MANUFACTURING 73 



the burring machine has failed to remove. Mending is the repair- 

 ing of any defects of the weave of the material by knitting or 

 sewing together. 



Fulling is the next process. This is done by a fulling or milling 

 machine which shrinks and interlocks all the wool fibres. This is 

 effected by soaking the material in very soapy warm water and 

 making it " creep " by jamming it together in a sort of crush. In 

 olden days the woollen cloth used to be trampled underfoot while 

 soaking in the felting liquor. After taking from the fulling 

 machine the material is washed, to free it from soapy matter. 



Tentering follows fulling. The object of tentering is to straighten 

 out, level, and remove all creases from the material, also to stretch 

 it out to the desired width. The sides of the material are fastened 

 to a set of hooks which are then opened out to the required width. 

 The machine then carries the material through a heated chamber 

 so that the cloth is dried in this position. Care is taken not to 

 stretch the material too much, or it would shrink back again ; the 

 operator has to accurately estimate the shrinking qualities of the 

 material, otherwise he is likely to be out in his estimated width of 

 the finished material. 



Teasling follows tentering. Teasling is the raising of a nap on 

 the surface of the finished cloth, as is seen in new blankets. 



Blankets and other goods, while not being so soft and of such 

 good appearance at first, would wear very much better if they 

 were not teasled, as it really takes a portion of the body out of the 

 cloth, but a woollen manufacturer who put his material on the 

 market without teasling would find it very difficult to sell. 



Cropping follows teasling. The object of cropping is to render 

 the nap which was raised by the teasling machine even and 

 smooth. The cropping machine stretches the cloth evenly over a 

 roller and a revolving cylinder armed with knives which cut off 

 the irregular portion of the nap a fraction above the cloth. The 

 distance can be regulated according to the length of nap desired. 



The final process is crabbing and pressing, the object of which 

 is to clean and level the cloth. 



The cloth is brushed by roller-shaped brushes revolving against 



