ON BLEACHING. 139 



labourers, in all states of the weather, to the accustomed drudgery of the 

 " crofters " of old. The " crofters," of whom we have spoken, bore the 

 appearance of remarkably strong men ; their working dress was of thick 

 white flannel, called " gladding ;" the cut of the coat was peculiar, having 

 a loose, open appearance, and a low, flat collar, on which the shirt collar 

 usually rested. They had their necks uncovered ; and, from their employ- 

 ment being so much exposed to moisture, they seldom wore stockings. 

 Altogether, they assumed a bearing of unconcern about the state of the 

 weather, and were quite regardless of the splashing of water. Their 

 employment consisted mainly in the handling of wet cloth, and in remov- 

 ing it, either by hand or by wheelbarrows, from one operation to another. 

 Perhaps the most distressing part of their labour was that of carrying 

 upon their shoulders a pile of wet cloth, rising to some height above the 

 head, which they conveyed to a considerable distance in the fields, and 

 spread upon the grass. In the severity of the winter season there would 

 be drippings from the cloth, forming icicles, which would be adhering to 

 the skirts of their clothing. It has been through a succession of mechani- 

 cal inventions that these laborious operations have been dispensed with, 

 and one after another they have been handed over to the power of the 

 steam-engine. The machinery of the dash-wheels is in a great measure 

 superseded ; the use of wheelbarrows, for the removal of cloth from one 

 operation to another, is not now required : the suspension of wet pieces 

 upon wood railing in an open shed for the purpose of drying, has passed 

 away ; all this work is now done under cover ; the drying process is 

 carried on in heated rooms ; and the suspension of the cloth is accomplished 

 by an ingenious application of machinery. Practically speaking, bleaching 

 operations have been revolutionised ; and probably the most efficient 

 labour-saving invention has been a mechanical arrangement, or, as it is 

 termed, a continuous system of cloth working. By this method it is not now 

 necessary to conduct the bleaching of individual pieces singly, one by one, 

 but to have the ends of them sewed together by hundreds in a consecutive 

 string, and have them drawn through a number of operations in their 

 ordinary succession ; the regularity of the work being attended to by boys, 

 and the superintendence by men. It will be obvious that, by the various 

 means referred to, the operation of bleaching has been much simplified, 

 and the expense reduced ; but, meanwhile, there have been great changes, 

 and eventually an increasing demand for what is usually termed " finish," 

 winch consists of a skilful application of calendering, pressing, rolling, and 

 otherwise rendering a piece of plain cotton as near as possible in accordance 

 with the design of the manufacturer or the exporter, who may undertake 

 to gratify the taste of the consumers in the various markets of the world. 

 To such an extent has this rivalry or competition by " finish " been carried, 

 that the machinery, labour, skill, and cost of extraneous materials required, 

 have occasioned an expenditure that is said to exceed all the other expenses 

 previously incurred in the bleaching. Dyeing has also been associated 

 with bleaching and finishing ; and the class of goods which are embossed 



