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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



DRAWING WOOL IN A LAWRENCE WOOLEN MILL 



In the transformation of combed wool into unspnn yarn it is passed through from six to 

 nine machines, each of which unites many slivers of its predecessor into one of its own. 

 For instance, in the first machine six slivers are united into one, stretching one yard into 

 eight yards. In each drawing that follows a number of the next preceding slivers are con- 

 solidated into one and drawn out, so it often happens that a single strand of worsted yarn 

 is the consolidated and drawn-out product of hundreds of thousands of original slivers as 

 they came from the wool-combing machine. One inch of original sliver may share in the 

 making of several miles of thread. 



ter pen every twelve months to give 

 milady shoes for her dainty feet. A mil- 

 lion ordinary sheep and lamb skins and as 

 many more calfskins represent the nor- 

 mal stock of Massachusetts manufac- 

 turers, to say nothing of the thousands of 

 hides that come from cattle and horses. 



It is a far cry from the village cobbler 

 who pegged his life away over his lasts to 

 the Massachusetts factory with its thou- 

 sands of hands, its scores of processes, its 

 dozens of kinds of machines, and its mil- 

 lions of shoes. 



At Brockton one may see more shoes 



