laying the fibres parallel to each other, and 
fastening the bundle at the two ends; but 
(his would be of very limited use, because 
tbe tibr.es are short, not exceeding three feet 
and a half at an average. They must there- 
fore be entangled together, in such a manner, 
that the strength of a fibre shall not be able 
to draw it out from among the rest of the 
bundle. This is done by twisting or twining 
them together, which causes them mutuallv 
to compress each other. When the fibres 
are, so disposed in a long skain, that their 
ends succeed, each other along its length, 
without many of them meeting in one place ; 
and this skain is twisted round; we may 
cause them to compress each other to any 
degree we please ; and the friction on a fibre 
which we attempt to pull put may be more 
than ifs cohesion, can overcome. It will there- 
fore break. Consequently, if we pull at this 
twisted skain, we shall "not separate it by 
drawing one parcel out from amoyg the rest, 
but the whole fibres will break; and if the 
distribution of the fibres has been very 
equable, the skain will be nearly of the same 
^trength in every part. If there is any part 
where many ends of fibres meet, the skain 
will break iu that part. 
We know very well that we can twist a 
skain of fibres so very hard, that it will break 
with any attempt to twist ’it- harder. In this 
state all the fibres are already strained to the 
utmost of their strength. Such a skain of 
fibres can have no strength. It cannot carry 
a. weight, because each fibre is already strain- 
ed in the same manner as if loaded with as 
much weight as it is able to bear. What we 
have said of this extreme case is true in a 
certain extent of every degree of twist that 
we give the fibres. Whatever fforee is actu- 
ally exerted by a twiked fibre, in order that 
it may sufficiently compress the rest to-hinder 
them f "om being drawn- out, must be consi- 
dered as a weight hanging on that fibre, and 
must be deducted from its absolute strength 
of cohesion, before we can estimate the 
strength of the. skain. The strength of the 
skain is the remainder of the absolute strength 
of the fibres, after We have deduced the force 
employed in twisting them together. From 
this observation may be established a funda- 
mental principle in rope-making, that all 
twisting, beyond what is necessary for pre- 
venting the fibres from being drawn out with- 
out breaking, diminishes the strength of the 
cordage, and should be avoided when in our 
poker. 
It is necessary then to twist the fibres of 
hemp together, in order to make a rope ; 
but we should make a very bad rope if we 
contented ourselves with twisting together a 
banch of hemp sufficiently large to withstand 
the Strains to which the rope is to be exposed. 
As soon as we let it go out of our hands, it 
would untwist itself, "and be again a loose 
bundle of hemp ; for the fibres are strained, 
and they are in a considerable degree elastic ; 
thm- cqnfract again, and thus ' untwist the 
rope or .skain. it is necessary to 'contrive 
the twist in such a manner, that the tendency 
to untwist in one part may act against the 
seime tendency In another and balance it. 
.1 lie process, therefore, of rope-making is; 
more complicated. 
The first part of this process is spinning of 
rope-yarns, tliat is, twist mg the hemp in the 
HOPE-MAKING. 
| first instance. This is done in various ways, 
! and with different machinery, according to 
the nature of the intended cordage. We shall 
confine our description to the manufacture of 
the larger kinds, such as are used for the 
standing and running rigging of ships. 
An alley or walk is inclosed for the pur- 
pose, about 200 fathoms long, and of a breadth 
suited to the extent of the manufacture. It is 
sometimes covered above. At the upper end 
of this rope-walk is set up the spinning-wheel, 
of a form resembling that in Plate Miscel. 
fig. 210. I he band ot tjfis wheel goes over 
several rollers called whirls, turning on pi- 
vots in brass holes. The pivots at one end 
come through the frame, and terminate in 
little hooks. The wheel being turned by a 
winch, gives motion in one direction to all 
those whirls. The spinner has a bundle of 
dressed hemp round his waist, with the two 
ends meeting before him. The hemp is laid 
in this bundle in the same way that women 
spread the flax on the distaff. There is great 
variety in this ; but the general aim is to lay 
the fibres in such a manner, that as long as 
the bundle lasts there may be an equal 
number of the ends at the extremity, and 
that a fibre may never offer itself double or 
in a bight. The spinner draws out a proper 
number of fibres, twists them with his Angel’s, 
and having got a sufficient length detached, 
he lixes it to the hook of a whirl. The wheel 
is now turned, and the skain is twisted, be- 
coming what is called a rope-yarn, and the 
spinner walks backwards down the rope-walk. 
r l lie part already twisted draws along with it 
more fibres out of the bundle. r I lie spinner 
aids this with his fingers, supplying hemp in 
due proportion as he walks away from the 
wheel, and taking care that the fibres come 
in equally from both sides of Ills bundle, and 
that they enter always with their ends, and 
not by the middle, which would double 
them. lie should also endeavour to enter 
every fibre at the heart of the yarn. This 
will cause all the fibres to mix equally iu 
making it up, and will make the work smooth, 
because one end of each fibre is by this means 
buried among the rest, and the other end 
only lies outward ; and this, in passing 
through the. grasp of the spinner, who presses 
it tight with his thumb and palm, is also made 
to lie smooth. The greatest fault that can 
be committed in spinning is to allow a small 
thread to be twisted off from one side of the 
hemp, and then to cover this with hemp sup- 
plied from the other side ; for it is evident, 
that, the fibres of the central thread make 
very long spirals, and the skin of fibres which 
covers them must be much more oblique. 
This covering has but little connection with 
what is below it, and will easily be detached. 
But even while it remains, the yarn cannot be 
strong, for on pulling it, the middle part, 
which lies the straightest, must bear all the 
strain, while the outer fibres that are lying 
obliquely, are only drawn a little more pa- 
rallel to the axis. This defect will always 
happen if the hemp is supplied in a consider- 
able body, to a yarn that is then spinning 
small. Into whatever part of the yarn it is 
made to enter, it becomes a sort of loosely 
connected wrapper. Such a yarn, when un- 
twisted a little, wilt have the appearance of 
fig. 2ll. while a good yarn looks like fig. 212. 
A good spinner therefore endeavours always 
to supply the hemp in the form of a thin fiat 
skain with his left hand, while his right is 
employed in grasping firmly tile yarn that is 
twining off, and in holding it tight from the 
whirl, that it may not run into loops or 
kinks. 
It is evident, that both the arrangement of 
the fibres and the degree of twisting depend 
on the skill and dexterity of the spinner, and 
tiiat lie must be instructed, not by a book, 
but by a master. The degree of twist de- 
pends on the rate of the wheel’s motion, com- 
bined with the retrograde walk of the spinner. 
We may suppose him arrived at the lower 
end ot the walk,, or as far as is necessary for 
the intended length of his yarn. He calls put, 
and another spinner immediately detaches the 
yarn from the hook of the whirl, gives it to 
another, who carries it aside 1° the reel ; and 
this second spinner attaches his own hemp 
to the whirl-hook. In the mean time, the 
first spinner keeps fast hold of the end of his 
yarn ; for the hemp, being dry, is very elas- 
tic, and if he were to let it go out of his hand, 
it would instantly untwist, and become little 
better than loose hemp. He waits, therefore, 
till he sees the reeler begin to turn the reel, 
and he goes slowly up the walk, keeping the 
yarn of an equal tightness all the way, till he 
arrives at the wheel, where he waits with his 
yarn in his hand till another spinner has 
finished his yarn. The first spinner takes it 
off the whirl-hook, joins it to his own, that it 
may follow it on the reel, and begins a new 
yarn. 
Rope-yarns, for the greatest part of the 
large rigging, are from a quarter of an inch 
to somewhat more than a third of an inch in 
circumference, or of such a size that 160 fa- 
thoms weigh from 3\ to 4 pounds when white. 
Tfife different sizes of yarns are named from 
the number of them contained in a strand of 
a rope of three inches in circumference. Few 
are so coarse that 1(3 will make a strand of 
British cordage; 18 is not (infrequent for 
cable yarns, or yarns spun from harsh and 
coarse hemp ; 25 is, we believe,; the finest 
size which is worked up for the rigging of a 
ship. Much finer are indeed spun for sound- 
ing-lines, fishing-lines, and many other ma- 
rine uses, and for the other demands of so- 
ciety. Ten good spinners will work up above 
600 weight of hemp in a day; but this de- 
pends on the weather. In very dry weather 
the hemp is very elastic, and "requires great 
attention to make smooth work. In" the 
wanner climates the spinner is 'permitted to 
moisten the rag with which he grasps the earn 
in his right hand *for each yarn. No work 
can be done in an open spinning-walk m 
rainy weather, because the yarns would hot 
take on the tar, if immediate! v tarred, and 
would rot if kept on the reel for a long time’ 
The second part of the process is the con- 
version of the yarns into what may with pro- 
priety be called a rope, cord, or fine. That 
we may have a clear conception of the prin- 
ciple which regulates this part of the process, 
we shall begin with the simplest possible 
case, the union of two v arus into one line. 
This is not a very usual fabric for rigging, but 
we select it for its simplicity. 
When hemp has been split into very fine 
fibres by the hatched, it becomes exceedingly 
soft and pliant, and after it has lain for some 
time iu the form of line yarn, it m v be un- 
reeled and thrown loose, without losing much 
