THE ORIGINAL CARDING MACHINE. 



This is Arkwright's original carding machine, the predecessor of all carding 

 machines of the present day. It is preserved in the South Kensington Museum, 

 London. This machine was made about the year 1775. It is very similar to 

 the cylindrical carding machine invented and constructed by Daniel Bourne of 

 Leominster in 1748. The object of the machine is to remove from the cotton 

 any fragments of leaves, sticks, etc., and also to straighten out the fibres by a comb- 

 ing action. This is accomplished by small wire teeth fixed in large leather strips 

 upon three cylinders. The cylinders are arranged horizontally with their axes 

 parallel and are rotated at different speeds. 



