1166 



WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE 



and about 4 inches apart ; their under ends being pointed conically, turn in brass 

 sockets, called ' steps.' and are retained in their position by a small brass collet, which 

 embraces each spindle at about the middle of its length. The upper half of each 

 spindle projects above the top of the frame. The drum revolves horizontally before 

 the spindles, having its axis a little below the line of the whorls ; and receives 

 motion, by a pulley at one of its ends, from an endless band which passes round a 

 wheel E, like the large domestic wheel formerly used in spinning wool by hand, and 

 of similar dimensions. This wheel is placed upon the outside of the main frame of 

 the machine, and has its shafts supported by upright standards upon the carriage i>. 

 It is turned by the spinner placed at o, with his right hand applied to a winch R, 

 which gives motion to the drum, and thereby causes the spindles to revolve with 

 great velocity. 



Each spindle receives a soft cylinder or carding of wool, which comes through 

 beneath a wooden roller c, c, at the one end of the frame. This is the Irilly roller, so 



2128 



much talked of in the controversies between the operatives and masters in the cotton- 

 factories, as an instrument of cruel punishment to children, though no such machine 

 has been used in cotton-mills for half a century at least. These wooden rolls 

 proceed to the series of spindles, standing in the carriage, in nearly a horizontal 

 plane. By the alternate advance and retreat of the carriage upon its railway, the 

 spindles are made to approach to, and recede from, the roller c, with the effect of 

 drawing out a given length of the soft cord, with any desired degree of twist, in tho 

 following manner : 



The carding-rolls are laid down straight, side by side, upon the endless cloth, 

 strained in an inclined direction between two rollers, one of which is seen at u, and 

 the other lies behind c. One carding is allotted to a spindle ; the total number of 

 each in one machine being from 50 to 100. The roller c, of light wood, presses gently 

 with its weight upon the cardings, while they move onwards over the endless cloth, 

 with the running-oxit of tho spindle carriage. Immediately in front of tho said roller, 

 there is a horizontal wooden rail or bar c;, with another beneath it, placed across the 

 frame. The carding is conducted through between these two bars, tho movcaMc 

 upper one being raised to lot any aliquot portion of the roll pass freely. "When this 

 bar is again let down, it pinches the spongy carding fast ; whence this mechanism is 

 called the ' clasp.' It is in fact tho clove, originally used by Hargreaves in his cotton- 

 jenny. Tho moveable upper rail o, is guided between sliders, and a wire 7, descends 

 from it to a lever c. When the spindle carriage D, D, is wheeled close home to tho 

 billy roller, a wheel 5, lifts the end 6 of the lever, which, by tho wire 7, raises tho 

 upper bar or rail o, so as to open tho clasp, and release all the card-rolls. Should tho 

 .carriage be now drawn a little way from the clasp bars, it would tend to pull a 

 corresponding length of the cardings forward from tho inclined plane n, c. There 

 is a^ small catch, which lays hold of the upper bar of the clasp o, and hinders it from 

 falling till tho carriage has receded to a certain distance, and has thereby allowed 



