,,the  ,,library ,,of ,,useful ,,stories
    ,image3 ,a ,,cotton ,,field ,,in    
,,texas    ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the     
,,cotton ,,plant        ,,by            
,,frederick ,,wilkinson1 ,f4 ,g4 ,s4    
,,director ,,of ,,the ,,textile ,,and   
,,engineering ,,school1 ,,bolton  ,,and 
,,co-,,author ,,of ,,elements ,,of      
,,cotton ,,spinning   ,,with            
,,thirty-,,eight ,,illustrations   ,,new
 ,,york ,,and ,,london  ,d4 ,,appleton  
,,and ,,company  #aiab    ,,copyright1  
#ahih1 #aijb1  ,,by ,d4 ,,appleton ,,and
 ,,company4   ,printed in the ,united   
,states of ,america     ,,preface4   ,in
 collecting the facts which will be     
found in this ,story of the ,cotton     
plant1 the author has of necessity had  
to consult many books4 ,he is especially
 indebted to ,baines' ,history of the   
,cotton ,manufacture1 ,french's ,life   
and ,times of ,samuel ,crompton1 ,lee's 
,vegetable ,lamb of ,tartary1 ,report of
 the ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,agricultural          
,department on ,the ,cotton ,plant1 and 

,the ,american ,cotton ,company's       
,booklet on the ,cylindrical ,bale4     
,mr4 ,thornley1 spinning master at the  
,technical ,school1 ,bolton1 has from   
time to time offered very important     
suggestions during the progress of this 
little work4 ,the author is also deeply 
indebted to the late ,mr4 ,woods of the 
,technical ,school1 ,bolton1 who was    
good enough to photograph most of the   
pictures which illustrate this book1 and
 without which it would have been       
impossible to make the story clear4     
,for permission to reproduce ,fig4 #c1  
the thanks of the author are due to     
,messrs4 ,sampson ,low and ,co41 for    
,fig4 #d1 to ,messrs4 ,longmans1 ,green 
and ,co4 ,for ,figs4 #e1 #h1 #i1 #ac1   
and #cf1 to ,messrs4 ,dobson and        
,barlow1 ,ltd41 ,bolton4 ,for ,fig4 #g1 
viz41 the ,longitudinal and ,transverse 
,microphotographs of ,cotton ,fibre1 the
 author is much indebted to ,mr4        
,christie of ,mark ,lane1 ,london1 who  
generously photographed them especially 

for this work4 ,for ,fig4 #bc1 ,i am    
obliged to ,mr4 ,a4 ,perry1 ,bolton4    
,,fred ,,wilkinson4   ,,textile ,,and   
,,engineering ,,school1                 
,,bolton4      ,,contents4   ,,chapter  
,,page   ,i4 ,,origin1 ,,growth1 ,,and  
,,chief ,,cultivated ,,species ,,of     
,,cotton ,,plant     #i   ,,ii4         
,,cotton-,,plant ,,diseases ,,and       
,,pests                                 
#cd   ,,iii4 ,,cultivation ,,of ,,the   
,,cotton ,,plant ,,in ,,different       
,,countries        #ci   ,,iv4 ,,the    
,,microscope ,,and ,,cotton ,,fibre     
#fd   ,v4 ,,plantation ,,life ,,and     
,,early ,,cleaning ,,processes          
#gb   ,,vi4 ,,manipulation ,,of ,,cotton
 ,,in ,,opening1 ,,scutching1 ,,carding1
      ,,drawing1 ,,and ,,fly-,,frame    
,,machines                              
#hb   ,,vii4 ,,early ,,attempts ,,at    
,,spinning1 ,,and ,,early ,,inventors   
#aab   ,,viii4 ,,further                
,,developments--,,arkwright ,,and       
,,crompton                #abf   ,,ix4  

,,the ,,modern ,,spinning ,,mule        
#adf   ,x4 ,,other ,,processes ,,in     
,,cotton ,,spinning                     
#afj   ,,xi4 ,,destination ,,of ,,the   
,,spun ,,yarn                           
#agf       ,,index                      
#ahi      ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations4  
,,figure                                
,,page   #a4 ,a ,cotton ,field in ,texas
                                        
,frontispiece   #b4 ,bobbins of ,cotton 
,thread                                 
#aj   #c4 ,the ,vegetable ,lamb of      
,tartary                                
#ac   #d4 ,gossypium ,barbadense        
#bd   #e4 ,an ,indian ,cotton field     
#ec   #f4 ,microscope in position for   
drawing objects                      #fe
   #g4 ,transverse and ,longitudinal    
,sections of ,cotton ,fibre             
#fg   #h4 ,indian women with ,roller gin
                                    #ge 
#i4 ,self-acting ,macarthy ,cotton gin  
#gh   #aj4 ,bales from various          
,cotton-growing countries               

#hj   #aa4 ,cylindrical ,rolls of       
,cotton                                 
#ha   #ab4 ,bale ,breaker or ,puller    
#hg   #ac4 ,double opener with ,hopper  
,feed                                   
#hi   #ad4 ,scutching ,machine with lap 
at the back                         #ib 
#ae4 ,two views of the ,carding ,engine 
#ie   #af4 ,lap1 ,web1 and ,sliver of   
,cotton                                 
#ii   #ag4 ,drawing ,frame1 showing     
eight slivers entering1 and      one    
leaving the machine                     
#ajc   #ah4 ,intermediate ,frame        
7,bobbin and ,fly ,frame7               
#ajh   #ai4 ,twist put in ,cotton by the
 hand                               #aae
   #bj4 ,jersey spinning wheel          
#aag   #ba4 ,hargreaves' ,spinning      
,jenny                                  
#abd   #bb4 ,arkwright's ,machine       
#acj   #bc4 ,the ,hall ith ,wood        
#acf   #bd4 ,crompton's ,spinning ,mule 
#ada   #be4 ,portrait of ,samuel        
,crompton                               

#ade   #bf4 ,mule ,head showing         
,quadrant                               
#adh   #bg4 ,mules showing ,stretch of  
,cotton yarn                        #aej
   #bh4 ,mule showing action of ,faller 
,wires                           #aed   
#bi4 ,mule ,head showing ,copping ,rail 
#aei   #cj4 ,ring ,spinning ,frame      
#afa   #ca4 ,combing ,machine           
#agj   #cb4 ,sliver ,lap ,machine       
#agc   #cc4 ,ribbon ,lap ,machine       
#age   #cd4 ,reeling ,machine           
#agi   #ce4 ,bundling ,machine          
#ahj   #cf4 ,quick ,traverse ,winding   
,frame                                  
#ahb   #cg4 ,ring ,doubling ,machine    
#ahd   #ch4 ,engine ,house1 showing     
driving to various storeys              
#ahf     ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the       
,,cotton ,,plant4     ,,chapter ,i4     
,,origin1 ,,growth1 ,,and ,,chief       
,,cultivated ,,species ,,of ,,cotton    
,,plant4   ,in the frontispiece of this 
little work is a picture of a cotton    
field showing the plants bearing mature 

pods which contain ripe fibre and seed1 
and in ,fig4 #b stands a number of      
bobbins or reels of cotton thread1 in   
which there is one having no less than  
seventeen hundred and sixty yards of    
sewing cotton1 or one ,english mile of  
thread1 on it4 ,as both pictures are    
compared there appears to be very little
 in common between them1 the white      
fluffy feathery masses contained in the 
pods shown in the one picture1 standing 
in strange contrast to the strong1      
beautifully regular and even threads    
wound on the bobbins pictured in the    
other4  ,from cotton tree to cotton     
thread is undoubtedly a far cry1 but it 
will be seen further on that the        
connection between the two is a very    
real and vital one4  ,now it is the main
 purpose of this book to unfold the     
wonderful story of the plant1 and to    
fill in the details of the gap from tree
 to thread1 and to trace the many       
changes through which the beautiful     
downy cotton wool passes before it      

arrives in the prim looking state of    
thread ready alike for the sewing       
machine or the needle of a seamstress4  
,image3 ,,fig4 #b4--;,bobbins of cotton 
thread4  ,remembering that the great    
majority of the readers of this little  
book must of necessity be quite         
unaccustomed to trade terms and         
technical expressions1 the author has   
endeavoured to present to his readers in
 untechnical language a simple yet      
truthful account of the many operations 
and conditions through which cotton is  
made to pass before reaching the final  
stages4  ,nature provides no lovelier   
sight than the newly opened capsules    
containing the pure white and creamy    
flocculent masses of the cotton fibre as
 they hang from almost every branch of  
the tree at the end of a favourable     
season4  ,and how strange is the story  
of this plant as we look back through   
the centuries and listen to the myths   
and fables1 almost legion1 which early  
historians have handed down to us or    

imaginative travellers have conceived4  
,there is1 however1 every reason to     
believe that in the far distant ages of 
antiquity this plant was cultivated1 and
 yielded then1 as it does now1 a fibre  
from which the inhabitants of those     
far-off times produced material with    
which to clothe their bodies4  ,it will 
not be considered out of place if some  
of the early beliefs which obtained     
among the peoples of ,western ,asia and 
,europe for many years are related4     
,like many other things the origin of   
the ,cotton plant is shrouded in        
mystery1 and many writers are agreed    
that it originally came from the ,east1 
but it will be seen later on that       
equally strong claims can be presented  
from other countries in the ,western    
,hemisphere4 ,many of us have been      
amused at the curious ideas which       
people1 say of a hundred years ago1 had 
of the ,coral ,polyp4  ,even to-day     
children may be heard singing in school1
    ,far adown the silent ocean         

,dwells the coral insect small6   ,not a
 few of the early naturalists believed  
that the ,coral was a plant and while   
living in the sea water it was soft1 and
 when dead it became hard6  ,we smile at
 this1 of course1 but it was not until  
actual investigation on the spot1 as to 
what the ,coral was1 that the truth came
 out4  ,it was then discovered to be an 
animal and not a plant1 and that during 
life its hard limy skeleton was covered 
by soft muscular tissue1 which1 when    
decomposing1 was readily washed away by 
the sea1 leaving the hard interior      
exposed as coral4  ,when the absurd     
beliefs are read which found credence   
among all classes of the people during  
the middle ages1 and down even to the   
end of the seventeenth century1 as to   
what the cotton boll or pod was1 the    
reader is inclined to rub his eyes and  
think surely he must be reading ,baron  
,munchausen over again1 for a nearer    
approach to the wonderful statements of 
that former-fabled traveller it would be

 difficult to find than the simple crude
 conceptions which prevailed of the     
growth1 habits1 and physical            
characteristics of the ,cotton plant4   
,the subject of the early myths and     
fables of the plant in question has been
 very fully treated by the late ,mr4    
,henry ,lee1 ,f4 ,l4 ,s41 who was for a 
time at the ,brighton ,aquarium4 ,his   
book1 the ,vegetable ,lamb of ,tartary1 
shows indefatigable research for a      
correct explanation of the myth1 and    
after a strictly impartial inquiry he   
comes to the conclusion that all the    
various phases which these fabulous     
concoctions assumed1 had their          
beginnings in nothing more or less than 
the simple mature pod of the ,cotton    
plant4  ,it will not be necessary to    
consider here more than one or two of   
these very curious beliefs about cotton4
 ,by some it was supposed that in a     
country which went by the name ,the     
,tartars of the ,east1 there grew a     
wonderful tree which yielded buds still 

more wonderful4 ,these1 when ripe1 were 
said to burst and expose to view tiny   
lambs whose fleeces gave a pure white   
wool which the natives made into        
different garments4  ,by and by1 a      
delightfully curious change took place1 
and it is found that the fruit which was
 formerly said to have the little lamb  
within1 was now changed into a live lamb
 attached to the top of the plant4 ,mr4 
,lee says3 ,the stem or stalk on which  
the lamb was suspended above the ground1
 was sufficiently flexible to allow the 
animal to bend downward1 and browse on  
the herbage within its reach4 ,when all 
the grass within the length of its      
tether had been consumed1 the stem      
withered and the plant died4 ,this plant
 lamb was reported to have bones1 blood1
 and delicate flesh1 and to be a        
favourite food of wolves1 though no     
other carnivorous animal would attack   
it4  ,image3 ,,fig4 #c4--,the vegetable 
lamb of ,tartary4  ,in ,fig4 #c is shown
 ,joannes ,zahn's idea of what this     

wonderful ,barometz or ,tartarian lamb  
was like4 ,now1 mainly through an       
imaginative ,englishman named ,sir ,john
 ,mandeville1 who lived in the reign of 
,edward ,,iii41 did this latter form of 
the story find its way into ,england4   
,this illustrious traveller left his    
native country in #acbb1 and for over   
thirty years traversed the principal    
countries of ,europe and ,asia4 ,when he
 came home he commenced to write a      
history of his remarkable travels4 ,in  
these are found references to the       
,cotton plant1 and so curious an account
 does he give of it1 that it has been   
considered worth reproduction in his own
 words3 ,and there growethe a maner of  
,fruyt1 as though it weren ,gourdes3 and
 whan ther been rype men kutten hem ato1
 and men fynden with inne a lyttle      
,best1 in ,flesche1 in ,bon and ,blode1 
as though it were a lytylle ,lomb with  
outen ,wolle4 ,and men eten both the    
,frut and the ,best2 and that is a great
 ,marveylle4 ,of that ,frute ,i have    

eaten2 alle thoughe it were wondirfulle1
 but that ,i knowe well that ,god is    
,marveyllous in his ,werkes4  ,no wonder
 that many accepted his account of the  
,vegetable ,lamb without question4 ,when
 a nobleman of the reputation of ,sir   
,j4 ,mandeville stated that he had      
actually eaten of the fruit of the      
,cotton1 was there any need for further 
doubt8  ,it appears1 however1 that      
contemporary with ,mandeville was       
another traveller1 an ,italian ,friar1  
named ,odoricus1 who also had travelled 
in ,asia and heard of the plant which   
yielded cotton4 ,he1 too1 fell a prey to
 the lamb theory4 ,many other writers   
and travellers followed1 all more or    
less believing in the plant animal      
theory4 ,however1 in #afda1 ,kircher of 
,avignon in describing cotton declared  
it to be a plant4 ,and so the story for 
years passed through many changes4      
,first one would assert what he         
considered to be the right solution1 and
 this was immediately challenged by the 

next investigator1 so that assertion and
 contradiction followed each other in   
quick succession4  ,in #agbe1 however1 a
 ,german doctor named ,breyn            
communicated with the ,royal ,society on
 the subject of the ,vegetable lamb1    
emphatically stating the story to be    
nothing more or less than a fable4 ,he  
very navely remarked that the work and  
productions of nature should be         
discovered1 not invented1 and he threw  
doubts as to whether those who had      
written about the mythical lamb had ever
 seen one4  ,when the writings and      
dissertations of ,mandeville1 ,odoricus 
and others are carefully considered1    
these conclusions force themselves upon 
us3 that direct personal observation    
must have played a very minor part in   
the attempt to get at the truth in      
connection with the origin and growth of
 the ,cotton plant4  ,their statements  
stand in very sharp contrast with those 
of writers who lived before the         
,christian era commenced4 ,of these1    

mention must be made of ,herodotus1     
surnamed the ,father of ,history4  ,this
 celebrated ,greek historian and        
philosopher was born1 ,b4,c4 #dhd1 in   
,halicarnassus in ,greece4 ,in his book 
of travels he speaks of the ,cotton     
plant4 ,it appears1 mainly owing to the 
tyrannical government of ,lygdamis1 he  
left his native land and travelled in   
many countries in ,europe1 ,asia1 and   
,africa4 ,he appears to have at least   
determined1 that he would only write of 
those things of which he had intimate   
knowledge1 and would under no           
circumstances take for granted what he  
could not by personal observation verify
 for himself4 ,in speaking of ,india and
 the ,cotton plant1 he says3 ,the wild  
trees in that country bear for their    
fruit fleeces surpassing those of sheep 
in beauty and excellence1 and the       
natives clothe themselves in cloths made
 therefrom4 ,in another place he refers 
to a present which was sent by one of   
the kings of ,egypt1 which was padded   

with cotton4 ,he also describes a       
machine for separating the seed from the
 fibre or lint4 ,compared with our      
modern gins1 as they are called1 this   
machine was exceedingly primitive and   
simple in construction4  ,there is not  
the slightest doubt that the first      
reliable information of the physical    
characters of the fibre and its uses was
 conveyed into ,europe by the officers  
of the ,emperor ,alexander4 ,one of his 
greatest ,admirals1 named ,nearchus1    
observed the growth of cotton in ,india1
 and the use to which it was put1       
especially the making of sheets1 shirts 
and turbans4  ,perhaps one of the most  
careful observers that lived before the 
,christian era commenced1 was           
,theophrastus1 who wrote some strikingly
 correct things about the ,cotton plant 
of ,india three centuries before        
,christ6  ,in describing the tree he    
said it was useful in producing cotton  
which the ,indians wove into garments1  
that it was not unlike the dog rose1 and

 that the leaves were somewhat like the 
leaves of the mulberry tree4 ,the       
cultivation of the plant was also very  
correctly noted as to the rows in which 
the cotton seeds were placed1 and as to 
the distances to which these rows were  
set4 ,according to ,dr4 ,royle1 however1
 reference is made to cotton in the     
,sacred ,institutes of ,manu so         
frequently that the conclusion is       
admitted that cotton must have been in  
frequent use in ,india at that time1    
which was #hjj ,b4,c4  ,as was to be    
expected1 ,persia very early had cottons
 and calicoes imported from ,india4 ,in 
the sixth verse of the first chapter of 
,esther definite reference is made to   
the use to which cotton was put at the  
feasts which ,king ,ahasuerus gave about
 #eai ,b4,c4 ,white1 green1 and blue    
hangings are said to have been used on  
this occasion1 and from authorities who 
have specially investigated this        
subject1 we are told that the hangings  
mentioned were simply white and blue    

striped cottons4 ,this would also       
confirm the statement that dyeing is one
 of the oldest industries we have4  ,it 
appears that the ,greeks and ,romans in 
good time learned to value goods made of
 cotton1 and soon followed the ,oriental
 custom of erecting awnings or coverings
 for protection from the sun's rays4    
,the ,emperor ,csar is said to have     
constructed a huge screen extending from
 his own residence along the ,sacred    
,way to the top of the ,capitoline      
,hill4 ,the whole of the ,roman ,forum  
was also covered in by him in a similar 
way4 ,coverings for tents1 sail cloth   
made from cotton1 and fancy coverlets   
were also in use among the people of    
these stirring times4  ,and now comes   
the important question3 ,was cotton     
indigenous to ,india in these very early
 times8 and was it carried and          
afterwards planted in ,egypt1 ,africa1  
and ,america8  ,as an attempt is made to
 successfully answer this question1 our 
minds are thrown back to the time when  

,christopher ,columbus1 a ,genoese1     
having heard of ,india1 desired to find 
a new way to that country4              
,comparatively poor himself1 he was     
unable to equip an expedition1 and laid 
his scheme before the ,council of       
,genoa4 ,they declined to have anything 
to do with it1 and he is found next     
presenting his case to the ,king of     
,portugal4 ,here he alike failed1 and he
 ultimately applied to the ,king and    
,queen of ,spain1 when he met with      
success4  ,the #crd of ,august1 #adib1  
found him fully equipped with two ships1
 and on his way west to find a new way  
to ,india4 ,he first touched the        
,bahamas thirty days after setting sail 
from ,europe1 and to his astonishment he
 was met by the natives1 who came out to
 meet him in canoes1 bringing with them 
cotton yarn and thread for the purpose  
of barter4 ,in ,cuba he was surprised to
 find hammocks made from cotton cord in 
very general use4 ,what ,columbus       
observed in the ,west ,indies as to the 

growth and manufacture of cotton1 was   
found afterwards to be by no means      
confined to these islands1 but that in  
,south and ,central ,america the natives
 were quite accustomed both to the      
growth and manufacture of cotton4       
,indisputable evidence can be presented 
to prove that the ancient civilisations 
of ,mexico1 ,peru1 and ,central         
,america1 were well acquainted with     
cotton4 ,when ,peru was subjugated in   
#aebb by ,pizarro1 the manufacture of   
cotton was in a flourishing condition4  
,similarly when ,mexico fell into the   
hands of ,cortez in #aeai1 he too found 
that the use of cotton was very general4
 ,so delighted was he at what he saw of 
the quality and beauty of their         
manufactured goods1 that he had no      
hesitation in dispatching to ,europe a  
present consisting of mantles1 to the   
,emperor ,charles ,v4  ,five years after
 ,columbus started on his momentous     
voyage1 another expedition under ,vasco 
da ,gama set out from the ,tagus to make

 the voyage to ,india by the way of the 
,cape of ,good ,hope4  ,immediately     
,gama had safely reached ,india1 there  
were others who quickly desired to      
follow1 and in #aeaf another adventurous
 ,spaniard on his way to ,india called  
at ,s4 ,africa1 and found the natives   
wearing garments made of cotton4  ,there
 is therefore no reason to question the 
statement which has repeatedly been     
made1 that at least three centres are   
known in which the ,cotton plant from   
very early times has been indigenous1   
and that the peoples of these countries 
were well acquainted with the property  
and uses of the cotton wool obtained    
from the plant4 ,an average of more than
 #a1jjj1jjj bales1 each weighing #ejj   
lbs41 are exported from ,egypt every    
year1 and the question has been raised  
whether the cultivation of the plant in 
,egypt can be said to date far back4    
,this is not so4 ,the fibre almost      
exclusively used by the ancient         
,egyptians was flax1 and the nature of  

the garments covering the mummies of the
 ancient ,egyptians has been            
satisfactorily decided by the           
microscope4 ,it is very probable that   
the cultivation of the plant at the     
beginning of the thirteenth century was 
carried on purely for the purpose of    
ornamental gardening1 and even when the 
seventeenth century was fairly well     
advanced1 the ,egyptians still imported 
cotton4  ,the nineteenth century1       
however1 has seen important developments
 in the cultivation of cotton in ,egypt1
 and now the position attained by this  
country is only outdistanced by the     
,united ,states and ,india4   ,the      
,botany of ,cotton4--,botanists tell us 
that the vegetable kingdom is primarily 
divided into three great classes--viz41 
7#a7 ,dicotyledons2 7#b7                
,monocotyledons2 and 7#c7 ,acotyledons4 
,now these names solely refer to the    
nature and form of the seeds produced by
 the plants1 and by the first it is     
understood that a single seed is        

divisible into two seed lobes in        
developing4 ,in the case of the second1 
the seed is formed only of one lobe1 and
 in the third the seed is wanting as a  
cotyledon1 but the method of propagation
 is carried on by what are called       
spores4 ,we have examples of the        
last-named class in the ferns1 lycopods 
and horsetail plants4 ,the first two of 
the above-named classes have been well  
called ,seed plants4 ,these are again   
broken up into divisions1 to which the  
name ,natural ,orders has been given4   
,most of us know1 as the following are  
examined1 ,anemone1 ,buttercup1 ,marsh  
,marigold1 ,globe ,flower1 and          
,larkspur1 that they have the same      
general structural arrangement1 but in  
many particulars they differ4 ,thus     
these natural orders are again          
subdivided into genera1 and a still     
further subdivision into species is     
made4  ,the ,cotton plant is put in the 
genus ,gossypium1 which is one falling  
into the natural order ,malvac1 and     

which is one of a very large number     
forming an important division of the    
dicotyledons where the stamens are found
 to be inserted below the pistil1 and   
where the corolla is composed of free   
separate petals1 and where the plant has
 a flower bearing both calyx and        
corolla4 ,so far as numbers are         
concerned1 the ,malvac cannot be said to
 be important1 but few genera being     
known to fall into this order4 ,three   
are familiar at least--viz41 the ,marsh 
,mallow1 which was formerly used a great
 deal in making ointment2 the ,musk     
,mallow1 and the ,tree ,mallow4 ,the    
most important genus in this order is   
the ,gossypium4 ,this name was given to 
the ,cotton plant by ,pliny1 though the 
reasons for so doing are not clear4     
,very many species are known to exist at
 the present time1 and this is not to be
 wondered at1 when the area in which the
 plant is cultivated is so vast1 and    
coupled with the fact that the plant is 
susceptible to the slightest change and 

sports most readily4  ,differences of   
soil1 climate1 position with regard to  
the sea board1 and variations in the    
method of cultivation could only be     
expected to result in the species being 
exceedingly numerous4 ,it is not        
surprising1 therefore1 to find that no  
two botanists agree as to the number of 
species comprising the ,gossypium       
family4 ,a list1 however1 of the        
commoner varieties found in various     
cotton-growing areas of the globe will  
be given1 but before doing so1 it is    
deemed advisable to give a general      
botanical description of the plant4     
,the ,gossypium is either herbaceous1   
shrubby1 or treelike1 varying in height 
from three to twenty feet4 ,in some     
cases it is perennial2 in most1 as in   
the cultivated species1 it is an annual 
or biennial4 ,a few examples are noted  
for the vast number of hairs found      
everywhere on the plant1 and on almost  
every part of the plant also1 there may 
be observed black spots or glands4      

,usually the stem is erect1 and as a    
rule the ,cotton plant in form is not   
unlike the fir tree1 that is1 its lower 
branches are wider than those above1 and
 this gradual tapering extends to the   
top of the tree4 ,in consequence of this
 it is said to be terete4 ,the leaves   
are alternate1 veined and petiolated1   
that is1 they have a leaf stalk         
connecting leaf and stem4 ,in shape the 
leaves are cordate or heart-shaped1 as  
well as sub-cordate1 and the number of  
lobes found in the leaf varies from     
three to seven4 ,the stipules or little 
appendages found on the petioles1       
resembling small leaves in appearance   
and texture1 are generally found in     
pairs4 ,the calyx is cup-shaped1 and the
 petals of the flower are very          
conspicuous1 and vary in colour         
according to the species1 being         
brownish-red1 purple1 rose-coloured1 and
 yellow4 ,the petals1 five in number1   
are often joined together at the base4  
,the ovary is sessile1 that is1 it      

directly rests upon the main stem1 and  
is usually three to five celled4 ,the   
pod or capsule1 which contains the seeds
 and cotton fibre1 when ripe splits into
 valves1 which vary in number from three
 to five4 ,a characteristic feature of  
the pod is the sharp top point formed by
 the meeting of the pointed valves4 ,the
 seeds are numerous and very seldom     
smooth1 being usually thickly covered   
with fibrous matter known as raw cotton4
 ,as is well known1 the wind performs a 
very important function in the dispersal
 of seeds4 ,it is clear that when a seed
 is ready to be set free1 and is        
provided by a tuft of hair1 such as is  
seen on the cotton seed1 dandelion and  
willow herb1 it becomes a very easy     
matter for it to be carried ever so far1
 when a good breeze is blowing4 ,most of
 us have blown1 when children1 at the   
crown of white feathery matter in the   
dandelion1 and have been delighted to   
see the tiny parachutes carrying off its
 tiny seed to be afterward deposited1   

and ultimately take root and appear as a
 new plant4 ,much in the same way1      
before it was cultivated1 the ,cotton   
plant perpetuated its own species4 ,it  
should be added that the root of the    
,cotton plant is tap shaped1 and        
penetrates deeply into the earth4  ,it  
would be well nigh impossible to        
enumerate all the species which are now 
known in the ,cotton plant family1 and  
it is not proposed here to describe more
 than the principal types of the        
,gossypium4 ,in a report prepared by    
,mr4 ,tracy of ,mississippi1 ,u4 ,s4    
,a41 no less than one hundred and thirty
 varieties of ,american cotton are      
given4 ,he says3 ,the word 'variety'    
refers exclusively to the various forms 
and kinds which are called varieties by 
cotton planters1 and is not restricted  
to the more marked and permanent types  
which are recognised by botanists4 ,of  
botanical varieties there are but few1  
while of agricultural varieties there   
are an almost infinite number1 and the  

names under which the agricultural      
varieties are known are many times      
greater than the recognisable forms4    
,the ,cotton plant most readily responds
 to any changes of climate1 methods of  
cultivation1 change of soil or of       
fertilizers4 ,so that it is easy to     
understand in a plant so susceptible and
 prone to vary as is the cotton1 that   
new species may in a few years be       
brought into existence1 and especially  
by means of proper selection of the     
seed1 and careful cultivation4  ,the    
chief commercial types of ,gossypium    
are--#a4 ,barbadense2 #b4 ,herbaceum2   
#c4 ,hirsutum2 #d4 ,arboreum2 #e4       
,neglectum2 #f4 ,peruvianum4  ,gossypium
 ,barbadense4--,the fine long silky     
fibres of commerce are all derived from 
this species4 ,it is indigenous to a    
group of the ,west ,indian ,islands     
named the ,lesser ,antilles4 ,it gets   
its name from ,barbadoes1 one of the    
,west ,indies4 ,at the present time it  
is cultivated throughout the ,southern  

,states of ,north ,america which border 
on the sea1 in most of the ,west ,indian
 ,islands1 ,central ,america1 ,western  
,africa lying between the tropics1      
,bourbon1 ,egypt1 ,australia1 and the   
,east ,indies4 ,there is no doubt that  
the plant comes to its highest and most 
perfect state of cultivation when it is 
planted near the sea4 ,dr4 ,evans says3 
,it may be cultivated in any region     
adapted to the olive and near the sea1  
the principal requisite being a hot and 
humid atmosphere1 but the results of    
acclimatisation indicate that the humid 
atmosphere is not entirely necessary if 
irrigation be employed1 as this species 
is undoubtedly grown extensively in     
,egypt4 ,the height of this species     
varies from #c to #d feet if cultivated 
as an annual1 and from #f to #h feet if 
allowed to grow as a perennial4 ,when in
 full leaf and flower1 it is a most     
graceful-looking plant4 ,yarns having   
the finest counts1 as they are called1  
are all spun from ,sea ,islands1 which  

belongs to this class4 ,when we are told
 that a single pound of this cotton is  
often spun into a thread about #afj     
miles long we can see that it must be   
exceedingly good and strong cotton to do
 this4  ,image3 ,,fig4 #d4--,the        
,gossypium ,barbadense4   ,lint is the  
name given to the cotton which remains  
when separated from the seeds4 ,every   
other ,american type of cotton gives a  
greater percentage of lint than the ,sea
 ,islands cotton1 though it should be   
stated that the price per pound is      
greater than any other kind of cotton   
grown in the ,states4 ,there are from   
six to nine seeds in each capsule and   
the prevailing colour is black4 ,a      
cotton grown in ,egypt and known by the 
name ,gallini is of the ,sea ,islands   
type and has been produced from seed of 
the ,g4 ,barbadense4 ,it should be added
 that the colour of the flower is yellow
 and that in ,india this plant is known 
by the name of ,bourbon ,cotton4        
,gossypium ,herbaceum4--,as indicated by

 the name1 this type is herbaceous in   
character1 especially the cultivated    
type4 ,when ,lamarck classified this    
tree1 he gave it the name ,indicum      
because he considered most of the       
,indian types and some of the ,chinese  
belonged to this particular species4    
,india1 too1 is considered by ,parlatore
 to have been the original home of the  
herbaceous type1 and he specially fixes 
the ,coromandel ,coast as the first     
centre from which it sprang4 ,there is  
much conflict of opinion in localising  
the primitive habitat of this type1 and 
it is now thought that the present stock
 is probably the result of hybridisation
 of several species more or less related
 to each other4 ,however1 the areas in  
which this class of cotton grows are    
very numerous and extensive1 for we find
 it growing in ,india1 ,china1 ,arabia1 
,persia1 ,asia ,minor1 and ,africa4 ,a  
very characteristic feature of this     
plant is that it quickly decays after   
podding1 when cultivated as an annual4  

,the ,vine ,cotton grown in ,cuba       
belongs to the herbaceous type and is   
remarkable for its large pods1 which    
contain an abnormal number of seeds4    
,the so-called ,nankeen cottons are said
 to be ,colour variations of the        
herbaceous ,cotton plant4 ,many         
varieties of ,egyptian cottons are      
produced from this particular class1 as 
well as the ,surat cotton of ,india4  ,a
 feature which distinguishes this type  
is that the seeds are covered with two  
kinds of fibre1 a long and short1 the   
latter being very dense4 ,the process of
 taking the longer fibre from the seed  
must be very carefully watched1 as it   
becomes a troublesome matter to remove  
the shorter fibre when once it has come 
away from the seed with the longer4     
,hence great care should be taken in    
gathering this class of cotton4 ,another
 point which should not be lost sight of
 is1 that the herbaceous type of ,cotton
 plant readily hybridises with some     
other varieties and the result is a     

strain of much better quality4          
,gossypium ,hirsutum4--,this variety is 
so called because of the hairy nature of
 every part of the plant1 leaves1 stems1
 branches1 pods and seeds--all having   
short hairs upon them4 ,by ,dr4 ,royle  
it is considered a sub-variety of the   
,barbadense cotton1 and by other        
,american experts it is given as        
synonymous with ,g4 ,herbaceum4 ,however
 this may be1 the plant has certain     
well-defined characteristics which      
possibly entitle it to be considered as 
a distinct type4 ,it has been asserted  
by a competent authority that the       
original habitat of this particular     
cotton was ,mexico1 and that from this  
country cultivators have imported it    
throughout the sub-tropical districts of
 the world4  ,it is also stated that    
longstapled ,georgian ,uplands cotton   
belongs to the ,hirsutum variety4 ,in   
fact most of the types cultivated in    
,america fall into this class4          
,parlatore also considers it to be      

indigenous to ,mexico1 and states that  
all green seeded cotton which is so     
extensively cultivated has been obtained
 from this type originally4 ,m4         
,deschamps1 in describing the ,hirsutum 
species1 says it is divided into two    
varieties1 one having green seeds1 being
 of a hardier type1 and the other having
 greyish seeds1 being more delicate and 
growing in the more southern districts  
of the ,states4   ,gossypium            
,arboreum4--,this plant attains treelike
 proportions1 hence the name ,arboreum4 
,in some cases it will grow as high as  
twenty feet4 ,it is also known by the   
name ,g4 ,religiosum1 because the cotton
 spun from this plant was used only for 
making threads which were woven into    
cloth for making turbans for the priests
 of ,india4 ,dr4 ,royle on one occasion 
while in that country was informed by   
the head gardener of a ,botanical       
,garden at ,saharunpore that this cotton
 was not used for making cloth for the  
lower garments at all1 its use being    

restricted to turbans for their heads1  
as it was sacred to the gods4 ,that is  
why it also received the name1 ,deo     
,cotton4  ,one or two interesting       
features of this type may be pointed    
out4 ,the colour of the flowers is      
characteristic1 being brownish and      
purply-red and having a dark spot purple
 in colour near the base of the corolla1
 this latter being bell-shaped4 ,like   
the herbaceous type two kinds of fibre  
are found on the seed and great care is 
needed in the separation of them4 ,also1
 it should be pointed out that the      
fibres1 in this class are with          
difficulty removed from the seed1       
clinging very tenaciously to it4  ,the  
,arboreum type is indigenous to ,india  
and along the sea board washed by the   
,indian ,ocean4 ,the fibre from this    
species is much shorter in average      
length than any of the preceding        
varieties4   ,gossypium                 
,neglectum4--,this too is an ,indian    
cotton1 and according to ,royle the     

celebrated and beautiful ,dacca cotton  
which gives the famous muslins1 as well 
as the long cloth of ,madras1 are made  
from cotton obtained from the ,neglectum
 variety4 ,an important feature of this 
plant is the small pod which bears the  
fibre and the small number of seeds     
contained in each septa of the capsule1 
being only from five to eight in number4
 ,like some preceding forms1 the seeds  
carry cotton of two lengths1 the shorter
 of the two being ashy green in colour4 
,the longer fibre is harsh to the touch 
and white in colour4 ,in many points it 
is very similar to the ,arboreum type   
and is considered by some botanists to  
be a cross between the ,arboreum species
 and some other4 ,it does not attain any
 great height1 being often in bush form 
under two feet4 ,the country of ,five   
,rivers or the ,punjaub1 ,north ,west   
,provinces and ,bengal1 are the         
districts in ,india in which it is      
mostly cultivated as a field crop4 ,it  
has a high commercial value1 forming the

 main bulk of the cotton produced in the
 ,bengal presidency4 ,this plant is     
indigenous to ,india4   ,gossypium      
,peruvianum4--,so called because ,peru  
was considered to be the habitat of this
 cotton4 ,by some authorities this      
particular species is for all practical 
purposes synonymous with the first type 
described--viz41 ,barbadense4 ,by others
 it is said to be closely allied to the 
,acuminatum variety1 so named because of
 the pointed character of its capsules  
and leaves4 ,perhaps the most striking  
feature of this plant is the colour of  
the seeds1 which is black4 ,another     
interesting point about the seeds is    
that they adhere closely to each other1 
and form a cone-like mass4 ,brazil is   
the home of this particular species1    
though it is cultivated here in two     
forms1 as ,tree ,cotton and as          
,herbaceous ,cotton4 ,the former is also
 known by the name ,crioulo or ,maranho 
,cotton or short ,mananams4 ,it appears 
also that the ,tree ,cotton is one of   

the very few which does not suffer from 
the depredations of the cotton          
caterpillar4 ,what is known as ,kidney  
,cotton belongs to this species1 which  
is sometimes named ,braziliense4 ,the   
name kidney is given because of the     
peculiar manner in which the seeds are  
arranged in the capsule1 adhering       
together in each cell in the form of a  
kidney4  ,the most important countries  
in which it is grown are ,brazil and    
,peru1 though it is produced in other   
districts outside these countries1 but  
not to any great extent4  ,a very       
curious cotton which receives the name  
of ,red ,peruvian is also produced in   
,south ,america4 ,on account of its     
colour1 it has only a very limited sale4
 ,this is owing to the difficulty there 
is in blending or mixing it with any    
other cotton of similar quality4        
,cottons known generally as ,santos1    
,cra and ,pernams are not of this       
species--viz41 ,gossypium ,peruvianum1  
but belong to the first and second of   

the types already described4   ,the     
,strength of ,cotton ,fibres4--,mr4     
,o',neill some years ago made many      
experiments with a view to obtaining the
 strengths of the different fibres1 and 
the following table compiled by him1    
will be of interest to the general      
reader4    ,sea ,islands           #hc4i
 mean breaking strain in grains4        
,queensland           #adg4f            
,egyptian             #abg4b            
,maranham             #ajg4a            
,bengueld             #ajj4f            
,pernambuco           #adj4b            
,new ,orleans          #adg4g           
,upland               #ajd4e            
,surat 7,dhollerah7    #ada4i           
,surat 7,comptah7      #afc4g           
,from this table it is arguable that the
 strength of fibre varies according to  
the diameter1 that is to say1 the fibre 
with the thickest diameter carries the  
highest strain4 ,the order1 therefore1  
in which the fibres would fall1         
according to strength1 would be1        

,indian1 ,american1 ,australian1        
,brazilian1 ,egyptian1 and ,sea ,islands
 last4   ,the ,chemistry of the ,cotton 
,plant4--,messrs4 ,m',bryde  ,beal1     
,chemists in the ,experimental ,station 
in ,tennessee1 say1 ,as a rule our      
staple agricultural plants have not     
received the thorough1 systematic       
chemical investigation that their       
importance demands4 ,it would appear    
that until recent times the above       
statement was only too true4 ,now1      
however1 the ,united ,states ,government
 and others have instituted experiments 
on a large scale1 and everything is now 
being done in the direction of research1
 with a view to improving the quality of
 this important plant4  ,a complete     
,cotton plant consists of roots1 stems1 
leaves1 bolls1 seed and lint4 ,now if   
these six parts of the plant be weighed1
 they vary very much1 proving that some 
of them are more exhaustive than others1
 so far as the fertilizing matters found
 in the soil are concerned4 ,for        

example1 if water be discarded in the   
calculation1 though this takes up a fair
 percentage of the total weight1 about  
#aj1 it is found that the roots take up 
by weight over #h per cent4 of the whole
 plant1 stems over #bc per cent41 leaves
 over #bj1 bolls over #ad1 seeds over   
#bc1 and lint only #aj-a_/b per cent4   
,now this statement is interesting as   
showing one or two important features4  
,the weight of the seed is seen to be   
nearly a quarter of the whole plant1    
while the stems and leaves together take
 up nearly one half4 ,a very small      
proportion by weight of the plant is    
taken by the lint4  ,a chemical analysis
 of the mature ,cotton plant yielded the
 following substances3--    ,water4     
,potash4   ,ash4                        
,lime4   ,nitrogen4                     
,magnesia4   ,phosphoric acid4          
,sulphuric acid4   ,insoluble matter4   
,of ten analyses made with the cotton   
lint 7which takes up about #aj-a_/b per 
cent4 of the whole7 ,m',bryde states    

that the average amount of water found  
was #f4gg1 ash #a4h1 nitrogen 4#b1      
phosphoric acid 4#je1 potash 4#he1 lime 
4#ae1 and magnesia 4#af4  ,he very      
pertinently remarks also that if the    
lint were the only part of the plant    
removed from the land on which it is    
grown1 cotton would be one of the least 
exhaustive of farm crops4 ,the only     
other part which need be permanently    
lost to the soil is the oil1 which also 
contains very small amounts of          
fertilising constituents4 ,in connection
 with this he further says that even    
when the seed is taken away along with  
the lint1 cotton still removes smaller  
amounts of fertilising materials from   
the soil than either oats or corn4 ,it  
should be borne in mind that the soil   
upon which cotton is cultivated lies    
fallow for a greater part of the year1  
and the fact of absence of cultivation1 
with consequent non-fertilising and     
non-enriching of land1 must tend in the 
direction of soil exhaustion by the     

,cotton plant4  ,another useful and     
important fact in connection with the   
,cotton plant is the medicinal use to   
which the roots are put4 ,according to  
the ,american ,journal of ,pharmacy1 the
 bark from the roots of the ,cotton     
plant contain an active ingredient which
 in its effects is very much like ergot4
  ,chemical investigations have         
conclusively proved that the ripe fibre 
of the ,cotton plant is composed of the 
following substances3--  ,carbon1       
,hydrogen1 ,oxygen1 and they tell us    
that when cotton is fully ripe it is    
almost pure cellulose4  ,dr4 ,bowman has
 pointed out that the percentage of     
water in cotton fibre varies with       
different seasons from #a to #d per     
cent4 in the new crop1 and rather less  
as the season advances4 ,above #b per   
cent4 of moisture1 however1 seems to be 
an excessive quantity even in a new crop
 cotton1 and when more than this is     
present it is either the result of a wet
 season and the cotton has been packed  

before drying1 or else it has been      
artificially added4  ,about one fifth of
 the whole plant by weight consists of  
the seed1 and an analysis of this shows 
them to be composed of water1 ash1      
nitrogen1 phosphoric acid1 potash1 soda1
 lime1 magnesia1 sulphuric acid1 ferric 
oxide1 chlorine1 and insoluble matter4  
,as a commercial product seeds are      
exceedingly valuable1 and yield the     
following substances3--oil1 meal1 hulls1
 and linters4 ,when the hulls are ground
 they receive the name of cotton seed   
bran4 ,the inside of the seed1 when the 
hull has been removed1 is often called  
the kernel and is sometimes also        
designated peeled seed1 hulled seed1 and
 meats4 ,it is this kernel seed which1  
when properly treated1 yields large     
supplies of oil and meal4     ,,chapter 
,,ii4  ,,cotton-,,plant ,,diseases ,,and
 ,,pests4   ,there are several classes  
of agents all of which act injuriously  
more or less on the ,cotton plant4      
#a4 ,climatic changes1 including        

hygrometric variations of the           
atmosphere1 and extremes of heat and    
cold4       #b4 ,insect pests4       #c4
 ,physiological diseases of the plant4  
#d4 ,blights caused by fungi4   ,it has 
been pointed out in the early pages of  
this story1 how very sensible to changes
 of heat and cold1 the ,cotton plant is1
 especially in the early growing period4
 ,when the plant has just risen above   
the ground1 and is beginning to spread  
its roots1 too great an amount of heat  
would be fatal to its further growth4   
,instances could be given where very    
serious decreases in the production of  
cotton in the ,states especially have   
taken place1 due entirely to unusually  
high temperatures which obtained during 
the early growing period of the ,cotton 
plant4  ,extremes of frost are likewise 
fatal to the growth of the young plant4 
,by the beginning of ,april1 frosts have
 as a rule disappeared1 and no further  
fear need be felt on that account1      
though if the end of winter has been    

abnormally warm1 and the young plants   
have been making leaf too quickly1 it   
will be readily seen how fatal a sharp  
frost or two must be to the young and   
tender plant4 ,there are cases1 however1
 when a frost is beneficial4  ,then     
again1 while rain is needed in fair     
quantity1 too much of it is followed by 
rot and myriads of pests4 ,if the       
planter desires anything at all when his
 crop is ripe1 it is fine weather in    
which to gather his harvest4            
,frequently large quantities of cotton  
are left on the plantations1 because it 
is too wet to gather it4 ,this happened 
a few years ago to an unusual extent1   
when a vast quantity of cotton had to be
 left upon the fields4  ,of all the     
injurious agents most dreaded in the    
cotton-growing districts of the globe1  
none are so widely spread or so         
disastrous as insect pests4  ,they      
attack different parts of the plant     
during its growth1 and when the bolls   
are formed they commit great havoc among

 these by boring through and completely 
ruining the immature fibre4 ,then again1
 while the plant is young1 they may     
attack the most tender portion of the   
plant1 viz41 the new and young leaves   
found at or near the top4 ,this they    
soon clear and make their way as        
caterpillars down the plant1 and they   
frequently clear it as though the leaves
 had been plucked off4  ,so completely  
do they do their work that it has been  
calculated in certain years the loss on 
this account alone cannot have been far 
short in ,america of #c-a_/b million    
pounds in one year4  ,of the chief forms
 of insect pests1 two specially stand   
out into prominence1 both of which      
belong to the moth tribe of insects1    
viz41 ,alethia argillacea or ,cotton    
,caterpillar1 and the ,heliothis armiger
 or ,cotton ,boll-,caterpillar4  ,the   
operations of the former are mostly     
confined to devastating the leaves and  
buds1 while the latter confines its     
special attention to the bolls which1   

were they allowed to ripen1 would burst 
with cotton4  ,the eggs of the former1  
too1 are laid on the under side of the  
upper leaves and vast numbers are       
deposited4 ,the moth flies by night1 and
 the eggs laid are extremely difficult  
to discover--indeed it takes an expert  
to quickly find them4  ,usually1 about  
midsummer1 the eggs are hatched in three
 or four days and then comes the period 
for spoliation4  ,all that is tender is 
assimilated1 usually the under side of  
the young tender leaves found at the top
 of the plant4  ,during this stage of   
its existence the caterpillar moults    
five times and the larva period varies  
somewhat according to the weather from  
one to three weeks4  ,the chrysalis or  
pupa state covers from one week to four1
 and at last emerges as a beautiful     
olive gray moth with a purplish lustre4 
,in about four days the female commences
 to lay eggs very rapidly and will lay  
sometimes as many as six hundred during 
its life4 ,no wonder1 then1 with several

 generations during a season and vast   
numbers of moths1 that untold damages   
can be wrought by these particular      
insects in a single season4  ,a number  
of remedies has been successfully       
applied in the direction of spraying    
various chemical solutions1 and in      
sowing plants which have had the direct 
effect of reducing the spread of this   
terrible pest4 ,its method of working   
can be seen on referring to ,fig4 #d4   
,now the ,boll-,caterpillar1 though it  
lives much in the same way as the       
,alethia1 has a very different method of
 procedure so far as its destructive    
habits are concerned4  ,and its fields  
and pastures1 too1 are by no means      
confined to one continent1 or to one    
kind of plant1 for it attacks both the  
tomato and corn plants4 ,according to   
,dr4 ,howard1 ,it feeds upon peas1      
beans1 tobacco1 pumpkin1 squash1 okra1  
and a number of garden flowering plants1
 such as cultivated geranium1 gladiolus1
 mignonette1 as well as a number of wild

 plants4 ,as the name indicates1 the    
,boll-,caterpillar makes the boll its   
happy hunting-ground4 ,the eggs are laid
 in the same way by the parent moth as  
the ,cotton ,caterpillar or ,alethia1   
and when hatched the young powerfully   
jawed caterpillar makes its way to the  
newly-formed boll1 and applying itself  
vigorously1 very soon gains an entrance4
 ,here it rests for a time1 eating away 
at the best it can find4 ,it ultimately 
emerges and is transformed into the     
pupa1 taking up its quarters in the     
ground1 until the next change takes     
place1 when in a week or two's time it  
appears as a moth much the same in size 
as its cousin the ,alethia1 but coloured
 ochre yellow to dull olive-green and   
being more varied in its markings4 ,it  
will lay during one season about #ejj   
eggs4  ,many remedies have been applied 
for the extirpation of this particular  
insect1 but these only seem to have met 
with partial success4 ,it will readily  
be seen how much more difficult this    

pest is to deal with than the preceding 
one4 ,living as it does in the boll and 
in the ground for a great part of its   
existence1 it will be exceedingly       
difficult to get at4  ,in ,mexico what  
is known as the ,cotton-,boll ,weevil   
7,anthonomus grundis7 appears to do     
great mischief to the ,cotton plant4 ,it
 does most damage during the larv stage1
 eating up the tender portions of the   
boll while in residence here4 ,when     
matured it is only a little under half  
an inch in length4  ,many other insects 
act injuriously upon the ,cotton plant1 
but the following may be taken as the   
chief3 ,cotton ,cutworm 7,feltia        
malefida72 ,cotton lice 7,aphis         
gossypii74 ,among the lepidoptera may be
 mentioned1 ,coccia rosaceana1 or       
,leaf-roller1 so called from its habit  
of curiously rolling the leaves of the  
,cotton plant and then feeding inside   
the roll4 ,then grasshoppers and locusts
 occasionally do some damage1 as well as
 a beetle named ,ataxia crypta1 which is

 noted for attacking the stalks of the  
,cotton plants1 but it should be pointed
 out this beetle does not prey upon     
healthy and vigorous plants at all4     
,scores of other insects could be       
mentioned as injurious1 though some of  
them do but very slight damage indeed to
 the ,cotton plant4  ,it does appear1   
however1 from long years of experiment  
and observations1 that little damage    
needs to be feared if the plants1 while 
growing1 and during the formation of the
 boll1 can be carefully watched and     
guarded4 ,the plants when matured are   
better able to withstand the onslaughts 
which these predaceous insects make upon
 them4  ,then again1 there are large    
numbers of physiological diseases of the
 cotton due to inherent weakness of the 
plant or failure of assimilative        
processes4  ,and lastly1 vast numbers of
 fungi1 too numerous to mention here1   
work serious injury to leaf1 flower and 
boll in certain seasons of the year4    
,,chapter ,,iii4  ,,cultivation ,,of    

,,the ,,cotton ,,plant ,,in ,,different 
,,countries4   ,from what has already   
been said1 it will be quite clear that  
the ,cotton plant will only successfully
 thrive in those regions on the earth's 
surface where there are suitable        
temperature and soil1 and a proper and  
adequate supply of moisture both in the 
atmosphere and soil4 ,when the #deth    
parallel of ,north ,latitude is reached1
 the plant ceases to grow except under  
glass or in exceptionally well favoured 
and temperate districts4 ,below the     
,equator the southern limit is the #ceth
 parallel4  ,with a model of the globe  
before him1 the reader will see1 if he  
mark the two lines already named1 what a
 small belt the ,cotton-growing zone is1
 compared with the rest of the globe1   
and yet in #aija it is estimated that no
 fewer than #aj1dhf1jjj bales of #ejj   
lbs4 net average each were produced in  
the ,united ,states alone1 #fie1jjj came
 from the cotton fields of ,india1 from 
,egypt #a1bbd1jjj1 an increase of       

#fjj1jjj bales in ten years4 ,this vast 
quantity does not include what was      
produced in other countries1 which we   
know in the aggregate was very          
considerable4   ,american ,cultivation  
of the ,cotton ,plant4--,perhaps no     
country illustrates the fact so well as 
does the ,united ,states1 that the      
variations in the quality of cotton are 
very largely--it may be said almost     
entirely--due to distance from sea      
board1 height above sea level and       
difference of soil4  ,the surface       
geology of the ,southern ,united ,states
 as a whole1 is of a most diversified   
character1 and the following ,states in 
which cotton is produced1 in many cases 
show a similar variation4    ,north     
,carolina4             ,tennessee4      
,south ,carolina4             ,alabama4 
,georgia4                               
,mississippi4   ,florida4               
,louisiana4   ,arkansas4                
,texas4   ,perhaps ,texas shows the     
greatest number of distinct soil areas1 

viz41 eight4 ,height above the sea level
 has also a considerable influence upon 
the plants cultivated1 and only the     
hardier and more robust types are to be 
found on the more elevated lands4 ,at   
the beginning of the nineteenth century 
,south ,carolina produced more cotton   
than any other ,state4 ,fifty years     
later1 ,alabama was to the front4 ,ten  
years later1 ,mississippi led the way1  
and in #aija ,texas occupied the premier
 position with #c1ebf1fdi bales1        
followed in order by ,georgia and       
,mississippi4  ,the following table from
 ,bulletin #ajj of the ,bureau of the   
,census1 ,department of ,commerce and   
,labor1 gives the acreage devoted to    
cultivation of cotton in #aijh as       
follows3    ,alabama         #c1eia1jjj 
acres4   ,arkansas        #b1bif1jjj    
,florida           #bfe1jjj             
,georgia         #d1hdh1jjj             
,louisiana       #a1eej1jjj             
,mississippi     #c1cie1jjj             
,missouri           #hg1jjj      ,north 

,carolina  #a1deh1jjj      ,oklahoma    
#b1caa1jjj      ,south ,carolina        
#b1ede1jjj      ,tennessee              
#ged1jjj      ,texas                    
#i1caf1jjj      ,virginia               
#bh1jjj                     ----------  
#cb1ddd1jjj      ,the figure for        
,missouri includes other                
cotton-producing localities not named4  
,before dealing with the actual         
cultivation of cotton1 as carried on in 
the ,states1 it will be well to briefly 
name the kind of soils which are met    
with in this cotton area4 ,generally    
speaking1 soils are divided into the    
following classes3--    ,clayey soils4  
,clayey loam soils4   ,loamy soils4     
,sandy loam soils4   ,sandy soils4      
,this classification is determined by   
the relative percentage of sand and     
clay4  ,in the ,states we have all these
 types1 and in some districts they lie  
within easy reach of each other4 ,it    
should be pointed out that sufficient   
and uniform heat and humidity are       

essential to the production of good     
cotton crops1 and as the sandy soils are
 of an open character1 it is plain that 
moisture will readily pass from these1  
while the heavy clays act just in the   
opposite direction1 viz41 prevent the   
uniform evaporation of the moisture     
within them2 hence1 as a rule1 clayey   
lands are moist and damp1 and it has    
been found from observation that on     
lands of this class1 a good deal of wood
 and leaf are produced1 and but little  
fruit relatively4 ,a matter therefore   
which must not be lost sight of1 is that
 a suitable texture should be found1 or1
 in other words1 the amount of sand and 
clay in the soils should be in the right
 proportion4 ,of course1 however        
suitable a soil may be1 if the climatic 
conditions are adverse1 only failure can
 result4 ,given good land1 properly     
drained and a suitable temperature1     
together with an uniform supply of      
moisture1 heavy crops may be expected4  
,sudden changes in the temperature1 and 

variations in the amount of moisture1   
certainly act deleteriously upon the    
plant1 especially during the period in  
which the young one is growing4 ,there  
is a great difference between a wet soil
 and a moist one1 and there is perhaps  
nothing so much dreaded by the planters 
as a sodden soil4 ,up to the end of     
,july the soil should be continuously   
and uniformly moist1 and it would appear
 that1 provided this condition is       
satisfied1 there is every likelihood of 
a heavy crop resulting1 if the          
temperature has been anything like      
suitable4 ,looked at from every point of
 view1 therefore1 the best and safest   
soil in which to grow cotton is a deep  
loam where there is every probability of
 the necessary conditions being         
fulfilled4  ,as compared with sixty     
years ago the present methods of        
cultivation show very great differences4
 ,most of us are acquainted with the    
conditions of labour which existed at   
that time4 ,mrs4 ,h4 ,beecher ,stowe1 in

 her pathetic and life-like story1      
,uncle ,tom's ,cabin1 has given us such 
a glimpse into slave life that she has  
placed us all under lasting obligations 
to her4 ,happily all that has gone and  
the slave1 as such1 is now known no more
 in ,america4 ,three causes are said to 
have done more to change the methods of 
,american cotton cultivation than       
anything else1 viz43--    ,the ,civil   
,war4   ,the abolition of slavery4      
,introduction of artificial fertilisers4
  ,there are those who affirm to-day    
that the last-named has been the most   
potent factor of the three4  ,in many   
cases1 previous to the war1 crop after  
crop was grown upon the same land       
without any thought of returning those  
elements1 in the form of manure1 to the 
earth1 which it so much required4 ,but  
immediately after the conclusion of the 
war1 the conditions of labour were      
changed and it became a matter of       
absolute necessity to find something    
which would give life to the land1 hence

 the introduction of fertilisers4 ,it is
 stated on the authority of ,dr4 ,white 
of ,georgia1 that it would be difficult 
to conceive how cotton culture could    
have been continued or sustained but for
 the use of such manures4  ,in a work of
 this kind it is impossible to describe 
in detail the various methods of        
cultivation adopted in the several      
cotton ,states1 but the following will  
give a fair idea of what actually takes 
place on a large cotton plantation1     
assuming that the land is well drained4 
,it should be said here draining has not
 received that attention which it ought 
to have done1 and many of the failures  
put down to other causes are now known  
to have been due entirely to bad        
drainage4 ,as an alternative to proper  
drainage1 the practice of raising the   
,cotton plant beds and cultivating them 
to greater depth1 has been followed4    
,most of the planters are too poor to   
drain properly1 and so adopt the banking
 method1 though in the long run this is 

the more expensive of the two4  ,let us 
assume that the cotton crop has all been
 gathered4 ,we have an immense quantity 
of old cotton stalks which need         
removing4 ,this is usually done before  
,february4 ,as a rule1 the litter is    
gathered into heaps and burned4         
,ploughing and harrowing next follow1   
and ridges are formed which in the      
elevated districts are not quite so far 
apart as in the low-lying areas4 ,we can
 see that in the latter districts the   
plants will be much more prolific and   
grow to a better state of perfection1   
hence more room must be allowed for     
them4 ,these ridges lie1 in some cases1 
#c feet apart and in others #d and #e4  
,especially when manures or fertilisers 
have been used1 bedding up is generally 
adopted4  ,as is to be expected in a    
country like ,america1 the very best and
 most approved methods of cultivation   
are followed1 hence the old system of   
sowing seed by hand is discarded1 and   
seed-planting machines are now coming   

into general use4 ,the distance apart   
which the seeds 7about five or six in   
one hole7 should be set1 is still a moot
 question1 but it is generally admitted 
to be unsafe to plant at greater        
distances than #ab inches4 ,when sown1 a
 light covering is put over1 and in a   
few days--about twelve generally--the   
tiny plants make their appearance4 ,two 
or three days after1 another leaf is    
seen1 and it may be said that the real  
and anxious work of the cultivator now  
begins4 ,in the ,carolina districts this
 will happen about the end of ,april4   
,the planting in the more southern      
,states will take place earlier4 ,what  
has next to be done is very particular  
work1 viz41 cutting down and thinning   
the plants1 which1 if allowed to grow1  
would simply choke one another4 ,here   
and there at suitable distances1 groups 
of plants in the same row are selected  
as stands or groups of plants from which
 will be selected the best plant1 which 
is allowed to go forward in its growth2 

all the rest being chopped out or weeded
 out4  ,banking up or bedding up is the 
next process1 and this is done running  
the plough in the spaces between the    
ridges or practically over the old      
cotton bed of the preceding season4     
,this will improve the ventilating power
 of the bed considerably and prevent    
somewhat the logging of the soil1 which 
is extremely undesirable4 ,the plough is
 immediately followed by the field      
labourers1 whose work is now to draw the
 loose soil round the ,cotton plants4   
,this last process of hauling completes 
the labourers' work for a time1 and is  
done for the purpose of keeping the     
plant erect and preventing it from      
falling down4 ,this hauling process is  
repeated until ,july1 when only one     
plant is left out of the five or six    
which were planted originally4 ,after   
four haulings1 which are completed as a 
rule by the end of ,july1 the productive
 processes may be said to be completed4 
,if the weather has been favourable and 

the soil kept fairly moist1 a good crop 
may be fully anticipated4 ,what the     
planters like to see during the growing 
period is a summer in which the sun     
shines every day1 accompanied by those  
frequent and gentle showers which clean 
the plant and give the necessary        
humidity to the atmosphere and soil4    
,two things are dreaded by the          
planter--excessive heats and abnormal   
showers4 ,the bloom appears about the   
middle of ,june and a couple of months  
after this the plants are ready for     
picking4 ,this operation usually is     
carried on from the beginning of        
,september or end of ,august right on   
into ,november1 sometimes through this  
month into ,december4 ,here are given a 
few particulars which have been         
collected by ,shepperson bearing on this
 particular subject4                    
----------------------------------------
----------------------------            
,usual              ,usual              
,usual                 date to ,usual   

date date to   ,usual date to    date to
                 begin   to begin       
finish    begin ,picking4   finish      
,,states   ,preparing                   
,planting4,planting4                    
,picking4                 the           
,land4                                  
----------------------------------------
----------------------------  ,n4       
,carolina  ,feb4 #be  ,april #ae  ,may  
#aj   ,sep4 #a            ,dec4 #aj     
,s4 ,carolina  ,mar4 #e   ,april #ae    
,may #g    ,aug4 #ae to ,sep4 #a ,dec4  
#a    ,georgia      ,feb4 #a   ,april   
#aj  ,may #a    ,aug4 #ae to #bj        
,dec4 #a    ,florida      ,jan4 #bj     
,april #a   ,may #a    ,aug4 #aj        
,dec4 #a    ,alabama      ,feb4 #a      
,april #e   ,may #aj   ,aug4 #aj to #bj 
,dec4 #ae   ,mississippi  ,feb4 #a      
,april #e   ,may #aj   ,aug4 #aj to #bj 
,dec4 #ae   ,louisiana    ,feb4 #a      
,april #a   ,may #aj   ,aug4 #a to #ae  
,dec4 #ae   ,texas        ,jan4 #ae     
,march #ae  ,may #aj   ,aug4 #a         

,dec4 #bj   ,arkansas     ,feb4 #ae     
,april #ae  ,may #ae   ,aug4 #ae to #bj 
,jan4 #ae   ,tennessee    ,mar4 #a      
,april #ae  ,may #ae   ,sep4 #a to #aj  
,jan4 #ae                               
----------------------------------------
----------------------------   ,other   
,cotton-producing ,countries in         
,america4--,in addition to the ,states1 
which have already been named1 there are
 other cotton-producing countries in the
 ,western ,hemisphere1 among which are  
the following3--  ,brazil4              
,mexico4 ,west ,indies4                 
,peru and the ,south ,sea ,islands4     
,cultivation of ,cotton in              
,brazil4--,from a very remote period1   
cotton has been cultivated in ,brazil4  
,early in the sixteenth century         
historians refer to the uses to which   
cotton was put at that time4 ,seguro1 in
 his work describing the customs of the 
ancient people who lived in the ,amazon 
valleys1 says that the arrows used in   
connection with their blowguns were     

covered with cotton4 ,it is probable    
that1 before the dawn of the eighteenth 
century1 the cultivation of cotton was  
practised more or less throughout the   
country4 ,up to thirty years ago1 it    
looked as though the cotton-growing     
industry in ,brazil was likely to be an 
increasing and profitable business4     
,owing1 however1 to many causes1 the    
trade has not grown as was to have been 
expected4  ,among the chief of these    
causes are3--      #a4 ,laxity of method
 in cultivating4     #b4 ,poor means of 
transmission4     #c4 ,severe           
competition by the ,united ,states4     
#d4 ,disturbed condition of the country4
   ,all these have helped to keep down  
an industry which at one time bade fair 
to be a source of great income to the   
country4  ,tree ,cotton and ,herbaceous 
,cotton are both cultivated in ,brazil4 
,the best kinds of ,sea ,islands have   
been tried1 but have not succeeded4     
,compared with the ,united ,states1 the 
methods of cultivation pursued in       

,brazil are exceedingly primitive and   
irregular4 ,no such thing as ploughing  
or preparing of the soil is adopted4    
,the only preparation seems to be to rid
 the land of cotton stumps1 and this is 
done in a somewhat careless and         
indifferent manner4 ,it would seem that 
as little labour as possible is expended
 upon the land in preparing it for the  
reception of seed4 ,hilaire's           
aphorism--,nothing in this country is   
less expensive1 or more productive1 than
 cotton culture--would seem1 when the   
facts of the whole case are known1 to be
 perfectly warranted so far as ,brazil  
is concerned4 ,certainly1 from a        
climatic point of view1 this country is 
exceptionally well favoured1 an equable 
and suitable temperature together with  
an adequate supply of earth and air1    
moisture and rich alluvial soils1 a long
 dry season for picking extending over  
many weeks--all point to an ideal       
cotton-growing area4 ,in fact1 there is 
no reason why a crop of at least        

#dj1jjj1jjj bales should not be obtained
 annually in ,brazil1 if needed4 ,at    
present1 only about one three-hundredth 
part of this is grown4 ,the             
cotton-growing centres are ,minas       
,geraes1 ,bahia1 ,fernando de ,noronha1 
,rio ,janeiro1 ,sao ,paulo4   ,cotton   
,cultivation in ,mexico4--,the          
cultivation of cotton has for many      
centuries been carried on in ,mexico4   
,much the same drawbacks exist here as  
in ,brazil1 viz41 lack of labour1 poor  
railway system1 high rates for          
transmission1 and indifferent methods   
employed in cultivating4  ,mexico enjoys
 a splendid geographical position and   
would prove1 if the business-like habits
 and methods obtained as in case of the 
,states1 one of the most serious        
competitors of its adjacent ,northern   
neighbour4  ,the best cotton is produced
 in the ,state of ,guerrero on the      
,eastern side1 though the greater       
part--about one half--of the ,mexican   
crop is grown in ,laguna district1 which

 lies in the ,coahuila country4 ,there  
are three distinct areas of production  
in ,mexico1 viz41 along the ,eastern    
coast1 along the ,western coast1 and on 
the ,central tableland4 ,in the ,western
 area irrigation is resorted to4  ,in   
the year #ahih1 #ajj1jjj1jjj pounds of  
cotton were grown1 though all or nearly 
all of it was used at home4 ,within the 
last twenty years many mills have been  
erected in this country1 and this will  
account for the large quantity of cotton
 consumed at home4 ,the poorest ,mexican
 cotton is produced in ,chiapas4        
,acapulco1 near the mouth of the ,grande
 del ,norte ,river1 is the chief        
,mexican cotton port on the ,eastern    
coast4   ,cotton-growing in ,peru4--,it 
would be a difficult matter to fix a    
time when cotton was first grown in     
,peru4 ,pizarro1 who conquered this     
country early in the sixteenth century1 
found that the natives were fully       
engaged in the growing and spinning of  
cotton4 ,dr4 ,dabney1 ,assistant        

,secretary of the ,u4,s4,a4             
,agricultural ,department1 states that  
he has seen a cloth made of cotton      
recently taken from one of the ,peruvian
 mummies which must be many1 many       
centuries old4 ,there is not the        
slightest doubt that the ,cotton plant  
is indigenous to ,peru4  ,thirty-five   
years ago ,liverpool received no less   
than #cjj1jjj pounds weight of cotton   
from ,peru1 and three years later over  
#d1jjj1jjj pounds4 ,during the last     
decade of the century it exceeded       
#f1jjj1jjj pounds to ,england alone4    
,two kinds of ,peruvian cotton are      
grown--smooth and rough4 ,this latter is
 a rough1 strong fibre1 and is          
exceptionally well adapted for mixing   
with wool in the manufacture of hosiery1
 and a greater part of this cotton      
coming in ,england is used in the       
hosiery trade4 ,the plant from which it 
is produced is a perennial1 and for six 
or seven years is said to give two crops
 a year4 ,owing to the peculiarly       

favourable climate of ,peru and the     
suitability of the soil1 it is          
exceedingly improbable that any strong  
competitor will come to divert the      
,peruvian trade1 so that for some time  
yet we may look to this country         
supplying the hosiery trade with rough  
,peruvian cotton4 ,the importations of  
,peruvian cotton into the ,united       
,states for #ahid-ie were #bd1jjj bales2
 for #ahie-if1 #bd1fjc bales2 for       
#ahif-ig1 #af1fjd bales4   ,the         
,cultivation of ,cotton in              
,india4--,there are other ,asiatic      
cotton fields besides those of ,india1  
viz41 ,china1 ,corea1 ,japan1 the       
,levant1 and ,russia in ,asia4 ,the term
 ,india will be used in a somewhat      
restricted sense in this section1 and   
will cover only that huge               
triangular-shaped peninsula lying to the
 south of ,thibet in ,asia4 ,it is #ahjj
 miles in width and nearly #bjjj miles  
in length4 ,the total area1 not         
including ,assam and ,burmah1 is about  

#a1cjj1jjj square miles1 the native     
states alone covering #eie1jjj square   
miles4  ,out of the #bh of ,north       
,latitude through which ,india          
stretches1 no less than #ae-a_/b are in 
the tropics1 the remainder being in the 
,temperate ,zone4 ,the climate1 owing to
 a number of circumstances1 such as     
different altitudes and uneven          
distribution of moisture1 is exceedingly
 varied4  ,during the months ,april to  
,september the sun1 during the day or   
some part of it1 is overhead4           
,consequently the heat received will be 
greater than over the ocean at the      
south1 taking a similar area4 ,a direct 
cause of this is the starting of winds  
which receive the name of monsoons4     
,these blow from the ,s4,w41 and bring  
vast quantities of moisture with them4  
,this moisture-laden wind is partially  
robbed of its load as it strikes the    
,western ,ghats and consequently much   
moisture is deposited here1 giving rise 
to many valuable rivers which water the 

,deccan or ,central ,tableland of       
,india4 ,the ,mahanuddy1 ,godavari1     
,kristna1 and ,kauvari are rivers fed by
 the ,s4,w4 monsoon4 ,then1 again1 the  
low-lying lands near the mouth of the   
,indus1 the great desert of ,rajputana1 
the peninsula of ,gujerat and the       
district of ,malwa--all allow1 by reason
 of their low-lying nature1 the ,s4,w4  
winds to pass over them laden as they   
are with vast quantities of moisture4   
,they travel on till they meet the      
,himalayas1 where again they help to    
swell the volume of the waters in the   
rivers ,ganges and ,indus4 ,when the    
,n4,e4 monsoons blow they do not carry  
anything like the amount of moisture    
which the ,s4,w4 monsoons do1 as their  
areas of collection are very much more  
limited4 ,consequently this part of the 
year is usually a dry one 7viz41 from   
,october to ,march74  ,thus it will be  
seen that the great plain of ,southern  
,india is much less watered than the    
more ,northerly portions and            

consequently is much less fertile4 ,this
 fact must be borne in mind as the      
cotton-growing areas are described and  
indicated4  ,india1 which grows more    
cotton than any other country in the    
world 7the ,states excepted71 may be    
said to possess four distinct areas for 
the production of commercial cotton4    
,they are--      #a4 ,central ,tableland
 or ,deccan4     #b4 ,valley of the     
,ganges4     #c4 ,western ,india4       
#d4 ,southern ,india4  and the above    
order shows them also according to their
 commercial importance4   ,central      
,district4--,this is a vast plateau     
bounded on the north by the ,vindhya    
mountains1 on the east and west by the  
,ghats of those names1 and on the south 
by the ,river ,krishna4 ,as is to be    
expected1 the collecting and exporting  
of the cottons grown in this district   
are done at ,bombay4 ,the finest cottons
 grown in ,india are produced in this   
region4  ,four centres stand out        
prominently in the production of cotton1

 viz41 ,dharwar1 ,hyderabad1 ,nagpore   
and ,berar4 ,the soils generally in the 
,deccan are very rich and capable of    
retaining moisture during the growing   
term of the plant's life4 ,what are     
known as the black soils of ,india are  
to be found plentifully in this         
district1 and these are exceedingly rich
 in mineral matter4 ,nagpore should     
specially be named1 as it is in this    
province that the finest cotton grown in
 all ,india is produced1 viz43--        
,hingunghat ,cotton4   ,oomrawattee     
,cotton is the name given to a special  
kind which is produced in the province  
of ,berar4 ,it is sometimes called      
,oomras4 ,this district lies in the     
,nizam's ,dominions and is watered by   
several tributaries of the ,tapti and   
,godivari4 ,it possesses a soil which   
for richness and fertility has no equal 
in ,india4  ,with the exception of      
,bengal1 this district is more          
plentifully supplied with rivers than   
any other part of ,india4  ,image3      

,,fig4 #e4--;,an ,indian cotton field4  
,the ,dharwar district is noted for its 
cottons1 for two or three reasons4 ,it  
was in this region that in #ahdb ,new   
,orleans cotton was planted with a view 
to its ultimately being cultivated here4
 ,as the climate and soil are very      
similar to some of the districts in the 
,mississippi valley1 it succeeded beyond
 anticipation4 ,dharwar lies ,s4 ,w4 of 
the province of ,hyderabad near the sea1
 and almost touches #ae ,n4 ,latitude4  
,the ,valley of the ,ganges ,district   
cannot be said to grow very good cotton1
 though it was in this region1 at       
,dacca1 that in former days the cotton  
which was afterward made into the       
celebrated ,dacca muslin was grown4  ,by
 far the greater part of the fibre      
produced in this district comes from two
 centres3 7#a7 ,bundelkhand1 which lies 
#gi ,e4 ,long41 and #be ,n4 ,latitude   
7this is very near to ,allahabad71 and  
7#b7 ,doab4 ,as was pointed out in      
describing the monsoons1 these two      

centres suffer by reason of droughts1   
owing mainly to their geographical      
position4 ,they are subject also to     
severe floods1 which are certainly      
against successful cultivation of       
cotton4 ,the entire crop of the ,north  
,west ,provinces may be said to come    
from the districts of ,doab and         
,bundelkhand4   ,western ,india         
,district4--,the three centres for the  
production of cotton in the west1 may be
 said to be ,peninsula of ,guzerat1 the 
,island of ,cutch and the ,delta        
district of the ,indus named ,sind4 ,the
 whole of these provinces lies in what  
may be called a dry area1 missing1 as   
was shown1 much of the ,s4 ,w4 monsoon1 
which ultimately finds its way across   
country to the ,himalayas4 ,consequently
 there will be little rainfall in this  
area1 ,sind and ,cutch not more than #aj
 inches1 some parts of ,guzerat having  
much more4  ,this has a very serious    
effect upon the quality of the cotton   
produced4  ,the ,surat1 ,broach and     

,sind ,cottons1 all poor types1 are all 
grown in this part of ,india4           
,southern ,india ,district4--,this lies 
in the southern part of the ,residency  
of ,madras1 and east of the province of 
,travancore4 ,the ,nilgiris and         
,shevaroy ,hills are found here1 as are 
also the ,cauvery and ,vaigai ,rivers4  
,the cotton districts best known are    
,coimbatore and ,tinnevelley1 both of   
which are admirably situated and well   
watered4 ,the ,calicut of fame which    
gave rise to the name ,calico is also in
 this district4 ,tinnevelley lies almost
 at the extreme south of ,india on the  
,gulf of ,manaar opposite to ,island of 
,ceylon4 ,its cotton is well known1 but 
is of a poor type4 ,as far back as      
#ahdg1 experiments carried out under the
 superintendence of ,dr4 ,wright proved 
that this district was very suitable for
 the cultivation of ,american cotton4 ,a
 fact interesting as well as instructive
 is given by him to the effect that in  
the southern part of ,india the crops   

universally failed where grown from the 
native seed1 while those grown from     
,american seed realised very fair       
amounts--better even than were obtained 
when good crops were got after using    
,indian seed4   ,the methods of         
preparing1 planting1 and cultivating the
 ,indian ,plants are exceedingly        
antiquated4 ,in but few districts are   
anything like modern methods practised4 
,advantage however is taken of the      
period just preceding the rain monsoon  
and this differs a little according to  
the district4 ,thus in ,bengal1 ,berar1 
and ,broach1 ,may and ,june are usually 
taken for scantily preparing the land1  
and in ,madras and ,dharwar1 ,august and
 ,september4 ,this consists of turning  
over the soil and burying the old       
,cotton plants of the previous season   
which have been allowed to rot4 ,as no  
fertilisers are used1 these roots and   
branches at best make a very poor       
substitute4 ,ploughing1 hoeing and other
 agricultural operations are of the     

rudest types and oxen are used for      
almost everything in the way of heavy   
labour4 ,farm implements1 gearing carts1
 etc41 are all of a style and differ    
very little from those used centuries   
ago4 ,the seeds are sown broadcast1 and 
almost everything is done by hand4  ,the
 plantations as a rule are much smaller 
than those in ,america1 running from #e 
to #cj acres4 ,on the larger plantations
 the cotton is cultivated mainly by paid
 labourers4  ,the following table1 by   
,shepperson1 shows the acreage devoted  
to cotton of the different states in    
,india3--    ,bombay and ,sind          
#e1jba1jjj acres4   ,punjaub            
#a1agg1jjj     ,n4 ,w4 ,provinces       
#a1dbd1jjj     ,bengal                  
#aec1jjj     ,rajputana                 
#edi1jjj     ,central ,india            
#ejc1jjj     ,berar                     
#b1cjg1jjj     ,central ,provinces      
#faf1jjj     ,hyderabad 7,nizam's7      
#b1cjh1jjj     ,madras                  
#a1fee1jjj     ,mysore           ,assam 

#bcj1jjj     ,burmah 7,lower7   ,burmah 
7,upper7   ,ajmere and ,meywara         
#dj1jjj                                 
----------                              
#ae1ihc1jjj      ,bombay1 ,kurrachee1   
,calcutta1 ,madras1 ,tuticorin and      
,cocanada are the chief ,indian cotton  
ports4   ,cotton-growing in ,russia in  
,asia4--,lying immediately north of     
,persia and ,afghanistan and south of   
,khirghiz ,steppes lies an immense area 
much of which is now being cultivated   
and most of it very fit for the         
production of cotton4 ,the ,sea of ,ural
 has running into it two very large     
rivers1 ,amu ,daria and the ,syr ,daria1
 and it is in the neighbourhood of these
 two rivers where we find by far the    
greatest weight of cotton of ,turkestan 
produced4  ,there are four important    
areas1 viz41 ,syr ,daria1 the centre of 
which is ,tashkend2 ,fergana1 which lies
 between ,samarcand and ,bokhara2 the   
district of ,samarcand itself2 and      
,merv1 which stands on the ,overland    

,railway4 ,it appears that many attempts
 were made to introduce cottons of      
various types into this locality1 but   
most of the delicate species failed4    
,the ,upland of ,america1 however1      
survived1 and has continued to succeed1 
thanks to the valuable help which the   
,government gave in the way of          
instruction and distribution of free    
seed4  ,the first ,government cotton    
plantation was commenced at ,tashkend1  
one of the termini of the ,transcaspian 
,railway4 ,eight years ago there were   
upwards of a quarter of a million acres 
devoted to cotton cultivation4  ,during 
the ,american ,war 7that period which   
quickened all the cotton-growing centres
 of the ,eastern ,hemisphere7 the       
production of fibre may be said to have 
commenced in earnest in ,turkestan1 and 
so late ago as #ahij no less than       
forty-five and a half million pounds of 
good fibre were grown4 ,tashkend1 it    
would appear1 promises to hold its own1 
as it is determined to practise the best

 and most scientific methods in the     
growth of cotton2 in fact1 in very few  
centres outside this district1 old and  
out of date operations are followed4    
,even in the districts of ,fergana and  
,samarcand1 the old wooden plough called
 a sokha is still in use4  ,seed1 as in 
the case of ,india1 is mostly sown      
broadcast1 and very little preparing of 
the land is done4 ,yet1 in spite of     
these deficiencies1 good crops are      
raised in many districts1 capital soil  
and a most equable climate making up for
 the shortcomings of the planter4 ,the  
formation of the ,transcaspian ,railway 
cannot but have an important influence  
upon the cotton-growing industry in     
,turkestan1 running as it does through  
the very heart of the best land in the  
country4 ,it should be noted that       
,bohkara annually produces over         
#ej1jjj1jjj pounds of cotton of the     
herbaceous type1 and ,khiva1 another    
district lying still further east of    
those already mentioned1 over           

#bj1jjj1jjj pounds4  ,lying between the 
,caspian ,sea and ,black ,sea1 lies     
another district named ,transcaucasia1  
which yields large supplies of cotton4  
,it has #ajj1jjj acres devoted to       
cotton1 giving over #bj1jjj1jjj pounds  
per annum4 ,north of ,kokan1 on the     
river ,syr ,daria1 is a rising cotton   
district named ,khojend1 where annually 
#c1jjj1jjj pounds of cotton of the      
,american type are raised4  ,when we    
consider that the quantity of cotton    
carried by the ,transcaspian ,railway   
since #ahhh has more than quadrupled1   
and that in ten years the quantity      
shipped has been increased from quarter 
of a million pounds to over #gb1jjj1jjj 
pounds1 we can quite appreciate the     
significance of the statement that      
before long ,russia will be able to grow
 all her own cotton for the medium and  
lower numbers of yarns4                 
,cotton-growing in ,china1 ,corea and   
,japan4--,japan1 the land of the        
chrysanthemum1 for many years now has   

been developing cotton-growing as well  
as cotton manufacturing4 ,from evidence 
which the cold type of the ,board of    
,trade gives1 ,japan bids fair to       
largely increase her trade with ,india  
to the disadvantage of the present      
suppliers4  ,cotton-growing has been    
practised for some centuries in ,japan1 
but it was not until the seventeenth    
century that anything like progress     
could be reported4 ,from that time to   
the present the growth has been         
gradually on the increase4  ,japan      
proper consists of the ,islands of      
,niphon1 ,kiusiu1 ,shikoku1 ,yesso1 and 
an immense number of smaller islands4   
,cotton cultivation is carried on mainly
 on the first three islands named1 and  
in the following districts3--,san ,indo1
 ,wakayama1 ,osaka1 ,kuantoebene1       
,hitachi and ,suo4  ,taken as a whole1  
the cotton grown in the best areas is   
good1 though much of an inferior kind is
 produced4 ,the most southerly area of  
,wakayama in ,niphon yields the best    

cotton of ,japan4  ,the length of the   
fibre generally is much less than the   
herbaceous kind4 ,about #aj per cent4 of
 the entire arable land is now under    
cultivation for cotton4 ,as a rule1     
methods and processes are of a primitive
 kind4   ,cotton-growing in             
,corea4--,lying directly to the west of 
,japan1 this vast peninsula has of late 
years been developing its               
cotton-growing4 ,five centuries ago     
cotton was imported from ,china1 and one
 sees on every hand the influence of the
 ,celestials4 ,the cultivated plant is  
of the perennial type1 though it is     
planted annually1 the old plants being  
dug up and burned1 the ash being used as
 a fertiliser4 ,statistics at present   
are not to be relied upon1 though it is 
supposed that something like three      
quarters of a million acres are now     
under cultivation1 giving on the average
 about #bej pounds of cotton lint4 ,as  
in the case of ,japan very little of    
this is exported1 all of it or nearly so

 being spun and woven at home on the    
most primitive of machines4  ,the chief 
districts engaged in growing cotton1    
nearly all of which lie in the southern 
portion of the peninsula1 are           
,hwang-,hi1 ,kyeng-,sang1 ,chel-,la1    
,kyeng ,kwi1 and ,chung ,cheog4         
,cotton-growing in ,china4--,owing to   
the great difficulty of obtaining any   
reliable statistical information1 it is 
impossible to give anything approaching 
accuracy as to number of pounds of      
cotton produced annually1 or number of  
acres devoted to the cultivation of the 
,cotton plant4 ,this much1 however1 is  
known1 that for many centuries cotton   
cultivating has been followed and that  
there has been within recent years a    
great increase in the weight of the     
cotton crop as well as in the acreage4  
,the type of plant most generally       
cultivated is the herbaceous1 and the   
cotton resulting is only poor in        
quality4 ,little or no preparation is   
made before sowing seed1 which is       

generally done broadcast4 ,as a result  
there is much overcrowding1 and as is   
inevitable1 there is produced a stubby  
plant with small bolls and much unripe  
cotton4 ,on the terraces of the         
hillsides something approaching         
cultivation is pursued1 with the result 
of a better crop4  ,usually twenty weeks
 intervene between planting and picking1
 this latter operation being mostly the 
work of children and women4 ,the old    
cotton stalks are afterward collected   
and dried for fuel4  ,very few large    
plantations exist in ,china1 most of    
them being only a few acres in extent4  
,but little of the cotton grown at home 
is exported1 most of it being spun and  
woven by women1 though some of the fibre
 is sent to ,japan4   ,cultivation of   
,cotton in ,egypt4--,it is now over     
thirty years since ,sir ,samuel ,baker1 
the great ,african traveller1 wrote     
these words3 ,the ,nile might be so     
controlled that the enormous volume of  
water that now rushes uselessly into the

 ,mediterranean might be led through the
 deserts1 to transform them into cotton 
fields that would render ,england       
independent of ,america4  ,the crop for 
the season #aijj-ja was no less than    
#a1bbd1jjj bales of #ejj pounds each4   
,ten years ago only #hfh1jjj acres were 
devoted to cotton cultivation as against
 #a1cej1jjj acres laid down to-day4     
,everything1 then1 points to ,sir       
,samuel ,baker's statement becoming an  
actual fact much sooner than the famous 
traveller himself anticipated4  ,egypt  
enjoys many advantages over her         
competitors across the ,atlantic4 ,in   
the first place1 she can get almost     
twice as much cotton from the acre1 so  
productive is the soil4 ,labour is      
cheaper1 and the plant itself when young
 is not subject to the devastating      
frosts so often met with in ,america4   
,egypt is divided into three great      
areas3--,lower ,egypt1 which includes   
the whole of the ,delta of the ,nile2   
,upper ,egypt2 and ,nubia4 ,it is in the

 first-named district where the whole of
 ,egyptian cotton is produced4 ,at the  
present time immense sums are being     
spent on irrigation and drainage works1 
and as these are extended the areas     
devoted to cotton production will       
greatly increase4  ,at the present time 
five distinct varieties of cotton are   
cultivated--       ,mitafifi4           
,bamia4      ,abbasi4                   
,gallini4           ,ashmouni-,hamouli4 
,the latter variety was originally known
 by a different name1 ,mako ,jumel4 ,for
 a long time ,ashmouni cotton was the   
principal fibre exported1 but ,mitafifi 
is now in the front of all the other    
,egyptian cottons4 ,a noteworthy fact in
 connection with ,ashmouni is1 that its 
cultivation is on the decline4  ,sea    
,islands ,gallini--as it was sometimes  
called--has practically ceased to be    
cultivated4 ,of ,mitafifi and ,bamia    
fibres1 ,mr4 ,handy1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a41 says3 
,the ,mitafifi was discovered by a      
,greek merchant in the village of that  

name4 ,the seed has a bluish tuft at the
 extremity1 which attracted the         
merchant's attention1 and on planting it
 he found that it possessed decided     
advantage over the old ,ashmouni4 ,it is
 more hardy1 and yields a greater       
proportion of lint to the seed4 ,at     
first from #cae pounds of seed cotton1  
#aab pounds of lint was secured1 and    
sometimes even more4 ,it is now somewhat
 deteriorated1 and rarely yields so     
much1 averaging about #ajf pounds of    
lint to #cae of seed cotton4 ,the       
,mitafifi is a richer and darker brown  
than the ,ashmouni4 ,the fibre is long1 
very strong1 and fine to the touch1 and 
is in great demand4 ,in fact1 it        
controls the market4  ,next to          
,mitafifi1 ,bamia is perhaps the most   
extensively cultivated variety in ,lower
 ,egypt4 ,it was discovered by a ,copt  
in #ahgc4 ,the plant is of large size   
and course growth4 ,it is later and less
 hardy than ,mitafifi1 and the fibre is 
poor as compared with that of ,mitafifi 

and ,abbasi1 light and brown in colour1 
and not very strong4 ,in general1 it may
 be said that this variety is inferior  
to ,mitafifi in yield1 hardiness and    
length and strength of fibre4   ,other  
places where ,cotton is grown4--,in     
,africa1 on the eastern and western     
coasts1 large quantities of cotton are  
produced4 ,the following countries are  
specially suitable to the growth of     
cotton3 ,soudan1 ,senegambia1 ,congo    
,river1 ,free ,states1 and ,liberia4    
,possibly1 when these districts are more
 opened up to outside trade1 and        
,european capital and labour are        
expended1 abundant supplies of cotton   
fibre will be given4  ,cotton is also   
grown in the ,east ,indies1 at ,java1   
,sumatra1 and ,malay ,states4  ,in the  
,west ,indies formerly1 large supplies  
were yielded1 but owing to the          
cultivation of other crops that of      
cotton has steadily declined4  ,greece  
and ,turkey both yield cotton which goes
 by the name of ,levant ,cotton4        

,,chapter ,,iv4  ,,the ,,microscope     
,,and ,,cotton ,,fibre4   ,this story   
would be very incomplete if some        
reference were not made to the wonderful
 assistance which has been given to the 
study of cotton fibre by the microscope4
 ,as seen by its help1 some striking    
peculiarities at once make themselves   
apparent4 ,it is proposed1 briefly1 in  
this chapter1 to do three things3       
#a4 ,to describe the construction of a  
suitable instrument sufficient          
for a complete examination of fibres in 
general4       #b4 ,to indicate the     
chief microscopic features of cotton    
fibres4       #c4 ,to show how to       
exactly measure the lengths and         
diameters of         fibres by means of 
micrometers4   ,first1 as to the        
instrument3 a good substantial stand is 
desirable1 one that will not readily    
vibrate4 ,the microscope shown in ,fig4 
#f is a cheap and commendable form1 and 
good work can be done by this           
instrument1 which is made by ,ross1     

,london4 ,the stand carries the         
body-tube1 and at the lower end is      
placed the objective1 so called1 because
 the image of the object 7which rests   
upon the stage as shown7 under          
examination is first focussed by it and 
conveyed along the body-tube4  ,the top 
end of the said tube contains the       
eye-piece1 so named because by its aid  
the eye is allowed to receive the image 
duly focussed and enlarged4  ,as a rule1
 beginners work with one objective only1
 generally a one inch4  ,image3 ,,fig4  
#f4--,microscope in position for drawing
 objects4  ,a much higher power than    
this is necessary if the fibre in       
question is to be seen at its best1 and 
for the purpose of this chapter a       
quarter inch objective will be used4    
,underneath the stage1 which is pierced 
by a circular aperture1 is a diaphragm4 
,this regulates the quantity of light   
which is to be transmitted by means of  
the silvered reflector shown in the     
illustration4  ,as a rule1 two          

reflectors are fixed in the same holder2
 one a concave mirror1 the other a plane
 one4 ,the former brings the rays of    
light to a point or focus while the     
latter simply passes the beam of light  
along just as it received it1 viz41 as a
 parallel beam of light4  ,in examining 
fibres the concave mirror will be of    
most use4 ,an ordinary lamp is usually  
good enough for the light required1 the 
one figured being very suitable and     
having a tube-like arrangement of wick4 
,behind the body-tube are two forms of  
adjustment1 coarse and fine4 ,the latter
 is worked by means of the milled screw1
 conical in shape1 which is found       
immediately behind the coarse           
adjustment4 ,the operator is supposed to
 have had some slight experience in the 
manipulation of the microscope4 ,the    
slide is now placed upon the stage4     
,fine ,sea ,islands cotton is mounted in
 ,canada ,balsam and protected by a     
small circular cover glass4  ,now rack  
down the body-tube by means of the      

coarse adjustment until within #a_/af of
 an inch of the cover-glass of the      
slide4 ,now see that the light from the 
lamp is fully on the cotton strands4    
,rack up or down1 as the case may be1   
with the fine adjustment1 and a         
wonderful sight meets the eye1 for the  
cotton viewed through the microscope is 
altogether unlike what we should expect 
it to be4  ,running completely across   
the field are a number of strands1      
varying in thickness1 form and natural  
twist4 ,what is meant by natural twist  
is very clearly shown in ,fig4 #g4      
,most people have seen india-rubber     
tubing or piping such as is used in the 
chemical laboratory or that often found 
attached to feeding bottles4 ,take about
 a foot of this and hold one end firmly4
 ,abstract the air by means of the      
mouth1 and it will be found that        
immediately the air is taken out the    
tube collapses4 ,now if the rubber be   
variable in thickness1 here and there   
along these lines of least resistance   

will be found certain twists1 and it is 
the same kind of twists which can be so 
distinctly seen as the cotton fibre is  
viewed through the microscope4 ,they are
 exceedingly irregular in number1 on    
equal lengths of the same single fibre4 
,when they run for some length1 and are 
fairly regular1 the edges appear like   
wavy lines or corrugations4 ,it will now
 be seen by the reader why these twists 
are so invaluable in spinning3 locking  
and intertwining with each other1 they  
materially assist the spinner in        
building up a long and continuous       
thread4  ,image3 ,,fig4 #g4--,transverse
 and longitudinal sections of cotton    
fibre4  ,then1 too1 are to be seen lying
 close to the regularly twisted fibres a
 number of others which are very like   
ribbons1 with here and there an apology 
for a twist1 and further1 a careful     
scrutiny will be rewarded by finding in 
what is reputedly the best cotton a     
number of filaments which do not display
 any twists whatever and are very much  

like the round tubing referred to a     
little while ago4 ,others again are     
quite flat1 without any distinguishing  
twists whatever4 ,these are said to be  
the half-ripe and unripe fibres1 and    
give much trouble later on 7if worked up
 with good cotton7 to the dyer and      
spinner4  ,as the slide containing the  
cotton is moved laterally1 it will be   
seen that this twisting of the fibre is 
continued for almost the whole length1  
and as many as #cjj twists have been    
counted on a single filament4 ,in some1 
the fibre tapers slightly1 becoming more
 and more cylindrical as the end most   
remote from the seed is approached1     
until it is quite solid4 ,these stiff   
ends soon disappear after the cotton has
 been treated in the early processes of 
manufacture4 ,thus there may be found in
 almost every sample of cotton what are 
called ripe1 half-ripe and unripe       
cotton4 ,the last-named kind result     
from--       #a4 ,gathering the crop    
before the boll is properly ripened and 

matured4       #b4 ,bad seasons2 too    
much moisture and too little heat4      
,then again in the same boll all fibres 
do not ripen together just as all apples
 on the same tree do not ripen together4
  ,immature or unripe cotton cannot be  
dyed1 and when small white specks are   
seen in any dyed fabric they are often  
due to the fact that unripe cotton has  
been used in the manufacture of the     
cloth4   ,measurement of the ,cotton    
,fibre4--,this is not at all a difficult
 matter1 and the ordinary student may1  
by means of very simple and inexpensive 
apparatus1 obtain fairly satisfactory   
results in the measurement of fibres4   
,there is a choice of one of three      
methods1 viz43--      #a4 ,by having the
 mechanical stage so arranged that the  
slightest        displacement either to 
the left or right can be measured1 and  
having        the eye-piece so marked   
7generally a hair stretched across it7  
that        when an object is to be     
measured1 one side of it is made to     

coincide        with this central line  
and the stage rack is worked left or    
right        until the opposite side of 
the object is brought coincident with   
the        central line again2 the      
amount of displacement can then be      
readily        obtained on referring to 
the graduated stage4      #b4 ,by having
 a stage micrometer and camera lucida4  
#c4 ,by having two micrometers1 a stage 
micrometer and eye-piece                
micrometer4   ,this latter method is    
certainly the least expensive1 and for  
all practical purposes can be safely    
recommended4  ,a stage micrometer       
consists of a slip of glass #c  #a on   
which are marked divisions of an inch1  
usually #a_/ajjths and #a_/ajjjths4 ,as 
a rule these markings are protected by  
means of a small cover-glass4           
,eye-piece micrometers vary much in     
form1 size and value1 but the one which 
is here described is of the simplest    
type4 ,it consists of two circular      
pieces of glass carefully cemented      

together4 ,on one of the inner surfaces 
are marked usually the #a_/ajjths       
divisions of an inch4 ,in some          
#a_/bjjths are marked4 ,if the top lense
 of the eye-piece be unscrewed1 a       
diaphragm will be found on which the    
eye-piece micrometer will easily rest4  
,screw on the top lense again and1      
generally1 the eye-piece will be ready  
for use4 ,if the micrometer is not      
properly in focus after a few trials1 it
 may easily be made right4 ,in order1   
then1 to measure the diameter of a      
single fibre of ,sea ,islands cotton1   
fit in the quarter inch objective and   
place the stage micrometer in position  
on the stage4 ,first1 focus the fine    
lines which are plainly to be seen1 and 
remember the lines which are farthest   
apart are #a_/ajjth of an inch2 the     
others #a_/ajjjth of an inch4  ,as a    
rule1 these lines run from ,n4 to ,s4 of
 the field2 in other words1 from top to 
bottom across the circles of light4 ,now
 look at the divisions in the eye-piece 

micrometer1 which are #a_/ajjth of an   
inch apart4  ,it will be found often    
that an exact number of these divisions 
fill up one of the #a_/ajjth divisions  
of the stage micrometer markings4 ,if an
 exact number are not found1 the        
draw-tube at the top end of the         
body-tube should be withdrawn until an  
exact number is found to lie within two 
lines of the lower micrometer4  ,suppose
 twenty-two of the spaces on the        
eye-piece micrometer just cover one of  
the divisions 7#a_/ajjth of an inch7 on 
the stage micrometer4 ,then it is clear 
that each division of the former        
represents #a_/ajj  #a_/bb of an inch1  
or #a_/bbjjth of an inch4 ,for every    
fresh objective used1 a fresh estimation
 of eye-piece and stage micrometer ratio
 is necessary4 ,having now got in the   
eye-piece micrometer a unit of          
measurement1 it becomes a comparatively 
easy matter to measure the fibre4       
,remove the stage-micrometer and put a  
slide of ,sea ,islands cotton in its    

place4 ,focus the fibre and observe the 
number of divisions or parts of a       
division covered by any particular      
fibre1 and its measurement is at once   
known4 ,thus if a single filament covers
 two of the divisions then it is        
#b_/bbjjth of an inch in diameter1 or   
#a_/aajjth of an inch4 ,exactly the same
 method is adopted if it is desired to  
measure the diameters of sections of the
 same fibres4  ,the making of the       
drawing of a fibre1 either transverse or
 horizontal section1 is not at all a    
difficult matter4  ,all that is needed  
is what is known as a camera lucida4    
,this consists of a brass fixing for the
 eye-piece end of the body-tube and a   
small reflecting prism4 ,this prism     
receives the image of the objective1 and
 reflects it in this case at right      
angles downward on to a sheet of paper1 
which is placed beneath for the purpose 
of tracing the said image4  ,focus the  
object1 first having the microscope in a
 horizontal position4 ,this will not be 

a difficult matter4 ,now remove the cap 
which fits on the eye-piece1 and fix on 
the camera lucida as shown in the       
illustration 7see ,fig4 #f74 ,adjust    
this until the image of the fibre is    
seen4 ,usually one or two smoke-coloured
 glasses are fixed below the prism1 and 
these are now brought into position so  
as to allow the image of the fibre to   
pass through them4 ,place a sheet of    
drawing paper directly under the camera 
lucida1 sitting as shown in the         
illustration4 ,after a few trials it    
will not be a difficult matter to follow
 the outline of the image by means of a 
black lead on the paper as is shown in  
the figure4 ,in this way many useful    
working drawings can be made1 and a     
little careful calculation will give the
 amplification of the drawing after it  
is made4     ,,chapter ,v4  ,,plantation
 ,,life ,,and ,,the ,,early ,,cleaning  
,,processes4   ,after many months of    
anxious watching and waiting1 towards   
the end of ,july or early in ,august1   

the planter may be seen to be constantly
 and wistfully looking for the          
appearance of the bursting bolls of     
cotton4 ,daily in the early mornings he 
is to be seen casting his eyes down the 
pod-laden rows of cotton plants1 to see 
if he can count a few ripe open bolls as
 he stands at the head of a row4 ,if    
this be so1 he knows that his harvest is
 close at hand1 and his pickers must be 
ready at any moment to begin what is    
certainly the most tedious and difficult
 work of the plantation1 namely1 picking
 the raw cotton from the bursting bolls4
  ,while the planter has been on the    
lookout in the fields1 necessary and    
important operations have been going on 
inside in the farm outbuildings4 ,sacks 
and baskets which can most expeditiously
 aid in the removal of the picked cotton
 from the field to the ginning factory  
are being got ready4 ,to suit the young 
and old1 tall and small1 weak and       
strong1 different sized bags and baskets
 are required1 and after the marking and

 branding of the same1 they are ready   
for being put into use4  ,now the       
picking of cotton is not at all an easy 
operation1 long continuous bending1 a   
hot sun 7for it is a rule scarcely ever 
broken that cotton must not be plucked  
unless the sun is shining upon it71 a   
constantly increasing weight round the  
neck or on the arm1 monotonous picking  
of the cotton from the bolls without    
bringing away any of the husk or        
leaf--all tend to make the work of the  
picker very trying and tiresome4 ,the   
plantation hands must be early at work1 
and while the day is very young they are
 to be seen wending their way1 ready to 
begin when the sun makes its appearance4
 ,often the clothes of the workers are  
quite wet with the early morning dews4  
,this is specially the case in          
,september and ,october4 ,by ten o'clock
 a hot blazing sun streams down upon the
 pickers as they diligently relieve the 
heavy-laden bushes of the white fleecy  
load of cotton4 ,as each picker fills   

his or her bag1 it is quickly emptied   
into a larger receptacle1 and ultimately
 carried away to the gin house1 where it
 is desirable the cotton should be      
housed before the night dews come on and
 consequently damage materially the     
cotton which the pickers have been      
careful to pick while the sun was on it4
  ,mr4 ,lyman1 in his book on the       
,cotton ,culture in the ,states1 says3  
,it seems like very easy work to gather 
a material which shows itself in such   
abundance as fairly to whiten the field1
 but let the sceptic or the grumbler    
take a bag on his shoulders and start in
 between a couple of rows4 ,he will find
 upon taking hold of the first boll that
 the fibres are quite firmly attached to
 the interior lining of the pod1 and if 
he makes a quick snatch1 thinking to    
gather the entire lock1 he will only    
tear it in two1 or leave considerable   
adhering to the pod4 ,and yet he may    
notice that an experienced picker will  
gather the cotton and lay his fingers   

into the middle of the open pod with a  
certain expertness which only practice  
gives1 the effect of which is to clear  
the whole pod with one movement of the  
hand4  ,knowing how intensely monotonous
 and dreary the work of cotton picking  
is1 ,mr4 ,lyman advises the planters to 
allow a very fair amount of liberty so  
far as merrymaking is concerned1 and he 
says on this point that though too much 
talking and singing must interfere with 
labour1 it is earnestly recommended to  
every cotton grower to take care to     
secure cheerfulness if not hilarity in  
the field4 ,remember that it is a very  
severe strain upon the patience and     
spirits of any one1 to be urged to rapid
 labour of precisely the same           
description day by day1 week by week1   
month by month4 ,let there be           
refreshments at the baskets1 a dish of  
hot coffee in a cool morning1 or a pail 
of buttermilk in a hot afternoon1 or a  
tub of sweetened water1 or a basket of  
apples4  ,as a rule the cotton gathered 

on one farm1 which has1 generally       
speaking1 had something like uniformity 
in method of cultivation1 will produce  
cotton varying very little in quality   
and weight4  ,hence on large farms there
 will be something like uniform quality 
of cotton produced4 ,it will1 however1  
be clear to the general reader that on  
the small farms of ,india1 say where    
sufficient cannot be gathered on one    
farm1 or perhaps on a few farms1 to make
 one bale1 there will not be that       
uniformity which is desirable1 hence    
,indian cotton1 especially of the poorer
 types1 varies a great deal more than   
the ,american varieties4 ,when the hands
 have gathered sufficient to fill the   
carts drawn in ,america usually by      
mules1 and in ,india by oxen1 the cotton
 is taken to houses in which the seeds  
are separated from the fibre4 ,this     
process is called ginning4  ,it is      
astonishing to find how tenaciously the 
fibres cling to the seed when an attempt
 is made to separate them4 ,at first    

much loss was occasioned because of the 
brutal methods employed1 and now even   
with very much more perfect machinery a 
good deal of the cotton fibre is injured
 in the ginning process4  ,image3 ,,fig4
 #h4--;,indian women with roller gin4   
,at present1 most of the cotton produced
 in various parts of the world is ginned
 by machinery1 though in ,india and     
,china foot gins and other primitive    
types are still employed4  ,it should be
 stated that where a large production of
 cotton is desired the foot gin or even 
what is known as the ,churka gin 7which 
consists of a couple of rollers turned  
by hand7 is never employed4 ,only a few 
pounds a day of cotton can be separated 
from the seeds when this method is      
adopted4  ,the following extract from a 
lecture by the late ,sir ,benjamin      
,dobson will be of interest here1 as    
showing what is done at an ,american    
ginnery3  ,the farmer brings the cotton 
to the mill in a waggon1 with mules or  
oxen attached2 the cotton is weighed1   

and then thrown out of the waggon into a
 hopper alongside4 ,from this hopper it 
is taken by an elevator1 or lift1 either
 pneumatic or mechanical1 and raised to 
the third story of the ginning factory4 
,there it is delivered into another part
 of the room until required4 ,when the  
cotton is to be ginned it is brought by 
rakes along the floor to an open sort of
 hopper or trunk1 and from here conveyed
 to the gins below by travelling        
lattices4  ,in the factory of which ,i  
am speaking there were six gins1 all of 
them saw-gins4 ,each gin was provided   
with a hopper of its own1 and the       
attendant1 when any hopper was full1    
could either divert the feed to some    
other gin1 as he required1 or stop it   
altogether4 ,the gins produced from #cjj
 pounds to #cej pounds per hour4 ,the   
cotton is dropped from the condenser1 in
 front of the gin1 upon the floor close 
to the baling press1 into which it is   
raked by the attendant and baled        
loosely1 but only temporarily4 ,the seed

 falls into a travelling lattice1 and is
 conducted to a straight cylindrical    
tube1 in which works a screw4 ,this     
takes it some one hundred yards to the  
oil mill4 ,there the seed is dropped    
into what are known as 'linting'        
machines1 and as much as possible of the
 lint or fibre left upon the seed is    
removed4  ,these linting                
machines--practically another sort of   
gin--deliver the cotton or waste in a   
kind of roll1 which is straightway put  
behind a carding engine4 ,coming out of 
the carding engine it is made into      
wadding by pasting it on cardboard      
paper1 for filling in quilts1           
petticoats1 and for other purposes4     
,when the seed has passed the linting   
machine1 it is taken1 still by a        
lattice1 to a hulling machine4 ,this    
machine will take off the outside shell1
 which is passed to one side1 while the 
green kernel of the seed goes down a    
shoot4 ,the seed fills certain          
receptacles placed in the oil press1 and

 is submitted to a hydraulic press4 ,the
 result is a clear and sweet oil1 which 
,i am credibly informed is sold in      
,england and other countries under the  
name of 'olive oil4' ,the remains of the
 green kernel are then pressed into what
 are termed cattle cakes1 or oil cakes1 
for feeding cattle4  ,but the reader is 
probably asking1 what is a gin like8    
,the illustration seen in ,fig4 #i is a 
gin which goes by the name of the       
single-acting ,macarthy gin1 so called  
because it has only one oscillating     
blade for removing the fibre from the   
seed4 ,the back of the machine is shown 
in the figure4 ,this process at the best
 is a brutal one1 especially when       
certain gins are employed1 but the one  
figured here is considered to do little 
damage to the fibre when extracting the 
seed4  ,the gin shown in ,fig4 #i is of 
simple construction1 consisting of a    
large leather roller about #dj inches in
 length and #e in diameter4 ,the roller 
is built up by means of solid washers1  

or in strips fastened on to wood1       
against which is pressed a doctor knife4
  ,the cotton is thrown into a hopper1  
and1 falling1 is seized by the friction 
of the leather and drawn between the    
doctor knife and the leather surface4   
,whilst this is taking place1 there is a
 beater knife which is reciprocated at a
 considerable speed and which strikes   
the seed attached to the cotton drawn   
away by the leather roller4 ,the        
detached seed will then fall through a  
grid provided for the purpose4 ,a       
single-action gin should produce about  
#cj pounds of cleaned cotton per hour4  
,image3 ,,fig4 #i4--,single-acting      
,macarthy gin4  ,another gin which does 
considerable damage to fibre1 especially
 if it be over-fed1 is still in use in  
the ,states4 ,this was the invention of 
an ,american named ,eli ,whitney1 and   
has been named a saw-gin4  ,if the      
reader can imagine a number of circular 
saws 7such as are to be seen in a       
wood-sawing mill7 placed nearly together

 on a shaft to form an almost continuous
 roller1 he will have a good idea of    
what the chief part of a saw-gin is     
like4  ,as the cotton is fed to the     
machine1 the saws seize it and strip the
 cotton from the seeds1 which fall      
through grids placed below the saws4    
,the cotton is afterward stripped from  
the saws themselves by means of a       
quickly revolving brush which turns in  
the opposite direction to the saws4     
,this gin is best suited to short       
stapled cottons1 especially such as are 
grown in the ,states4 ,for the longer   
fibred cotton this gin is not well      
adapted1 much injury resulting to the   
cotton treated by it4  ,after the cotton
 is ginned1 it is gathered into bundles 
and roughly baled4 ,when a sufficient   
quantity has been so treated1 it is     
carried to the compressors1 where the   
cotton undergoes great reduction in bulk
 as a result of the enormous pressure to
 which it is subjected4  ,for the       
general reader it will scarcely be      

necessary or wise to describe a cotton  
press in detail4 ,let it suffice to say 
that by means of a series of levers--in 
the ,morse ,press seven are             
used--tremendous pressure can be        
obtained4 ,thus for every #a pound      
pressure of steam generated there will  
be seven times that pressure1 if seven  
levers are used4 ,when #bjj pounds      
pressure of steam is up1 there will be  
#adjj pounds pressure per inch on the   
cotton4 ,so great is the pressure       
exerted that a bundle of cotton coming  
to the press from the ginnery1 #d feet  
in depth1 is reduced to #g inches when  
drawn from the compressor4 ,while in the
 press iron bands are put round the     
cotton1 and readers will have frequently
 seen cotton on its way to the mills    
having these iron bands round it4  ,the 
following table shows the number of     
bands which are found on bales coming to
 ,england from cotton-growing           
countries3--                            
,no4 of bands4     ,weight in lbs4      

,american bale                #f or #g  
#ejj   ,egyptian                        
#aa                 #gjj   ,indian      
#ac                 #cij   ,turkish     
#d               #bej-cbe   ,american   
,cylindrical bale      --               
#dbj-dcj   ,brazilian                   
--               #age-bbj   ,within the 
last few years an entirely new industry 
has been started in some of the         
,southern ,states of ,america4  ,up to  
recently the bales sent to ,european    
countries from ,america were all of the 
same type as shown by the centre bale in
 ,fig4 #aj4  ,image3 ,,fig4             
#aj4--;,bales from various              
cotton-growing countries4  ,now a vast  
quantity of cotton is being baled in the
 form as shown in ,fig4 #aa1 and what   
are known as cylindrical bales are being
 exported in large numbers4 ,in the     
,round ,bale ,circular of the ,american 
,cotton ,company1 it is stated that from
 the #bast ,november1 #ahif1 to ,january
 #bnd1 #ahig1 no less than #addc round  

bales were turned out of the factory at 
,waco in ,texas4 ,the total weight of   
these bales was #fad1hcb pounds1 giving 
an average of #dbf pounds per bale4  ,by
 means of a press the cotton is rolled  
into the form as shown in the           
illustration4 ,the press makes a bale #d
 feet long and #b feet in diameter and  
weighs over #ce pounds per cubic foot or
 #ej per cent4 denser than the bale made
 under the system as shown in ,fig4 #aj4
  ,image3 ,,fig4 #aa4--;,cylindrical    
rolls of cotton4  ,it is claimed for    
this new system that the regularity of  
the size of the bale1 #d x #b feet1     
makes it pack much closer than the      
irregular turtle-backed bales as usually
 made on the old system4  ,under the new
 style the cotton is pressed gradually  
and not all at once4 ,for this reason it
 is claimed that the fibre is not       
injured and the cotton arrives at the   
mill with the fibre in as good condition
 as when it left the gins4  ,bagging and
 ties are entirely dispensed with1 as   

the air is pressed out of the cotton and
 it has no tendency to expand again1 and
 the covering needed is only sufficient 
to keep the cotton clean4  ,from a      
number of experiments it is proved that 
the round bale is both fireproof and    
water proof4  ,from the illustration of 
the round bale shown in ,fig4 #aa1 it   
will be seen how readily this new form  
of bale lends itself to greatly aiding  
the operatives in the opening processes 
in the mill4 ,the roll which lies on the
 floor like a roll of carpet could be so
 fixed that the cotton could be fed to  
the opener by being unrolled as shown in
 the illustration4  ,at present the     
round bale system is not popular and it 
remains to be seen whether it will      
commend itself to cotton spinners4      
,,chapter ,,vi4  ,,manipulation ,,of    
,,cotton ,,in ,,opening1 ,,scutching1   
,,carding1 ,,drawing1 ,,and             
,,fly-,,frame ,,machines4   ,before     
attempting to give the readers of this  
story an insight into the various       

operations through which cotton is made 
to pass1 it may be advisable to briefly 
enumerate them first4  ,on the field    
there are the operations of collecting  
and ginning1 that is1 separating the raw
 cotton from the seeds4 ,to the stranger
 it is very astonishing that as many as 
#ff to #ge pounds of seed are got from  
every #ajj pounds of seed cotton        
gathered4 ,then in or near the cotton   
field the process of baling is carried  
out4 ,thus there are collecting1 ginning
 and baling1 as preliminary processes4  
,when the cotton arrives in bales at the
 mill 7see ,fig4 #aj71 in which it is to
 be cleaned1 opened and spun1 it is     
first weighed and a record kept4  ,in   
the mill the first real operation is the
 taking of quantities of cotton from    
different bales of cotton from various  
countries1 or different grades from the 
same country1 and mixing so as to secure
 a greater uniformity in the quality of 
the yarn produced4 ,in this process it  
is now the common practice to use a     

machine termed the ,bale ,breaker1 or   
,cotton ,puller4  ,the second important 
process carried out in the mill is      
opening4 ,by this the matted masses of  
cotton fibres are to a great extent     
opened out1 and a large percentage of   
the heavy impurities1 such as sand1     
shell1 and leaf1 fall out by their own  
weight4 ,it is now also usual at this   
stage to form the cotton into a large   
roll or sheet called the lap4           
,immediately following the opening comes
 scutching1 which is merely a           
continuation of the work performed by   
the opener1 but done in such a way that 
greater attention is bestowed upon the  
production of an even sheet or lap of   
cotton4  ,the cotton at this stage is   
practically in the same condition as it 
was when first gathered from the tree in
 the plantation4   ,carding comes next  
in order1 and it should be observed that
 this is one of the most beautiful and  
instructive operations carried on in the
 mill4  ,the process of opening out the 

cotton is continued in this operation to
 such an extent that the fibres are     
practically individually separated1 and 
while in this condition very fine       
impurities are removed1 and many of the 
short and unripe fibres which are always
 more or less present are removed4      
,before leaving the machine the fibres  
are gathered together again in a most   
wonderful manner and converted into a   
sliver1 which for all the world looks   
like a rope of cotton1 a little less    
than an inch in diameter4  ,in most     
mills drawing succeeds carding1 this    
operation having for its object 7#a7 the
 doubling together of four to eight     
slivers from the card and attenuating   
them to the dimension of one so as to   
secure greater uniformity in diameter4  
7#b7 ,the reduction of the crossed and  
entangled fibres from the card into     
parallel or side by side order4  ,after 
drawing1 the cotton is brought to and   
sent through a series of machines termed
 ,bobbin and ,fly ,frames4 ,there are   

usually three of these machines for the 
cotton to pass through1 to which are    
given the names of ,slubbing1           
,intermediate1 and ,roving ,frames4     
,their duties are to carry on the       
operation of making the sliver of cotton
 finer or thinner until it is ready for 
the final process of spinning1 and      
incidentally to add to the uniformity   
and cleanliness of the thread of cotton4
  ,the final process of spinning is     
chiefly performed on one of two         
machines1 the ,mule and the ,ring       
,frame1 either of which makes a thread  
largely used without further treatment  
in a spinning mill4  ,sometimes1        
however1 the thread is further treated  
by such operations as doubling1 reeling1
 gassing1 etc4 ,it should be added that 
in the production of the finest and best
 yarns an important process is gone     
through1 named combing4  ,this may be   
defined as a continuation of the carding
 process already named before to a much 
more perfect degree4 ,the chief object  

is to extract all fibres below a certain
 required length1 and reject them as    
waste4 ,there is as much of this latter 
made at this stage of manufacture as    
that made by all the other machines put 
together1 that is1 about #ag per cent4  
,of course it will be readily seen that 
this is a costly operation and is       
limited entirely to the production of   
the very best and finest yarns4  ,this  
process necessitates the employment of a
 machine called a ,sliver ,lap and      
sometimes a ,ribbon ,lap ,machine in    
order to put the slivers from the       
carding engine into a small lap suitable
 for the creel of the ,combing ,machine4
   ,cotton ,mixing and the ,bale        
,breaker4--,as before stated1 the first 
operation in the mill is the opening out
 of bales of raw material and making a  
mixing4 ,of course the weight of the    
bale is ascertained before it is opened4
  ,all varieties of cotton vary in their
 commercial properties1 this variation  
being due to a number of causes4 ,from a

 commercial value point of view1 there  
is an enormous difference between the   
very best and the very worst cottons2 so
 much so1 indeed1 that they are never   
blended together4 ,between these two    
extremes there is a well-graded number  
of varieties and classifications of     
cotton1 and some approximate so closely 
to others in quality1 that they are     
often blended together in the mixing4   
,further than this1 the same class of   
cotton often varies in spinning         
qualities from a number of circumstances
 that need not here be named4 ,this is1 
however1 an additional reason why cotton
 from various bales should be blended   
together in order to secure uniformity4 
,a cotton mixing may be described as a  
kind of stack1 resembling somewhat the  
haystack of the farm yards4  ,the method
 usually pursued in making this mixing  
is somewhat as follows3--,a portion of  
cotton from a certain bale is taken off 
and spread over a given area of floor   
space4 ,then a similar portion from     

another bale is placed over the first   
layer already lying on the floor4  ,the 
same operation is followed with a third 
and fourth layer from different bales1  
and so on with as many bales as the     
management consider there are variations
 in quality1 the larger the mixing the  
better for securing uniformity of yarn4 
,when it is desired to use the cotton1  
it should be pulled down vertically from
 the face of the mixing1 so as to secure
 a fair portion from each bale composing
 the mixture4 ,before spreading the     
cotton out it is usually pulled into    
pieces of moderate size by the hands of 
the operative4  ,during recent years it 
has become the very general practice to 
use a small machine called the ,bale    
,breaker or ,cotton ,puller1 and to have
 also working in conjunction with this  
machine long travelling lattices called 
mixing lattices4 ,these perform the     
operation of pulling and mixing the     
cotton much more quickly and effectively
 than by hand labour4  ,the ,cotton     

,puller or ,bale ,breaker 7see ,fig4    
#ab7 simply consists1 in its most useful
 form1 of four pairs of coarsely fluted 
or spiked rollers of about #f inches    
diameter with a feed apron or lattice   
such as is shown in the illustration4   
,image3 ,,fig4 #ab4--;,bale breaker or  
puller4  ,the method adopted with the   
,bale ,breaker and mixing lattices in   
use is as follows3--  ,the various bales
 of cotton intended for mixing are      
placed very near to the feed apron of   
the ,bale ,breaker1 and a layer from    
each bale in succession is placed on the
 apron4 ,the latter feeds the cotton at 
a slow rate to the revolving rollers of 
the machine1 and as each pair of top and
 bottom rollers that the cotton meets is
 revolving more rapidly than the        
preceding pair1 the result is a pulling 
asunder of the cotton by the rollers1   
into much smaller pieces1 quite suitable
 for the next machine4 ,the ,bale       
,breaker delivers the cotton upon long  
travelling aprons of lattice work1 which

 carry the cotton away and deposit it   
upon any desired portion of the floor to
 form the mixing4   ,opening4--,the name
 of the next process1 viz41 opening1 has
 been given it because its primary      
function is to open out the cotton to   
such an extent that the greater bulk of 
the seed1 leaf1 sand1 and dust is       
readily extracted4 ,the details of this 
machine and indeed practically of all   
machines used in cotton spinning1 vary  
so much with different makers1 that it  
would be utterly out of place to deal   
with them here1 so that it may be said  
at once1 that all such points are       
entirely omitted from this treatment of 
the subject4  ,the essential and        
principal portions of the machines are  
practically identical for all makers1   
and it is with these only that it is    
proposed to deal1 taking in all cases   
the best present-day practice4  ,the    
opener1 then1 is a very powerful        
machine1 being in fact the most powerful
 used in cotton spinning1 and the most  

important feature of the machine is the 
employment of a strong beater1 to which 
is fitted a large number of iron or     
steel knives or spikes4 ,these beat down
 the cotton and open it at a terrific   
rate1 the beater having a surface speed 
of perhaps #djjj feet a minute4 ,various
 fans1 rollers1 and other parts are     
employed to feed the cotton to the      
beater1 and to take it away again after 
treatment4 ,it will perhaps best serve  
the purpose of our readers if the       
passage of the cotton be described      
through an opener of the most modern and
 approved construction1 dealing with the
 subject in non-technical terms4  ,with 
this object in view1 take for example   
what is termed ,the ,double ,cotton     
,opener with ,hopper ,feed ,attachment4 
,this machine is shown in ,fig4 #ac4    
,image3 ,,fig4 #ac4--;,double opener    
with hopper feed4  ,the ,hopper ,feed is
 about the most recent improvement of   
any magnitude generally adopted in      
cotton spinning mills4 ,it is an        

attachment to the initial or feed end of
 an opener with the object of feeding   
the cotton more cheaply and effectively 
than it can be done by hand4  ,it may be
 said to consist of a large iron feed   
box1 into which the cotton is passed in 
considerable quantities at one time4 ,at
 the bottom of the feed box1 or hopper1 
is a travelling apron which carries the 
cotton forward1 so as to be brought     
within the action of steel pins in an   
inclined travelling apron or lattice4   
,this latter carries the cotton upwards1
 and special mechanism is provided in   
the shape of what is termed an ,evener  
roller1 to prevent too much cotton going
 forward at once4  ,the cotton that     
passes over the top of the inclined     
lattice or apron is stripped off by what
 is denominated the stripping roller1   
and is then deposited on the feed apron 
of the opener1 where formerly it was    
placed by hand4  ,it may be said that   
one man can feed two machines with      
,hopper ,feeds as against one without   

them1 and in the best makes the work is 
done more effectively4  ,the feed       
lattice of the opener carries the cotton
 along to the feed rollers1 which       
project it forward into the path of the 
large beater4 ,it is here that the      
opening and cleaning actions are chiefly
 performed4  ,the strong knives or      
spikes of the beater break the cotton   
into very small portions indeed1 and    
dash it against cleaning bars or grate  
bars specially arranged and constructed4
 ,through the interstices of these bars 
much of the now loosened seed and dirt  
present in the cotton passes into a     
suitable receptacle1 which is afterward 
cleaned out at regular intervals4  ,the 
opened and cleaned cotton is taken away 
from the action of the beater by an air 
current produced by a powerful fan4     
,this latter creates a partial vacuum in
 the beater chamber by blowing the air  
out of certain air exit trunks specially
 provided4 ,to supply this partial      
vacuum afresh1 air can only be obtained 

from the beater chamber1 and the air    
current thus induced1 takes the cotton  
along with it1 and deposits it in the   
form of a sheet upon what are termed    
cages or sieve cylinders4  ,these are   
hollow cylinders of iron or zinc        
perforated with a very large number of  
small holes through which the air       
rushes1 leaving the cotton1 as it were1 
plastered on the outer surfaces of the  
cages4  ,it is usual to have a pair of  
these cages1 working one over the other 
like the pair of rollers in a wringing  
machine4  ,the cotton now passes between
 two pairs of small guide rollers1 and  
is fed by the second pair to a second   
beater1 but of very different           
construction from the first one4  ,this 
consists of two or three iron or steel  
blades extending the full width of the  
machine and carried by specially        
constructed arms from a strong central  
shaft4  ,the edges of these beater      
blades are made somewhat sharp1 and they
 strike down the cotton from the feed   

roller at the rate of #bjjj or more     
blows per minute4  ,this of course      
carries the opening work of the cotton  
of the first beater to a still further  
degree1 and as in this case the cotton  
is also struck down upon beater bars or 
cleaning bars1 a further quantity of    
loosened impurities passes through the  
bars4 ,as before1 another powerful fan  
creates an air current by which the     
cotton is carried away from the beater  
and placed upon a pair of ,cages4 ,from 
this point the cotton is conducted in   
the form of a sheet between four heavy  
calender or compression rollers1 the    
rollers being superimposed over each    
other1 and the cotton receiving three   
compressions in its passage4  ,this     
makes a much more solid and tractable   
sheet of cotton1 and it is now simply   
wound upon an iron roller in the form of
 a roll of cotton termed a lap1 being   
now ready for the subsequent process1 as
 shown in the illustration 7,fig4 #ad74 
,image3 ,,fig4 #ad4--,scutching machine 

with lap at the back4                   
,scutching4--,this term obviously means 
beating1 and the process itself is      
simply a repetition of the opening and  
cleaning properties of the opener1 these
 objects being attained to a greater    
degree of perfection4 ,for the best     
classes of cotton it is often deemed    
sufficient to pass it through the opener
 alone1 and then to immediately transfer
 the lap to the process of carding4 ,for
 some cottons it is the practice to pass
 the cotton through two scutchers in    
addition to the opener1 while in other  
cases it is the practice to use one     
scutcher only in addition to the opener4
  ,in the scutcher it is the most common
 practice to take four laps from the    
opener and to place them in a specially 
constructed creel and resting on a      
travelling lattice or apron4 ,by this   
they are slowly unwound and the four    
sheets are laid one upon another and    
passed in one combined sheet1 through   
feed rollers1 to a two or three bladed  

beater1 exactly like the second one     
described when treating upon the double 
opener4 ,also1 exactly in the same      
manner1 a lap is formed ready for the   
immediately succeeding process of       
carding4 ,in the scutcher the doubling  
of four laps together tends to produce a
 sheet of cotton more uniform in        
thickness and weight than that from the 
opener4 ,this object of equality of lap 
is also invariably aided by what are    
termed ,automatic ,feed ,regulators1    
which regulate the weight of cotton     
given to the beater to something like a 
continuous uniformity4 ,the action is   
clearly seen in the illustration4       
,carding4--,by many persons this is     
deemed to be the most important         
operation in cotton spinning4 ,its      
several duties may be stated as         
follows3--       #a4 ,the removal of a  
large proportion of any impurities1 such
 as         broken leaf1 seed and shell1
 that may have escaped the previous     
processes4 ,it may usually be deemed to 

be the final process of                 
cleansing4       #b4 ,to open out and   
disentangle the clusters of fibres into 
even         greater individualisation  
than existed when first picked1 and to  
leave them in such condition that the   
subsequent operations can         easily
 draw them out1 and reduce them to      
parallel order4       #c4 ,the          
extraction of a good proportion of the  
short1 broken and         unripe fibres1
 present more or less in all cottons    
grown1 and         practically worthless
 from a manufacturing point of view4    
#d4 ,the reduction of the heavy sheet or
 lap of cotton from the                 
scutcher1 into a comparatively light and
 thin sliver4 ,ordinarily1         one  
yard of the lap put up behind the card  
weighs more than #ajj         times as  
heavy as the sliver delivered at the    
front of the card4   ,there are several 
varieties of ,carding ,engine1 but in   
each case nearly all the essential      
features are practically the same in one

 card as in another4 ,at the present    
time1 the type of ,carding ,engine which
 has practically superseded all others  
is denominated the ,revolving ,flat     
,card4 ,this ,card originated with ,mr4 
,evan ,leigh1 of ,manchester1 and after 
being in close competition with several 
other types has almost driven them out  
of the market4 ,of course it has been   
considerably improved by later          
inventors1 and various machine makers   
have their own technical peculiarities4 
,in the illustration seen in ,fig4 #ae  
there is conveyed an excellent idea of  
the appearance of the heavy lap of      
cotton as it is placed behind the       
,carding ,engine1 and of the manner in  
which the same cotton appears as a      
sliver or soft strand of cotton as it   
issues from the front of the same       
machine1 and enters the cylindrical can 
into which it is passed1 and coiled into
 compact layers1 suitable for withdrawal
 at the immediately succeeding process4 
,image3 ,,fig4 #ae4--,two views of the  

carding engine3 upper view1 cotton      
entering2 lower view1 cotton leaving4   
,in the main1 the parts which operate   
upon the cotton fibres in their passage 
through this machine consist of a number
 of cylinders or rollers of various     
diameters1 but practically equal in     
width4 ,some of these rollers are merely
 to guide and conduct the cotton        
forward1 but the more important are     
literally bristling all over with a vast
 number of closely set and finely drawn 
steel wire teeth1 whose duty it is to   
open1 and comb out1 and clean the fibers
 as they pass along4  ,to begin with1   
the lap or roll of cotton is placed     
behind the machine so as to rest on a   
roller of #f inches in diameter1 which  
slowly unwinds the lap at the rate of   
about #i inches per minute1 by          
frictional contact therewith4  ,here1 it
 may be said that the width of this and 
other chief rollers and cylindrical     
parts of the card may be about #ch      
inches or #dj inches wide1 there being a

 tendency to make present-day ,carding  
,engines rather narrower than formerly1 
in order to give greater strength to    
certain parts4 ,from the lap roller the 
sheet of cotton is conducted for about  
#h inches over a smooth feed plate1 and 
then it goes underneath a fluted roller 
of #b-a_/d inches diameter1 termed the  
feed roller1 having practically the same
 surface speed as the lap roller1 or    
possibly a small fraction more to keep  
the cotton lap tight4  ,at this stage   
the actual work of the ,carding ,engine 
may be said to commence4 ,while the feed
 roller and the feed plate hold the end 
of the sheet of cotton and project it   
forward at the slow rate of #h or #i    
inches per minute1 this projecting end  
of the lap becomes subject to the action
 of a powerful roller or beater termed  
the taker-in or licker-in4  ,the most   
recent and improved construction of this
 roller is termed the ,metallic         
,taker-in1 and it is covered all over   
with strong steel teeth shaped something

 like those of a saw4 ,it is about #i   
inches in diameter1 and its strong teeth
 strike the cotton down from the feed   
roller with a surface speed of nearly   
#ajjj feet per minute4  ,it is at this  
stage that the bulk of the heavier      
impurities still found in the cotton are
 removed1 as these fall through certain 
grids below the taker-in immediately    
they are loosened from the retaining    
fibres by the powerful teeth of the     
taker-in4  ,the great bulk of the cotton
 fibres1 however1 are retained by the   
teeth of the taker-in and carried round 
the under side to a point where they are
 exposed to the action of the central   
and most important part of every        
,carding ,engine1 viz41 the main        
cylinder4 ,the licker-in contains about 
twenty-eight teeth per square inch1 but 
the cylinder is the first of the parts  
that the cotton arrives at1 previously  
referred to as being covered with a vast
 number of closely set steel wire teeth4
  ,just to convey an idea of this point 

to the uninitiated reader1 it may be    
said that it is quite common to have on 
the cylinder as many as #fjj steel wire 
teeth in one square inch4 ,for a        
cylinder #dj inches wide and #ej inches 
diameter1 this works out to the vast    
number of over #c1hjj1jjj steel wire    
teeth on one cylinder1 each tooth being 
about #a_/d inch long1 and secured in a 
cloth or rubber foundation before the   
latter is wound round the cylinder4     
,the steel teeth of the cylinder strip  
the fibres from the taker-in and carry  
them in an upward direction1 the surface
 speed of the cylinder being over #bjjj 
feet per minute4  ,placed over the      
cylinder1 and extending for nearly      
one-half of its circumference1 are what 
are technically known as the flats4     
,these are narrow iron bars1 each about 
#a-c_/h inches wide2 each being covered 
with steel wire teeth in the same manner
 as the cylinder2 and each extending    
right across the width of the cylinder1 
and resting on a suitable bearing termed

 the bend4  ,they are formed into an    
endless chain containing about #ajh     
flats1 but only about #dd of which are  
in actual work at one time2 this endless
 chain of flats being given a slow      
movement of about #c inches per minute4 
,here it may be said that the various   
working parts are set as close as       
possible to each other without being in 
actual contact1 the usual distance being
 about #a_/adcrd of an inch determined  
by a specially constructed gauge1 in the
 hands of a skilled workman4  ,the steel
 teeth of the flats1 being set very     
close to those of the cylinder1 catch   
hold of and retain a portion of the     
short warty fibres and fine impurities  
that may be on the points of the        
cylinder teeth1 the amount of this      
reaching about #c per cent4 of the      
cotton passed through the machine4 ,in  
addition to this the teeth of the flats 
work against those of the cylinder so as
 to exercise a combing action on the    
cotton fibres4  ,having passed the      

flats1 the cotton is deposited by the   
cylinder on what is termed the doffer4  
,this is a cylindrical body1 exactly    
similar to the main cylinder excepting  
that it is only about half the diameter1
 say #bd inches4 ,its steel wire teeth  
are set in the opposite way to those of 
the cylinder1 and its surface speed is  
only about #ge feet per minute4 ,these  
two circumstances acting together enable
 it to take the cotton fibres from the  
main cylinder4  ,the operations of      
carding may now be said to be           
practically performed1 as the remaining 
operations have for their object the    
stripping1 collecting1 and guiding of   
the cotton into a form suitable for the 
next succeeding processes4 ,the fleece  
of cotton is stripped from the doffer by
 the ,doffer ,comb1 which is a thin bar 
of steel1 having a serrated under edge1 
and making about #afjj beats or strokes 
per minute4 ,from this point cotton is  
collected into the form of a loose rope 
or sliver1 and passed first through a   

trumpet-shaped mouth1 and then through a
 pair of calender rollers about six     
inches wide and four inches in diameter4
  ,image3 ,,fig4 #af4--,lap1 web1 and   
sliver of cotton4  ,finally1 the sliver 
of cotton is carried upward1 as shown in
 the illustration 7,fig4 #ae71 and      
passed through special apparatus and    
deposited into the can1 also shown4     
,this latter is about #aj inches in     
diameter and #cf inches in length1 and  
the whole arrangement for depositing the
 cotton suitably into the can is        
denominated the ,coiler4 ,in the next   
illustration 7,fig4 #af7 are shown three
 forms in which the cotton is found     
before and after working by the ,carding
 ,engine4 ,that to the left is the lap  
as it enters1 the middle figure is part 
of the web as it comes from the doffer1 
and that to the right is part of a coil 
of cotton from the can4  ,such is a     
brief description of the most important 
of the preparatory processes of cotton  
spinning4 ,there are innumerable details

 involving technical knowledge which    
fall outside the province of this story4
   ,drawing ,frames4--,it is a very     
common thing for a new beginner in the  
study of cotton spinning to ask--what is
 the use of the drawing frame8 ,as a    
matter of fact1 the unpractised eye     
cannot see any difference between the   
sliver or soft rope of cotton as it     
reaches1 the drawing frame and as it    
leaves the frame4  ,the experienced eye 
of the practical man can1 however1      
detect a wonderful difference4  ,it has 
been shown that the immediately         
preceding operation of carding--amongst 
other things--reduces the heavy lap into
 a comparatively thin light sliver2 thus
 advancing with one great stride a long 
way toward the production of the long   
fine thread of yarn ready for the       
market4  ,no such difference can be     
perceived in the sliver at the drawing  
frame4 ,this machine is practically     
devoted to improving the thread finally 
made in two distinct and important ways4

  #a4 ,the fibres of cotton in the      
sliver1 as they leave the ,carding      
,engine1 are in a very crossed and      
entangled condition1 not at all suited  
to the production of a strong yarn by   
the usual processes of cotton spinning4 
,the first duty of the drawing frame may
 be said1 therefore1 to be the laying of
 the fibres in parallel order to one    
another1 by the action of the drawing   
rollers4  #b4 ,the sliver of cotton1 as 
it leaves the card1 is by no means      
sufficiently uniform in weight per yard 
for the production of a uniform and     
strong finished thread4 ,it will easily 
be conceived by the readers of this     
story of the cotton plant that the      
strength of any thread is only that of  
its weakest portions4  ,take a rope     
intended to hold a heavy weight         
suspended at its lower end1 and assume  
it to be made of the best material and  
stoutest substance1 but to contain one  
very weak place in it2 this rope would  
practically be useless1 because the     

strength of the rope would only be that 
of the weakest part4  ,the drawing      
machine in cotton spinning aims at      
removing the weak places in cotton      
thread1 thus making the real strength of
 the thread vastly greater than it would
 otherwise be4  ,the method by which    
these important objects are attained may
 be briefly explained as follows3--     
,from four to eight1 but most usually   
six1 cans of sliver from the previous   
machine are placed behind the frame1 and
 the ends of the slivers conducted over 
special mechanism within the range of   
action of four pairs of drawing rollers4
 ,this passage of the cotton is shown   
very clearly in ,fig4 #ag4  ,the top    
rollers are made of cast iron1 covered  
with soft and highly finished leather   
made from sheepskins1 the object of this
 being to cause the rollers to have a   
firm grip of the cotton fibres1 without 
at the same time injuring them4 ,the    
bottom rollers are of iron or steel1    
made with longitudinal flutes or        

grooves1 in order to bite the cotton    
fibres firmly on the leathers of the top
 rollers4 ,in order to assist the       
rollers in maintaining a firm grip of   
the fibres the top rollers are held down
 by somewhat heavy weights4  ,the action
 of the drawing rollers will be         
adequately discussed later in this      
story1 when dealing with the inventions 
of ,lewis ,paul and ,sir ,richard       
,arkwright1 and need not be enlarged    
upon at this stage4  ,it will be        
sufficient1 therefore1 to say that1     
assuming that six slivers are put up    
together at the back of the frame1 the  
draft or amount of drawing-out between  
the first and second pairs of rollers   
the cotton comes to1 may be about #a4c1 
between the second and third pairs #a4h1
 and between the third and fourth pairs 
#b4f4 ,these three multiplied together  
give a total draft of slightly over #f4 
,in other words1 assuming that #a inch  
of cotton be passed through the first   
pair of rollers1 the second pair will   

immediately draw it out into #a4c       
inches2 the third pair will draw out the
 same portion of cotton into #a4c  #a4h 
inches  #b4cd inches1 and the fourth or 
last pair of rollers will draw out the  
same portion of cotton into #b4cd  #b4f 
inches  #f4jhd4  ,image3 ,,fig4         
#ag4--;,drawing frame showing eight     
slivers entering and one                
leaving the machine4  ,the six slivers  
put up at the back are therefore drawn  
out or attenuated to the dimensions of  
one by the rollers1 and then at the     
delivery side of the machine the six    
slivers are united into one sliver1 and 
arranged in beautiful order inside a can
 exactly as described for the ,carding  
,engine4  ,now it is in the doubling    
together and again drawing-out of the   
slivers of cotton that the two objects  
of making the fibres parallel and the   
slivers uniform are effected4  ,in the  
first place1 even the uninitiated       
readers of this story may conceive that 
the combining of six slivers will       

naturally cause any extra thick or thin 
places in any of the individual slivers 
to become much reduced in extent by     
falling along with correct diameters of 
the other five slivers2 and experience  
proves that such is the actual fact4 ,in
 this way the slivers1 or soft untwisted
 ropes of cotton1 are made uniform4  ,it
 is perhaps not so easy to see how it is
 that drawing rollers make the fibres of
 cotton parallel4 ,as a matter of fact1 
it may be said that as each pair of     
rollers projects the fibres forward1 the
 next pair of rollers takes hold of the 
fibres and draws their front extremities
 forward more rapidly than the other    
pair will let the back extremities of   
the same fibres pass forward4 ,it is    
this action often repeated that draws   
the fibres straight1 or in other words1 
reduces them to a condition in which    
they are parallel to each other4  ,it is
 the usual practice to pass each portion
 of cotton through three separate frames
 in this manner1 in immediate and rapid 

succession4 ,the slivers or ropes of    
cotton made at the front of the first   
drawing frame1 would be placed in their 
cans behind a second drawing frame and  
the exact process just described would  
be repeated4 ,the same identical process
 would usually be performed yet a third 
time in order to secure the required    
objects with what is considered a       
sufficient degree of perfection4  ,after
 this the cotton is usually deemed to be
 quite ready for the immediately        
succeeding process of slubbing4         
,bobbin and ,fly ,frames4--,the series  
of machines now to be dealt with1 are   
distinguished more for their complicated
 mechanism in putting twist into the    
attenuated cotton and in winding it upon
 bobbins in suitable form for the       
immediately succeeding process1 than for
 the action of the parts upon the cotton
 so as to render it better fitted for   
the production of strong1 fine yarn4    
,the manner in which these machines     
perform a part in the actual production 

of a thread or yarn is practically a    
repetition of the work of the drawing   
frame1 with the great difference that   
the strand or thin rope of cotton leaves
 each machine of the series in a thinner
 and longer condition than when it      
arrived4  ,this attenuation of the      
cotton roving is indeed the chief       
desideratum that bobbin and fly frames  
aim at1 although they assist in making  
the strand of cotton more uniform by    
carrying still further to a limited     
extent the doubling principle so        
extensively utilised at the drawing     
frames4  ,the basis of the operations   
are again the drawing rollers1 brought  
to such a state of perfection by        
,richard ,arkwright1 and here it may be 
useful to remind the readers of this    
story how superior in this respect of   
general adaption ,arkwright's method of 
spinning was to that of ,hargreaves'4   
,it will be remembered that the latter  
named inventor utilised a travelling    
carriage1 for drawing the cotton finer1 

while the former performed the same work
 by drawing rollers4  ,although the     
travelling carriage principle was at one
 time somewhat largely utilised in      
preparing the rovings for the final     
process of spinning1 it has long since  
entirely given way before the superior  
merits and adaptability of the drawing  
roller principle2 and it is now this    
latter method which is universally      
employed4  ,it usually takes three      
bobbin and fly frames to make up what   
may be called a set1 each portion of the
 cotton roving passing through the three
 machines in succession4 ,for low       
classes of yarn only two of these       
machines may be used1 while for the     
finest yarns there are sometimes four   
used to make up the set4  ,of course1   
all the readers of this story must      
understand that in an ordinary-sized    
cotton spinning mill there will be many 
sets of these machines1 just as there   
will be a large number of carding       
engines and drawing frames1 and mules4  

,bale brakers1 openers and scutchers are
 so very productive that only a limited 
number is required as compared with the 
other machines already named4  ,those of
 our readers who have studied the       
details of ,arkwright's spinning frame1 
described in another chapter in this    
book1 and have understood those details1
 will have a clear comprehension of the 
action of the parts and leading         
mechanical principles concerned in the  
operations of a modern bobbin and fly   
frame4 ,certainly there are some of the 
most difficult problems of cotton       
spinning involved in the mechanism of   
these machines1 but these points are so 
highly technical that it is not intended
 to introduce them here4  ,the set of   
machines just named are usually known by
 the names ,slubber1 ,intermediate or   
,second ,slubber1 and ,roving ,frames4  
,nearly all the operations and          
mechanisms involved in one are almost   
identical in the others1 so that a      
description of one only in the set is   

necessary1 merely explaining that the   
parts of each machine the cotton comes  
to in the latter two of the set are     
smaller and more finely set than the    
corresponding parts of the immediately  
preceding machine4  ,taking the         
,intermediate frame as a basis1 the     
operation may be described as           
follows3--,the bobbins formed at the    
slubbing frame are put in the creel of  
the ,intermediate1 as shown in the      
photograph 7,fig4 #ah71 each bobbin     
resting on a wooden skewer or peg which 
will easily rotate4  ,in order to       
increase the uniformity of the roving or
 strand of cotton1 the ends from two of 
the slubbing rovings are conducted      
together through the rollers of the     
machine4  ,there are three pairs of     
these rollers1 acting on the cotton in  
every way just as described for the     
drawing frame4  ,although two rovings   
are put together behind the rollers1 yet
 the draft or drawing-out power of the  
rollers is such1 that the roving that   

issues from the front of the rollers is 
about three times as thin as each       
individual roving put up behind the     
rollers4 ,this drawing-out action of the
 rollers need not be further dilated    
upon at this stage4  ,the points which  
demand some little attention at our     
hands1 are the methods and mechanism    
involved in twisting the attenuated     
roving1 and winding it upon bobbins or  
spools in suitable form for the next    
process4  ,image3 ,,fig4                
#ah4--;,intermediate frame 7bobbin and  
fly frame74  ,as regards twisting of the
 roving it must be distinctly understood
 that when the attenuated strand of     
cotton issues from the rollers of the   
first bobbin and fly frame1 it has      
become so thin and weak that it can no  
longer withstand the requisite handling 
without being seriously damaged4 ,hence 
the introduction of ,twist1 which is by 
far the most important                  
strength-producing factor or principle  
entering into the composition of cotton 

roving and yarn4  ,without twist there  
would be no cotton factories1 no cotton 
goods2 none of the splendid and gigantic
 buildings of one description or another
 which are found so plentifully         
intermingled with the dwellings and     
factories of large cotton manufacturing 
towns6  ,in a sense it is to this       
all-powerful factor of twist that all   
these buildings owe their existence1    
since it would be practically impossible
 to make a thread from cotton fibres    
without the assistance of twist to make 
the fibres adhere to each other4 ,hence 
there could be none of that wealth which
 has caused the erection of these       
buildings4  ,this is true in a double   
sense1 since we have both the natural   
twist of the cotton fibres and the      
artificial twist introduced at the      
latter processes of cotton spinning1 in 
order to make individual fibres and     
aggregations of fibres adhere to each   
other4 ,what is termed the natural twist
 of the fibres may average in good      

cottons upwards of #ahj twists per inch1
 while the twists per inch put into the 
finished threads of yarn from those     
fibres may vary1 say1 between #bj and   
#cj twists per inch4  ,in all the fly   
frames1 therefore1 this artificial twist
 is invariably and necessarily put into 
the roving4 ,as the cotton leaves the   
front or delivery rollers1 each strand  
descends to a bobbin of from #h to #ab  
inches long1 upon which it is wound by  
special mechanism4 ,as in ,arkwright's  
frame1 this bobbin is placed loosely    
upon a vertical spindle1 and upon the   
latter is fitted a flyer1 whose duty it 
is to guide the cotton upon the bobbin4 
,the primary duty of the spindle is to  
insert the twist which has been shown to
 be so necessary to give sufficient     
strength to the roving4  ,let any reader
 of this story hold a piece of soft     
stuff in one hand while with the other  
hand he rotates or twists the roving and
 he will have an idea of the method and 
effect of twisting 7see ,fig4 #ai74     

,without going into minute details we   
may say that the practical effect is    
that1 while the roving is held firmly by
 the rollers1 it is twisted by means of 
its connection at the other end to the  
rotating bobbin1 spindle and flyer4 ,the
 twist runs right from the spindle along
 the #f to #ab inches of cotton that may
 extend from the spindle top to the nip 
of the rollers1 thus imparting the      
requisite strength to the roving as it  
issues from the rollers4 ,the mechanism 
for revolving the spindles is by no     
means difficult to understand1 simply   
consisting of a number of shafts and    
wheels revolved at a constant1 definite 
and regulated speed per minute4  ,not   
only is it necessary to provide special 
apparatus for twisting the cotton at the
 bobbin and fly frames1 but also very   
complicated and highly ingenious        
mechanism for winding the attenuated    
cotton in suitable form upon the        
bobbins4 ,indeed it is with this very   
mechanism that some of the most         

difficult problems of cotton spinning   
machinery are associated4  ,although the
 cotton at this stage is strengthened by
 twist1 yet it is extremely inadvisable 
and practically inadmissible to insert  
more than from #a to about #d twists per
 inch at any of these machines1 so that 
at the best the rovings are still very  
weak4  ,if too much twist were inserted 
at any stage1 the drawing rollers of the
 immediately succeeding machine could   
not carry on the attenuating process    
satisfactorily4  ,this winding problem  
was so difficult that it absolutely     
baffled the ingenuity of ,arkwright and 
his contemporaries and immediate        
successors1 and it was not until about  
#ahbe that the difficulties were solved 
by the invention of the differential    
winding motion by ,mr4 ,holdsworth1 a   
well-known ,manchester spinner1 whose   
successors are still eminent master     
cotton spinners4  ,this winding motion  
is still more extensively used than any 
other1 although it may be said that     

quite recently several new motions have 
been more or less adopted1 whose design 
is to displace ,holdsworth's motion by  
performing the same work in a rather    
more satisfactory manner4  ,in these    
pages no attempt whatever will be made  
to give a technical explanation of the  
mechanism of the winding motion4 ,it may
 be said that it was a special          
application of the ,sun and ,planet     
motion originally utilised by ,watt in  
his ,steam ,engine1 for obtaining a     
rotary motion of his fly-wheel4         
,sufficient be it to say that this      
,differential ,motion1 acting in        
conjunction with what are termed ,cone  
drums1 imparts a varying motion to the  
bobbins upon which the cotton is wound1 
in such a manner that the rate of       
winding is kept practically constant    
throughout the formation of the bobbins 
of roving1 although the diameters of the
 latter are constantly increasing4  ,the
 spindles and bobbins always rotate in  
the same direction1 but while the       

revolutions per minute of the spindles  
are constant1 so as to keep the twist   
uniform1 those of the bobbins are always
 varying1 in order to compensate for    
their increasing diameters or           
thicknesses of the bobbins4 ,the        
delivery of cotton from the rollers is  
also constant and the mechanism required
 to operate them is exceedingly simple4 
,a vast number of details could easily  
be added respecting the operations      
performed by the bobbin and fly frames1 
but further treatment is deemed         
unnecessary in this story4     ,,chapter
 ,,vii4  ,,early ,,attempts ,,at        
,,spinning1 ,,and ,,early ,,inventors4  
,there can be no better illustration of 
the truth of the old saying1 that       
,necessity is the mother of invention1  
than to read the early history of the   
cotton manufacture1 and the difficulties
 under which the pioneers of ,england's 
greatest industry laboured4  ,the middle
 years of the eighteenth century act as 
the watershed between the old and the   

new in cotton manufacture1 for up to    
#agfj the same type of machinery was    
found in ,england which had existed in  
,india for centuries4 ,but a change was 
coming1 and as a greater demand arose   
for cotton goods1 it became absolutely  
necessary to discover some better way of
 manipulating cotton1 in order to get   
off a greater production4  ,when        
inventors fail in their projects1 no one
 pities them2 when they succeed1        
persecution1 envy1 and jealousy are     
their reward4 ,so says ,baines1 and it  
would appear1 from reference to the     
history of the cotton industry1 to be   
only too true4 ,certain it is1 that the 
early inventors of the machinery for    
improving cotton spinning did not reap  
the advantages which their labours and  
inventions entitled them to4 ,they      
ploughed and sowed1 but others reaped4  
,among the most celebrated of the early 
inventors1 the following stand out in   
great prominence--,john ,kay1 ,lewis    
,paul1 ,john ,wyatt1 ,richard           

,arkwright1 ,thomas ,highs1 ,james      
,hargreaves1 and ,samuel ,crompton4     
,when and how spinning originated no one
 can say1 though it can be traced back  
through many1 many centuries4 ,several  
nations claim to have been the first to 
discover the art1 but when asked for    
proof the initial stages are greatly    
obscured by impenetrable clouds of      
mystery4  ,for example1 the ,egyptians  
credit the goddess ,isis with the       
discovery1 the ,greeks ,minerva1 the    
,chinese the ,emperor ,yao4 ,it is      
related of ,hercules1 that1 when in love
 with ,omphale1 he debased himself by   
taking the spindle and spinning a thread
 at her feet4 ,this form of work was    
considered to belong only to women1 and 
by spinning for her in this position he 
was thought to have greatly humiliated  
himself4  ,if ,hercules were back again1
 and could stand between two modern     
mules and see the men and boys engaged  
in spinning hundreds of threads at once1
 no doubt he would wonder1 just as we do

 to-day at his fabled feats4  ,it is not
 difficult to imagine that very early on
 in the world's history the twisting    
together of strands of wool and cotton  
would force itself upon the attention of
 the ancients4 ,if the reader will take 
a little cotton wool in the left hand   
and by means of the first finger and    
thumb of the right take a few cotton    
fibres and gently twist them together   
and at the same time draw the thread    
formed outwards1 it will be seen how    
very easy it is 7from the nature of the 
cotton7 to form a continuous thread4    
,what would very soon suggest itself    
would be something to which the thread1 
when twisted1 could be fastened and1    
according to ,mr4 ,marsden 7who supposes
 the first spinner to have been a       
shepherd boy71 a twig which was close at
 hand would be the very thing to which  
he could attach his twisted fibres4 ,he 
also supposes that1 having spun a short 
length1 the twig by accident was allowed
 to dangle and immediately to untwist by

 spinning round in the reverse way1 and 
ultimately fall to the ground4  ,he     
further adds1 the boy would argue to    
himself that if this revolving twig     
could take the twist out by a reversion 
of its movements1 it could be made to   
put it in4 ,this would be the first     
spinning spindle4 ,the explanation is   
probably not very far wide of the mark4 
,a weighted twig or spindle would next  
be used1 and as each length of spun     
thread was finished1 it would be wound  
on to the spindle and fastened4  ,as it 
would be extremely awkward to work the  
fibre up without a proper supply1 a     
bundle of this was fastened to the end  
of a stick and carried most probably    
under the left arm1 leaving the right   
hand free1 or in the belt1 much in the  
same way as is done in some country     
districts in the ,north of ,europe      
to-day4  ,the modern name for this stick
 is ,distaff1 a word which is derived   
from the ,low ,german--diesse1 the bunch
 of flax on a distaff1 and staff4       

,originally it would be the staff on    
which the tow or flax was fastened1 and 
from which the thread was drawn4 ,the   
modern representative of the spindle    
with the twisted thread wound on it is  
the cop1 and the intermittent actions of
 first putting twist in the thread and  
then winding on the spindle1 have their 
exact counterparts on the latest of the 
self-acting mules of to-day4  ,image3   
,,fig4 #ai4--,twist put in cotton by the
 hand4  ,it may be interesting to note  
that ,st4 ,distaff's ,day is ,january   
#gth1 the day after the ,epiphany1 a    
church festival celebrated in           
commemoration of the visit of the ,wise 
,men of the ,east to ,bethlehem4 ,as    
this marks the end of the ,christmas    
festival1 work with the distaff was     
commenced1 hence the name1 ,st4         
,distaff's ,day4  ,it is also called    
,rock ,day1 rock being another name for 
distaff4 ,rocking ,day in ,scotland was 
a feasting day when friends and         
neighbours met together in the early    

days of the ,new ,year1 to celebrate the
 end of the ,christmastide festival4    
,the reign of ,henry ,,vii4 is said to  
have witnessed the introduction into    
,england of the spindle and distaff4    
,in process of time1 the suspended      
spindle was superseded by one which was 
driven by mechanical means4 ,over and   
over again1 the spindle1 as it lay upon 
the floor1 must have suggested that it  
could be made to work in that position1 
viz41 horizontal4 ,and so comes now a   
contrivance for holding the spindle in  
this position4  ,mr4 ,baines1 in his    
history of the cotton manufacture1 gives
 a figure of an old ,hindoo spinning    
wheel1 and it is extremely likely that  
this very form of machine was the       
forerunner of the type which later on   
found its way into ,europe4 ,at the     
beginning of the sixteenth century what 
was known as the ,jersey wheel came into
 common use4 ,this machine is shown in  
,fig4 #bj4  ,lying to the left hand of  
the woman in the illustration is a hand 

card4 ,this consisted of square board   
with a handle1 and was covered by fine  
wire driven in1 so as to make what was  
really a wire brush4 ,by means of this1 
the spinner was enabled to prepare her  
cotton1 and she did with it 7though not 
nearly so well7 what is done by the     
,carding ,engine of to-day1 viz41 fully 
opened out the fibres of cotton ready   
for spinning4 ,having taken the cotton  
from the hand cards1 she produced at    
first a very thick thread which was     
called a roving4 ,this she wound on a   
spindle1 which was afterwards treated   
again on the wheel a second time1 and   
drawn out still more1 and then having   
the twist put in1 it was made much      
thinner into so-called yarn4 ,only one  
thread could by this method be dealt    
with at a time by one person1 but the   
main operations carried out on the old  
spinning wheel have their exact         
reproductions on the mule of to-day1    
viz43--,drawing1 ,twisting and ,winding4
  ,image3 ,,fig4 #bj4--;,jersey spinning

 wheel 7after ,baines74  ,but still the 
process of evolution went on1 and       
following quickly on the heels of the   
,jersey wheel is the ,saxony or ,leipsic
 wheel4 ,here for the first time is seen
 the combination of spindle1 flyer and  
bobbin4  ,this machine was so arranged  
that by means of two grooved wheels of  
different diameters1 but both driven by 
the large wheel similar to the one in   
the ,jersey wheel1 and which was        
operated by the spinner1 two speeds were
 obtained4 ,the bobbin was attached to  
the smaller1 and the spindle1 to which  
was fastened the flyer or ,twister1 was 
driven by the larger of two wheels4  ,in
 this form of spinning machine1 then1   
there were the following operations     
performed3--  ,by the spindle and flyer 
both revolving at the same velocity1 the
 thread was attenuated and twisted as it
 was carried to the bobbin4 ,this latter
 was1 as already named1 driven by the   
smaller of the two wheels and had a     
motion all its own1 though much quicker 

than that of the spindle4 ,in this way a
 bobbin of yarn was built up1 and the   
,saxony wheel no doubt gave many        
fruitful ideas to the inventors who     
appeared later on1 and who1 by reason of
 their research and experiment1 evolved 
the fly frames of to-day2 this was      
notably so in the case of ,arkwright4   
,there had been very great opposition to
 the introduction of cotton goods into  
,england by manufacturers and others    
interested in the wool and fustian      
trade1 and matters even got so bad that 
the ,british ,parliament was foolish    
enough to actually pass an ,act in      
#agbj1 prohibiting the use or wear in   
,great ,britain1 in any garment or      
apparel whatsoever1 of any printed1     
painted1 stained1 or dyed calico1 under 
the penalty of forfeiting to the        
informer the sum of #e4  ,just as though
 this was not sufficiently severe1 it   
was also enacted that persons using     
printed or dyed calico in or about any  
bed1 chair1 cushion1 window-curtain1 or 

any other sort of household stuff or    
furniture1 would be fined #bj1 and a    
like amount was to be paid by those who 
sold the stuff4  ,there can be no doubt 
whatever1 that this ,act was designed to
 strike a death-blow at the cotton      
industry1 which at this time was        
beginning to make itself felt in the    
commerce of the country4 ,a curious     
exception should be mentioned here4     
,calico1 which was all blue1 was        
exempted from the provisions of this    
,act1 as were also muslins1 fustians and
 neck-ties4 ,however1 in #agcf this     
iniquitous piece of legislation was     
somewhat relaxed1 and ,parliament was   
good enough to decree in the year just  
named that it would be lawful for anyone
 to wear any sort of stuff made of linen
 yarn and cotton wool manufactured and  
printed or painted with any colour or   
colours within the kingdom of ,great    
,britain1 provided that the warp thereof
 be entirely linen yarn4  ,now as half a
 loaf is better than none1 the cotton   

manufacturers received a direct impulse 
by the partial removal of the obnoxious 
restriction1 and very soon the supply   
was far ahead of the demand4            
,manufacturers were crying out          
constantly for more weight and better   
stuff1 but how by the mechanical means  
at the disposal of the spinners were    
they to get it8 ,lancashire historians  
say that it was no uncommon thing for   
weavers to travel miles in search of    
weft1 and then many of them returned to 
their looms with only a quarter of the  
amount they required4  ,another cause   
which acted in the direction of         
increasing the demand for yarns and weft
 was the invention of the flying shuttle
 by ,john ,kay about #agch4 ,previous to
 his time1 the heavy shuttles containing
 the wefts were sent across the looms by
 two persons4 ,now1 by his new shuttle  
he dispensed with the services of one of
 these artisans1 and by means of his    
arrangement for quickly sending the     
shuttle along the lathe of the loom1    

much more cloth was produced4 ,poor ,kay
 suffered much by the cruel persecution 
of his countrymen1 who ignorantly       
supposed that in bringing his new       
shuttle to such perfection1 they would  
be deprived permanently of their        
occupations1 with nothing but starvation
 looking them in the face4 ,of course1  
nothing could be wider of the truth than
 this1 but ,kay had to flee his country1
 and died in poverty and obscurity in a 
foreign land4 ,still the shuttle        
continued to be used1 for the makers of 
cloth had learned that increased        
production meant more work1 and possibly
 greater profit1 and though ,kay        
disappeared1 his works remained behind4 
,the demand for weft grew more and more4
 ,it has been said that it is the       
occasion which makes the man1 and not   
man the occasion4 ,it was so in this    
case1 for here was a cry for some       
mechanical means to be discovered for   
satisfying the ever-increasing demand   
for cotton weft4 ,hitherto single       

threads only had been dealt with on the 
spinning machines1 but the same year    
witnessed the introduction of an        
invention which in a few years          
completely revolutionized the spinning  
industry1 and which enabled one worker  
to spin hundreds of threads at once4    
,the year #agch1 which witnessed the    
birth of ,kay's invention1 also saw that
 of ,lewis ,paul1 an artisan of         
,birmingham4 ,this was a new method of  
spinning by means of ,rollers4 ,it      
should be remembered that this was      
thirty years before ,arkwright attempted
 to obtain letters patent for his system
 of spinning by rollers4  ,most of the  
readers of this little book will have   
seen what is known in domestic parlance 
as a clothes-wringer4 ,here the wooden  
or rubber rollers1 by means of weights  
or screws1 are made to squeeze out most 
of the moisture which remains after the 
garment has left the washing-tub4 ,now  
if two sets of such rollers could be put
 together1 so that in section the four  

centres would coincide with the four    
angular points of a square1 and the back
 pair could be made to have a greater   
surface velocity than the front pair1   
this arrangement would give something   
like the idea which ,paul had in his    
mind at that time4 ,why make the back   
pair revolve at a greater rate8 ,for    
this reason1 that as the cotton was     
supplied to the front pair1 and passed  
on to the second1 remembering that these
 are going at a greater rate1 it follows
 that the cotton would be drawn out in  
passing from the first to the second    
pair4 ,had the rollers been both going  
at the same speeds1 the cotton would    
pass out as it went in1 unaffected4 ,now
 it was this idea which ,paul           
practically set out in his machine4     
,from some reason or other1 ,paul's     
right to this patent has been often     
called into question1 and up to #aheh it
 was popularly supposed to have been the
 sole invention of ,john ,wyatt of      
,birmingham4 ,in the year named1 ,mr4   

,cole1 in a paper read before the       
,british ,association1 proved that ,paul
 was the real patentee1 and established 
the validity of his claim without doubt4
  ,the two distinguishing features of   
,paul's ,spinning ,machine were3 7#a7 by
 means of the rollers and flyers he     
performed the operations of drawing-out 
and twisting1 which had hitherto been   
done by the fingers and thumbs of the   
spinners2 and 7#b7 he changed the       
position of the spindle itself from the 
horizontal to the vertical4  ,a glance  
at the ,transactions of the ,society for
 the ,encouragement of ,arts1           
,manufactures and ,commerce1 shows that 
this period 7#agfj-aggj7 was most       
prolific of inventions specially        
relating to the various sections of the 
cotton industry4 ,there were improved   
spinning wheels1 a horizontal spinning  
wheel1 and three other forms of spinning
 machines submitted to the above society
 between #agfa and #agfg1 in the hope of
 obtaining money grants in the shape of 

premiums1 which had been offered to the 
best inventions for improving spinning  
machinery in general4  ,the above list  
does not however contain any reference  
to one improvement by ,james ,hargreaves
 of ,blackburn1 ,lancashire1 to which in
 this story special mention must be     
made4  ,it appears that in #agfd or     
#agfe this individual had completed a   
machine for spinning eleven threads     
simultaneously2 and five years later he 
had developed the machine to so perfect 
a state that he took out a patent for   
it1 from which time it became known to  
the industrial world as a ,spinning     
,jenny4 ,his right to the patent has    
over and over again been challenged1 and
 it has been alleged that ,thomas ,highs
 of ,leigh1 also in ,lancashire1 was the
 real inventor4 ,baines1 in his ,history
 of the ,cotton ,manufacture1 is        
inclined to the view that ,hargreaves   
was the first to perfect the machine    
known as the ,jenny 7see ,fig4 #ba74    
,from whatever point of view            

,hargreaves' machine is looked at1 it   
must be acknowledged to be a decided    
step forward in the direction of        
spinning machinery improvement4  ,the   
jenny was so unlike ,arkwright's frame  
or ,paul's1 and preceded that of the    
former by some years1 that its claim to 
originality can not be questioned4 ,how 
the inventor came to produce his machine
 can not be stated1 but it is reported  
that on one occasion he saw a single    
thread spinning wheel which had been    
accidentally knocked over1 lying with   
the wheel and spindle free and both     
revolving4  ,if the reader will think   
for a minute it will be apparent that   
the horizontal position of the spindle  
would be changed to a vertical one1 and 
,hargreaves argued if one spindle could 
revolve in that way1 why should not     
eight or any number of spindles be made 
to work at the same time4 ,how far he   
successfully worked out that idea will  
be seen if reference be made to the     
illustration of the jenny which is shown

 in ,fig4 #ba4  ,after what has been    
said under the head of ,carding1        
,drawing1 and ,roving1 it will easily be
 understood when it is said that1 unlike
 ,arkwright's ,machine1 ,hargreaves'    
,jenny could only deal with the cotton  
when in the state of roving1 and it was 
the roving which this machine attenuated
 and twisted or spun into yarn4  ,if the
 reader will imagine he or she is       
standing in front of the jenny1 the     
following description will be made much 
clearer3--  ,image3 ,,fig4              
#ba4--;,hargreaves' spinning jenny      
7after ,baines74  ,the rovings1 which   
have previously been prepared1 are each 
passed from the bobbins seen on the     
lower creel1 through a number of grooves
 on one of the bars which run across the
 frame1 as seen in the illustration4    
,these rovings are next passed on to the
 spindles standing at the back of the   
frame and secured to them4 ,a second bar
 in front of the one over which the     
rovings pass1 acts as a brake and       

prevents1 when in its proper position1  
any more roving being delivered1 thus   
securing all between the spindles and   
the said bar4 ,the wheel which is seen  
on the right of the jenny communicates  
with a cylinder by means of a strap or  
rope1 and this cylinder in turning gives
 circular motion to the spindles which  
are connected with the cylinder by      
endless bands4 ,on the spindle is the   
wharf1 specially formed to allow the    
band to run without slipping4  ,the     
operations for a complete spinning of   
one delivery is described by ,baines as 
follows3--  ,a certain portion of roving
 being extended from the spindles to the
 wooden clasp1 the clasp was closed1 and
 was then drawn along the horizontal    
frame to a considerable distance from   
the spindles1 by which the threads were 
lengthened out1 and reduced to the      
proper tenuity2 this was done with the  
spinner's left hand1 and his right hand 
at the same time turned a wheel which   
caused the spindles to revolve rapidly1 

and thus the roving was spun into yarn4 
,by returning the clasp to its first    
situation1 and letting down a presser   
wire1 the yarn was wound on the spindle4
  ,hatred and jealousy were immediately 
born when ,hargreaves' splendid         
improvement became known1 and1 like poor
 ,kay before him1 he had to leave his   
native soil and get to some more        
secluded spot4 ,he ultimately arrived in
 ,nottingham1 set at once to accommodate
 himself to his new environment1 and    
soon entered into partnership with a    
,mr4 ,james1 and in #aggj took out a    
patent for his ,jenny4 ,in conjunction  
with his new partner1 a mill was built1 
said to be one of the first1 if not the 
first1 spinning mill so called in this  
country4  ,though it is stated by       
,arkwright that ,hargreaves died in     
comparative obscurity and poverty1      
others say that this is not so2 though  
he was not wealthy the evidence is      
sufficiently good to believe that he    
died in moderate circumstances4  ,the   

register of ,st4 ,mary's ,parish1       
,nottingham1 contains the following     
entry3--#aggh1 ,april #bb1 ,james       
,hargraves4     ,,chapter ,,viii4       
,,further ,,developments--,,arkwright   
,,and ,,crompton4   ,whatever may be    
said in favour of other spinning        
machinery inventors1 it is quite certain
 that when we put the whole of them     
together1 two stand out in greater      
prominence than any of the rest1 viz41  
,arkwright and ,crompton4  ,probably the
 former did more than any other         
,englishman to establish what is known  
as the ,modern ,factory ,system4 ,he was
 not what one might call a brilliant man
 or great inventor1 but he had the happy
 knack of appreciating and seizing upon 
what he knew was a good thing1 and set  
about instantly to get all out of it    
that he could1 and there are those who  
strongly affirm that he often got much  
more than he was entitled to4  ,however 
that may be1 it can not be denied that  
he possessed eminent business           

qualifications1 and these1 coupled with 
other of his qualities1 helped to make  
him exceedingly successful4  ,he first  
saw the light of day on ,december #bcrd1
 #agcb1 in ,preston1 ,lancashire1       
twenty-one years before his great rival 
and contemporary1 ,samuel ,crompton4    
,his parents could not possibly afford  
to give him any schooling1 he being the 
youngest of thirteen4 ,apprenticed to   
the trade of barber1 he became in time a
 first-rate man in that business4 ,in   
#agfj1 when twenty-eight years of age1  
he left ,preston and settled down in    
,bolton in ,lancashire1 setting up the  
business of barber and peruke-maker4    
,the youthful ,samuel ,crompton would no
 doubt pay him many visits when in      
,churchgate1 and little did he dream    
that the head he so often would         
undoubtedly use his skill upon was the  
one which would evolve by and by a      
machine which would amaze the then      
commercial world2 but it was so4        
,another part of ,arkwright's business1 

that of travelling up and down the      
country buying and selling human hair   
for wig-making1 would put him au fait   
with almost every new invention and     
idea4  ,richard's business card proves  
that he believed in advertising himself 
even as a barber4  ,just about this time
 there was much excitement1 especially  
in ,lancashire1 about the marvellous    
invention of ,hargreaves1 the           
particulars of which had now become     
known to the public4 ,one of the first  
to appreciate the significance of this  
invention was ,arkwright himself1 so    
that it may reasonably be supposed that 
he would in good time know all there was
 to be known of the mechanism used by   
,hargreaves in his new method of        
spinning4  ,later on1 ,arkwright became 
acquainted with a man named ,highs of   
,leigh1 another experimenter in         
spinning4 ,the circle of his            
acquaintanceship also included ,kay1 a  
clockmaker of ,warrington1 who had      
assisted ,highs on several occasions in 

his investigations4  ,at this time      
,arkwright's all-absorbing hobby was    
mechanics1 and first one experiment and 
then another was made in rapid          
succession4 ,needless to say1 his       
business of barbering suffered in the   
meanwhile4  ,from the first he turned   
his attention to an improvement of      
spinning cotton by drawing rollers4 ,his
 efforts were crowned with success1 and 
he ultimately blossomed into a knight1  
and was elected ,high ,sheriff of       
,derbyshire4 ,it is rather singular that
 he should be about the only one of the 
cotton-machinery inventors of this age  
who amassed a fortune2 most of the      
others being but slightly removed from  
want in their last days4  ,there were   
many who claimed that they were the real
 and original inventors of this method  
of spinning by rollers1 but there can be
 no doubt that to ,arkwright alone      
belongs the credit for bringing these   
improvements to a higher state of       
perfection than they ever attained      

before4  ,at the present time1 roller   
drawing is the great basis of the       
operations of modern spinning1 wherever 
performed4  ,not only is this the case  
in the final stages of production1 but  
it is especially true of most of the    
preparatory processes1 whether used for 
the production of coarse1 medium or fine
 yarns4  ,as is well known1 the great   
principle of drawing rollers is1 that   
the cotton is passed through three or   
four pairs of rollers in quick          
succession1 and attenuated by each pair 
in turn1 each pair being made to revolve
 more quickly than the preceding pair4  
,this identical process is repeated in  
machine after machine1 until finally the
 bulk of cotton is reduced to a fine    
thread1 of which1 in some cases1 it     
takes two or three hundred miles to     
weigh one pound4 ,even in what are      
termed medium numbers or counts of      
cotton yarn1 there are from fifteen to  
twenty-five miles of thread in a pound  
avoirdupois1 and more than a thousand   

million pounds of such yarns are spun   
annually4  ,the year #agfg found        
,arkwright entirely absorbed in his     
ideas of roller drawing1 and he got the 
clockmaker ,kay to journey with him to  
,nottingham1 possibly thinking that what
 had been meted out to other inventors  
in ,lancashire should not be repeated in
 his case4 ,he here collected about him 
a number of friends1 moneyed and        
otherwise1 who helped in his evolution  
of spinning machinery4  ,a man named    
,john ,smalley of ,preston found him the
 wherewithal to carry on his experiments
 first at ,preston and later on at      
,nottingham4 ,certainly what he put up  
at ,nottingham gave such promise of     
practical utility1 that two experienced 
business men were led to join him in    
partnership1 and the three of them1     
,need1 ,strutt1 and ,arkwright1 very    
soon had mills built in ,nottingham1    
,cromford and ,matlock4 ,the first-named
 mill was worked by horses1 the two     
latter by water1 hence the common name  

of water frame1 given to the machines of
 ,arkwright4  ,the gentlemen taken into 
partnership were able and qualified to  
give good sound advice and help to      
,arkwright1 and about the middle of the 
year #agfi he took out a patent for his 
water frame4  ,to use his own words1 in 
his specification he had1 by great study
 and long application1 invented a new   
piece of machinery1 never before found  
out1 practised or used1 for the making  
of weft or yarn from cotton1 flax1 and  
wool2 which would be of great utility to
 a great many manufacturers1 as well as 
to ,his ,majesty's subjects in general1 
by employing a great many poor people in
 working the said machinery1 and by     
making the said weft or yarn much       
superior in quality to any heretofore   
manufactured or made4  ,no useful       
purpose could be served by reproducing  
,arkwright's description of the machine 
in question1 but a picture of the actual
 machine is shown in ,fig4 #bb4  ,image3
 ,,fig4 #bb4--;,arkwright's machine     

7after ,baines74  ,the most important   
feature of the invention1 of course1 was
 the drawing out or attenuating of the  
cotton by rollers revolving at different
 speeds4 ,but it was also essential that
 proper mechanism should be provided by 
which twist would be put into the yarn  
to make it sufficiently strong2 and     
furthermore1 it was necessary to arrange
 for the attenuated and twisted cotton  
to be automatically guided and coiled up
 or wound up into a convenient form4 ,as
 we have seen1 the drawing out of the   
cotton finer he accomplished by the     
,drawing ,rollers originally invented by
 ,lewis ,paul1 while for the latter     
purpose he successfully adapted the     
principle already existing in the       
,saxony wheel1 used in the linen        
manufacture1 with which he probably     
became acquainted during his residence  
at ,preston4  ,it should not be         
forgotten that ,hargreaves had          
introduced into the commercial world his
 ,jenny1 a few years anterior to        

,arkwright's water frame becoming so    
successful4 ,these two machines were    
more or less in rivalry1 but not perhaps
 to that extent which many would        
suppose4 ,from the very first it was    
found that the frame of ,arkwright's was
 much more suitable for warp or twist   
yarns1 i4e41 the longitudinal threads of
 a cloth1 whereas ,hargreaves' machine  
was more adapted for the production of  
weft yarns1 i4e41 the transverse threads
 of a cloth4 ,now it cannot be too      
strongly remarked that1 at the present  
time1 after the lapse of a century1 the 
same state of things practically obtain 
in the improved machines of to-day2     
,hargreaves' machine being represented  
by the system of intermittent spinning  
upon the improved self-actor mule1 while
 ,arkwright's water frame is represented
 by the system of continuous spinning   
upon the modern ,ring ,spinning frame4  
,while weft yarn is now almost entirely 
produced on the mule1 warp yarns are in 
many cases now obtained from the ,ring  

,frames1 this latter system at the      
present time being greatly on the       
increase and daily becoming more        
popular4  ,the ,carding ,engine was     
greatly improved by ,arkwright's many   
useful improvements1 especially that of 
the ,doffer comb1 being entirely his    
own4 ,the effect of this comb is fully  
described in the chapter dealing with   
manipulation of the cotton by the       
,carding ,engine4  ,paul was probably   
the first1 in #agdh1 to invent the      
,carding ,machine4 ,his inventions      
seemed to hang fire until introduced    
into ,lancashire1 when they were adopted
 by a ,mr4 ,peel1 ,arkwright and others4
 ,the chief defects1 perhaps1 of this   
machine was the absence of proper means 
for putting the cotton on the revolving 
cylinder and having it stripped when    
sufficiently carded4 ,hence the great   
value of ,arkwright's stripping comb4   
,some old ,carding ,engines which were  
used at this time are still in          
existence1 though only used for museum  

purposes4 ,as will have been gathered in
 a former chapter dealing with the      
manipulation of the cotton in the mill1 
between the ,carding ,engine and the    
final process of spinning there are     
other and important stages of           
preparation1 and in these it is seen how
 in one respect ,arkwright's method of  
drawing out cotton by revolving rollers 
was immeasurably superior to the        
travelling carriage of ,hargreaves4     
,the strength of a rope is represented  
by its weakest parts1 and the same may  
be said of yarn4 ,there can be no doubt 
that one of ,arkwright's greatest       
difficulties was to give an uniform     
yarn1 and though he successfully        
launched his new machines he felt there 
was still much to be done in the        
direction of remedying yarn which was   
irregular in thickness and strength4 ,in
 order to do this1 he finally adapted   
his drawing rollers to what is now the  
modern drawing frame--a machine quite as
 largely used1 and quite as necessary in

 present-day spinning1 as it was a      
hundred years ago4  ,it was sought to   
make this machine do two things4 7#a7   
,several slivers of cotton from the     
,card were put up together at the back1 
and by means of four pairs of drawing   
rollers1 were reduced to the thickness  
of one sliver 7see the description in   
chapter vi474 ,it will be sufficient to 
say here that this method of doubling   
and drawing equalises the sliver of     
cotton by the combination of the thick  
places with the thin4  ,doubling is now 
the reason of the uniformity of the     
yarns that are produced in such large   
quantities4  7#b7 ,the ,carding ,engine 
did not by any means lay the fibres of  
cotton sufficiently parallel to each    
other1 and this process of              
parallelisation was fully accomplished  
by the front ends of the fibres being   
drawn forward more rapidly than their   
back ends by the drawing rollers        
revolving at different velocities4 ,mr4 
,baines says it was common to perform   

this operation until the finished sliver
 contained portions from several        
thousand carding slivers1 but we think  
he would have been nearer the mark if he
 had said several hundred2 although the 
higher number may be occasionally       
reached4  ,yet again1 in order to obtain
 a thread or yarn of sufficient         
fineness1 it was found necessary to     
perform some of the attenuation of the  
cotton sliver as it left the drawing    
frame and before it reached the final   
spinning process4 ,to this end1         
,arkwright adopted the ,roving frame1 in
 which the leading feature was again the
 celebrated drawing rollers4 ,this      
machine made a soft and moderately      
twisted strand or roving1 and if much   
twist had been put in1 it would have    
refused to draw out finer at the        
spinning machine4 ,hence the means      
provided by ,arkwright for the twisting 
and winding-on of the attenuated cotton 
on his spinning frame were utterly      
inadequate to cope with the soft loose  

roving1 and as a matter of fact         
,arkwright never did see this problem   
satisfactorily solved4  ,he allowed1 in 
his machine1 the roving to fall into a  
rapidly revolving can which stood       
upright2 the revolution imparting twist 
to the cotton4 ,when this can was       
filled1 it was carried to a winding     
frame1 by which the roving was wound    
upon bobbins suitable for the spinning  
frame4  ,that ,arkwright was            
unscrupulous in some of his dealings    
will soon be gathered if the various    
trials which he instituted to defend his
 so-called patents be carefully read1   
though it must be admitted that he      
possessed a most wonderful business     
capacity1 and that he worked early and  
late1 in pushing his ideas with the most
 tireless energy and determined         
perseverance4 ,a glimpse of the nature  
of his early struggles is obtained when 
it is recorded that on one occasion his 
wife broke some of his first rude       
models1 under the impression that he    

would starve his family by neglect of   
his legitimate business of barber4 ,so  
incensed at her for this was he1 that he
 ceased to live with her4 ,such were the
 defects of his early education and such
 his determination to learn1 that at    
fifty he did not think he was too old to
 begin ,english grammar1 writing and    
arithmetic4  ,that he succeeded in      
getting together a large fortune is now 
history4 ,he died at the age of sixty on
 the #crd ,august1 #agib1 at ,cromford  
in ,derbyshire4   ,samuel               
,crompton4--,perhaps the greatest of the
 cotton-spinning machinery inventors was
 ,samuel ,crompton1 who was born a few  
miles away from ,bolton in a            
delightfully secluded and sylvan spot1  
,firwood ,fold1 on the #crd ,december1  
#agec4 ,no story of the ,cotton plant   
would be complete without mention of    
this individual1 for wherever fine      
spinning machinery is practised there is
 a monument to the ingenuity1 the skill 
and brilliant genius of ,samuel         

,crompton4 ,at a very early age he1     
along with his parents1 removed into a  
much larger house still in existence and
 known as ,the ,hall ith ,wood4 ,this   
ancient mansion stands on a piece of    
high rocky ground and is distant from   
,bolton about #a-a_/b miles4 ,it was in 
this house that he invented his         
celebrated machine which he called ,a   
,mule4 ,at the present time one looks in
 vain for the ,wood1 but in the early   
days of ,crompton's tenancy it was      
surrounded by a great number of very    
fine trees1 hence the name ,the ,hall in
 the ,wood or ,hall ith ,wood4  ,for    
some reason the ,hall is being allowed  
to fall into decay1 and at the present  
time is in great danger of collapsing4  
,several attempts have been made to buy 
the place and reclaim as much of it as  
possible and convert it into a museum1  
but as yet nothing has been done4 ,it   
was built at two different periods3 one 
portion of it1 that of the post and     
plaster work1 being built probably in   

the #aeth century1 while the newer or   
later portion of stone was erected about
 #afdh1 for that date is inscribed on   
the porch4  ,the inside does not appear 
to have received much care or           
improvement4 ,originally the windows    
were much larger than at present4       
,pitt's window tax1 long since repealed1
 was the direct cause for the reducing  
of the windows from their former        
proportions4  ,the illustration gives an
 excellent idea of its present-day      
appearance4 ,the building is always an  
object of extreme interest to visitors  
to the locality1 presenting even now a  
very picturesque appearance4  ,image3   
,,fig4 #bc4--,the ,hall ith ,wood1 where
 the spinning mule was invented4  ,very 
soon after the removal of the family to 
the ,hall ith ,wood1 ,samuel's father   
died4 ,his mother1 however1 one of the  
best of women1 filled the duties of head
 of the house with much success1 and    
followed the laborious occupation of    
farming1 and in her leisure moments1 did

 what many housewives of her class      
did--carded1 spun1 and wove1 in order to
 provide her family and herself with a  
decent livelihood4  ,she managed to give
 what might be termed under the         
circumstances a most excellent and      
practical education to her son ,samuel2 
and it may be here remarked1 that in    
many respects he was the exact opposite 
of his predecessor ,arkwright4 ,the     
latter was certainly a bustling1 pushing
 man of business1 while ,crompton was a 
born inventor and recluse1 and be it    
said also1 as big a failure1 as a       
business man1 as could be well          
conceived4 ,of course ,arkwright1 as is 
well known1 was the opposite of this4   
,the early youth of ,crompton was       
identified with the great progress in   
the cotton industry of ,england1 and1 at
 fifteen or sixteen years of age1 he was
 to be found assisting his mother during
 the daytime1 while in the evenings he  
attended night-classes in ,bolton1 where
 he made great progress in mathematics4 

,he was so good at the latter subject   
that he was called a witch at figures4  
,it may be taken as perfectly natural   
that a man of the character1 training   
and early associations of ,crompton     
should turn to invention in connection  
with the cotton industry1 especially    
since the beginning of his association  
with the trade there had always been a  
scarcity of weft for the loom which he  
and his mother operated4  ,the continual
 efforts of ,english weavers of that    
period to produce fine cotton goods to  
compete with those at that time largely 
imported from ,india1 led to a great    
demand for fine yarns1 and these the    
comparatively clumsy fingers of ,english
 spinners could not produce in a manner 
at all equal to the delicate filaments  
produced by the ,hindoos4  ,kay's       
invention of the fly shuttle1 and the   
introduction by his son of the drop-box 
in the loom1 had vastly increased the   
output of the loom1 thus increasing the 
demand for weft and warp to feed it4    

,the inventions of ,arkwright1 ,paul and
 others had certainly done much toward  
supplying this demand1 but in           
,crompton's youth and early manhood the 
need of suitable weft was greater than  
ever4 ,mrs4 ,crompton was not long in   
hearing about the ,jenny of ,hargreaves1
 and determined she would get one for   
her son to work upon4 ,this she did1 and
 ,crompton very soon became familiar    
with it and produced upon it sufficient 
weft for their own use4 ,this he        
continued to do for seven or eight      
years1 although he constantly had the   
truth forced upon him1 that the yarn he 
was producing was neither as suitable   
for warps as that from ,arkwright's     
water frame1 nor at all adapted for the 
fine muslins then very much in          
requisition for ladies' dresses4  ,the  
manufacture of these muslins and of     
cotton quiltings was commenced in       
,bolton1 ,lancashire1 by ,joseph ,shaw1 
when ,crompton was about ten years of   
age2 and from that time up to the       

present1 no town in the world enjoys the
 same reputation for this class of goods
 as does ,bolton4  ,with so             
contemplative and reflective a mind as  
,crompton's1 and the many years of      
constant and1 to a great extent1        
solitary occupation on ,hargreaves'     
,jenny1 it is not to be wondered at that
 ,crompton's ingenious brain led him to 
devise some mechanism for improving the 
jenny on which he worked4  ,in #aggd1   
therefore1 he began those experiments   
which1 after five years labour1 resulted
 in the invention of the ,new ,wheel1 or
 ,muslin ,wheel1 or ,hall ith ,wood     
,wheel1 as it was variously designated4 
,the term ,mule was of later            
application1 owing to its comprising the
 essential features of both ,arkwright's
 and ,hargreaves' inventions4 ,because  
it was a cross or combination of the two
 it received the name of ,mule1 by which
 it is known to-day4  ,at the very time 
,crompton perfected his machine         
sufficiently to give it a practical     

test1 the ,blackburn spinners and       
weavers were going riotously about1     
smashing to pieces every jenny with more
 than twenty spindles1 that could be    
found for miles around the locality1 so 
that ,crompton took elaborate pains to  
conceal the various parts of his new    
machine in the ceiling of his work-room 
at the ,hall ith ,wood in order to      
prevent their destruction4  ,crompton's 
hopes and prospects were very bright at 
this time1 as he had a watch costing    
five guineas expressly made for him1 and
 just after the completion of his       
invention1 he married one ,mary         
,pimlott1 at ,bolton ,parish ,church1   
#afth ,february #aghj4 ,he was then but 
twenty-seven years of age1 and his great
 invention1 destined to revolutionise   
the cotton trade1 was already an        
accomplished fact although practically a
 secret to the world at large4  ,when   
married1 he and his wife set themselves 
assiduously to produce the finest strong
 yarn which his machine was so eminently

 adapted to spin4 ,it did not take long 
for the good news to travel that fine   
yarn suitable for the production of     
muslins was being made at the ,hall ith 
,wood4 ,hundreds of manufacturers       
visited ,samuel to purchase1 but many   
more came out of curiosity1 if by any   
means they could see this wonderful     
machine4 ,one individual is said to have
 hidden himself five days in the        
cockloft and1 having bored a hole       
through the ceiling1 feasted one eye at 
least by a sight of the marvellous      
mechanism which ,crompton had invented4 
,ballantyne records that as much as     
#ads4 per pound was obtained for #dj's  
yarn2 #bes4 for #fj's1 and for a small  
quantity of #hj's1 #dbs4 per lb4  ,at   
the time of writing the market prices   
for these are respectively1 #g-c_/d;d41 
#i-c_/d;d41 and #as4 #c;d4 per lb4      
,crompton1 however1 was not permitted to
 enjoy his prosperity and monopoly very 
long1 and here again may be noted the   
difference between him and ,arkwright4  

,while the latter extorted the full     
business profit from his inventions1 the
 former suffered his ingenious machine  
to get out of his hands by promises not 
worth the paper on which they were      
written4 ,his invention was not at all  
adequately protected by patent rights1  
and a number of manufacturers were      
allowed to use the ,mule on their simple
 written promise to give him some       
remuneration4 ,long afterwards he wrote3
  ,at last ,i consented1 in hope of a   
generous and liberal subscription4 ,the 
consequence was1 that from many         
subscribers1 who would not pay the sums 
they had set opposite their names1 when 
,i applied to them for it1 ,i got       
nothing but abusive language given to me
 to drive me from them1 which was easily
 done1 for ,i never till then could     
think it possible that any man 7in such 
situation and circumstances7 could      
pretend one thing and act the direct    
opposite4 ,i then found it was possible1
 having had proof positive4  ,another   

side of ,crompton's character may be    
seen when it is stated he was an        
enthusiastic musician1 and earned #as4  
#f;d4 a night by playing the violin at  
the ,bolton ,theatre4 ,four or five     
years after the invention was known1 he 
removed to the township of ,sharples1   
where he occupied a farm-house called   
,the ,oldhams1 being probably induced to
 take this step in order to secure      
greater privacy4  ,a few words may very 
profitably be expended at this point in 
describing the main features of the     
machine shown in ,fig4 #bd4  ,image3    
,,fig4 #bd4--;,crompton's spinning mule4
  ,it has been remarked that ,arkwright 
had already attained great success in   
the production of yarn by the extensive 
application of the principle of pulling 
out the cotton by drawing rollers4      
,hargreaves had also shown how to       
produce a thread by attenuating the     
cotton by means of a travelling         
carriage4  ,crompton1 however1 laid the 
foundation of the present system of mule

 spinning by combining the essential    
features of the two machines and        
blending them into one4  ,he applied the
 principle of roller drawing in order to
 first attenuate the cotton1 and he     
utilised the travelling carriage as a   
reserve power with which to improve the 
quality of the thread and draw it out   
finer4  ,it must not be supposed that   
his travelling carriage was identical   
with that of ,hargreaves4 ,on the       
contrary1 it was a vast improvement upon
 it4 ,crompton put the twisting spindles
 into the travelling carriage and the   
roving bobbins he transferred to a fixed
 creel1 and these conditions are        
invariably to be found in the self-actor
 spinning mule of to-day4  ,in          
,hargreaves' machine the rovings were   
placed on the travelling carriage1 and  
the twisting spindles in the fixed frame
 behind1 a position which has never been
 acceptable since that time for         
cotton-spinning mules4 ,here1 however1 a
 word may be said in favour of          

,hargreaves' disposition of the parts   
mentioned4 ,the ,jenny did not contain  
any heavy drawing rollers and roller    
beams1 and it was probably best in his  
machine to have his crude roving creel  
to traverse and the twisting spindles to
 be in a fixed frame4  ,this disposition
 of the parts is even now to be found in
 most ,twiner ,mules1 that is1 mules    
used to double two or more single       
threads together without any process of 
drawing being applied to the cotton4    
,when ,crompton applied the principle of
 drawing rollers1 his ingenious mind saw
 that it would be best to let the       
rollers1 roller beam1 and roving creel  
be in a fixed framework on account of   
their combined weight and size1 making  
it very difficult to move them about4   
,crompton's great idea seems to have    
been to produce a better thread by his  
machine than could be given by other    
machines1 and in this he admirably      
succeeded4  ,the mule being set in      
motion1 the rollers first attenuated and

 then delivered the cotton to the       
spindle carriage4 ,the latter1 by the   
action of the hand and knee1 was made to
 recede from the rollers just about as  
fast as the cotton was delivered to the 
spindles1 or possibly at a rather       
quicker rate4 ,then1 while the thread   
was still in a soft state1 the rollers  
could be stopped and the threads pulled 
still finer by the continued recession  
of the spindle carriage from the        
rollers4 ,afterwards1 when that length  
of thread was fully made1 it wound on   
the spindles1 and the carriage at the   
same time returned to the roller beam4  
,thus each portion of thread was first  
subjected to the action of drawing      
rollers1 as in ,arkwright's machine1 and
 then drawn still finer by the          
withdrawal of the travelling carriage1  
as in ,hargreaves' ,jenny4  ,shortly    
after ,crompton's invention was given to
 the public1 it began to be improved in 
various ways4 ,henry ,stones1 a mechanic
 of ,horwich1 near ,bolton1 substituted 

metal drawing rollers for ,crompton's   
crude wooden rollers1 doubtless copying 
the idea from ,arkwright's water frame4 
,all the mules employed at first were   
necessarily short2 by that is meant they
 contained but few spindles1 often #dj  
or #ej spindles4 ,the biggest mule in   
,bolton in #aghf was said to contain    
#ajj spindles4 ,the preparation of the  
rovings for the mule about this time    
occupied the attention of ,crompton1 and
 he invented a ,carding ,engine which1  
however1 did not attain very much       
success4 ,indeed it is said that one day
 so incensed was ,crompton at the way he
 had been treated on account of his     
mule1 that he took an axe and smashed   
his engine to pieces4  ,in #agia        
,crompton established a small           
manufactory in ,king ,street1 off       
,deansgate1 in ,bolton4  ,in #ahjj a    
subscription1 promoted mainly by        
,manchester gentlemen1 resulted in #ejj 
being handed over to ,crompton1 one of  
the contributors for thirty guineas     

being the son of ,sir ,r4 ,arkwright4   
,with this money he was enabled to      
enlarge his business somewhat--one of   
his new mules containing upwards of #cfj
 spindles and another #bbj spindles4    
,the mules were worked for many years1  
in fact1 up to the sixties1 when they   
passed into the hands of ,messrs4       
,dobson  ,barlow1 the eminent cotton    
machinists of ,bolton4 ,one of the mules
 made by ,crompton is shown in ,fig4    
#bd4  ,in the early part of #ahab an    
agitation for a government grant in     
recognition of ,crompton's work made    
great progress4 ,mr4 ,perceval1 the then
 ,prime ,minister1 was proceeding to the
 ,house of ,commons to move that a grant
 of #bj1jjj be made to ,crompton1 when  
he was shot by an assassin named        
,bellingham4 ,there is no doubt1 had    
this disastrous affair never happened   
and ,perceval made his proposal1 a grant
 much larger than was actually voted    
7#ejjj7 would have been made4  ,there is
 no doubt that this grant was altogether

 inadequate1 seeing that larger sums had
 been voted to other investigators and  
inventors about this time4  ,owing to   
his lack of business ability1 and to ill
 fortune combined1 poor ,crompton did   
not get out of this money what he might 
have done4 ,several ventures turned out 
altogether very differently than he     
expected4 ,he became poorer and poorer1 
and was only protected from absolute    
want by subscriptions and assistance    
provided by his true friends in the     
trade1 notably ,mr4 ,kennedy1 a         
,manchester manufacturer4  ,image3      
,,fig4 #be4--,portrait of ,samuel       
,crompton4 7,by the kind                
permission of ,w4 ,agnew  ,son1         
,manchester47  ,at the age of #gd he    
died1 #bfth ,june1 #ahbg4 ,he was       
interred in ,bolton ,parish ,churchyard1
 where a plain granite tomb sets forth  
the following3--,samuel ,crompton of    
,hall ith ,wood1 ,inventor of the ,mule1
 born #crd ,december1 #agec1 died #bfth 
,june1 #ahbg4  ,a noble monument of him 

is to be found standing on ,nelson      
,square1 ,bolton1 in front of the       
,general ,post ,office4     ,,chapter   
,,ix4  ,,the ,,modern ,,spinning ,,mule4
   ,the ,self-,actor ,mule4--,in the    
preceding chapter there has been        
detailed the particulars of the         
invention of the ,mule by ,samuel       
,crompton4 ,since that event the mule   
has been the object of over a century of
 constant and uninterrupted improvement 
and development1 especially in the      
details of greater or less importance4  
,the ,self-,actor ,mule of to-day       
represents and embodies the inventions  
of hundreds of the most intelligent men 
ever connected with any industry in the 
world's history4 ,it is universally     
acknowledged to be one of the most      
wonderful and useful machines ever used4
 ,the actual operations of making a     
thread are however practically as left  
by ,samuel ,crompton over a hundred     
years ago4 ,it is only in details of    
mechanism involved in making the various

 operations more perfectly automatic1   
and of greater size and productiveness1 
that the long line of inventors since   
,crompton's first mule was made1 has    
been engaged4  ,to-day1 such is the     
great size and wonderfully perfect      
automatic action of these machines1 that
 they are found #abj feet long1 while in
 width1 over all1 they may be #i or #aj 
feet4 ,such a mule of this length would 
contain over #acjj spindles1 each       
spinning and winding #fd inches of      
thread in about #ae seconds1 and one man
 with two youths would be sufficient to 
give all the attention such a machine   
required4  ,independently of a vast     
number of inventors of smaller          
importance1 there are several names     
which stand out in greater prominence in
 the history of the developments of the 
mule4 ,among these names must certainly 
be placed1 ahead of any others that     
might be named1 that of ,richard        
,roberts of ,manchester1 who succeeded  
in #ahcj1 after about five years'       

application1 in making the mule         
self-acting4  ,a good number of         
ingenious individuals had contributed   
more or less to this result between the 
dates of ,crompton's and ,roberts'      
inventions1 and doubtless the results of
 the labours of these would be of great 
service to ,roberts in his great task4  
,indeed1 several inventors had          
previously brought out what might be    
termed self-action mules1 but it        
remained for ,roberts to endow it with  
that constant and automatic motion which
 obtains to-day in practically the same 
form as left by him4  ,the special      
portion of mechanism with which his name
 is more especially identified1 is what 
is denominated the ,quadrant4 ,this is  
practically the fourth part of a large  
wheel1 which is so arranged and         
connected that it performs almost       
exactly the same functions on a mule    
that ,holdsworth's differential motion  
performs on the bobbin and fly frames4  
,to look at it1 one would imagine it to 

be--what it really is--one of the       
simplest pieces of mechanism possible1  
yet the actions performed by it are     
complex and beautiful in the extreme4   
,later on1 these actions of the         
,quadrant will be carefully examined4   
,image3 ,,fig4 #bf4--,mule head showing 
quadrant4  ,the self-actor mule is an   
intermittent spinning machine1 i4e41 it 
is not continuous in action1 as are most
 machines used in the making of thread  
or yarn from the fibrous product of the 
,cotton plant4 ,take for instance the   
,carding ,engine1 and the bobbin and fly
 frames1 as previously described4 ,so   
long as these machines are working1     
practically all of the acting parts of  
the mechanism have a continuous forward 
motion4  ,this is by no means the case  
with the machine now under              
consideration1 as many of the more      
important and principal parts move      
alternately in opposite directions1     
while other of the less important may   
revolve at one time1 and be stationary  

at another4  ,what are called the medium
 counts of yarn contain say from #cj to 
#ej hanks in one pound avoirdupois2 a   
cotton hank being equal to #hdj yards1  
so that one pound of #dj's yarn will    
contain no less than #dj  #hdj yards or 
#cc1fjj4  ,for such yarns as these1 a   
modern self-actor mule would probably go
 through its cycle of movements four    
times per minute4 ,for coarser or       
thicker yarns this speed might be       
increased1 while for finer and better   
qualities of yarn the speed would be    
diminished4  ,now as each succeeding    
stretch marks a complete cycle of       
movements and is a repetition of others1
 it will probably suffice if a brief    
non-technical description of one of     
these stretches or draws1 as they are   
termed in mill parlance1 be given4  ,as 
in the bobbin and fly frames1 the       
bobbins containing the rovings of cotton
 to be operated upon1 are placed behind 
the mules on skewers fitted in a        
suitable framework of wood and iron     

called creels1 so as to allow the cotton
 to be easily pulled off and unwound    
without breaking4 ,these rovings are    
guided to and drawn through three pairs 
of drawing rollers 7see ,fig4 #bg71     
which shows this very fully4  ,the chief
 difference between these rollers and   
those of the previously described       
machines being in the lessened diameters
 of the mule rollers1 and consequently  
attenuating the cotton to a much greater
 extent4 ,it is a truism well understood
 by those in the trade1 that the finer  
the rovings are the better the raw      
cotton must be1 and the more drawing-out
 they will stand in any one machine4    
,one inch of roving put up behind the   
rollers of a mule spinning medium       
numbers would probably be drawn out into
 #i inches4  ,image3 ,,fig4 #bg4--,mules
 showing stretch of cotton yarn4        
,nothing more need be said here about   
the action of the drawing rollers4  ,as 
the attenuated rovings leave the roller 
at the front1 each one is conducted down

 to a spindle revolving at a high rate  
of speed2 so quickly indeed1 that there 
is no other body used in spinning which 
approaches it for speed4  ,it is quite a
 usual practice to have them making     
about #hjjj revolutions per minute1 and 
sometimes a speed of #aj1jjj is attained
 by them4  ,assuming that a ,cop of yarn
 7see ,fig4 #bg71 showing the cops on   
the spindles1 has been partly made upon 
each spindle1 the roving or thread from 
the rollers would extend down to the cop
 and be coiled round the spindle upwards
 up to the apex4 ,the spindle would     
probably twist the thread for #dj's     
counts twenty-three or twenty-four times
 for each inch that issued from the     
rollers1 there being a well-recognised  
scale of twists per inch for various    
sorts and degrees of fineness of yarn4  
,unlike the bobbin and fly frames1 the  
roving or yarn is not wound on its cop  
or spindle as it is delivered1 but a    
certain definite and regulated length of
 cotton is given out to each spindle1   

and fully twisted and attenuated before 
it is wound into a suitable shape for   
transit and for subsequent treatment4   
,to keep each thread in tension1        
therefore1 as it is delivered from the  
rollers1 the carriage containing the    
twisting spindles is made to recede     
quickly away from the rollers1 a common 
distance for such movement being #fd    
inches4 ,all the time the spindles are  
quickly revolving and putting twist into
 the rovings1 thus imparting strength to
 them to a far greater degree than at   
any previous stage4 ,often the carriage 
is made to recede from the rollers a    
little quicker than the latter1 the     
difference in the surface speeds between
 the two being technically known as     
gain4 ,the object of this carriage gain 
is to improve the evenness of the yarn  
by drawing out any thick soft places    
there may be in the length of thread    
between each spindle and the roller1 a  
distance of #fd inches4 ,it is a        
property of the twist that it will run  

much more readily into the thinner      
portions of thread than the thicker1    
thus leaving the latter capable of      
stretching out without breaking4        
,arrived at the limit of #fd inches     
stretch 7see ,fig4 #bg71 certain rods1  
levers1 wheels and springs are so       
actuated that the parts which draw out  
the carriage and cause the rollers to   
revolve are disconnected1 so that both  
are brought to a standstill for the     
moment4  ,in many cases the spindles at 
this stage are kept on revolving in     
order to put in any twist that may be   
lacking in any portion of the stretch4  
,twisting being finished1 the important 
operation of backing off commences4  ,it
 maybe at once explained that backing   
off means the reversing of the spindles2
 the uncoiling of a portion of the yarn 
from the spindles2 and generally putting
 all the requisite apparatus into       
position ready for winding or coiling   
the attenuated and twisted rovings upon 
the spindles4  ,here come now into      

action those most beautiful and         
ingenious applications of mechanical    
principles1 the working out of which    
entailed so many years of arduous       
effort1 and which rendered the mule     
practically self-acting and automatic4  
,by a most wonderful1 intricate and     
clever combination of levers1 wheels1   
pulleys and springs1 aided by what is   
called a friction clutch1 the instant   
the spindles have ceased twisting the   
yarn1 they are reversed in direction of 
revolution4  ,this reversal only        
occupies two or three seconds1 and as   
the motion imparted to the spindles is  
very slow at this stage1 the practical  
effect is1 that a small portion of yarn 
is uncoiled from each spindle1          
sufficient to allow of two guide wires  
to assume proper and necessary positions
 for winding the attenuated threads upon
 the spindles4  ,these two wires are    
termed faller wires1 and while one is   
controlled by the cop-shaping mechanism 
and termed the winding faller wire the  

other simply keeps the threads in the   
requisite state of tension during       
winding on and is termed the counter or 
tension faller wire4 ,both these wires  
can be seen in ,fig4 #bh4 ,during       
backing off1 the winding faller wire has
 a descending motion1 while the counter 
faller has an ascending motion1 these   
being necessary for them to attain their
 proper positions for winding on4       
,image3 ,,fig4 #bh4--,mule showing      
action of faller wires4  ,the movement  
of these faller wires into proper       
position1 and the uncoiling of a small  
portion of yarn from each spindle1 are  
both brought about by the backing off   
motion1 which formed an important part  
of ,roberts' ,mule4 ,it may be remarked1
 however1 that certain of the           
predecessors of ,roberts had made great 
efforts in this direction1 thus making  
the way much easier for his             
applications1 which were entirely       
successful4 ,when backing off is        
completed1 all the necessary parts are  

in position for winding the #fd inches  
of thread just given out upon each      
spindle4  ,this practically involves    
three primary and most important        
operations4 7#a7 ,the drawing-in of the 
carriage back to its original position4 
7#b7 ,the revolution of the spindles at 
a speed suitable for winding the threads
 upon the spindles as the carriage moves
 inwards4 7#c7 ,the guiding of the      
threads upon the spindles in such a     
manner that a cop of yarn will          
eventually be formed upon each spindle1 
of such dimensions and shape as to be   
quite suitable for any subsequent       
processes or handling4  ,taking these   
three important divisions in the order  
given1 it may be said that the          
drawing-in of the carriage is effected  
through the medium of the scroll bands1 
which are attached to the carriage at   
one end1 and to certain spiral scrolls  
or fusees at the other end4 ,the scrolls
 being revolved1 wind the cords or bands
 round them1 so pulling in the carriage4

 ,there are usually two back scroll     
bands and one front band1 the latter    
being a sort of check band upon the     
action of the other two4 ,what is termed
 the rim band revolves the spindles     
during the outward traverse of the      
carriage4  ,the drawing-in of the       
carriage in a sense causes the other two
 operations to be performed4 ,with      
respect to the second of these1 viz41   
revolving the spindles and thus winding 
the threads upon them1 it may be said   
this action causes what is termed the   
,winding ,chain to pull off a small drum
 of six inches diameter1 thus rotating  
the latter and thereby the spindles4    
,here1 however1 comes in now the action 
of the very beautiful and effective     
piece of mechanism1 ,roberts' quadrant  
7see ,fig4 #bf74 ,the winding chain just
 mentioned is attached to one extremity 
to the arm of the quadrant1 and the     
peculiar manner in which the quadrant   
moves in relation to the winding drum   
gives the variable motion to the        

spindles that is required4  ,when       
commencing a new set of cops it may take
 about eighty revolutions of the        
spindles to wind on the #fd inches of   
thread to each spindle1 representing one
 stretch4 ,the bare spindle may be about
 a quarter of an inch in diameter1 but  
it may finally attain a diameter of an  
inch and a quarter 7i4e41 the cop upon  
the spindle74 ,this cop will only       
require about twenty revolutions to wind
 on the #fd inches1 which are only      
one-fourth of the revolutions necessary 
for the empty spindles4 ,it is the      
action of the quadrant which gives this 
variation in speed to the spindles      
during winding-on4  ,but as has been    
pointed out previously1 the quadrant    
imparts a differential winding motion to
 the spindles in two distinct and       
different ways1 and the second motion is
 even more important than the first4    
,it is necessary for practical purposes 
that the cop of yarn should be built up 
of a conical shape in the upper part1 as

 shown in the illustration4 ,now it must
 be obvious to the least technical of   
the readers of this story1 that to wind 
a given portion of yarn upon the thin   
apex of a cone1 will require a greater  
number of revolutions than would be     
necessary to wind the same length of    
yarn upon the base of the same cop4 ,all
 the way between the apex and the base  
of the cone are also other varying      
diameters1 and during each return       
movement of the mule carriage the thread
 is wound upon all the varying diameters
 of the cone in succession4  ,this      
implies the necessity for the           
revolutions of the spindles to a varying
 quantity all the time of the return or 
inward movement of the spindle carriage4
  ,the quadrant gives this varying speed
 in a manner which is all but           
mathematically correct1 any slight      
deviation from any such mathematical    
correctness being easily compensated for
 in other ways4  ,for the specific      
manner in which this quadrant works1 the

 reader is referred to any of the recent
 text-books on cotton spinning4  ,the   
third primary and important operation1  
which takes place during each return    
movement of the carriage1 is the guiding
 of the thread upon the spindles in a   
correct manner4 ,this operation is      
closely associated1 however1 with the   
action of the quadrant4  ,that portion  
of a self-actor mule which guides the   
faller wires is termed the shaper or    
copping motion4 ,it consists of an      
inclined iron rail upon the upper smooth
 surface of which slides the copping    
bowl1 this being a portion of the       
mechanism which connects the rail with  
the faller wires4 ,the rail rests upon  
suitable inclines termed copping plates1
 whose duty it is to regulate the       
movement of the rail so as to allow for 
the ever-increasing dimensions of the   
cop during the building process4 ,when  
the carriage again reaches its initial  
position1 suitable mechanism causes all 
the parts to return in the position     

required for spinning4  ,such is the    
complete cycle of movements of the mule1
 each succeeding cycle being simply a   
repetition of the preceding4 ,it will   
probably take such a mule as the one    
described about six hours to make a set 
of cops1 i4e41 one on each spindle1 each
 cop being #a-a_/d inches in diameter   
and #g-a_/b inches long4 ,every fifteen 
seconds1 while the mule is making a     
cycle of its movements1 may be divided  
up approximately as follows3 nine       
seconds for the drawing-out and         
twisting2 two seconds for backing-off2  
four seconds for winding-on and resuming
 initial position4  ,a multitude of     
minor motions and details might be      
easily expanded into several chapters2  
in fact1 more can be said about the mule
 than about any other spinning machine1 
but such detailed description would be  
out of place in this story4  ,all the   
motions just named are centred in what  
is termed the ,head ,stock1 this being  
placed midway in the length of the mule4

  ,this head stock receives all the     
power to drive the various motions1 from
 the shafting and gearing1 and          
distributes it in a suitable manner to  
various parts of the machine4  ,it will 
have been observed by this time1 that1  
as in the case of the bobbin and fly    
frames1 the intricate and wonderful     
mechanism of the self-actor mule is not 
devoted to the formation of threads1 but
 to the effective and economical placing
 of the threads of yarn1 in the form of 
cops1 after it has been spun4  ,image3  
,,fig4 #bi4--,mule head showing copping 
rail4  ,the spinning processes take     
place during the outward traverse of the
 mule carriage1 the mechanism involved  
in this motion being comparatively      
simple4 ,the really complicated and     
difficult motions being backing-off1    
revolving the spindles during           
winding-on1 and the guiding of the spun 
threads upon the spindles during the    
winding-on process4 ,it was the addition
 of these three motions by the later    

inventors which gave the mule the title 
of ,self-,acting4     ,,chapter ,x4     
,,other ,,processes ,,in ,,cotton       
,,spinning4   ,the ,ring ,spinning      
,machine4--,in a former chapter it was  
shown how within the space of two       
decades the three rival spinning        
machines of ,hargreaves1 ,arkwright and 
,crompton were introduced1 also it was  
pointed out1 that ,crompton's machines  
contained the best points of both of his
 predecessors4 ,the mule did not        
immediately become the sole spinning    
machine4 ,from the outset there was a   
close contest between the continuous    
spinning machine of ,arkwright and the  
intermittent spinning machine of        
,crompton4 ,it was not long1 however1   
before the mule asserted its superiority
 over the water frame for fine muslin   
yarns1 and for weft yarns4 ,eventually  
the water frame was relegated to the    
production of strong warp yarns1 and    
later still it has come to be largely   
utilised as a doubling machine4 ,as a   

matter of fact1 it is contended by      
experts of the present day1 that no     
machine ever made a rounder and more    
solid thread than the water frame1 or   
flyer-throstle1 as it has been called in
 its improved form4  ,image3 ,,fig4     
#cj4--,ring spinning frame4  ,during the
 last thirty years1 a revolution        
practically in cotton spinning has been 
gradually brought about1 and even to-day
 active developments are to be seen4    
,the continuous system of spinning1     
which for a time had to take a second   
place1 now appears to be again forging  
ahead1 and looks as though it would     
supersede its more ponderous rival4     
,especially in countries outside        
,england is this the case1 for it is    
found that the method of ring spinning  
preponderates1 and even in ,england the 
number of spindles devoted to continuous
 spinning is constantly increasing4     
,this change has chiefly been brought   
about by what may be termed a revolution
 in the winding and twisting mechanism  

of the continuous spinning machine      
itself4  ,arkwright's flyer and spindle1
 after improvement by subsequent        
inventors1 could not be revolved at     
anything like the speed of the spindle  
of the mule1 and1 in addition to this1  
the yarn had to be wound always upon the
 bobbin1 very much after the style of   
the bobbin and fly frames previously    
described4  ,experiments1 however1 were 
repeatedly made in the direction of     
dispensing with the flyer altogether1   
and some thirty years ago these unique  
spinning frames had attained very       
general adoption in the ,united ,states 
of ,america1 where the comparative      
dearth of skilled mule spinners had     
furnished an impetus to improvement of  
the simple machine of ,arkwright4       
,about this time1 the attention of      
certain ,english makers being directed  
to the success of the new spinning      
frames in ,america1 led to their        
introduction into ,england4 ,but little 
time elapsed before they received a fair

 amount of adoption1 but for many years 
they had a restricted use1 viz41 for    
doubling1 that is1 the twisting of two  
or more spun threads together1 to form a
 stronger finished thread4  ,in this    
way1 they were1 strictly speaking1      
rivals of the throstle doubling frame   
more than the spinning mule4  ,by and   
by1 however1 the time came when the new 
frames began to be adopted as spinning  
machines1 and to-day there are many     
,english and foreign mills containing   
nothing else in spinning machines on the
 continuous system except these4 ,in not
 a few mills in different countries1    
both types are found running4  ,a       
careful glance at the picture of this   
rival of the mule1 will help in the     
following description of it3--  ,the    
flyer which is to be seen on the old    
,saxony wheel1 and which was perpetuated
 in the celebrated machine of           
,arkwright1 is entirely dispensed with1 
and all its functions efficiently       
performed by apparatus1 simple in       

itself2 it is yet capable of high speed 
and heavy production4  ,first of all1   
there is a vastly improved and cleverly 
constructed form of spindle1 by which1  
in the latest and best makes1 any speed 
can be attained which is likely to be   
required for spinning purposes4         
,perhaps the apparatus which plays the  
most important part in performing the   
duties of the displaced flyer1 is a tiny
 traveller revolving round a specially  
made steel ring about #b inches in      
diameter4  ,the use of these two latter 
gives the distinctive names of          
,ring-spinning to the new system and    
,ring ,frame to the machine itself4  ,in
 describing this system of spinning the 
creel of rovings to be operated upon1   
and the drawing rollers being           
practically identical with machines     
already described1 little here is       
required to be said of them1 but there  
is1 however1 a modification in the      
arrangement of the rollers which is     
referred to later on4  ,after leaving   

the rollers1 a thread of yarn is        
conducted downwards and passed through  
the travellers1 which may be seen in the
 illustration1 and then attached to the 
bobbin4 ,the traveller is a tiny ring   
made of finely tempered steel4 ,it is   
sprung upon the edge of the ring shown  
in the frame1 and which is specially    
shaped to receive the tiny ring or      
traveller referred to4  ,the bobbin in  
this case is practically fast to the    
spindle--unlike any other case in       
cotton-spinning machinery--and it is    
therefore carried round by the spindle  
at the same rate of speed4  ,as the     
spindle and bobbin revolve1 they pull   
the traveller round by the yarn which   
passes through it1 being connected at   
one end to the bobbin and the rollers   
above forming another point of          
attachment4 ,if the reader will look    
carefully at the illustration he will   
see how twist is put in the yarn4 ,the  
joint action1 then1 of bobbin1 traveller
 and fixed ring1 is to put the necessary

 twist in the yarn which gives it its   
proper degree of strength4 ,if no fresh 
roving from the rollers were issuing for
 the moment1 the small portion of thread
 reaching from the rollers to the       
bobbins would simply be twisted without 
any winding-on taking place4 ,as a      
matter of fact1 the roving always is    
issuing from the rollers1 and winding-on
 of the twisted roving is performed by  
the traveller lagging behind the bobbin 
in speed1 to a degree equal to the      
delivery of roving by the rollers4 ,it  
will be remembered that in the old      
flyer-throstle winding-on was performed 
by the bobbin lagging behind the        
spindle1 a procedure which is impossible
 on the ring frame4  ,there is also an  
arrangement of the mechanism for guiding
 and shaping the yarn upon the bobbins  
in suitable form1 the action being as   
nearly as possible an imitation of the  
mule4  ,for a number of years after the 
introduction of these frames1 it was    
found that the threads often broke down 

owing to the twist not extending through
 the roving to the point where it issued
 from the rollers4 ,this was eventually 
remedied by placing the drawing rollers 
in a different position1 thus causing   
the thread running from the rollers to  
the traveller to approach more to the   
vertical2 this constituting the         
modification which has just been        
referred to previously4  ,another       
difficulty was experienced in the fact  
that during spinning the threads would  
sometimes fly outwards to such an extent
 that adjacent threads came in contact  
with each other1 causing excessive      
breakage4 ,this was technically termed  
ballooning1 and has been very           
satisfactorily restricted by the        
invention of special apparatus4  ,at the
 present time1 therefore1 a contest     
between the two rival systems of        
continuous spinning which were in bitter
 antagonism over a century ago1 is      
waging a more fiercely contested fight  
than at any previous time4  ,as the case

 stands to-day1 the mule is retained for
 nearly all the best and finest yarns as
 yet found2 the most suitable for them1 
just as it was when ,crompton got #bes4 
per pound for spinning fine muslin yarns
 on his first mule4  ,in many cases1    
also1 yarn is specially required to be  
spun upon the bare spindle as on a mule1
 as for instance when used as weft and  
put into the shuttle of a loom4 ,it is  
probably the very greatest defect of the
 ring frame that it can only1 with great
 difficulty1 be made to form a good cop 
of yarn on the bare spindle1 although   
thousands of pounds have been spent on  
experimenting in that direction4 ,how   
soon it may be accomplished with        
commercial success cannot be known1 as a
 great number of individuals are        
constantly working in that direction4   
,if it does come about1 there can be no 
doubt that the ring frame will receive a
 still further impetus4  ,even now1 for 
medium counts of yarn it is much more   
productive than the mule1 owing to its  

being a continuous spinner4 ,another    
vast advantage that it possesses is the 
extreme simplicity of its parts and work
 as compared with the mule4 ,because of 
this1 women and girls are invariably    
employed on the ring frames1 whereas it 
requires skilled and well-paid workmen  
for the mules4   ,the ,combing          
,machine4--,as compared with the        
,scutcher1 the ,carding ,engine and     
,mule1 the ,comber is a much more modern
 machine4 ,combing may be defined as    
being the most highly perfected         
application of the carding principle4   
,the chief objects aimed at by the      
comber are3--,to extract all fibres     
below a certain length2 to make the     
fibres parallel2 and to extract any fine
 impurities that may have escaped the   
scutching and carding processes4  ,it is
 worthy of note that although nearly all
 the great inventions relating to       
cotton-spinning have been brought out by
 ,englishmen1 the combing machine is a  
notable exception4 ,it was invented a   

few years prior to #ahea by ,joshua     
,heilman1 who was born at ,mulhouse1 the
 principal seat of the ,alsace cotton   
manufacture1 in #agif4  ,like ,samuel   
,crompton--the inventor of the          
mule--,joshua ,heilman appears to have  
possessed the inventive faculty in a    
high degree1 and he received an         
excellent training in mathematics1      
mechanical drawing1 practical mechanics1
 and other subjects calculated to assist
 him in his career as an inventor4      
,heilman was the inventor of several    
useful improvements in connection with  
spinning and weaving machinery1 but the 
invention of the comber was undoubtedly 
his greatest achievement4  ,he was      
brought up in comparatively easy        
circumstances1 and married a wife       
possessing a considerable amount of     
money2 but all that both of them        
possessed was swallowed up by ,heilman's
 expenses in connection with his        
inventions1 and he himself was only     
raised from poverty again by the success

 of the comber shortly before his death1
 his wife having died in the midst of   
their poverty many years previously4    
,after ,heilman became possessed of the 
idea of inventing a combing machine1 he 
laboured incessantly at the project for 
several years1 first in his native      
country and subsequently in ,england4   
,the firm of ,sharpe  ,roberts1 formerly
 so famous in connection with the       
self-actor mule1 made him a model1      
which1 however1 did not perform what    
,heilman required4  ,afterwards he      
returned again to his native ,alsace    
still possessed with the idea1 and      
finally it is said that the successful  
inspiration came to him whilst watching 
his daughters comb out their long hair4 
,the ultimate result was that he        
invented a machine which was shown at   
the great exhibition of ,london in #ahea
 and immediately attracted the attention
 of the textile manufacturers of        
,lancashire and ,yorkshire4  ,large sums
 of money were paid him by certain of   

the ,lancashire cotton spinners for its 
exclusive use in the cotton trade4      
,certain of the woollen masters of      
,yorkshire did the same1 for its        
exclusive application to their trade1   
and it was also adopted for other       
textiles1 although ,heilman himself only
 lived a short time after his great     
success4  ,it must be understood that   
the comber is only used by a            
comparatively small proportion of the   
cotton spinners of the world4 ,for all  
ordinary purposes a sufficiently good   
quality of yarn can be made without the 
comber1 and no other machine in cotton  
spinning adds half as much as the comber
 to the expense of producing cotton yarn
 from the raw material4  ,to show this  
point with greater force1 it may be     
mentioned that the comber may make about
 #ag per cent4 of waste1 which is       
approximately as much as all the other  
machines in the mill put together would 
make4  ,its use1 however1 is            
indispensable in the production of the  

finest yarns1 since no other machine can
 extract short fibre like the comber4   
,it is seldom used for counts of yarn   
below #fj's and often as fine yarns as  
#ajj's or more are made without the     
comber4 ,in ,england its use is chiefly 
centred in the localities of ,bolton1   
,manchester1 and ,bollington1 although  
there is a little combing in ,preston1  
,ashton under ,lyne1 and other places4  
,perhaps its greatest value consists in 
the fact that its use enables fine yarns
 to be made out of cotton otherwise much
 too poor in quality for the work2 this 
being rendered possible chiefly by the  
special virtue possessed by the comber  
of extracting all fibres of cotton below
 a certain length4 ,this of course has  
led to the increased production and     
consequently reduced price of the better
 qualities of yarn4  ,reverting now to  
the ,heilman ,comber as it stands       
to-day1 an excellent idea of the machine
 as a whole will be gathered from the   
photograph in ,fig4 #ca4  ,there are    

usually six small laps being operated   
upon simultaneously in one comber4 ,each
 small lap being from #g-a_/b inches to 
#aj-a_/b inches wide1 being placed on   
fluted wooden rollers behind the        
machine1 is slowly unwound by frictional
 contact therewith1 and the sheet of    
cotton thus unwound is passed down a    
highly polished convex guide-plate to a 
pair of small fluted steel rollers4     
,both the wooden and the steel rollers  
have an intermittent motion1 as indeed  
have also all the chief parts of the    
machine concerned in the actual combing 
of the cotton4 ,the rollers1 during each
 intermittent movement1 may project     
forward about #c_/h of an inch length of
 thin cotton lap4  ,by this forward     
movement the cotton fibres are passed   
between a pair of nippers which has been
 for the instant opened on purpose to   
allow of this action4 ,immediately the  
cotton has passed between the nippers1  
the feed rollers stop for an instant and
 the jaws of the nippers shut and hold  

the longer of the cotton fibres in a    
very firm manner4  ,image3 ,,fig4       
#ca4--;,combing machine4  ,the shorter  
fibres1 however1 are not held so firmly1
 and are now combed away from the main  
body of the fibres by fine needles being
 passed through them4 ,the needles are  
fixed in a revolving cylinder and are   
graduated in fineness and in closeness  
of setting1 so that while the first rows
 of needles may be about #bj to the     
inch1 the last rows may contain as many 
as #hj to the inch1 there being from #ae
 to #ag rows of needles in an ordinary  
comber4  ,the short fibres being combed 
out by the needles are stripped         
therefrom1 and passed by suitable       
mechanism to the back of the machine to 
be afterwards used in the production of 
lower counts of yarn4  ,the needles of  
the revolving cylinder having passed    
through the fibres1 the nippers open    
again and at the same time another row  
of comb teeth or needles1 termed the top
 comb1 descends into the fibres4 ,the   

fibres now being liberated1 certain     
detaching and attaching mechanism2 as it
 is termed1 is brought into action1 and 
the long fibres are taken forward1 being
 pulled through the top comb during this
 operation4 ,thus the front ends of the 
fibres are first combed and immediately 
afterwards the back ends of the same    
fibres are combed4 ,during the actual   
operation of combing each small portion 
of cotton1 the latter is quite separated
 from the portion previously combed1 and
 it is part of the work of the detaching
 and attaching mechanism to lay the     
newly combed portion upon that          
previously combed4 ,from a mechanical   
point of view1 the detaching and        
attaching mechanism is more difficult to
 understand than any other portion of   
the comber1 and it is no part of the    
purpose of this story of the ,cotton    
plant to enter into a description of    
this intricate mechanism4  ,sufficient  
be it to say that the combed cotton     
leaves the detaching rollers in a thin  

silky-looking fleece which is at once   
gathered up into a round sliver or      
strand and conducted down a long        
guide-plate towards the end of the      
machine4 ,this guide-plate is clearly   
shown in the photograph of the comber1  
where also it will be seen that the     
slivers from the six laps which have    
been operated upon simultaneously are   
now laid side by side4  ,in this form   
the cotton passes through the draw-box  
at the end of the comber1 and being here
 reduced practically to the dimensions  
of one sliver it passes through a narrow
 funnel and is placed in a can in       
convenient form for the next process4   
,when the combing is adopted1 it        
precedes the drawing frame1 which has   
previously been described1 and the cans 
of sliver from the comber are taken     
directly to the draw-frame4  ,for       
intricacy and multiplicity of parts of  
mechanism1 the comber is second only in 
cotton-spinning machinery to the        
self-acting mule1 and is probably less  

understood1 since its use is confined to
 a section of the trade4 ,the latest    
development is the duplex comber1 which 
makes the extraordinarily large number  
of one hundred and twenty nips per      
minute1 as compared with about          
eighty-five nips per minute for the     
modern single nip comber4 ,all this is  
the result of improvement in detail1 as 
the principle of ,heilman's ,comber     
remains the same as he left it4 ,it     
ought to be added that other types of   
comber have been adopted on the         
continent with some show of success4    
,image3 ,,fig4 #cb4--,sliver lap        
machine4   ,sliver ,lap                 
,machine4--,combing succeeds carding and
 is practically a continuation of the   
carding principle to a much finer degree
 than is possible on the card4 ,the     
,carding ,engine1 however1 makes slivers
 or strands of cotton1 while the comber 
requires the cotton to be presented to  
it in the form of thin sheets4 ,it      
therefore becomes requisite to employ   

apparatus for converting a number of the
 card slivers into a narrow lap for the 
comber4  ,the machine universally       
employed is termed ,the ,sliver ,lap    
,machine1 or1 in some cases1 ,the ,derby
 ,doubler1 and a modern machine is shown
 in the photograph forming ,fig4 #cb4   
,in this case1 eighteen cans are placed 
behind the machines1 and the sliver from
 each can is conducted through an       
aperture in the back guide-plate        
designed to prevent entanglements of    
sliver from passing forward4 ,next each 
sliver passes over a spoon lever forming
 part of a motion for automatically     
stopping the machine when an end breaks4
 ,the eighteen slivers now pass side by 
side through three pairs of drawing     
rollers with a slight draft1 and between
 calender rollers to a wooden core or   
roller4 ,upon this roller the slivers   
are wound in the form of a lap1 being   
assimilated to one another by the action
 of the drawing and calender rollers4   
,special ,drawing ,frame4--,in order to 

have the fibres of cotton in the best   
possible condition for obtaining the    
maximum efficiency out of the combing   
action1 it is the common practice to    
employ a special drawing frame between  
the card and the sliver lap machine4    
,as described elsewhere in this little  
story1 the use of the drawing frame is  
to make the fibres of cotton more       
parallel to each other by the drawing   
action of the rollers1 and to produce   
uniformity in the slivers of cotton by  
doubling about six of them together and 
reducing the six down to the dimensions 
of one4 ,in the case under discussion   
the slivers from the card are taken to  
the special drawing frame and treated by
 it1 and then passed along to the sliver
 lap machine as just described4  ,image3
 ,,fig4 #cc4--,ribbon lap machine4      
,ribbon ,machine4--,quite recently a    
machine has come slightly into use      
designed to supersede this special      
drawing frame4 ,this new machine is     
termed the ,ribbon ,lap ,machine1 and it

 may be described as a variation of the 
principle of the machine it is designed 
to supersede4 ,the difference is this1  
that1 whereas the drawing frame doubles 
and attenuates slivers of cotton1 the   
,ribbon ,machine operates upon small    
laps formed of ribbons or narrow sheets 
of cotton4 ,by this treatment1 the      
evening and parallelising benefits of   
the drawing frame are secured1 with the 
addition of a third advantage1 which may
 be briefly explained4 ,the slivers1    
which in the sliver lap machine are laid
 side by side so as to form a lap1 have 
a tendency to show an individuality so  
as to present a more or less thick and  
thin sheet to the action of the nippers 
of the comber4 ,the latter1 therefore1  
hold the cotton somewhat feebly at the  
thin places1 thus allowing the needles  
of the revolving cylinder to comb out a 
portion of good cotton4 ,when the       
,ribbon ,lap ,machine is employed1 the  
slivers from the card are taken directly
 to the ,sliver ,lap ,machine and the   

laps made by this machine are passed    
through the ,ribbon ,machine4 ,six laps 
being operated upon simultaneously by   
the rollers1 are laid one upon another  
at the front so that thick and thin     
places amalgamate to produce a sheet of 
uniform thickness4 ,the use of the      
,ribbon ,machine is limited at present  
owing to its possessing certain         
disadvantages4     ,,chapter ,,xi4      
,,destination ,,of ,,the ,,spun ,,yarn4 
,having initiated our readers into all  
the processes incidental to the         
production of the long fine threads of  
yarn from the ponderous and weighty     
bales of cotton as received at the mill1
 it remains for us to briefly indicate  
the more common uses to which the spun  
yarn is applied4  ,a very large quantity
 of yarn is consumed in the weaving     
mills for the production of grey cloth  
without further treatment in the        
spinning mill1 except that the cops of  
yarn are packed in ships1 boxes1 or     
casks1 in convenient form for transit   

purposes4  ,if for weft1 the cops are   
forthwith taken to the loom1 ready for  
the shuttle4  ,if for warp1 then the    
yarn passes through a number of         
processes necessary for its conversion1 
from the mule cop or ring bobbin form1  
into the sheet form1 consisting of many 
hundreds of threads1 which are then     
wound on a beam4  ,briefly enumerated1  
these processes are as follows3--  7a7  
,the winding frame1 in which the threads
 from the cops or spools are wound upon 
flanged wooden bobbins1 suitable for the
 creel of the next machine4  7b7 ,the   
beam warping frame1 in which perhaps    
#djj threads are pulled from the bobbins
 made at the winding frame1 and wound   
side by side upon a large wooden beam4  
7c7 ,the slasher sizing frame1 in which 
the threads from perhaps five of the    
beams made at the warping machine are   
unwound and laid upon one another1 so as
 to form a much denser warp of perhaps  
#bjjj threads1 and wrapped on a beam in 
a suitable form for fitting in the loom 

as the warp or woof of the woven fabric4
 ,in addition to this1 the sizing       
machine contains mechanism by which the 
threads are made to pass through a      
mixing of size or paste1 which          
strengthens the threads4  ,in some cases
 this size is laid on the yarn very     
thickly1 in order to make the cloth     
weigh heavier4  7d7 ,after sizing comes 
the subsidiary process of drawing in or 
twisting in1 by which all the threads   
are passed in a suitable manner through 
healds and reeds1 so as to allow of     
their proper manipulation by the        
mechanism of the loom1 to which they are
 immediately afterwards transferred4    
,in the production of cloths of a more  
or less fancy description1 it is often  
required that the spun yarns shall be   
bleached and dyed before using1 and to  
perform one or both of these operations 
efficiently1 it is usual to reduce the  
yarn into proper condition by the       
processes of reeling and bundling1      
although in comparatively few instances 

yarn is dyed in the cop form1 while in a
 few other cases the raw cotton is dyed 
before being subjected to the processes 
of cotton spinning4  ,reeling and       
,bundling are operations which are      
frequently necessary for other purposes 
besides those above alluded to1 and may 
therefore be more fully described1 as   
they often form part of the equipment of
 a spinning mill1 and yarn is frequently
 sent away from the spinning mill in    
bundle form4   ,reeling4--,this is a    
simple but very extensively adopted     
process1 in which yarn is wound from    
cops1 bobbins or spools into hanks4 ,it 
may be explained here that a cotton hank
 consists of #hdj yards1 and is made up 
of #g leas of #abj yards each1 while on 
a reel each lea is made up of #hj       
threads1 a thread being #ed inches and  
equalling the circumference of the reel4
 ,perhaps the most common size of reel  
contains at one time #dj spindles1 and  
is capable therefore of winding #dj     
hanks of yarn simultaneously4 ,the      

photograph in ,fig4 #cd shows a number  
of reels fitted for winding hanks from  
cops formed upon the mule4  ,the cops   
being put on the skewers1 the end of    
yarn from each is attached to the reel  
or swift ready for starting4 ,these     
reels may be arranged so as to be       
operated from shafting by mechanical    
power1 or by the hand of the attendants4
  ,image3 ,,fig4 #cd4--,reeling machine4
  ,reeling is performed by women1 and in
 our photo the attendant is seen in the 
actual operation of reeling4  ,a hank of
 yarn having been taken from each cop1  
the reel is stopped and closed up so as 
to allow of the ready withdrawal of the 
hanks4   ,bundling ,machine4--,the      
,bundling press is solely intended to   
assist in the making up of the hanks of 
yarn into a form suitable for ready and 
convenient transit4 ,in order to        
exercise a sufficient pressure upon the 
yarn to make a compact bundle1 it is    
necessary for the framing to be of a    
very strong character1 as will be       

especially noticed in ,fig4 #ce4        
,image3 ,,fig4 #ce4--;,bundling machine4
  ,the bundles of yarn made up on the   
bundling machine are usually #e to #aj  
pounds weight1 the latter being by far  
the more common size4 ,the bundle shown 
in the yarn-box of our illustration is  
#aj pounds in weight and is practically 
ready for removal4  ,before placing the 
yarn in the machine1 several hanks are  
twisted together to form a knot1 and    
these knots comprise the individual     
members of the bundle shown in the      
illustration4  ,in the sides of the     
yarn-box there are four divisions1      
through which are threaded as many      
strings1 upon which may be placed       
cardboard backs4 ,then the knots of yarn
 are neatly placed upon the strings1 and
 the cardboard and the strong top bars  
of the press securely fastened down4    
,certain cams and levers are then set in
 motion1 by which the yarn table is     
slowly and powerfully raised so as to   
press the yarn with great force against 

the top bars4 ,a sufficient pressure    
having been exerted1 the bundle is tied 
up and withdrawn from the press1 only   
requiring to be neatly wrapped in stout 
paper to be quite ready for transit     
purposes4   ,sewing ,thread4--,a very   
large quantity of spun yarn is          
subsequently made into sewing thread4   
,it is a fact well known to practical   
men that we have no means in cotton     
spinning by which a thread can be spun  
directly of sufficient strength to be   
used as sewing thread4 ,for instance1   
suppose we wanted a #ab's sewing thread1
 i4e41 a thread containing #ab hanks in 
one pound of yarn2 it would be          
practically impossible to spin a thread 
sufficiently good to meet the           
requirements of the case4 ,the method   
generally adopted is to spin a much     
finer yarn and to make the finished     
thread by doubling several of the fine  
spun yarns together in order to form the
 thicker final thread4 ,for instance1 to
 produce a #ab's thread it is probable  

that #d threads of single #dh's would be
 doubled together1 or say #d threads of 
#ej's1 to allow for the slight          
contraction of the yarn brought about by
 twisting the single threads round one  
another4  ,in order to perform this     
doubling operation in an efficient      
manner for the production of thread1 it 
is usual to employ two machines4  ,the  
first of these is shown in the          
illustration1 and is termed the quick   
traverse winding machine4 ,here the cops
 from the mule1 or the bobbins from the 
ring frame1 are fitted in a suitable    
creel1 as shown clearly at the front and
 lower part of our illustration4 ,each  
thread of yarn is conducted over a      
flannel-covered board which cleans the  
yarn and keeps it tight4 ,then each     
thread passes through the eye of a small
 detector wire which is held up by the  
thread and forms part of an automatic   
stop motion which stops the rotation of 
any particular bobbin or cheese when an 
end or thread belonging to that cheese  

fails or breaks1 leaving the needles or 
detector wires4 ,all the threads--from  
two to six in number--belonging to one  
cheese are combined to form one loose   
rope or thicker thread4  ,image3 ,,fig4 
#cf4--,quick traverse winding frame4    
,it ought to be explained that the term 
cheese is applied to the kind of bobbin 
of yarn which is formed upon this       
particular machine1 one or two being    
placed as shown on the frame work4      
,doubling ,machine4--,the machine just  
described does not put any twist into   
the thread1 although twisting is a      
process which is absolutely             
indispensable for the proper combination
 of the several single threads so as to 
produce a strong doubled thread4  ,the  
twisting operation is therefore         
performed on the machine illustrated in 
,fig4 #cg1 and termed the ,ring doubling
 machine4  ,in the creel of this machine
 are placed the cheeses formed on the   
winding machine1 and the threads are    
conducted downward and usually under a  

glass rod in trough containing water1 as
 the addition of water helps to solidify
 the single threads better into one     
doubled thread4 ,from the water trough  
the threads are conducted between a pair
 of revolving brass rollers which draw  
the threads from the cheeses and pass   
them forward to the front of the        
machine4 ,here each doubled thread      
extends downwards and passes through a  
traveller upon the bobbin4  ,this       
machine is a modification of the ring   
spinning frame previously described and 
therefore does not call for detailed    
treatment at our hands4  ,the two       
machines are practically identical in   
principle1 the chief difference being   
that in the doubler there are no drawing
 rollers1 as the cotton is not          
attenuated in any degree at this stage4 
,other differences consist in having    
larger travellers and rings and         
spindles1 and in a different kind of    
bobbin being formed4  ,image3 ,,fig4    
#cg4--,ring doubling machine4  ,at the  

doubling mill these threads are         
submitted to finishing processes1 by    
which they may be polished and cleared  
and finally wound upon small bobbins or 
spools ready for the market1 as seen in 
,fig4 #b4  ,a fair proportion of the    
very best yarns are utilised in the     
manufacture of lace and to imitate silk4
 ,such yarns are usually passed through 
what is termed a gassing machine4 ,in   
this process each thread is passed      
rapidly several times through a gas     
flame usually emanating from a burner of
 the ,bunsen type4 ,the passage of the  
thread through the flame is too rapid to
 allow of the burning down of the       
threads1 but is not too quickly to      
prevent the loose oozy fibres1 present  
more or less on the surface of all      
cotton yarns1 to be burned away4 ,this  
process is somewhat expensive1 as it    
burns away perhaps #f pounds weight of  
yarn in every #ajj pounds4 ,this1       
however1 is obtained back again by the  
increased price of the yarn4 ,it is a   

property of the cotton fibre that it can
 be made to imitate more or less either 
woollen1 linen or silk goods1 and since 
cotton is the cheapest fibre of the lot 
it follows that a considerable amount of
 cotton yarn is used in combination with
 these other fibres1 in order to produce
 cheaper fabrics4 ,embroidery1          
crocheting and knitting cottons1 and the
 hosiery trade absorb a large amount of 
the spun cotton yarn2 the latter being  
doubled in most cases in order to fit it
 for the special work it is designed to 
do4  ,in a modern spinning mill the     
ground floor usually contains the       
openers1 scutchers1 drawing frames1     
carding engines and bobbin and          
fly-frames4 ,the upper floors are       
usually covered by mules and other      
spinning frames4  ,image3 ,,fig4        
#ch4--;,engine house1 showing driving to
 various storeys4  ,in the last         
illustration 7,fig4 #ch7 is shown one of
 the latest engines built for special   
work such as is required in a cotton    

mill4 ,the huge drum1 on which rest the 
ropes and which can be clearly seen in  
the picture1 is divided into grooves4 ,a
 certain number of these is set apart   
for the special rooms4 ,the strength of 
the rope is known and its transmitting  
power is also known4 ,when the power    
required to drive say the first storey  
or second storey is calculated1 it      
becomes an easy matter to distribute the
 ropes on the drum as required4 ,this   
engine is now at work in the ,bee-,hive 
,spinning ,mill1 ,bolton4     ,,index4  
,a4  ,abbasi ,cotton1 #fb4  ,alethia    
argillacea1 #ce4  ,anthonomus grundis1  
#ch4  ,aphis gossypia1 #ch4  ,arkwright1
 ,richard1 #ajb1 #aje1 #aac1 #aah1 #abc1
 #abf1 #afj4  ,ashmouni ,cotton1 #fb4   
,ataxia crypta1 #ch4   ,b4  ,backing    
off1 #aeb4  ,bale ,breaker1 #hc1 #hf4   
,bales1 cylindrical1 #hj2   varieties   
of1 #hj4  ,baling1 #gf1 #gi4            
,ballooning1 #afe4  ,bamia ,cotton1 #fb4
  ,bedding of cotton plants1 #dd4       
,bobbin and ,fly ,frames1 #hd1 #aje4    

,bobbins1 #aaj4  ,botany of cotton1 #ai4
  ,bourbon ,cotton1 #be4  ,bran1 cotton 
seed1 #cc4  ,brazil1 cultivation of     
cotton in1 #dg4  ,breyn1 #ad4  ,broach  
,cotton1 #ee4  ,bundling1 #agh1 #agi4   
,c4  ,cra ,cotton1 #cj4  ,carding1 #hc1 
#ic1 #aaf1 #aca1 #acb1 #adc1 #aff4      
,central ,america1 cultivation of cotton
 in1 #ah4  ,chemistry of cotton plant1  
#ca4  ,china1 cultivation of cotton in1 
#ei4  ,civil ,war1 ,american1 effect on 
production1 #dc1 #eg4  ,climate1 #ba4   
,coccia rosaceana1 #ch4  ,columbus1     
voyages of1 #ag4  ,combing1 #he1 #aff4  
,cone drums1 #aab4  ,congo ,river as a  
cotton district1 #fc4  ,cop1 #aea1 #aef4
  ,copping motion1 #aeg4  ,coral polyp1 
#aa4  ,corea1 cultivation of cotton in1 
#ei4  ,cortes1 ,hernando1 #ah4  ,cotton 
,boll-,caterpillar1 #ce1 #cg4           
,cotton-,boll ,weevil1 #ch4  ,cotton    
,caterpillar1 #ce4  ,cotton ,cutworm1   
#ch4  ,cotton lice1 #ch4  ,cotton       
,puller1 #hc1 #hf4  ,crioulo ,cotton1   
#bi4  ,crompton1 ,samuel1 #aac1 #abf1   

#acd1 #afj4  ,cultivation in various    
countries1 #ci4   ,d4  ,dacca cotton1   
#bh1 #ed4  ,da ,gama1 ,vasco1 #ah4  ,deo
 ,cotton1 #bh4  ,differential motion1   
#aaa1 #adg4  ,differential winding1     
#aef4  ,diseases of cotton plant1 #cd1  
#ch4  ,distaff1 #aae4  ,doffer and comb1
 #ih1 #aca4  ,doubling machines1 #afc1  
#ahc4  ,draining1 #dd4  ,drawing1 #hd1  
#ajj1 #ajd1 #aje1 #acb4  ,drop-box1     
#acg4  ,dyeing1 #ag1 #fh4   ,e4  ,egypt1
 production of cotton in1 #ae1 #ai1 #fa4
   ,f4  ,faller wires1 #aec4  ,feltia   
malefida1 #ch4  ,fertilisers1 value of  
artificial1 #dc4  ,fibres1 strength of1 
#cj4  ,flyer1 #aaj4  ,flying shuttle1   
#abj1 #acg4  ,friction clutch1 #aec4    
,fungi affecting cotton plant1 #ci4     
,g4  ,gallini ,cotton1 #be1 #fb4        
,gassing1 #ahe4  ,ginning1 #gd4  ,gin1  
,macarthy1 #gg2   saw1 #gh4  ,gossypium1
 #bj2   ,acuminatum1 #bi2   ,arboreum1  
#bg2   ,barbadense1 #bc1 #bh2           
,herbaceum1 #be2   ,hirsutum1 #bg2      
,neglectum1 #bh2   ,peruvianum1 #bi2    

,religiosum1 #bg4  ,greece1 cultivation 
of cotton in1 #fc4   ,h4  ,hall ith     
,wood1 #ace4  ,hargreaves1 ,james1 #aje1
 #aac1 #abb1 #abg1 #afj4  ,hauling1 #de4
  ,heilman1 ,joshua1 #afg4  ,heliothis  
armiger1 #ce1 #cg4  ,herodotus1         
description of cotton1 #ae4  ,highs1    
,thomas1 #aac1 #abc1 #abg4  ,hingunghat 
,cotton1 #eb4  ,history1 cotton plant   
in1 #aj4  ,holdsworth1 #aaa1 #adg4   ,i4
  ,india1 cultivation of cotton in1 #ae1
 #af1 #ci1 #ej4  ,insects1 injurious1   
#cd4   ,j4  ,japan1 cultivation of      
cotton in1 #ei4  ,java1 cultivation of  
cotton in1 #fc4   ,k4  ,kay1 ,john1     
#aac1 #abj1 #abg4  ,kidney ,cotton1 #bi4
  ,kircher of ,avignon1 #ad4   ,l4      
,lap1 the1 #hc1 #ib1 #ic1 #agc1 #age4   
,leaf-roller1 #ch4  ,lee1 ,henry1       
,vegetable ,lamb of ,tartary1 #ab4      
,levant ,cotton1 #fc4  ,liberia1        
cultivation of cotton in1 #fc4  ,lint1  
#be4  ,linting machines1 #gf4   ,m4     
,macarthy gin1 #gg4  ,mako ,jumel       
cotton1 #fb4  ,mallow1 #bj4  ,mananams  

,cotton1 #bi4  ,mandeville1 ,sir ,john1 
#ac4  ,maranho ,cotton1 #bi4  ,meal1    
cotton seed1 #cc4  ,measurement of      
fibres1 #fh4  ,mexico1 cultivation of   
cotton in1 #ah1 #dh4  ,microscopic      
examination of fibre1 #fd4  ,mitafifi   
,cotton1 #fb4  ,mixing1 #hc1 #he4       
,monsoons1 #ej4  ,mule1 the1 #hd2       
,crompton's1 #ace2   self-actor1 #aca1  
#adf4  ,myths about cotton plant1 #ab4  
,n4  ,nankeen ,cotton1 #bf4  ,nearchus1 
#af4   ,o4  ,odoricus1 #ad4  ,oil1      
cotton seed1 #cc4  ,oomrawattee ,cotton1
 #eb4  ,opening1 #hc1 #hh4   ,p4  ,paul 
,lewis1 #aac1 #aba1 #abc1 #acb4  ,pernan
 ,cotton1 #cj4  ,peru1 cultivation of   
cotton in1 #ah1 #di4  ,picking cotton1  
#gb4  ,pizarro1 #ah1 #di4  ,plantation  
life1 #gb4  ,press1 cotton1 #gi4        
,production1 ,brazil1 #dg2   ,china1    
#fj2   ,corea1 #fj2   ,egypt1 #ai1 #ci1 
#fa2   ,india1 #ci1 #ej2   ,japan1 #ei2 
,mexico1 #dh2   ,peru1 #di2   ,russia in
 ,asia1 #eg2   ,united ,states1 #ci1    
#dj4   ,q4  ,quadrant1 mule1 #adg1 #aef4

   ,r4  ,red ,peruvian ,cotton1 #cj4    
,reeling1 #agh4  ,ribbon ,lap ,machine1 
#he1 #age4  ,ring ,spinning ,frame1 #hd1
 #aca1 #afj4  ,roberts1 ,richard1 #adg4 
,rocking ,day1 #aaf4  ,rollers1 drawing1
 #aba1 #abh4  ,roots of cotton plant1   
#bb2   medicinal use1 #cb4  ,roving     
,frames1 #ajg4  ,rovings1 #ajf1 #aag4   
,russia in ,asia1 cotton production in1 
#eg4   ,s4  ,st4 ,distaff's ,day1 #aaf4 
,santos ,cotton1 #cj4  ,saw gin1 #gh4   
,scutching1 #hc1 #ib1 #aff4  ,seeds1    
cotton1 #bb1 #ca1 #cc1 #gf4  ,seguro1   
#dg4  ,senegambia1 #fc4  ,shuttle1      
flying1 #abj1 #acg4  ,sind ,cotton1 #ee4
  ,sizing1 #agg4  ,slavery1 abolition   
of1 effect on production1 #dc4  ,sliver 
,lap ,machine1 #he1 #agc4  ,sliver1 the1
 #hd1 #id1 #aja4  ,slubbers1 #ajg4      
,soil1 #ba4  ,soils1 ,american cotton1  
#da4  ,soudan1 cotton production in1    
#fc4  ,south ,africa1 cotton production 
in1 #ah1 #fc4  ,species1 #ba4  ,spindle1
 the1 #aaj1 #aad1 #abb4  ,spinning1     
early attempts1 #aab4  ,spinning ,jenny1

 #abb1 #ach4  ,spinning wheels1 #aaf4   
,strength of fibres1 #cj4  ,sumatra1    
cotton production in1 #fc4  ,surat      
cotton1 #bf1 #ee4   ,t4  ,theophrastus1 
description of cotton1 #af4  ,thread1   
sewing1 #i1 #aha4  ,turkestan1 cotton   
production in1 #eg4  ,turkey1 cotton    
production in1 #fc4  ,twist in fibre1   
#ff2   in rovings1 #aji4   ,u4  ,united 
,states1 cotton production of the1 #ci1 
#dj4  ,unripe cotton1 #fh1 #hd4   ,v4   
,vegetable ,lamb of ,tartary1 #ab4      
,vine ,cotton1 #bf4   ,w4  ,wadding1    
cotton1 #gg4  ,warping machine1 #agg4   
,water ,frame1 #aca1 #afb4  ,west       
,indies1 cotton production in1 #ah1 #fc4
  ,whitney1 ,eli4 #gh4  ,winding1 #aaa4 
,winding ,chain1 #aef4  ,winding frame1 
#ahb4  ,wyatt1 ,john1 #aac1 #aba4   ,z4 
,zahn1 ,johannes1 #ac4   ,,the ,,end4   
,transcriber's ,notes3    ,passages in  
italics are indicated by underscore4    
,passages in bold are indicated by bold4
    ,the following misprints have been  
corrected3     a added 7page #aj2       

orignial text reads3 444thread ready    
alike         for the sewing machine or 
the needle of seamstress4     aecording 
corrected to according 7page #cf7       
produed corrected to produced 7page #eb7
     qnantities corrected to quantities 
7page #fc7     reamains corrected to    
remains 7page #aba7     rapily corrected
 to rapidly 7page #abe7     to to       
corrected to to 7page #acc7     correet 
corrected to correct 7page #aeg7        
,additional spacing is intentional to   
indicate both the end of a     quotation
 and the beginning of a new paragraph or
 to represent     a section break as    
presented in the original text4