CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



to turn a wheel, by which motion is given to the 

 spindles, at a speed proportionate to the move- 

 ment of the carriage. Previous to performing 

 these operations, he causes the spindles to revolve 

 in the wrong direction, so as to throw the yarn 

 off the points of the spindles, which was delivered 

 to them during the stretch last completed. On 

 approaching the head, the attendant brings the 

 faller-wire gradually up to the position shewn at 

 gsf, fig. 15, thus preparing for another stretch. 

 The carriage mechanism is then put in gear with 

 the main driving-shaft, and the operations above 

 described are again gone through. Thus, by a 

 succession of operations, the yarn is finally built 

 up into cops, which, when finished, are stripped 

 from the spindles and put into baskets. In the 

 self-acting mule, all the operations are done by 

 machinery, and the only attendance required is 

 that of piecers and menders, the latter being 

 adults. The following illustration shews a range 

 of mules at work. 



frame and wound up in a ball, and taken to the 

 beaming process. The yarn in this is laid on 

 cylinders or beams, and each thread distributed 

 equally, by passing through between shreds of 

 cane fixed in frames. The warp thus formed, is 

 next dressed in the dressing-machine, by which 

 each thread or yarn has a portion of flour-size 

 well rubbed in by brushes and rollers into its 

 fibres. When dried, the warp is stiff, and easily 

 drawn through the healds of the loom, for which 

 it is now prepared. The supply of yarn in the 

 shuttle is always derived from a cop, so that yarn 

 for a weft is never made in the throstle, but always 

 in the mule. We shall, under the head of Wool, 

 describe the movements of the ordinary loom, so 

 that it is unnecessary here to advert to the move- 

 ments of the power-loom, which are exactly 

 similar, but produced by steam-power instead 

 of manual labour. In the annexed engraving 

 (fig. 1 8) is presented a view of the interior of a 

 power-loom apartment. All the looms are of iron. 



Fig. 1 6. 



To be ready for weaving purposes, the yarn 

 from the bobbins or the cops is placed upon larger 

 bobbins by the winding-machine, in which the 

 small bobbins from the throstle, or cops from the 

 mule, are placed either vertically or horizontally. 

 The threads from these pass through glass ' eyes ' 

 or hooks, fixed to a guide-bar, which has a lateral 

 to-and-fro movement given to it ; and are thus 

 evenly wound upon the surface of the large 

 bobbins. These are taken and 

 <f placed horizontally on axes placed 

 ^ in the frame, </, of the warping-mill, 

 fig. 17. The threads or yarn from a 

 number of these are passed through 

 glass eyes, in a heck-box, e ; which 

 Fig. 17. is suspended by a cord passing 

 over a pulley, the termination of 

 which is wound round the main axis of the up- 

 right skeleton framework, aa. As the latter 

 revolves, the cord is wound round the axis, and 

 gradually raises the heck-box upwards. On the 

 framework revolving in the contrary direction, the 

 cord is unwound, and the heck-box descends. By 

 this arrangement, the yarns are wound spirally 

 round the frame, the circumference of which is so 

 designed that it serves as a measure of the quan- 

 tity wound upon it. Motion is given to aa by the 

 crank c and pulley b. The heck divides the yarn 

 into two sets, one for each heald of the loom. 

 The sets, or the 'lease,' of yarn are taken off the 



876 



Fig. 18. 



and moved by belts from shafts, the shafts being 

 turned by steam or water power. 



SILK. 



This beautiful material, which differs essentially 

 from all others used for textile purposes, is pro- 

 duced by several insects in their larval state, and 

 is used by them to form a protective covering 

 during their inactive condition as pup<z. The 

 larvae, or caterpillars, of the silk-producing moths 

 are very voracious feeders, and are provided with 

 two very large glands, called sericteria, which 

 secrete the silk in a fluid state from the food in 

 its passage through the digestive organs. When 

 these glands are fully charged with their secretion, 

 the animal stops feeding, and seeking a suitable 

 situation, in a state of nature amongst the small 

 twigs of a tree, it begins to emit, through very 

 minute openings called spinnerets, situated in the 

 back of its throat, and in close connection with 

 the glands which secrete the saliva, the fluid silk, 

 which becomes a hard thread at the moment of 

 its emission, and is projected through the saliva, 

 which is of a gummy character, and readily 

 adheres to any point to which it is applied. The 

 insect then curves its head round and round, 

 continuing to draw out the thread of silk, and 

 forming a close and compact covering around 

 itself, for wherever one part of the thread touches 



