WOOLLEN-MANUFACTURE. 



Woollen ManufaSure, Procefs of. In an early part of 

 this work, under the article Cloth, we have given a general 

 view of the procefs of cloth-making, furnilhed by a prin- 

 cipal manufafturer in the weft of England. In the pre- 

 fent article, we (hall confine our account chiefly to thofe 

 improvements in the procefles which have fince been intro- 

 duced, and ftiall add a defcription of the machines which 

 were only (lightly noticed in the article Cloth, and give 

 references to the plates. The procefles of the woollen 

 manufafture may be clafled under two heads ; thofe by 

 which wool is prepared for the weaver, and thofe by which 

 the cloth is finifhed after it is taken out of the loom. The 

 forting of wool has already been referred to under the 

 article Wool. Englilh wool is fuppofed to be fufB- 

 ciently cleaned from pitch marks or other extraneous fub- 

 ftances by the wool-forter, and left by him in a proper 

 ftate to commence the procefs of cloth-making. Spanifh 

 wool in the bale has generally fome part of the pitch em- 

 ployed to mark the fheep ftill adhering to it, which mull be 

 carefully cut off. It was till recently the praftice to beat 

 the wool with rods, in order to (hake out the duft and open 

 the ftaples ; but this is now principally done by an opening 

 machine with long coarfe teeth, called a devrl, or wool-mill. 

 Spanifli wool is frequently fo hardly prefled together in the 

 bag, that it requires to be opened out by beating, to pre- 

 pare it for the further procefles. 



In the weft of England, wool is generally fcoured before 

 it is dyed or carded ; but in Yorklhire this is feldom prac- 

 tifed on wool intended for white cloths, and among the 

 fmaller manufafturers who dye their own wool, it is fre- 

 quently put into the dyeing-vat unfcoured ; a praftice 

 which injures the brightnefs of the colours, but whicli 

 enables the manufafturer to make a greater weight of 

 cloth with the fame quantity of wool. There is alfo 

 fome faving of labour and expence ; but this is more 

 than counter-balanced by the increafed quantity of oil 

 per pack required for unfcoured wool, which is at leaft 

 one-third more than would be neceffary if the wool 

 were fcoured. In the weft of England, where the wool 

 is fcoured previoufly to its manufafture, the procefs is 

 carried on with a degree of neatnefs and cleanlinefs, which 

 form a perfeft contraft with the horrid ftench and difguft- 

 ing filthinefs of the woollen faftories in Yorklhire. For 

 fine cloths, olive-oil, called Gallipoli, from the part where 

 it was fuppofed to be fent, is principally ufed ; and for the 

 coarfer cloths rape-oil. Where attention to colour is not 

 required in very coarfe goods, fi{h-oil is fometimes em- 

 ployed ; but if the latter remain in the wool or cloth, it 

 turns it brown, undergoing a degree of fermentation inju- 

 rious to the cloth, and which fometimes occafions fponta- 

 neous combuftion. To leflen the expence of oil for coarfe 

 cloths, fome manufafturers in Yorklhire make ufe of a mix- 

 ture of foap and water with oil, which anfwers very well in 

 moift weather, if the wool be immediately carded and fpun ; 

 but if it remain fome time unwafhed, or the weather be very 

 hot, the mixture evaporates. It has been attempted to 

 work wool without any oil whatever, but without fuccefs. 

 The ufe of oil is to cover the furface of the fibres, and 

 enable them to Aide eafily over each other in carding or 

 fpinning. What we have before faid of the ftrufture of 

 the furface of wool or hair, under the article Wool, will 

 fuffice to (hew the advantage that muft refult from oiling. 

 The wool is fprinkled with oil as evenly as poflible. In 

 Yorklhire the proportion on fine wool is about fix gallons 

 per pack, and this is more equally diftributed over it by 

 the wool-mill, through which it pafies.previous to the pro- 

 cefs called fcribbling. This procefs is a kind of coarfe 



carding, and is performed on a machine fimilar to that ufed 

 for fcribbling cotton, but larger, and with coarfer cards, 

 the principle being fimilar to that of the carding-machine, 

 hereafter to be defcribed. By this engine tlie longer fibres 

 are broken down, and they are all laid ftraight and nearly 

 parallel to each other. The wool leaves the roller of the 

 fcribbling-mill in one thin undivided (heet, and the more 

 clear, even, and tranfparent it appears when held between 

 the eye and the light, the more perfeftly has the operation 

 been performed. On the carding-engine, the operation is 

 repeated on finer cards ; but inftead of leaving the machine 

 in one continued Iheet, it is finally divided into feparate 

 portions, which by a fluted roller are formed into feparate 

 round pieces about one inch in diameter, and two feet three 

 inches in length. The fibres are now arranged fo as more 

 eafily to Aide over and twift round each other in the next 

 procefs, which is a kind of coarfe fpinning called flubbing, 

 performed with the flubbing-machine, which will be de- 

 fcribed. On this machine each of the rolls from the card- dl 

 ing-machine are joined together, and drawn out into a '% 

 loofely-twifted thread, and wound round a fpindle, forming 

 what is technically called zjlubbtng. Thefe flubbings being 

 taken to the fpinning jenny, which will alfo be defcribed, 

 are twifted in an oppofite direftion, and drawn out into 

 threads of yarn of the'requifite length. For very fine yam 

 ufed in fhawls, a machine called the mule is fometimes em- 

 ployed, nearly fimilar to the cotton mule (fee ManufaSure 

 o/" Cotton), the flubbing pafling through rollers which 

 affift in drawing out the thread fmaller and more regular. 

 The yarn is now prepared for winding, fizing, warping, 

 and weaving. ( See Cloth. ) Since the article Cloth 

 was written, broad-cloth is almoft univerfally woven by one 

 perfon only in a loom, making ufe of the fly-{huttle. ( See 

 Weaving.) The next procefs is fcouring and burling, 

 already defcribed under the ai-ticles Cloth and Fulling. 

 The cloth is then fent to the fulling-mill ; the finer kinds 

 are prepared for fulling by a mixture of foap and water ; in 

 coarfe kinds, fuller's-earth fupplies the place of foap. ( See 

 YvLi.iviG-Mlll, and a farther defcription at the end of the 

 article.) The principle on which the felting depends has 

 been defcribed under the article Wool. By the procefs of 

 fulling, the cloth becomes (hortened in length and breadth, 

 and the fibres are incorporated and intimately united with 

 each other. In the beft manufaftured cloths, this incor- 

 poration is fo complete, that the feparate threads can 

 fcarcely be diftinguilhed, the bottom of the cloth appear- 

 ing to form one even continuous fubftance. An improve- jj 

 ment in this refpeft has recently been made at Leeds, by 

 fpinning J.he wool much fofter and thicker than has ufually' 

 been the praftice, and uniting the threads in the fulling- 

 mill, and then working the fubftance of the cloth down to a 

 requifite degree of thinnefs by the gig-mill, hereafter to be 

 defcribed. At the end of the procefs, the face or furface 

 of the cloth is much fofter, and greatly fuperior in appear- 

 ance to cloth manufaftured in the common procefs. A 

 pack of wool of 240 lbs. will make when milled about one 

 hundred and twenty yards of mixed or coloured cloth from 

 fifty to fixty inches in breadth, according to the quality 

 and finenefs of the wool. The procefs of raifing, (hearing, 

 and prefling, have been mentioned under the article Cloth, 

 and will be more fuUy defcribed when an account is given 

 of the gig-miU and (hearing-machine. The objeft of thefe 

 procefles is to cover the thread with a foft pile, confifting 

 of the fibres of the wool, cut down to an even furface over 

 the whole piece. 



There are various kinds of woollen goods worked on the 

 fame principle as cloth, and made with both the warp and the 



weft 



