MANUFACTURE OF COTTON. 
witli a quicker motion up and down, very 
close to the rollers, so as to catch and draw 
out the cotton as it passes forwards between 
thepi : underneath an oblong sieve of wire 
moves back and forwards horizontally, which 
catches the cotton as it falls from the comb, 
and frees it from the loose seeds and other 
matters : above, a sort of frame, like a ta- 
ble, lies behind the rollers, over which an 
endless cloth is contrived to pass continual- 
ly, so as to come in one part very close to 
the rollers ; on the upper surface of this 
cloth the cotton is spread by hand evenly, 
and thus is brought forward by degrees to 
the rollers, which deliver it to the comb, as 
already described. 
Another engine of coarser operation is 
sometimes used previous to the above. This 
is formed by an oblong roller, three or four 
feet tong, and about fourteen inches diame- 
ter, having longitudinal rows of spikes, of 
three inches long, at intervals of four or 
five inches, projecting from its surface. 
This roller revolves within a hollow cylin- 
der, furnished in like manner with rows of 
spikes projecting inwai-ds, so that the spikes 
of the internal roller may pass between 
them : both roller and case are formed 
usually of bars of wood, so as to leave free 
space for the cotton to pass, and the dirt to 
fly ont. 
Where these engines are not used, or 
when they are not sufficiently perfect to 
completely free the cotton fiom its seeds 
and foreign matters, the cotton wool is 
afterwards carefully picked by women and 
children, who remove whatever matters 
might remain in it after the former opera- 
tions. 
When the picking is completed, the cot- 
ton next undergoes tlie process of washing 
with soap, which not only cleanses it from 
dirt adhering to its fibres, but it is thought 
has also a sort of chemical action on it, in 
making the fibres more tortuous and spiral, 
by which in a great measure the yarn form- 
ed from it acquires that elastic softness, 
which peculiarly distinguishes it from that 
spun in mills, which latter does not usually 
undergo this operation, and which fits it so 
well to form the weft of cotton cloth, while 
the superior firmness and hardness of the 
mill-twist qualifies it better for the part of 
the warp for 'which it is generally em- 
ployed. 
After being thus washed, the cotton is 
next carried to the press, where most of 
the water which it has imbibed is forced 
put of it ; in this operation it is generally 
put into a strong wooden box, perforated 
with holes at every side, and open at top ; a 
wooden cover is then put over it, sufficient- 
ly small to enter the box ; the whole being 
then put into the press, the cover is forced 
down by a wooden screw. Notifng made 
of iron should be used about the cotton 
while it is wet, as it might impart a stain, 
hard to be removed. 
When the cotton is sufficiently pressed, 
it is pread on canvass, or railed wooden 
frames, and brought to the stove to be 
dried. 
The stove consists of a chamber, of size 
proportionate to the work to be done in it, 
which is usually arched over with biick, 
and separate from the other buildings of the 
cotton factory, to prevent accidents by fire ; 
a flue of cast-iron runs thio\igh the middle 
of this chamber, a little above the floor, 
from a fire place, which opens outside. In 
some stoves inverted pots, or metallic cy- 
linders, are fixed at intervals along the 
flue, with which they conuminicate be- 
neath; wooden supports are placed round 
the sides of the stove to sustain tlie frames, 
on which tlie damp cotton is spread, which 
is left to remain here till it is thoroughly 
dry. As the stove may be constructed in 
various manners, without any material dif- 
ference in its performance taking place, it 
is probable that many other constructions 
are used in different places; but the one 
described is of a kind in very general use, 
and has no very obvious defect. It is pro- 
bable a stream of heated air conveyed 
through the stove might be an improvement, 
tending to accelerate the drying process ; as 
it is very obvions,that when the air contained 
in the stove becomes loaded with moisture, 
it cannot absorb that of the cotton very 
readily. Double doors should also be ad- 
ded to stoves, with a small space between 
them ; and one door should always be shut 
again before the other was opened, to pre- 
vent the cooling of the stove, by the whole 
mass of heated air passing out at once, which 
must frequently take place in stoves with 
single doors. 
Carding Engine for Jenny-spinning. When 
the cotton is sufficiently dry, the next ope- 
ration which it undergoes is that of carding. 
This is performed on an engine which has no w 
been brought to great perfection, of which, 
and of the manner in which it is used, the 
following is a description. The cotton is 
firstspread onafeeding cloth, disposed in the 
same manner as that already described for 
the same purpose in the picking engine ; two 
