366 



BOUK MUSLINS. 



Bouk to the back of the swords of the lay by two nails ; 

 Muslins. an( j th ese arms being very thin, easily yield, whenever 

 *""" V~-" the reed comes in contact with the body of the cloth. 

 The quantum of spring is very easily regulated, by 

 tying two small pieces of twine round the swords, 

 both of the flyers and lay. When these cords are 

 placed high, a considerable part of the spring being 

 below, will yield very easily ; and as they are shifted 

 downwards, nearer to the reed, the springing part 

 becoming shorter, the reed always opposes a greater 

 resistance before it yields. The cords thus answer 

 every purpose of a moveable fulcrum, and, by shift- 

 ing them, the power of the spring may be increased 

 or diminished in an instant. 



For the very light fabrics, such as those which 

 form the subject of this article, a double set of these 

 flyers has been invented. This contrivance is similar 

 to the former : it consists in having a second piir of 

 flyers, with the groove inverted, to receive the under 

 as well as the upper part of the reed, so that it yields 

 below as well as above. Flyers of this construction 

 are not, however, in much estimation ; and it may be 

 observed, that, in all mechanical professions, the ope- 

 rative tradesmen, although seldom able to account 

 for their opinions, are almost universally directed, by 

 simple experience, to the choice of the best. In the 

 first place, the double flyers, as they are called, al- 

 though they yield both above and below, yield 

 equally, or nearly so ; consequently the divisions of 

 the reed always remain perpendicular to the horizon, 

 and the action of the reed upon the cloth is uniform- 

 ly at right angles to the warp, or nearly so. Thus, 

 the impetus being direct, the force is applied in that 

 way in which it will produce the most powerful ef- 

 fect; but the very object of this contrivance is not 

 theacquisition, but the diminution of effective power ; 

 consequently the more obliquely the force is applied, 

 the better for the purpose. In the second place, the 

 double flyers are not only expensive in their con- 

 struction, but, from their complexity, very liable to be 

 put frequently out of order ; for unless the whole 

 four cords, which regulate the spring, are kept, not 

 only at an exact uniformity of tension, but also at an 

 exactly equal distance from the point of percussion, 

 where the reed acts upon the cloth, their resistance 

 will be unequal, and the whole fabric liable to be 

 clouded. Experience proves, that an operative wea- 

 ver, totally unacquainted with the laws of motion 

 and theoretical principles of mechanics, will very sel- 

 dom be able to preserve that uniformity necessary for 

 the regulation of this machine, and even if he were, 

 the very change of tension, produced by vicissitudes 

 of weather, would be a source of very vexatious trou- 

 ble and delay. The double flyers have, for these 

 reasons, been almost universally abandoned, and a 

 very cheap, simple, and efficacious substitute adopt- 

 ed. This consists merely of a stout woollen cord, 

 tightly stretched between the swords of the lay, and 

 to which the upper rib of the reed is tied, at inter- 

 vals, with pieces of packthread, or fine twine. Wool- 

 len is preferred to any other substance, because it is 

 less liable to constriction, or relaxation, from changes 

 of weather, than any other fibrous substance with 

 which we are acquainted. The upper shell, or cover 

 ,of the reed, is generally removed on account of its 



weight, and a slight spar of wood nailed between the Bouk 

 swords in its place, with which the weaver gives the 

 necessary vibration to the lay. From the lightness of *~ 

 the fabric, great care is necessary in picking and dres- 

 sing the yarn, and great uniformity in working the 

 treddles and lay ; and, upon the whole, the weaving 

 of bouk muslins requires patient and unremitting at- 

 tention, in a much superior degree to active exer- 

 tion. 



There is, perhaps, no species of texture, in the 

 whole extensive range of the cloth manufacture, on 

 which so great a diversity of opinion does, and pro- 

 bably evi-r will, exist, as in the fabric of these light 

 muslins. It is mere matter of fancy, perhaps fre- 

 quently of whim. Scarcely any two manufacturers, 

 perhaps, agree entirely in their opinions respecting it, 

 and the fancies of purchasers are just as various. 

 Thirty, forty, or even fifty numbers of difference, in 

 the fine cotton yarn, which is used for the bouk ma- 

 nufacture, are applied by different manufacturers to 

 the same reed, and each of them will perhaps con- 

 tend, that his own is the best of all possible me- 

 thods. In short, a prudent man can only endea- 

 vour to succeed by keeping his stock as light as 

 possible, and carefully collecting the opinions of 

 his customers, in the same way that the sense of po- 

 pular assemblies is ascertained, namely, in endeavour- 

 ing to please the majority. A medium between the 

 opposite extremes may be found, by taking No. 120, 

 or 129, for a 1200 reed, and calculating others by the 

 general rule. In general, however, it may be remark- 

 ed, that if the goods are intended to be finished plain, 

 they are generally preferred of a very light fabric ; 

 but if they are to be ornamented with tambour, or 

 needle work of any description, a little more strength, 

 to enable them to undergo the operation, is not a mat- 

 ter of choice but necessity. 



After being bleached, bouk muslins are always 

 stiffened with starch, to give them that clear appear- 

 ance, from which they derive the name ot wire mus- 

 lins. This also is considered by bleachers as a deli- 

 cate operation ; for its excellence consists in giving to 

 the threads a sufficient quantity to stiffen them, with- 

 out allowing the mucilage to spread through the 

 general fabric, and give it a cloudy appearance; the 

 only way of effecting this is, by taking very particu- 

 lar care that the starch be diluted to a proper consis- 

 tency, and that no more be applied than will be ab- 

 sorbed by the fibres of the cotton ; for it is obvious 

 that after they are saturated, the residuum must 

 spread in clouds over the surface. No rule can be 

 given to regulate this, excepting that judgment ac- 

 quired by experience ; at least, we are unacquainted 

 with any experiments having ever been made, to as- 

 certain any fixed or precise rules for its regulation. 

 It does not, however, appear impracticable, or even 

 very difficult, by a few judicious experiments, to fix 

 at least some more precise standard than has hitherto 

 been done. 



From the circumstance of transparency being the 

 chief recommendation of bouk muslins, every opera- 

 tion which would tend to flatten the threads in finish- 

 ing them, so far from adding to their appearance, 

 would be excessively injurious. They are, therefore, 

 never put through any operation of calendering, but 



