MECHANICS AND USEFUL AETS. 35 



ployed in spinning this material for weaving, and, as the supply is 

 almost unlimited, it is difficult to calculate -what results may yet be 

 arrived at through its use in other directions than those in which we 

 have just reviewed its successful application. 



Perfection of Cotton Machinery. Some interesting facts illustra- 

 tive of the perfection attained to in cotton-spinning, as deduced from 

 an examination of muslins shown at the Exhibition, have been pub- 

 lished by Mr. H. Houldsworth, a leading Manchester manufacturer. 

 It has been stated that the fine cotton yarn spun in India by female 

 hands is finer than that spun by machinery in England. Mr. Houlds- 

 worth, however, shows this is not the case. He states that he exam- 

 ined the finest piece of Indian muslin exhibited in London, in 1851, 

 and found that it measured 10 square yards, weighed 1,507 grains, 

 contained 104 warp threads and 76 weft threads to the inch, the 

 number being what is denominated No. 357. At the same Exhibition 

 No. 400 English yarn was shown, but at the recent Exhibition there 

 was a piece of muslin, woven in France from No. 700 yarn spun in 

 Manchester, which exceeds anything ever before attempted. It is a 

 mere fancy specimen, however, and not fit for practical purposes. 

 On the other hand, there was a whole piece of cloth, of about thirty 

 yards in length, made of No. 440 yarn. This cloth was also woven 

 in France, but the yarn was spun in England of Sea Island cotton. 

 The fine muslins of Hindostan have been called, in oriental style, 

 " woven wind," but they are evidently coarse compared with the 

 finest specimens that have been woven in France. Mr. Houldsworth 

 states, as an item of curiosity, that a few threads of No. 2,500 have 

 been made, but they are of no practical use. A single fibre of Sea 

 Island cotton is equal in fineness to No. 8,000 yarn, and a pound 

 weight of it in a single fibre of thread would measure 3,818 miles in 

 length. 



All the new dyes and chemicals of importance introduced during 

 the last ten years into the manufacture of printed and dyed fabrics 

 were shown in a great variety and richness of specimens ; promi- 

 nent among them naturally being the products derived from coal-tar. 

 Of aniline purple, there was shown by Perkin, its inventor, a cylinder 

 of " mauve paste," of so moderate dimensions as to be easily carried 

 under one's arm, which required for its production the tar derived 

 from 2,000 tons of coal. Its value was given at $4,000, and its "tinc- 

 torial potentiality" as equal to 100 miles of calico. In juxtaposition 

 with this, on one side, was to be seen a large jar containing one grain 

 of the paste dissolved in two gallons of water, to show the intensely 

 colorific property of this material, and on the other side another jar 

 containing about two gallons of crude coal-tar, the exact amount neces- 

 sary to produce ten grains of mauve dye. Aniline colors were also 

 shown in their varied forms of dyeing and printing as applied to cot- 

 tons, cotton-velvets, silk, and woollen, in shades of purple, reds, and 

 blues, known as mauve, magenta, etc. These colors in silk were 

 especially brilliant. There were also illustrations of murexide colors, 

 or the so-called " Roman purple," derived from the uric acid con- 

 tained in guano. Pigment colors fixed by albumen and substitutes 

 for albumen, such as lacterine, gluten, etc., were also shown, and 

 coal-tar colors in combination at one operation with dyeing and print- 



