AV I N 



the pit alfo applies the brake on the wheel C D. Imme- 

 diately the motion ceafes, the boy pulls the tackle, which 

 difengages the trundle W from the wheel, but without en- 

 gaging it with the oppofite one, and in confequence the 

 barrel is detached from the water-wheel. A man now feizes 

 the corve with a long hook, like a (hepherd's crook, and 

 draws it afide ; then another man releafes the clog or brake 

 on the wheel C D, and the wheel and the corve immediately 

 defcend upon the ground at the fide of the pit. The pul- 

 ley over the pit is raifed up to a confiderable height, be- 

 caufe the machine cannot be flopped exaftly at the precife 

 fpot ; but if the corve fhould be drawn up a few feet 

 higher than necefTary, no harm can enfue as foon as the full 

 corve is landed and exchanged for an empty one ; and the 

 fame is done at the bottom of the pit. The boy throws the 

 trundle in gear with tlie oppofite wheel, then draws the 

 fhuttle to let the water flow upon the wheel, and the wheel 

 refumes its motion. 



For the facility of flopping the machine at the proper 

 moment, Mr. Smeaton applied a piece of machinery, which 

 he called a count-wheel. This received its motion from a 

 pinion of 15 teeth, fixed upon the extremity of the pivot of 

 the lantern W ; the pinion gave motion to a fmall cog-wheel 

 of 60 teeth, fituated between the two great cog-wheels U V, 

 being fixed at one end of an horizontal fpindle ; and at the 

 oppofite end of it was a pinion of eight teeth, which gave 

 motion to the count-wheel. This wheel had 80 teeth, and 

 was fixed in a vertical pofition. It had afBxcd to its plane 

 two projefting pieces of iron, which operated upon a lever 

 that was connefted with the lever which lets down or draws 

 up the fhuttle to regulate the flow of water upon the wheel. 

 Thefe projeftions were fo fixed to the wheel as to be ca- 

 pable of regulation in fuch manner, that when the machine 

 had worked long enough to have brought up the corve to 

 the top of the pit, the projeftion of the count-wheel would 

 feize the lever, and let fall the (huttle fo as to flop the 

 water-wheel at the proper moment, without any attention 

 on the part of the boy. This could be eafily regulated by 

 the pofition of the projeftion on the count-wheel, and w'hen 

 once adjulled always operated corredlly ; for as the count- 

 wheel turned only once for forty turns of the barrel, the 

 machine would therefore draw up a corve from the bottom 

 of the pit before the count-wheel made a complete turn. 



As the two corves in the pit afcend and defcend mutually, 

 they muflpafs each other at half the breadth of the pit ; and 

 it fometimes happens that they flrike together, and overfet 

 the coals. The beft remedy for this is to divide the pit in 

 two, or make two feparate pits, and the barrel may be 

 fituated between the two. As it is frequently impradli- 

 cable to do fo, a fmaller projeftion was applied in Mr. 

 Smeaton's machine upon the count-wheel, which adledin the 

 middle of the courfe upon the lever, and raifed it up fo as 

 to diminifh the opening of the water-fliuttle, and make the 

 machine move flowly at the moment when the corves met 

 and pafTed each other : this prevented accidents. 



The principal dimenfions of this machine were as fol- 

 low : — The cyhnder of the fleam-engine 26 inches diameter, 

 and 5 feet 8 inches the length of flroke. It made 14 

 ftrokes^^r minute. It was on the principle of Newcomen, 

 i. e. atmofpheric, with injeftion into the cylinder. The 

 pump was i8i inch bore, and 5 feet 8 inches fl;roke : it 

 raifed the water 33 feet high. This water, being conveyed 

 in a trough to the machine, was dehvered upon the water- 

 wheel, which was 30 feet diameter, with 72 buckets; its 

 caft-iroii axis was 7 inches diameter ; the great cog-wheels 

 12 feet diameter, with 88 cogs; the trundle 20 cogs, fo 

 that the barrel turned 4.4 times for once of the water- 

 10 



WIN 



wheel. The barrel was 5 feet 3 inches diameter iu the 

 middle, and 2 feet 11^ inches diameter at the ends; the 

 whole length being 10^ feet. Upon the circumference of 

 the barrel a fpiral line is traced, and a groove funk, which 

 receives half of the rope, to prevent the rope from flipping 

 on the barrel. 



The depth of the pit was 165 yards ; and it was found, 

 on a long courfe of experiments, that the total confumption 

 of coals was one corve of coals to draw up 82^ corves from 

 that depth. The machine would draw 18 fcore of corves, 

 each containing 20 pecks and weighing 5^ cwt., every 

 12 hours. 



The more modem winding-engines by fleam are upon a 

 much more fimple conflruftion. The power of the fteam- 

 engine is applied at once to the barrel which winds up the 

 rope, with only one pair of cog-wheels ; viz. a large wheel 

 fixed on the axis of the barrel, and a fmaller one on the axis 

 of the fly-wheel of the fleam-engine. Thefe engines are 

 frequently made on Newcomen's principle, as the confump- 

 tion of coals is a fmall objeft, but Mr. Watt's engines are 

 more manageable. As the fleam-engine with a crank will 

 turn either way, according as it is fet in motion, it is very 

 well adapted for winding-machines ; the boys who manage 

 them are very dexterous in flopping and turning them the 

 contrary way. See STEAM-Engine. 



There are many ingenious contrivances for facilitating 

 the landing of the corves when they come up to the pit's 

 mouth. The befl: is a platform, which runs upon wheels, 

 and can be pufhed over the pit's mouth, when the corve is 

 drawn up, by means of a light carriage with one horfe, 

 which is backed on the platform beneath the corve, and 

 pufhes the platform over the pit by the fame motion. The 

 corve is lowered down upon the carriage, and then the horfe 

 draws the corve away ; the fame motion withdraws the 

 platform from the pit's mouth, ready to let down an empty 

 corve and draw up another full one. 



In many modern pits, conduftors are fixed in the pit. 

 Thefe are perpendicular rods, and the bafliets have pro- 

 jefting parts which embrace the conduftors, and guide the 

 corve regularly up or down the pit. 



In many collieries flat ropes are ufed. Thefe are com- 

 pofed of four fmall ropes placed flat, fide by fide, and fewed 

 together by a packthread, which pierces all the four ropes. 

 When thefe flat ropes are ufed, a barrel or drum of fmaU 

 fize is ufed, and the coils of the rope wind one upon the 

 other, fo as to form a fpiral, and increafes the diameter of 

 the effeftive barrel as the rope winds up, fo as to balance j 

 the weight of the rope. This was invented by Mr. John ] 

 Curr, of Sheffield, who has fcveral patents for machinery ( 

 for manufafturing fuch flat ropes, as they are extenfively 

 ufed in Yorkfhire. 



In others, iron chains are ufed inflead of ropes, and are 

 found to anfwer extremely well. 



Winding of Cotton. See Cottox Manufadure. 

 WiNDiNCi of Silk. See Manufadure of Silk. 

 WiXDiNG-.S'(r/-fw Cheefe-Prefs, in Rural Economy, a con- 

 trivance of this fort, in which the weight is faid, in the 

 Gloucefl;erniire Report on Agriculture, to be capable of 

 being gradually let down on the vats. It is thus defcribed : — 

 A ftrong platform, or fill, is raifed on four legs, about a foot 

 from the floor ; near the edge is made a channel all round, 

 to carry off the whey as it is exprefTed, by a lip, into the pan 

 or receiver. Two flrong fide-pofls are mortifed into the 

 fill, reaching about fix feet high ; acrofs which, about four 

 feet high, is firmly faflened a flrong bar, with an aperture 

 in the centre large enough to let in the fcrew with eafe. This 

 fcrew is fised, at the lower part, into a heavy cubical flone 



of 



