THE MANUFACTURE OP LEATHER CLOTH. 9 



is fire-proof, the floors are of metallic lava, and the roof, which is flat, is 

 of the same material. A large pipe runs up the outside wall by the 

 partition which divides the drying rooms, into each of which runs a 

 branch pipe with a valve, which can be worked from the outside. A 

 deluge of steam can by these means be poured into the rooms in a few 

 minutes, by day or night. There are fourteen fire-plugs around the 

 buildings, on the main of the East London Water Works, with hose and 

 turncocks at hand, so that ample means of extinguishing fire exist on the 

 premises. 



But to return to the manufacture. The coating being thoroughly dry, 

 the cloth is then taken to the " rubbers," whose business it is to remove 

 all inequalities from the surface, and make it perfectly smooth. This is 

 done by the " rolling machine" (an ingenious contrivance of Mr. Eagles, 

 the manager,) by which the cloth is made to pass between two rollers, 

 revolving in opposite directions. These rollers are covered with pumice 

 stone, and do the work completely and expeditiously, which, till lately, 

 was done by hand at great expense of labour. The " coating " and the 

 "rubbing" being repeated four, and, in the case of heavy goods, five 

 times, the cloth is ready for the " painters." The " painting rooms" 

 contain machines similar to the " mills ; " but instead of the drum they 

 have a roller at each end, over which the cloth passes slowly, and a man 

 at each side supplies the paint, meeting each other half way. Dependant 

 partly on the colours, and partly on the article to be produced, is the 

 number of coats of paint to be applied. Sometimes two will be sufficient, 

 at other times four are necessary. The last coat receives several applica- 

 tions of a peculiar elastic enamel, composed chiefly of copal varnish, to 

 protect it from the action of the atmosphere. 



At this stage of the process the edges of the cloth are rough and have 

 to be trimmed, and the seam by which the ends are sown together has 

 to be cut. This is done by a machine called the " Guillotine," and we 

 now follow the cloth to the " grainer." This latter, and to the ordinary 

 leather cloth, finishing process, is done by a remarkably beautiful iron 

 machine, having two rollers, the upper one being of polished iron cut 

 obliquely on the surface, the other one of paper. Between these two 

 rollers the cloth passes twice and receives its external resemblance to 

 morocco leather. There are six machines used for this finishing process, 

 and others for embossing, from the small diamond to the large mediaeval 

 pattern. The latter consumes much more time in passing through the 

 machines. The cloth is now stamped with the trade-mark, labelled, 

 and rolled up ready for transmission to the warehouse in Cannon street 

 west. 



On looking at the pieces when finished, one is struck by the extreme 

 cleanness of the inner side after passing through so many soiling opera- 

 tions ; this is owing to the practical skill with which the men handle 

 the cloth, and to the agility with which they remove it from the several 



