VARIETIES OF LINT. 
71 
various kinds, which are collected for the purpose, arid constitute 
an extensive branch of trade with the " rag and bottle dealers." — 
These rags are washed several times in soft soap and water, some- 
times boiled with soda or pearlashes, and afterwards rinsed, first in 
blue water and lastly in clean water. Chloride of lime is, we be- 
lieve, used by some lint makers to bleach the rags, but this is in- 
jurious to the texture and quality, and is avoided by the best 
makers, who depend entirely on soap and soda as detergents. 
The rag, being well cleansed and dried, is next prepared by means 
of a machine resembling the framework of a small table without a top. 
To the back is fixed with a hinge, a lever, supported by a spring, 
and extending to the front, at which extremity it is furnished with 
a knife resembling a chopper, about eighteen inches long. The 
lever is alternately depressed by a string attached to a pedal, 
worked by the foot, and raised by the spring before mentioned. 
At each depression the knife impinges on the front of the frame, 
on which a strip of stout leather is attached. The rag is wound 
round a roller, and the edge of it brought forward on the leather 
under the knife. The knife is depressed, and at the same moment 
the rag is pulled back about the eighth of an inch. On the rising 
of the knife the rag is pushed forward to receive the next stroke, 
and the operation is repeated until all the fibres in one direction 
have been cut sufficiently to produce the desired surface. This 
operation, although it appears simple, requires some skill and ex- 
perience, for unless all the fibres are cut uniformly, the surface will 
not be smooth, and if the knife be brought down with too much 
force the rag would be cut through. At this stage of the process 
the lint when well cut appears remarkably soft and fluffy , but not 
quite smooth. The ragged edges are then trimmed, the lint is 
mangled or passed through rollers, and carefully folded in packets 
for sale. 
We have been favored with information on these practical de- 
tails by Mr. Oyler, of No. 2, York Street, Camden Town, who is 
an extensive manufacturer of lint of the old kind, of every degree 
of fineness, from cambric to common sheeting. Of the cambric 
lint, of which Mr. Oyler gave us a sample, thirty -six yards (of 
eighteen inches wide) go to the pound, of the ordinary lint about 
four and a half yards, or when very thick and coarse, only three or 
