Ball Sizing.
Only one system of sizing in addition to those referred to requires description, and that is ball sizing, the process following ball warping, described in the previous chapter. The warps are uncoiled from the ball, and run into a large vat of size, at the bottom of which the warp remains some time, passing over and under some eight or ten rollers until thoroughly soaked. The superfluous size is expelled by passing the warp between rollers, when it is removed to another machine for drying purposes. This has 12 cylinders 2 feet in diameter, and of considerable width, heated by steam. Between these cylinders the warp is flattened and dried, after which it is again balled and placed in a cloth for a short time to become “mellowed;” even yet it has one process to undergo—beaming. Here the warp is taken, the ends sundered out and run over a frame to the weaver’s beam. The reader will readily see that the extra processes of balling after warping, and beaming after sizing, as well as two machines required for sizing, are sufficient to explain the fact that ball systems are dying out, and not only for this reason, but also because of the uncertainty as to what extent goods can be weighted, the percentages being very irregular. The warps are often streaky also, but the thread preserves a rounder and stronger formation than at the slasher frame.