Particulars of the trials referred to, and their results:—
| At what Mill, and the Description of Mule. | No. and kind of Yarn. | Diameter of Pulley or Rim Wheel. | Revo- lutions of Pulley or Rim Wheel. | Re- quired Force for Motion. | Total Force Employed in Spinning. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Messrs. Birley and Kirk. | Weft. | Ins. | lbs. | lbs. | |||||
| Self-acting mule, 360 sps. | 30 to 34 | 12 | 58 | 30 | 5463 | ||||
| [20]Hand mule, 180 sps. | ditto | 15 | 36 | 26 | 3669 | - | |||
| × 2 = | 7338 | ||||||||
| Messrs. Leech and Vandrey. | Twist. | ||||||||
| [21]Self-acting mule, 324 sps. | 36 | 12 | 70 | 36 | 7912 | ||||
| Hand mules, 324 sps. | 36 | 29 | 58 | 16 | 1⁄2 | 7273 | |||
| Messrs. Duckworth & Co. | Twist. | ||||||||
| Self-acting mule, 324 sps. | 40 | 12 | 62 | 33 | 6421 | ||||
| Hand mule, 324 sps. | 40 | 47 | 36 | 15 | 1⁄2 | 6646 | |||
[20] The trial was disadvantageous for the hand-mules, being two for 360 spindles.
[21] The trial was disadvantageous for the self-acting mules, being driven by a very short and light vertical strap, the hand-mule having a long horizontal strap.
The mode adopted to make the trials was as follows, viz.:
A force, indicated by weight in pounds, was applied to the strap working upon the driving-pulley of the respective mules, sufficient to maintain the motion of the mule whilst spinning, which weight, being multiplied by the length of strap delivered by each revolution of the pulley, and again by the number of revolutions made by the pulley whilst spinning, gave the total force in pounds, applied to the respective mules whilst spinning; for instance, suppose a mule to be driven by a pulley 12 inches diameter (3·14 ft. in circumference), such pulley making 58 revolutions during the spinning as above, and that it required a force equal to 30 lbs. weight to maintain the motion of the mule, then 30 lbs. × 3·14 feet circumference of pulley × 58 revolutions in spinning = 5463 lbs. of force employed during the spinning, to the period of backing off.
Mr. James Smith, of Deanstone cotton works in Scotland, obtained a patent for the invention of a self-actor, in February, 1834. He does not perform the backing-off by reversing the rotation of the spindle, as in common mules, or as in Mr. Roberts’, but by elevating the counterfaller wire, which, being below the ends of the yarn or thread, along the whole extent of the carriage, thereby pulls off or strips the spiral coils at the point of the spindle, instead of unwinding them, as of old. This movement he considers to be of great importance towards simplifying the machinery for rendering the mule self-acting; and the particular way in which he brings the stripper into action is no doubt ingenious, but it has been supposed by many to strain the yarn. He claims as his invention the application and adaptation of a mangle wheel or mangle rack to the mule, for effecting certain successive movements, either separately or in conjunction; he claims that arrangement of the carriages of a pair of mules, by which the stretch is caused to take place over part of the same ground by both carriages, and thereby the space required for the working of a pair of mules is greatly diminished; and he claims the application of a weight, spring, or friction, for balancing the tension of the ends of the threads.
A patent was granted, in April, 1835, to Mr. Joseph Whitworth, engineer in Manchester, for some ingenious modifications of the mechanism of the mule, subservient to automatic purposes. His machinery is designed, first, to traverse the carriage in and out, by means of screws or worm-shafts, which are placed so as to keep the carriage parallel to the drawing rollers, and prevent the necessity of squaring bands, hitherto universally employed; secondly, his invention consists in an improved manner of working the drums of a self-acting mule by geer; thirdly, in the means of effecting the backing off; fourthly, in the mechanism for working the faller-wire in building the cops; and fifthly, in the apparatus for effecting the winding of the yarns upon the spindles. As regards the throstles and doubling frames, his improvements apply, first, to the peculiar method of constructing and adapting the flyers and spindles, and producing the drag; and, secondly, to the arrangement of the other parts of the doubling machinery.
See [Lace-Making], [Singeing], [Textile Fabric], [Thread Manufacture], and [Weaving].
The Imports of Cotton Wool for home consumption into the United Kingdom were in the year ending 5th January,