The boy's book of trades and the tools used in them

by Anonymous

In order, therefore, to equalize the different qualities, the contents of all the bags are mixed together in the following manner. A space being cleared and marked out on the floor, the cotton contained in the first bag is scattered over this space, so as exactly to cover it; the contents of the second bag are in like manner spread over the first, and the cotton in all the other bags is disposed in a similar manner; men and boys tread down the heap, which is called a bing or bunker, until at length it rises up in shape and dimensions very much like a haystack. Whenever a supply of cotton is taken from the bing it is torn down with a rake from top to bottom, by which means it is evident the contents of the different bags are collected together in a mass of uniform quality and colour. In mixing different qualities of cotton it is usual to bring together such only as have a similar length of staple. A portion of the waste cotton of the mill is also mixed in the bing, for making the lower qualities of yarn. For higher numbers, as well as for warps, a finer quality of cotton must be selected; and thus it will be seen that the formation of a bing is an important operation, the quality of the goods produced depending upon it.

In this state the cotton contains sand, dirt, and other impurities, and the fibres are matted together by the pressure they were subjected to in packing. To open the fibres and get rid of the sand, &c. the cotton is put into a machine called a willow. This consists of a box or case, containing a conical wooden beam, studded over with iron spikes; this beam is made to turn round five or six hundred times a minute. The cotton, as it is torn down from the bing, is put in at one end of the machine, where it is caught by the spikes, tossed about with great violence, and gradually driven forward to the other end. The sand and other impurities fall out of the machine through an open grating at the bottom; the dust and lighter matter pass off through a series of wire openings, and the cleaned cotton is sent down a shoot into the room below.

If the cotton is of fine quality it is beaten, or batted, with hazel or holly twigs. For this purpose, it is spread on a frame, the upper part of which is made of cords and is quite elastic. A woman, with a rod about three or four feet long in each hand, beats the cotton with great violence, and so entirely separates the fibre. Any loose impurities which remain fall out between the cords; seeds and fragments of seed-pods, which adhere to the cotton somewhat firmly, are picked out by hand. By this method the cotton is thoroughly opened, and made quite clean, without injuring the staple.

Opening the Cotton.

The coarser qualities are passed at once from the willow to the scutching or blowing machine, which does the work of batting, only in a more violent manner, and is therefore not adapted for fine qualities; but in coarser spinning is in general use, to prepare the cotton for the carding engine.

The cotton, which is still in a confused and tangled state, has now to be carded, upon the regularity and perfection of which process depends much of the success of spinning, and also the durability and beauty of the stuff to be woven. A cotton card is a sort of brush, containing wires instead of bristles. The cards are made of bands or fillets of leather, or are formed of alternate layers of cotton, linen, and india-rubber pierced with numerous holes, in which are fixed bent pieces of iron wire, called dents or teeth.

The fibres of the cotton are not yet sufficiently level to be twisted into yarn; and it often happens that the teeth of the card lay hold of a fibre by the middle and thus double it together, in which state it is unfit for spinning.

The cardings are therefore doubled and drawn out by a machine called a drawing frame, the principle of which depends upon different pairs of rollers revolving with different degrees of rapidity. If, however, the riband, as it leaves the carding-engine, were simply extended in length by drawing it out, it would be liable to tear across, or to be of a different thickness at different parts of its length. To prevent the tearing and to equalize the thickness, a number of cardings are joined together and drawn out to a length equal to the sum of the length of all the separate cardings.

The effect produced is the same as taking a piece of cotton wool between the finger and thumb and drawing it out many times, laying the drawn filaments over each other, before each drawing. If the cotton be then examined it will be found that all the fibres are parallel and of equal length. This effect is accomplished very perfectly in the drawing frame, which consists of a number of rollers arranged in what are called heads, each head consisting of three pairs of rollers, of which the second pair moves with greater speed than the first, and the third moves quicker than the second.