WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE. 



perities upon the furface of the fibres of the wool, by fixing 

 themfelves in the fltin, produce a difagreeable fenfation, at 

 lead till we are accuftomed to it ; whereas the furface of 

 the fibres of hemp or flax, of which linen is made, being 

 perfeAly fmooth, do not caufe any fuch fenfation. It is 

 alfo probable, that the injury arifing to wounds or fores 

 from the application of wool does not proceed fo much 

 from any chemical properties, but is occafioned folely by 

 the form of the furface of the fibres, the afperities 

 of which attach themfelves to the raw and expofed flefh, 

 which they ftimulate and irritate to fuch a degree as to pro- 

 duce inflammation. 



The afperities with which the furface of wool is every 

 where furrounded, and the difpofition which it has to affume 

 a progrellive motion towards the root, renders the fpinning 

 of wool and making it into cloth difficult operations. In 

 order to fpin wool and afterwards to weave it, we are 

 obliged to cover its fibres with a coating of oil, which, 

 filling up the cavities, renders the afperities lefs fenfible ; in 

 the fame way as oil, when rubbed upon the furface of a very 

 fine file, renders it ftill lefs rough. 



When a piece of cloth is finifhed it muft. be cleanfed 

 from this oil, which, befides giving it a difagreeable fmell, 

 would caufe it to foil whatever it came in contaft with, and 

 would prevent its taking the colour which is intended to be 

 given to it by the dyer. To deprive it of the oil it is 

 fcoured at the fulling-mill, by working it with hammers in 

 a trough full of water or urine, in which fuUer's-earth is 

 fometimes mixed. This earth combines with the oil which 

 it feparates from the cloth, and both together are waflied 

 away by the frefh water, which is afterwards brought to it 

 in the machine. Thus after a certain time the oil is entirely 

 waftied out of the cloth. 



The fulling, which fucceeds the fcouring of the cloth, 

 is aided by the application of the foap. The alternate 

 preffure given by the hammers to the piece of cloth, efpe- 

 cially when the milling is pretty far advanced, occafions an 

 effeft analogous to that which is produced upon hats by the 

 hands of the hatter ; the fibres of wool which compofe one 

 of the threads, whether of the warp or the weft, aflume a 

 progreflive movement with their roots forwards, and intro- 

 duce themfelves among the fibres of the threads neareft to 

 them, then into thofe which follow ; and thus by degrees all 

 the threads, both of the warp and the woof, become felted 

 together. The cloth, having by the above means become 

 (hortened in all its dimenfions, and thickened in its fub- 

 ftance, partakes both of the nature of cloth and of that of 

 felt ; for at the fame time that the threads give it confider- 

 able ftrength, it may be cut without being fubjeft to ravel, 

 and on that account we are not obliged to hem the edges of 

 the pieces of which wearing apparel is made. Laftly, as 

 the threads of the warp and thofe of the weft are no longer 

 fo diftinft and feparated from each other as to leave inter- 

 ftices between them, the cloth forms a warmer clothing, in- 

 dependently of its having acquired a greater degree of thick- 

 nefs. Knit worfted is alfo rendered lefs apt to run, in cafe 

 a ftitch fliould drop, by the operation of fulling. 



Tenler'tng. — When the milling is fini(hed, the cloth is 

 ftretched again on the tenter. It is ufual to extend the 

 piece to forty-two yards in length, but not at all in breadth ; 

 indeed only one inch of extenfion in each yai-d is allowed by 

 law. The cloth remains in the open air until it is perfeAly 

 dry and ready for the fucceeding operations of finifhing, 

 which are only intended to give it a beautiful furface, for it 

 already poflefles all the ufeful qualities of cloth. 



Drejfmg the Cloth -with Teafeh. — This operation is to raife 

 up the nap or loofe fibres on the furface of the cloth, by 



fcratching it over with a fpecies of thiftles called teafels, 

 in order to form a wool on the furface, which can be 

 removed by {hearing. The teafels are the balls or ears which 

 contain the feed of the plant called dipfacus fuUonum ; the 

 fcales which form the ball projeft on all fides, and are 

 terminated with (harp points, which turn downwards, like 

 hooks, and are very elaftic. See Teasel. 



A number of teafels are put into a fmall frame, which is 

 compofed of a handle eight or ten inches long, having a 

 fmall ftick pafled through it at one end about eight inches 

 long, which is fplit into two at each end nearly all its length, j 

 There is alfo another fimilar ftick, which is pafled through 

 the handle near the middle of its length ; the two fplit fticks 

 are perpendicular to the ftem or handle, and parallel to each 

 other. The fpace between them is filled with teafels, which 

 are jambed in very fail between them, and alfo in the clefts 

 of the fplit fticks, where they are fecured by ftrings extended 

 between the ends of the fpUt fticks, and twifted, until they 

 draw the fticks forcibly together, and bind the teafels very 

 faft. This frame filled with teafels forms a tool, which very 

 much refembles the curry-comb ufed to clean horfes, and is 

 ufed in a fimilar manner, to fcratch over the whole furface 

 of the cloth, and draw out all loofe ends of the fibres of the 

 wool, which are not firmly confined by the entanglement of 

 the felting. 



The drefling is performed by two men, who hold the 

 teafel-frame by its handle, and work the cloth, when it is 

 hung up in a vertical pofition over two rails fixed to the 

 ceihng ; when they have worked over as much furface as 

 they can reach, they draw down afrefli portion, which they 

 work in turn, and thus proceed until they have finiflied the 

 whole piece. The firft time the cloth is drefled it is wetted 

 with water ; it is worked three times over in the wet ftate, 

 by ftrokes in the direftion of the length of the piece, and 

 then it is worked again three times in the other direftion ; by 

 this means all the fibres are raifed, and the cloth is prepared 

 for ftiearing. 



In the moft improved manufaftories, the drefling is per- 

 formed by the gig or gig-mill. This is a cyhnder covered 

 on its furface with teafels, and turned rapidly round whilft 

 the cloth is drawn over it. 



The Gig-mill is reprefented in perfpeftive in Plate V. 

 Woollen ManufaBure. M is the wood frame of the machine ; 

 F F is the cylinder or drum, which is compofed of 1 2 rails 

 or troughs, filled with teafels F F, 3,4, &c. Thefe are 

 fattened on the circumference of two or three wheels fixed 

 upon a wooden axis 7 ; the drum is put in motion by a 

 pulley E D at one end of its axis, which receives an end- 

 lefs ftrap, 2, from the drum C, fituated above the machine. 

 There are two pulleys, E and D, one fixed faft on the axis, 

 and the other fitted on loofely, with liberty to turn round 

 freely upon it ; the ftrap can be fhifted to either pulley, and 

 accordingly the machine will be put in motion, or will ftand 

 ftill. 



The drum C is fixed on one end of an iron (haft i, which 

 is put in motion by a bevelled wheel B, from the larger 

 wheel A, fixed on the great horizontal fliaft, which proceeds 

 the whole length of the mill. The drum, F F, covered 

 with teafels, is mounted on bearings fupported by the frame, 

 and the piece of cloth G iscondufted over it, to receive the 

 aftion of the teafels ; one end of the piece of cloth is wound 

 round a roller J, and the other end of the piece is wound on 

 the roller L ; both thefe rollers are put in motion from a 

 bevelled wheel 6, fixed on the extremity of the axis of the 

 drum ; this turns a wheel H upon an inclined axis, which 

 has a pinion at each end ; one of thefe pinions, 9, turns a 

 bevelled wheel, K, on the end of the axle of the upper 



roller 



