658 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1914. 
Taken by itself, it is a complete loom harness of remarkable capac- 
ity. In fact, for automatic pattern weaving, a loom fitted with this 
contrivance for raising the warp threads only is as complete in its 
way as the perfected primitive loom is for tapestry weaving, as I 
pointed out in the last lecture. 
Although the Chinese picture represents what is unmistakably a 
draw-loom apparatus, it is not clear enough in detail to describe the 
machine from. I must, therefore, have recourse toa diagram. (Fig. 
45.) 
Here, at No, 1, I have represented in diagrammatic form the simple 
draw loom and at No. 2 a design on ruled paper suited to its capac- 
ity, which is purposely kept very limited for the sake of clearness. 
The whole mech- 
anism of the draw 
loom centers in the 
comber board and 
leashes which hang 
in the loom in 
place of the ordi- 
nary harness of 
few or many hed- 
dles. The advan- 
tage of the comber 
board monture 
over the ordinary 
heddle harness is 
that whatever 
width a design 
“Went No. 2. may be, even to the 
Fic. 45.—Draw-loom diagrams. whole extent of the 
warp, the monture 
takes up no more longitudinal space in the loom than a harness of 
a few heddles. 
The comber board, No. 3, is simply a board pierced with a number 
of holes equal to the number of threads of the warp which it is to 
govern. 
In each of these holes a separate leash is hung. Each leash has a 
long, thin lead weight at its bottom end; and in its center, instead of 
a string loop, a glass eye called a mail, through which a warp thread 
is entered. 
The comber board in the diagram is only pierced with 72 holes; 
consequently it is only for a warp of 72 threads. If it were for 72,000 
threads of fine silk, it would not take appreciably more space in the 
loom. 
