MANUFACTURE OF TEXTILES 



chine have hooked ends, with the hook extending 

 backwards to form a long spring barb or l beard ' 

 which is capable of being pressed close to the body of 

 the needle, so that the loop of thread on the needle 

 can be pushed over the hook when the beard is de- 

 pressed, or will be retained on the hook if the beard 

 is up. In this way the loop in the hook is drawn 

 through the loop that has been formed round the 

 needle. In 1858 Mr. M. Townsend introduced the 

 1 latch-needle/ in which the beard is replaced by a 

 finger hinged to the needle; this arrangement simpli- 

 fies the work of the machine, and the small knitters 

 for domestic use usually have needles of this type. 

 It has been stated that a hand knitter can work 100 

 loops a minute, that Lee's machine did 1,000 to 1,500 

 loops, and that the circular frame does from 250,000 to 

 500,000 per minute. 



"Knitting is one of the few industries in which the 

 factory system has not completely displaced home in- 

 dustry, and the tendency seems to be to extend the 

 employment of small machines worked by hand or 

 treadle at the operator's home, rather than the larger 

 installations of a factory. The knitting and hosiery 

 industries are now of the greatest importance, and in- 

 clude the manufacture of underclothing, caps, stocki- 

 net cloth, etc., while the bags or l shirts' in which 

 frozen meat is shipped, and the little mantles for the 

 Welsbach burner, are examples of the varied appli- 

 cation of this interesting process." These industries, 

 however, are of course of minor importance as com- 

 pared with the production of woven textiles. 



[57] 



