378 MEMOIR OF DANIEL TREADWELL. 



" It seems worthy of remark/' says the Report, " that the machine-spun rope is always 

 a maximum, owing to the perfect uniformity of the yarn, without the variation in size and 

 twisting which is unavoidable in hand-spun yarn. The uniformity in the results of the many 

 tests which have been made in this yarn abundantly prove this fact. But, on the other hand, 

 the hand-spun yarn is not of uniform strength ; for in the same rope the weight borne by the 

 different pieces cut off for testing have proved greatly at variance with themselves ; sometimes 

 a piece will show great strength, and the next piece perhaps will fall greatly below it. The 

 rope, therefore, cannot be depended upon for more than the minimum strength. This certainty 

 on the one hand, and uncertainty on the other, is an advantage of inestimable value in the 

 machine-spun rope." * 



The report fully sustains Mr. Treaclwell's statement to Commodore Morris. The 

 machines soon came into use for the mercantile marine ; a large manufacturer in 

 New Bedford had one hundred and twenty in use at the same time. Besides spin- 

 ning rope-yarns, the Gypsey was, in 1840, modified, and then came into general use 

 in the Western States for the spinning of small yarn for the manufacture of various 

 kinds of bagging for cotton and other coarse cloths. 



From a report made some years since, it appears that the saving to the Govern- 

 ment at the Charlestown (Massachusetts) Navy Yard alone was from ten to twenty 

 thousand dollars annually, without mentioning the benefit derived from the superior 

 quality of the cordage. On these machines and those copied from them and erected 

 at Memphis, Tennessee, seven years later, all the cordage for the American Navy is 

 spun, and they stand now without a successful competitor in the Navy Yard at 

 Charlestown, as efficient as when first placed there fifty years ago. By their 

 invention, the character of American cordage was so greatly improved that it 

 became an article of export to most parts of the world, — to the British Provinces, 

 the East Indies, and Great Britain. The machines also were exported first to Can- 

 ada, and in 1860 to Great Britain, where they were soon adopted in the various 

 dock-yards. Their use is now almost world-wide. One of the inventions, the cir- 

 cular hatchel or lapper, is believed to be generally used wherever hemp is spun 

 for the making of coarse cloth. 



The following letter from one of the largest manufacturers indicates the position 

 that the Gypsey holds in their estimation. 



To Daniel Treadwell. 



New Bedford, December 8, 1866. 



My dear Sir, — On my return from Pennsylvania, I found your esteemed favor of the 19th 

 ultimo. In reply, I would say that, while your invention undoubtedly lies at the bottom of all 



* Report of Commander Joel Abbott, U. S. N., June 15, 1840. 



