SPINNING. 



^ 



of the fpindlcs by a rail of wood, called the faller, which 

 moves upon centres, fo as to defcend horizontally before 

 all the fpindles, and deprefs all the threads together, fo that 

 they will wind up by the motion of the fpindles, and as. 

 they wind, the clafps return towards the fpindlcs. The 

 operations are then again repeated, and thus continued, until 

 the coppins or balls of thread, wound upon the fpindles, ac- 

 quire their proper fize. 



The next improvement in fpinning-machines was the in- 

 troduftion of the flubbing-machine, or billy, for preparing 

 the rovings for the jenny ; an operation which was at firlt 

 performed by the hand-wheel. This machine has fimilar 

 parts to the jenny, but they are differently arranged, to 

 adapt it to fpin the wool as it comes from the carding- 

 machine, in the ftate of cardings, which are locks of wool 

 drawn out to about the fize of candles, and from two to 

 three feet in length. For this purpofe the fpindles are made 

 to travel on the carriage, and the clafps ftand ftill, being 

 the reverfe of the jenny. The cardings are laid upon an 

 endlefs cloth, which revolves over two rollers, and lies in 

 an inclined polition at the end of the machine ; and one 

 carding is laid upon the cloth oppofitc to each fpindle, the 

 ends being pieced with fielh cardings by children, as fall as 

 the fpindle works them up. A roller piefles down upon 

 the cardings, to hold them fad upon the feeding-cloth, and 

 to make them move with it ; and jult beyond this roller the 

 clafps are fixed to hold the rovings, when the proper 

 lengths are drawn out by the retreating of the fpindles, 

 which, as before ilated, are fituated in the carriage. The 

 operation of the billy is the fame as that of the jenuy, ^'io. 

 that the carriage is drawn out, and the feeding-cloth re- 

 volves over its roller to give out the cardings until a certain 

 length : the clafp is then fhut down, and the further exten- 

 fion of the threads is produced by itretching ; which being 

 done, the threads are wound upon the fpindles. 



The inventions of fir Richard Arkwright foon fuperfeded 

 thefe machines. His principal invention in the fpinning was 

 the introduftion of the rollers, to draw out or extend the 

 fibres to their full length, which is by this means much 

 more perfeftly performed than by the fingers of the fpinner. 

 For tiie immediate tvvilting of the thread, he adopted the 

 fpindle, bobbin, and flyer of the old flax-wheel, placed in a 

 vertical pofition, but added to it the important improvement 

 of railing and lowering the bobbin, to dillribntc the thread 

 regularly and equally upon all the length of it, the fame 

 which we have before defcribed as being applied by Mr. 

 Antis to the common fpinning-wheel. A full defcription of 

 this machine, which is called the water fpinning-frame, will 

 be found in the article Cotton Manufacture, Plate IX. 

 Cotton ISIanufadiire. 



The fpinning-jenny was again introduced, and rendered 

 equal, and for fome purpofes fuperior, to the water-frame, 

 by Mr. Crumpton, who combined with it the fyftem of 

 rollers of fir Richard Arkwright, and called it the mule. 

 It is alfo fully defcribed under Plate XI. Cotton Manu- 

 faP.ure. See Cotton Manufacture. 



The great fuccefs which attended the fpinning of cotton 

 by thefe machines, induced many perfons to attempt the 

 fpinning of flax and wool by fimilar means. Short wool, 

 for the manufafture of cloth, is fpun by the billy and jenny ; 

 but flax and long wool for worded require very different 

 treatment from cotton and fliort wool, particularly the flax, 

 owing to the great length of the fibres, and to their being 

 of fuch irregular lengths : in confequence, when they are 

 extended by the rollers, on Arkwright's principle, fome 

 fibres will be broken, if the dillances between the rollers is 

 too fmall ; and on the other hand, if the diftance is too 



great, the fibres will not be properly extended. The 

 latter, however, is the leall evil of the two ; and, in confe- 

 quence, the fpinning-frames for flax have the rollers, be- 

 tween which the extenfion or drawing out is effefted, placed 

 at a dillance of from 14 to 18 inches between the firft 

 twopair of rollers, through which the flax patfes ; the next 

 two pair fix or eight inches ; after which it is paflcd between 

 the third pair of rollers at a dillance of five or fix inches, 

 and then delivered to the fpindles, which arc fimilar to thofe 

 of the water-frame, but placed in an inclined pofition. The 

 rollers are made in a very different manner from thofe for 

 cotton, being only narrow wheels jull wide enough to receive 

 the fibres of flax between them ; and the fibres are prevented 

 from gBtting out fideways by fmall tin ipouts, through 

 which the flax paffes, as the rollers draw it forwards. The 

 reafon of this is, that the flinty furface of the flax would 

 foon wear a hollow part round a plain roUer, which would 

 then let the flax flip through ; but the narrow wheel wears 

 down equally over the whole breadth of its edge. The 

 lower pair of thefe rollers, or wheel--, revolves in a fmall 

 trough of water; in the iame manner as a grind-llone, and 

 thus keeps the flax coiiilantly wet, which is neccffary, in 

 order to foften the fibres, and make them fpin into a firm 

 and fmooth thread. 



Woriled is alfo fpun in a frame refembling the water- 

 frame of Arkwright, from which it only differs in the 

 relative dillances of the rollers, by which the drawing out 

 or extending of the fibres is effected. 



Mellrs. Clarke and Bugby obtained a patent in 1806, for 

 improvements in a machine for fpinning hemp and flax, which 

 is intended to be worked by hand labour, and to be at fuch 

 a fmall expence, as to bring it within the reach of fmall ma- 

 nufafturers. The inventors Hate it to be conftrufted upon 

 fuch fafe and eafy principles, that no length of experience 

 is neccffary to enable children to work it ; and that it oc- 

 cupies fo little fpace, that the machines may be placed in 

 fmall rooms, out-buildings, or other chsap places. To ef- 

 fedl the above purpofes, it was neccffary to get rid of the 

 flyer fixed upon the fpindle ufcd in the old machinery for 

 fpinning hemp or flax, which additions require a power in 

 proportion of five to one ; and alfo to furmount the diffi- 

 culty which arifes from the want of elallicity in thefe fub- 

 ftances, and which prevents them from being fpun, by llretch- 

 ing out at the fame time that the thread is twilled, in the 

 maHncr of the mule or jenny. 



Thefe patentees recommend a machine, which is in faft a 

 mule with certain modifications ; and to give the effeft of 

 elallicity in the fibres, they have two methods. The mod 

 fimple, and that which they particularly recommend, is to 

 provide a holder of large wire for every fpindle, which 

 holders are feveral inches in length, fixed in an arbor or 

 fhaft, that extends from one end of the carriage to the other. 

 This arbor or fliaft, with the holders, may be confidered 

 as an enlarged and improved fubftitute for what is called the 

 fallcr in the mules or jennies for fpinning cotton, and the 

 wire-holders fixed therein have elliptical eyes at their ex- 

 tremities, through each of which a thread is condudled in 

 its paflage from the rollers which draw out the thread to its 

 fpindle. The wire of which the holder is made, after form- 

 ing the elliptical eye, is left or extended beyond the upper, 

 molt part, fomething in the manner of a cork-fcrew, fo that 

 the yarn may be conveniently flipped in when occafion may 

 require it, Thefe holders for each thread are for the pur- 

 pofe of keeping the yarn in a Itate nearly vertical over the 

 tops of the fpindle, when the carriage which contains them 

 is coming out ; and as they will readily yield or fpring from 

 the vertical pofition, they have the fame effeA as elallicity 



