, has been estimated at 18,348 bags, consisting of 5,896 Upland— 7,823 Orleans and Albama— 354 Sea-Island. Total, 14,073 American— 2,339 Brazil— 446 Egyptian, &c.— 1,069 East India, and 421 West India, &c. being an increase upon the consumption of the preceding year of 681 bags per week; or for the whole year, an increase of 14,500,000 lbs. weight. CO CO I- Co ti3 5- CO o S 05 I-H CO CO o o CO OS i> CO G^i 05 o I-H CO "-H Oi Gv? 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CO OS as CO f> as o 1— 1 >o CO CO OS CO CO o o ^ a> CO CO CD aa tS 3 QO o O CO OS > < lOOiit)!— ^i^j-^ocoasGoaOi— itj^cocoO'-io t>)a5i>cocoi— iGsaii>coi— II— icO"^ocD"^t^ pHC^'--^t^Gvi"^0(>)i-Hco^G(qcqGOQqoi-^"«# cDOtda5c«5c>i'-H«0(>icoi--^i>'-HoocDO'^r-J COCOOC7i«#ir5UOOr-cOCO^COCO'*C^COCvJ .-H«!^|C^_ir5cocoOioO'-HGD?>i— ^cqcocq •^oio^^'-^»o?>co->:^(>icda5'rH^.--*i-HO coQOQoa50^r-i^aicoiOco^i>t>a5a50 o Oi CD CO 1— 1 CO o ai G^l CO i> O CO d d i> (M CO uo o CO 1— H O CO i> 0(6 CO as d 1— 1 CO CO ?> ^o^CDXcoo-+pH(:>?cv?c:)CO-^cooaiO i>i— iGvJCOCOQOr-fOGvJCOaDaO'— lOC^OOtiOCO cO'^cocO"^a5»i^coiocoQq^r-^'-H.-;0»r5iO CO to d CO »^ 1-^ d d (>j (>i QO ^ CO d uo CO •*OCCOG^O^i>OTj-^".^i:Oi>COCDt^COCO L^ooioii^cococq<-Hcoc^iocouoiOTjH(^^co ^CDcO'-Hdt-^co(>i{>jcocodco^'i^d.-Hd 1— r-iC^i(>iG^i(>JC0C0«*"*'^COCOCOf>COC0Q0 ^ o oooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooo C0C^iO<— it-rf-COOit^OOOO i-HdQ6dcop-Hdi>'-Hd"^ddddddd r— iCOC0(>J"^C0u0TjHa5Q0?>C0"^C0-— lOOCi o^uo(^^rHal{>co,-H,--T^o(^^cD'^(^icoc-;(>^ Q6Q6QDddo6c6dd?>di>oiddc6(>jd aia50i-HcocO"^iOcoj>a5a5(Mco-^»j^i^Go qS oooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooo o o o o o o o o o p o o o o p p p p «• G^icDddcod-ia5'!fcO'— ocoooooooo -I p ITS (>J p rjj CO (>i (>i CO p i> p p P ^ d d d d lo d d i-^ i> d t-^ cvj d i> CO CD oo(>jc^"^iococouoa5'--i.-i'!jJG^GVi(MG^iCOCO coa50'-^(>}cO'*^co?>aDaiOr-i(>jcO'*io ^^(MOJ(>)C>)CQC^iOiO?CQGvJC0C0C0C0C0C0 GOCOGDXCOCOQOCOCDCOCOQOGOGOCOCOaDCO DIFFERENT GROWTHS OF COTTON. Cotton is now so extensively manufactured into a great variety of different qualities of cloth, that a short account of the various descriptions imported into the British market, with a few remarks upon their qualities — the estimation in which they are generally held by manufacturers — the countries where they are cultivated, &c. may, perhaps, not be uninteresting to managers, carding and spinning masters, and to those interested in its manufacture. Cotton is generally distinguished by its colour, and the length, strength, and fineness of its fibres. There are many varieties of cotton, their names being principally derived from the countries where they are cultivated. Also, under each general name, there are various denominations, distinguished by the particular province or district of the country where they are grown. In the following short ac- count of the different descriptions, each kind is classed under the name of the country in which it is cultivated. — ►►H^ — - SMYRNA WOOL. The cotton wool known by the above name was formerly imported from the Levant, in quantities proportioned to the then trifling demand. At one DIFFERENT GROWTHS OF COTTON. 335 time it was the only cotton wool to be met with, excepting a few bags occasionally imported from the West Indies. Although it has a soft silky ap- pearance, yet it is neither well fitted to endure the neccessary operations in being manufactured into yarn, nor does it, when finished, make an article either of strength, beauty, or durability. Only a small quantity is now imported, and is used chiefly for making candle-wick, being inflammable in a higher degree than any other kind of cotton. EAST INDIA COTTON. East India Cotton includes Surat, Bengal, Madras, Bourbon, &c. The latter takes its name from the Isle of Bourbon in the Indian Ocean, where it is cultivated. It is generally a very superior cotton both for strength and fineness, although short in the staple. For a number of years it was the only cotton used for spinning yarns of the finest quality, until superseded by Sea-Island cotton, which is now found even superior to it. The quantity now im- ported is very small. The other kinds of East India cotton are of very low quality. They have a fine glossy and silky appearance, but are extremely short in the staple, and used only for spinning the lowest numbers of yarn. The imports have been on the increase for a number of years back, but especially since the partial opening of the trade to 386 DIFFERENT GROWTHS India in 1813 ; and it is supposed that the quantity cultivated might be greatly increased, and the quali- ty improved, were it not for those impolitic regula- tions established under the East India monopoly for securing the revenue, &c. Hitherto East India cottons have generally been bought at the lowest prices in the British market, a proof of the low es- timation in which they are held by manufacturers. But a new kind of cotton has lately been imported from Madras, said to have been raised from the same seed as the Sea-Island. It is a fine white soft wool, having a silky or glossy appearance, very clean, and equal, if not superior in quality, to the Pernambuco, but rather short in the staple. It is much inferior to the Sea-Island, but brings a much higher price than the common Madras cotton. — ^« — WEST INDIA COTTON. This cotton takes its name from those numerous islands lying in the Gulph of Mexico, denominated West India Islands, where it is still cultivated to a considerable extent, although the quantity imported into Great Britain is not now one-fourth of what it was about fifteen or twenty years ago. In 1813 and 1814, the imports amounted to 7^>^19 and 74,800 packages ; but since that period, they have been gradually decreasing. In 1830 and 1831, the imports amounted only to 11,7^1 and 11,304; yet, notwithstanding the great falling off in the quantity OF COTTON. imported, — in price, it ranks with Upland and the common and middling qualities of Orleans. This wool is various in its qualities, but, in general, it is a strong coarse article, irregular in the staple, and well adapted for the manufacture of the stouter fabrics of cloth to which it is mostly applied, but is totally unfit for finer goods. It is said that the finest quality of cotton ever brought to the English market, or probably ever grown, was raised in one of the West India Islands, viz. Tobago, upon the estate of Mr. Robley, be- tween the years 1789 and 179^. That gentleman carried the cultivation of this article to some extent; but the price of cotton falling very low, and the growing of sugar becoming more profitable, in con- sequence of the destruction of the sugar plantations in the French Islands, he was induced to convert his cotton plantation into a sugar one; and the production of cotton of this description was never attempted by any other person, though, it is be- lieved, that the price it would command would amply repay the expense of growing it, — ►►H^ — SOUTH AMERICAN COTTON. South American cotton includes that imported from Brazils and Guiana. Brazil cottons are distinguished by the names of Pernambuco, Maranham, Bahia, Para, &c. accord- ing to the districts where they are grown. That which is known by the name of Pernambuco is of a Y 338 DIFFERENT GROWTHS fine rich cream colour, and of superior quality. It long had the reputation of being superior to any- imported, the Bourbon and Sea-Island excepted. In quality, Pernambuco ranks with Egyptian ; the latter is finer, but very irregular. Maranham, Bahia and Para wools, partake much of the same general description, but are inferior both in strength and cleanness to the Pernambuco. The imports of cotton wool from the Brazils have been remarkably steady for a long period. They seem, indeed, to have undergone little or no variation these twenty years past. In 1822 the imports were 143,505 packages. In 1834, they were 143,572. The cotton imported from the coast of Guiana is distinguished by the names of Demerara and Ber- bice, Surinam, Cayenne, Essequibo, Sec. Demerara cotton is a strong glossy wool, pretty long though unequal in the fibre, and generally well cleaned and picked before it is packed. It makes a clean stout thread, and is frequently used for fine wefts, or warps of a moderate fineness ; it is rather coarse, however, for the finest qualities of either. It is usually classed with the Berbice, but the latter is considered rather inferior. In price and quality they rank with Egyptian and Pernambuco wools. Essequibo is something similar to those mentioned, but inferior. Cayenne cotton is not much imported; it is like the Demerara, a clean wool, but very long and hard in the staple, which makes it difficult to card and spin. Surinam resembles the Demerara and Berbice in appearance, but is inferior both in strength and OF COTTON. 339 fineness, and similar to the Essequibo ; both of them are considered to be pretty much on a level in qua- lity with the West Indian wools. The imports, con- sumpt, &c. of Demerara and Berbice, Surinam, and other cottons from Guiana, have been on the de- crease for some years back. The imports in 1830 and 1831 amounted to 1263 and 811 packages, or 395,319 and 253,843 lbs. — ►H^^ — EGYPTIAN COTTON. The first cotton imported into the English market from Egypt was in the year 1823. Since that period it has been annually imported in considerable quan- tities, amounting, on an average, to about 6,593,073 lbs. It is a very superior wool, of a yellowish colour, not nearly so fine and silky as American Sea-Island, but generally long and strong in the staple, though somewhat irregular and very slovenly got up ; and, perhaps, no description of cotton loses less after passing through the operation of carding. There are two sorts of Egyptian cotton imported into the British market, one is in Egypt, called Makko, and in England, common Egyptian; the other is produced from Sea-Island seed, and in Egypt is called Sennaar, in England it is denomi- nated Sea-Island Egyptian. Besides these two, there are raised in Egypt from 15 to 20,000 bales annually, of a short staple cotton, similar in quality to that of Smyrna wool, and chiefly consumed in the country itself. 340 DIFFERENT GROWTHS The cotton received from Egypt is found to be among the most useful that is grown, and that raised from Sea-Island seed ranks in quality next to American Sea-Island. The best qualities of this wool are generally used by manufacturers for yarn of superior quality. The quantity of cotton grown in Egypt having been omitted in its proper place, it is given below. No returns were made up previous to 1831. The following statement shows the growth since that period. The apparent falling off in the growth was in consequence of the wars engaging almost the whole of the male population of the country. Up- wards of 100,000 bales have been received into this country from Egypt in one year, (1825) and, there- fore, we can have no adequate idea of its immense capabilities, if the energies of the inhabitants were properly directed to its cultivation. Growth of EgypU 1831— 2 113,626 bales. 1832— 3 79,304 do. 1833— 4 36,083 do. 1834— 5 98,048 do. COTTON FROM THE UNITED STATES. Previous to the year 1790, North America did not supply this country with a single pound weight of cotton ; it was only after the termination of the American war that cotton began to be cultivated in OF COTTON. 341 Carolina and Georgia, and it has succeeded so well, that it now forms one of the staple productions of the United States. But that which was first mi- ported into the English market, was very imperfectly- cleaned, and, in consequence, was for some time used only for spinning low numbers. It was soon perceived, however, that the cotton grown upon the coast, termed Sea-Island cotton, had a finer and longer staple than that which was produced farther up the country, and known by the name of Upland cotton. But some years elapsed before it was as- certained to be of a quality in every respect superior to that which was brought from the Isle of Bourbon, the only cotton then used for the finest qualities of yarn, but which is now almost entirely superseded by the former. American cotton is generally distinguished by the names of Sea-Island, Upland, New Orleans, Alabama, Tennessee, &c. Sea-Island cotton is the finest that is imported into this country, or, indeed, that is known, and takes its name from being grown upon small sandy islands contiguous to the shores of Georgia and Car- olina, and on the Low Grounds bordering on the sea. The principal of these islands are situated between Charleston and Savannah. It is a fine silky cotton, having a yellowish tinge, both long and strong in the staple, and used only for spinning the finest qualities of yarn, or for a superior quality of power loom warps. But its qualities differ so much, that the finest specimens are often more than double the price of the inferior sorts. Its close vicinity to the sea exposes it to the inclemencies of the 842 DIFFERENT GROWTHS OF COTTON. weather, by which it is often injured, consequently that which is thus damaged, sells at a much lower price than the better kinds of it. Upland cotton is a different species from Sea- Island, and is grown in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia; and for a considerable time the cultivation was confined to these States. As the planting extended to the south, the quality varied in some respects, and the cotton received the name of its place of growth ; hence, New Orleans cotton, Alabama, Mobile, &c. &c. That which is known in the market by the name of New Orleans, is a very superior cotton, clean, soft, and of a glossy and silky appearance, rather short in the staple, and incorporates freely with other cottons of a longer staple. It is grown upon the banks of the Mississippi, and imported, in great quantities, into the English market, where it ranks in price and quality about equal to the common qualities of Brazil cottons. Alabama, Upland, &c. rank next to New Orleans, and are soft, short, and weak in staple. The cultivation of cotton wool is carried to a very great extent in the United States at present. The quantity imported into this country is estimated at about 350,000,000 lbs. yearly, and apparently still increasing. The quantity consumed by the Amer- icans themselves is now about 90,000,000 lbs. The total quantity grown in the United States is estima- ted to be nearly 500,000,000 lbs. yearly, the value of which must be about £9,000,000. This article alone furnishes one-half of the whole exports of the United States* METHOD OF CLEANING COTTON ABROAD. Various methods of cleaning cotton have been adopted at different periods. In the West Indies, and on the continent of America, what is called the roller-gin has been long used. It consists of a pair of fluted rollers about f of an inch in diameter, and nine or ten inches long ; these are fitted up in a frame, and motion being communicated to them, the cotton is passed through between them, by which means it is separated from the seed, the diameter of the rollers being so small, that the gins, when whole, cannot be drawn in between them. In this way the staple is not at all cut, particularly Sea Island, which adheres only very slightly to the seed, but which is not the case with Upland, for it adheres so firmly to the seed, that it requires the saw-gin to clean it, as described in next page. The roller-gin is but a slow process, and therefore expensive, consequently used only for the best qualities. Switching the cotton was tried, but disapproved of by manufacturers, as tending greatly to injure it. The cotton called Bowed Georgia, takes its name from a mode of cleaning cotton long in use. This was performed by means of the bow-string, which being raised by the hand, and suddenly let go, struck 844 METHOD OF CLEANING upon the cotton with great force, and thereby served both to separate the gins and open the cotton, so as to render it more fit for the processes that follow. But this mode, whatever advantages it might possess in point of quality, has been abandoned for others better adapted for quantity ; and what is called Bowed Georgia, has, for a long time, in reality, been cleaned by a machine denominated a saw-gin. This machine consists of a cylinder about the size of a weaver's beam, and teeth cut out like a saw, at equal distances from each other, from which it derives its name. Instead of these saws, the ma- chine originally had wires like card teeth, but these having been found to make what is called white naps upon the cotton, the former were substituted in their place. The saws pull the cotton through a grating, which has its openings so narrow, that the seeds cannot get through. The grating being a little in- clined to the horizon, cotton is thrown upon it by the negro attending the machine, when the teeth of the saws take hold of it, and pull it through the openings, whilst the gins being pressed out, roll down the surface of the grating, and escape by an opening in the side of the machine. By the cen- trifugal force of the cylinder the cotton is thrown backwards, aided by another cylinder, covered with brushes, for cleaning the teeth. This machine, though not very injurious to the cotton of a short staple, yet is seldom used for the finest Sea-Island, or any other that is very long in the fibres. It is worthy of remark, that when the Upland Georgia cotton was first brought to the English COTTON ABROAD. 345 market, it yielded a higher price by about 2d. per lb. when it was cleaned by the roller-gin ; but, con- trary to all expectation, the saw-gin is found much better adapted for cleaning this species of cotton than the other. And what is done by it, is pre- ferred by those who understand spinning. The saws separate the gins more effectually than the rollers, and at the same time give it a kind of teazing, which is found highly beneficial to it. CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED WITH THE COTTON TRADE, CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED. B. C. 340. The cotton manufactures of India were taken notice of by the Greeks. A. D. 1101. The measure of the Ell fixed by Henry I. 1280. The manufacture of cotton introduced into China from India. 1500. The first attempt made to introduce cotton goods into Eng- land. 1560. Guiccardine records the Low Countries to be the depot of India goods and of cotton from the Levant. 1565. The first Act of Parliament relating to cotton goods. 1600. The first charter granted to the English East India Company. 1631. Printed calicoes imported into England. 1640. Fustians made at Bolton. 1670. The Dutch loom first used in England. 1673. Blone, in his history of Liverpool, speaks of great cotton manufactories in the adjacent parts. 34^6 CRICUMSTANCES CONNECTED 1676. Calico printing first introduced into London. 1700. The manufacturing of muslins first attempted in Paisley. 1721. The weaving of India calicoes prohibited. 1725. Linens, lawns, and cambrics, first manufactured at Glasgow. Mr. James Monteith was the first manufacturer who warped a muslin web in Scotland. 1730. Cotton spinning attempted unsuccessfully by Mr. Wyat, at Litchfield, who spun the first thread of cotton yarn ever produced without the intervention of the fingers. 1735. The cotton plant first cultivated in Surinam. 1738. Mr. Lewis Paul took out a patent for an improved mode of spinning with rollers. The fly shuttle invented by Mr. John Kay of Bury. 1742. The first Mill for spinning cotton erected at Birmingham. It was moved by asses ; but the machinery was sold in 1743. 1750. The fly shuttle in general use. 1756. Cotton velvets and quiltings first made. 1760. Mr. James Hargreaves applies the stock card to the carding of cotton with some improvements. 1762. Cylinder cards invented. First used by the father of the late Sir Robert Peel. 1763. Rouen was the principal market for the sale of cotton wool. 1767. The spinning jenny invented by Mr. James Hargreaves. 1769. Mr. Arkwright, afterwards Sir Richard Arkwright, obtained his first patent for spinning with rollers, and built his first Mill at Nottingham. 1770. 5521 bags of cotton imported into Liverpool from the West Indies, 3 from New York, 4 from Virginia and Maryland, and 3 har7'els from North Carolina. 1774. Power Looms invented by the Rev. Dr. Cartwright. 1779. Cayenne, Surinam, Essequibo, Demerara, and St. Domingo cotton most in esteem. Mule jenny invented by Mr. Samuel Crompton. 1781. Brazil cotton firs-t imported from Maranham, but very dirty. 1782. Mr. James Watt obtained his patent for the steam engine. 1783. Surat, and also Bourbon cotton, first imported, or known, about this time. 1784. Mr. Arkwright's first patent expired. WITH THE COTTON TRADE. 1784i Cotton manufactured in Great Britain this year was 11,280,238 lbs., and valued at £3,950,000. Cotton imported in small quantities from the United States. 1785. Mr. M'Intosh and Mr. Dale commenced dying Turkey red in Glasgow. 1786. Bourbon cotton sold from 7/6 to 10/ W lb. 1793. Cotton, the growth of the United States, first imported in large quantities, by way of the West Indies. 1797. Scutching machine, invented by Mr. Neil Snodgrass, first used in Mr. Houstoun's Mill, at Johnstone. — — About this time the saw gin was invented by Mr. Whitney, Massachussets. 1798. The Fame arrived with the first cargo of cotton from the East Indies. Heating cotton Factories by steam invented by Mr. Neil Snodgrass. 1800 or 1801. The entire stock of American cotton in Liverpool 07ie bag. 1803. Radcliff 's dressing and warping machine invented. 1813. Trade to British India thrown open under certain restrictions. 1818. 105 millions of yards of cotton cloth manufactured in Glasgow, value £5,000,000. 1 823. Cotton first imported from Egypt direct to Liverpool. 1 825. Steam Engines estimated at 893 horses' power, spinning cot- ton in and around Glasgow, in a space not more than two miles from the cross. — — Mr. Dyer of Manchester introduced the tube frame from America, for which he obtained a patent. Mr. Roberts of Manchester obtained a patent for an im- proved self-acting mule. 1830. The Danforth throstle frame introduced into England. Mr. Roberts obtained a second patent for improvements on his self-acting mule. 1832. Mr. Robert Montgomery of Johnstone (Scotland) obtained a patent for the three kingdoms for an improvement of the throstle frame. The first entire machine was accidentally destroyed. The second is now in full operation in the Mill of Mr. John Miller, and giving entire satisfaction. 348 CIRCUMSTANCES, &C. 1832. The value of cotton goods now manufactured in Great Britain estimated at £40,000,000 yearly, £20,000,000 of which are exported. 1834. Mr. Smith of Deanston obtained patents for a self-acting carding engine and a self-acting mule. The quantity of cotton cloth annually manufactured in England was, upon an average of four years, from 1824 to 1828, 759,000,000 yards, 360,000,000 of which are exported, and 399,000,000 re- tained for home consumption. Number of power looms employed in Great Britain estimated at 203,373. The number of hands employed in all the different branches of the cotton manufacture, is supposed to amount to a million and a half. ji NIVEN AND SON, PRINTERS, 65» GLASSFORD STKEETt PUBLISHED BY JOHN NIVEN, JUN. 158, TRONGATE, GLASGOW. In One Volume 12mo, Price 5/, sixth edition, Carefully Revised and Enlarged, with Plates, A COMPENDIUM OF MECHANICS; Or Text-Book for Engineers, Mill-Wrights, Machine-Makers, Founders, Smiths, &c. containing Practical Rules and Tables connected with the Steam Engine, Water Wheel, Pump, and Mechanics in general : also. Examples for each Rule, calculated in Decimal Arithmetic, which renders this Treatise particularly adapted for the use of Operative Mechanics. By R. BRUNTON. " This is a very useful publication, and is calculated to supply a great desider- atum amongst Operative Mechanics. The explanation of the Mechanical Powers are given shortly, but distinctly, and the rules for calculating their effects are expressed in the same manner. Very appropriate examples are given under each head, and the calculations are exhibited in the most concise form, at the same time that they are sufficiently obvious to any person who is acquainted with common arithmetic. " It is well calculated for operative mechanics, both from the clearness with which the doctrines are elucidated, the accuracy of the rules which it details, the variety as well as utility of the tables, and the cheapness of its price. The work is most respectable, and does infinite credit to the industry and intelli- gence of Mr. Brunton." Glasgow Mechanics* Magazine. " We recommend to all who have ever felt the want of a cheap text-book for operative mechanics, a little volume, entitled, * A Compendium of Me- chanics,' compiled by a mechanic of Glasgow, and modestly dedicated to his brethren of that city. It comprehends a great variety of most useful practical rules and tables, derived from the best sources, with examples of each rule, calculated in decimal arithmetic, so as to be universally intelligible. Upon the whole, the work does great credit to Mr. Brunton's industry, intelligence, and discrimination." London Mechanics' Magazine, *' We formerly expressed our opinion respecting its merits, and we have only further to add, that very considerable improvements and additions have been made to the work." Scots Mechanics' Magazine, " A recent little work published at Glasgow, which is so replete with useful information, that no working mechanic should be without it." Library of Useful Knowledge, In One Volume 18mo, Price 2/. THE COTTON SPINNER'S MANUAL, OR A Compendmm of the Principles of Cotton Spinning, Exemplifying the Method of Adjusting the Speeds, Calculating the Draughts, and performing the other Calculations required in a Cotton Spinning Fac- tory. — Also, how to find the Aggregate Price of the various Mixtures of Cottons, and copious Tables by which the Wages of Operative Spinners are regulated. By J. MONTGOMERY. WORKS PUBLISHED BY JOHN NIVEN, JUN. In One Volume Octavo, Price 9/6, third edition, Illustrated by Appro- priate Engravings, The Theory and Practice of Cotton l§pmning; Or the Carding and Spinning Master's Assistant : showing the use of each Machine employed in the whole process — how to adjust and adapt them to suit the various kinds of Cotton, and the different qualities of Yarn. — And how to perform the various Calculations connected with the different departments of Cotton Spinning. — Also, an Historical Sketch of the Rise and Progress of CoTTON Spinning, and a short Account of the Cultivation of Cotton, Quantities Imported and Consumed, Different Growths, &c. *' To those engaged in the cotton trade, this must be a very valuable publi- cation ; for it ably expounds the principles of the art, and as ably goes through all its practical details, with engravings of machinery, improvements, &c. and suggestions, which we daresay may be turned to future advantage. — Lit. Gazette. " It will be found to contain much valuable information for those engaged in the process of Cotton Spinning," — Mandiester Courier. " Without entering into minute details of the various subjects connected with Cotton Spinning, which are fully described and explained in this volume, we may venture to recommend it as a most able and practical treatise. It presents the mechanic and the man of science with a complete analysis of every branch in the manufacture, and it cannot fail to be most extensively useful." — Edinburgh Evening Post, An Analytical Table of mechanical Movements, Consisting of Views and Sections of various Mechanical Arrangeinents divided into Direct and Alternate Motions of Variable and Uniform Velocities. — Price 2/6. By WILLIAM NICHOLSON. Key to the above — Price 1/. A TABULAR VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF THE STEAM ENGINE, FROM THE Time of Hero to the Present Period. By WILLIAM NICHOLSON. Price 2/6. In One Volume 12mo, Price 5/. A VIJEW OF IMSJPIRATIOM, Comprehending the Nature and Distinctions of the Spiritual Gifts and Offices of the Apostolic Age. By a. M LEOD. The subject" (of miraculous gifts) " is one of primary interest; and we are glad to take this occasion of bringing under the notice of our readers, a volume in which it is treated at large, with great sobriety, and highly respect- able ability," — Eclectic JReview, « I ) PLATE V. Scale f of acaluclxto aFoot. D.Ml^nSc. GlasifoyrJPublisTird bj JvJmJJi'veti JiviVlS5ff. DRAWING FRAME. PLATE VI . JXMlon Jc C ONE & TAHAB O LA tla^te vm MACHLYE FOR DlVIDIIfG THE TEErnOFFLY FKAlllE lUCKS. D.Allan S EOT) yJEW OF TTIKOSTLE 1 KAAIE ^Tlasgow I'lchlishcd 7fy Jo?iri A'lveTi JunV 1^36. 1 / GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 3 3125 00799 1363