992 COTTON-SPINNING 



rod d* at several points betwixt the straight arms g*. The rod rf* has, besides, a 

 wooden handle at the place opposite to where the spinner stands, by which it can be 

 readily grasped. This movement is applied at the left division of the machine, and 

 it is communicated to the right by an apparatus which resembles a crane's bill. The 

 two arms, *, in the middle of the machine, project over the rods d*, and are connected 

 by hinges with two vertical rods j*, which hang together downwards in like manner 

 with two arms *, proceeding from a horizontal axis jfc*. 



By means of that apparatus the yarn is wound upon the spindles in the following 

 manner : As long as the stretching and twisting go on, the threads form an obtuse 

 angle with the spindles, and thereby slide continually over their smooth rounded tips 

 during their revolution, without the possibility of coiling upon them. When, how- 

 ever, the spinning process is completed, the spinner seizes the carriage with his left 

 hand and pushes it back towards the roller beam, while with his right hand he turns 

 round the handle of the rim or fly wheel, and consequently the spindles. At the same 

 time, by means of the handle upon the rod d s , he moves the copping-wire/ 8 , so that it 

 presses down all the threads at once, and places them in a direction nearly perpen- 

 dicular to the spindles ; as shown by the dotted line y 5 . That this movement of the 

 copping wire, however, may take place without injury to the yarn, it is necessary to 

 turn the rim beforehand a little in the opposite direction, so that the threads may 

 get uncoiled from the upper parts of the spindles, and become slack ; an operation 

 called in technical language the backing-off. The range upon which the threads 

 should be wound, in order to form a conical cop upon the spindle, is hit by depressing 

 the copping wire to various angles, nicely graduated by an experienced eye. This 

 fallerwire alone is not, however, sufficient for the purpose of winding-on a seemly cop, 

 as there are always some loose threads which it cannot reach without breaking others. 



Another wire called the counter-fuller, I s , must be applied under the threads. It 

 may be raised to an elevation limited by the angular piece p* ; and is counterpoised 

 by a very light weight m*, applied through the bent lever 5 , which turns upon the 

 fulcrum 6 s . This wire, which applies but a gentle pressure, gives tension to all the 

 threads, and brings them regularly into the height and range of the faller/ 5 . This wire, 

 must be raised once more, whenever the carriage approaches the roller beam. At this 

 instant a new stretch commences ; the rollers begin again to revolve, and the carriage 

 resumes its former course. These motions are performed by the automatic machinery. 



There is a little excentric pulley mechanism for moving the guide beam to and fro 

 with the soft yarns, as they enter between the back rollers. On the right hand 

 end of the back roller shaft, a worm screw is formed which works into the oblique 

 teeth of a pinion attached to the end of the guide beam, in which there is a. series of 

 holes for the passage of the threads, two threads being assigned to each fluted roller. 

 In the flat disc of the pinion, an excentric pin stands up which takes into the 

 jointed lever upon the end of the guide beam, and as it revolves, pushes that beam 

 alternately to the left and the right by a space equal to its excentricity. This motion 

 is exceedingly slow, since for each revolution of the back roller, the pinion advances 

 only by one tooth out of the 33, which are cut in its circumference. 



After counting the number of teeth in the different wheels and pinions of the 

 mule, or measuring their relative diameters, it is easy to compute the extension and 

 twist of the yarns ; and when the last fineness is given to ascertain their marketable 

 value. Let the ratio of speed between the three drawing rollers be 1 : 1^ : 7| ; and 

 the diameter of the back and middle roller three quarters of an inch : that of the front 

 roller one inch ; in which case the drawing is thereby increased l time, and 

 7J x 1^=10. If the rovings in the croel bobbins have been No. 4, the yarn, after 

 passing through the rollers, will be No. 40. By altering the change pinion (not 

 visible in this view) the fineness may be changed within certain limits, by altering 

 the relative speed of the rollers. For one revolution of the great rim or fly wheel of 

 the mule, the front roller makes about 6-tenths of a turn, and delivers therefore 22'6 

 lines or 12ths of an inch of yarn, which, in consequence of the tenfold draught 

 through the rollers, corresponds to 2'26 lines of roving fed in at the back rollers. 

 The spindles or their whorls make about 66 revolutions for one turn of the rim. The 

 pulleys or grooved wheels on which the carriage runs, perform - 107 part of a turn 

 while the rim makes one revolution, and move the carriage 24'1 lines upon its rails, 

 the wheels being six inches in diameter. 



The 22-6 lines of soft yarn delivered by the front rollers will be stretched 1 line 

 by the carriage advancing 24' 1 lines in the same time. Let the length of the railway, 

 or of each stretch be 6 feet, the carriage will complete its course after 30 revolutions of 

 the rim wheel, and the 6-feet length of yarn (of which 56, i inches issue from the 

 drawing rollers, and 3J inches proceed from the stretching) is, by the simultaneous 

 whirling of the spindles, twisted 1,980 times, being at the rate of 33 twists for every 

 inch. The second twist, which the threads receive after the carriage has come to 



