MANUFACTURE OF TEXTILES 



finished cloth. This is particularly done in the case 

 of certain cotton goods, notably the calicos. These 

 goods are also frequently treated with various so- 

 called sizes to give them weight and body, and sundry 

 processes of calendering which may be roughly 

 likened to ironing are employed to give them a 

 smooth surface. Beetling is a process by which a cot- 

 ton fabric is rendered softer and at the same time more 

 impervious, usually by some form of drop hammer or 

 stamp, but sometimes by rollers having a checkered 

 surface. 



The printing of these goods was formerly accom- 

 plished with the aid of wooden blocks carved much 

 after the manner of wood engravings for the repro- 

 duction of pictures. The blocks were furnished with 

 color by placing them face downward on a cloth 

 stretched on a frame which floated on gum water, and 

 on this cloth the printer continuously brushed the re- 

 quired color. When the pattern required additional 

 colors, these were supplied successively by different 

 blocks. It was not unusual, however, for the printer 

 to use a chemical mixture known as mordant which 

 acted on the dye when the article was subsequently 

 immersed in the dye vat. White spots were sometimes 

 obtained by printing them with wax before dyeing, 

 so preventing these spots from absorbing the coloring 

 matter. In modern calico printing, however, rotary 

 machines are almost entirely employed, the pattern 

 being engraved on the copper surface of the roller, and 

 the impression taking place when passing between the 

 printing and platen rollers, the process being essen- 



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