350 Mr. Treadwell’s Description of « Machine, 
To prepare the material for the machine which I am about to 
describe, it is formed into a large sliver or roving. ‘This may be 
done by drawing it out lengthwise, by hand, or by a simple ma- 
chine which it is not necessary to describe in this place. It is 
not requisite that the roving should be of equal size or smoothly 
formed. ‘Thus made, it is passed into the machine, and lies in a 
hatchel, which is formed upon a belt, and every fibre is free to 
be moved in the direction of its length, without carrying any 
other fibres with it, whenever a proper force is applied for the 
purpose. The instruments by which this force is applied are a 
pair of rollers, which are moved with a constant velocity. Pro- 
vision is made in the machine, that, whenever the number of fibres 
between the rollers is too small to form a yarn of the required 
size, the hatchel containing the roving shall advance and present 
a new supply of fibres to the drawing-rollers. This advance is 
made with a greater or less velocity, corresponding in some 
degree with the quantity of the supply required. When, by the 
supply thus given, the yarn has become of the required size, 
the hatchel ceases to advance, and further, if the supply has 
become too great, a small hatchel or comb is made to pass into 
the roving between the drawing-rollers and the hatchel-belt, 
and thus some of the fibres are broken off, and the advance 
of any loose fibres, that were drawn along by others in contact 
with them, is interrupted. When by this means the yarn has 
become of the proper size, the comb is made to rise from the 
roving, which may then be advanced as shall be required for the 
supply of the rollers. 
With this view or general outline of the machine, I will pro- 
ceed to describe it in detail, in connexion with the drawings 
hereto annexed. [See Plates VI., VII., VIII., and IX.] These 
were reduced from, and represent, a machine for spinning rope- 
