DESTINATION OF THE SPUN YARN.
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 mill, it remains for us to
briefly indicate the more common uses to which the spun yarn is applied.
A very large quantity of yarn is consumed in the weaving mills for the
production of grey cloth without further treatment in the spinning mill,
except that the cops of yarn are packed in ships, boxes, or casks, in
convenient form for transit purposes.
If for weft, the cops are forthwith taken to the loom, ready for the
shuttle.
If for warp, then the yarn passes through a number of processes
necessary for its conversion, from the mule cop or ring bobbin form,
into the sheet form, consisting of many hundreds of threads, which are
then wound on a beam.
Briefly enumerated, these processes are as follows:--
(_a_) The winding frame, in which the threads from the cops or spools
are wound upon flanged wooden bobbins, suitable for the creel of the
next machine.
(_b_) The beam warping frame, in which perhaps 400 threads are pulled
from the bobbins made at the winding frame, and wound side by side upon
a large wooden beam.
(_c_) The "slasher sizing frame," in which the threads from perhaps five
of the beams made at the warping machine are unwound and laid upon one
another, so as to form a much denser warp of perhaps 2000 threads, and
wrapped on a beam in a suitable form for fitting in the loom as the warp
or "woof" of the woven fabric. In addition to this, the sizing machine
contains mechanism by which the threads are made to pass through a
mixing of "size" or paste, which strengthens the threads.
In some cases this "size" is laid on the yarn very thickly, in order to
make the cloth weigh heavier.
(_d_) After sizing comes the subsidiary process of "drawing in" or
"twisting in," by which all the threads are passed in a suitable manner
through "healds" and "reeds," so as to allow of their proper
manipulation by the mechanism of the loom, to which they are immediately
afterwards transferred.
In the production of cloths of a more or less "fancy" description, it is
often required that the spun yarns shall be bleached and dyed before
using, and to perform one or both of these operations efficiently, it is
usual to reduce the yarn into proper condition by the processes of
"reeling" and "bundling," although in comparatively few instances yarn
is dyed in the cop form, while in a few other cases the raw cotton is
dyed before being subjected to the processes of cotton spinning.
"Reeling" and "Bundling" are operations which are frequently necessary
for other purposes besides those above alluded to, and may therefore be
more fully described, as they often form part of the equipment of a
spinning mill, and yarn is frequently sent away from the spinning mill
in bundle form.
=Reeling.=--This is a simple but very extensively adopted process, in
which yarn is wound from cops, bobbins or spools into hanks. It may be
explained here that a cotton hank consists of 840 yards, and is made up
of 7 leas of 120 yards each, while on a reel each lea is made up of 80
threads, a thread being 54 inches and equalling the circumference of the
reel. Perhaps the most common size of reel contains at one time 40
spindles, and is capable therefore of winding 40 hanks of yarn
simultaneously. The photograph in Fig. 34 shows a number of reels fitted
for winding hanks from cops formed upon the mule.
The cops being put on the skewers, the end of yarn from each is attached
to the reel or "swift" ready for starting. These reels may be arranged
so as to be operated from shafting by mechanical power, or by the hand
of the attendants.
Image: FIG. 34.--Reeling machine.
Reeling is performed by women, and in our photo the attendant is seen in
the actual operation of reeling.
A hank of yarn having been taken from each cop, the reel is stopped and
closed up so as to allow of the ready withdrawal of the hanks.
=Bundling Machine.=--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 transit. In order to exercise a sufficient pressure upon the
yarn to make a compact bundle, it is necessary for the framing to be of
a very strong character, as will be especially noticed in Fig. 35.
Image: FIG. 35.--Bundling machine.
The bundles of yarn made up on the bundling machine are usually 5 to 10
pounds weight, the latter being by far the more common size. The bundle
shown in the yarn-box of our illustration is 10 pounds in weight and is
practically ready for removal.
Before placing the yarn in the machine, several hanks are twisted
together to form a knot, and these "knots" comprise the individual
members of the bundle shown in the illustration.
In the sides of the yarn-box there are four divisions, through which
are threaded as many strings, upon which may be placed cardboard backs.
Then the knots of yarn are neatly placed upon the strings, and the
cardboard and the strong top bars of the press securely fastened down.
Certain cams and levers are then set in motion, by which the yarn table
is slowly and powerfully raised so as to press the yarn with great force
against the top bars. A sufficient pressure having been exerted, the
bundle is tied up and withdrawn from the press, only requiring to be
neatly wrapped in stout paper to be quite ready for transit purposes.
=Sewing Thread.=--A very large quantity of spun yarn is subsequently made
into sewing thread. 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 thread. For instance,
suppose we wanted a 12's sewing thread, _i.e._, a thread containing 12
hanks in one pound of yarn; it would be practically impossible to spin a
thread sufficiently good to meet the requirements of the case. 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 thread. For instance, to produce a 12's
thread it is probable that 4 threads of single 48's would be doubled
together, or say 4 threads of 50's, to allow for the slight contraction
of the yarn brought about by twisting the single threads round one
another.
In order to perform this doubling operation in an efficient manner for
the production of thread, it is usual to employ two machines.
The first of these is shown in the illustration, and is termed the quick
traverse winding machine. Here the cops from the mule, or the bobbins
from the ring frame, are fitted in a suitable creel, as shown clearly at
the front and lower part of our illustration. Each thread of yarn is
conducted over a flannel-covered board which cleans the yarn and keeps
it tight. 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 breaks,
leaving the needles or detector wires. All the threads--from two to six
in number--belonging to one "cheese" are combined to form one loose rope
or thicker thread.
Image: FIG. 36.--Quick traverse winding frame.
It ought to be explained that the term cheese is applied to the kind of
bobbin of yarn which is formed upon this particular machine, one or two
being placed as shown on the frame work.
=Doubling Machine.=--The machine just described does not put any twist
into the thread, 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 thread.
The twisting operation is therefore performed on the machine illustrated
in Fig. 37, and termed the "Ring doubling machine."
In the creel of this machine are placed the cheeses formed on the
winding machine, and the threads are conducted downward and usually
under a glass rod in trough containing water, as the addition of water
helps to solidify the single threads better into one doubled thread.
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 machine. Here each doubled thread
extends downwards and passes through a "traveller" upon the bobbin.
This machine is a modification of the ring spinning frame previously
described and therefore does not call for detailed treatment at our
hands.
The two machines are practically identical in principle, the chief
difference being that in the doubler there are no drawing rollers, as
the cotton is not attenuated in any degree at this stage.
Other differences consist in having larger "travellers" and "rings" and
"spindles," and in a different kind of bobbin being formed.
Image: FIG. 37.--Ring doubling machine.
At the doubling mill these threads are submitted to finishing processes,
by which they may be polished and cleared and finally wound upon small
bobbins or spools ready for the market, as seen in Fig. 2.
A fair proportion of the very best yarns are utilised in the manufacture
of lace and to imitate silk. Such yarns are usually passed through what
is termed a "gassing" machine. In this process each thread is passed
rapidly several times through a gas flame usually emanating from a
burner of the Bunsen type. The passage of the thread through the flame
is too rapid to allow of the burning down of the threads, but is not too
quickly to prevent the loose oozy fibres, present more or less on the
surface of all cotton yarns, to be burned away. This process is somewhat
expensive, as it burns away perhaps 6 pounds weight of yarn in every 100
pounds. This, however, is obtained back again by the increased price of
the yarn. It is a property of the cotton fibre that it can be made to
imitate more or less either woollen, linen or silk goods, 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 fibres, in
order to produce cheaper fabrics. Embroidery, crocheting and knitting
cottons, and the hosiery trade absorb a large amount of the spun cotton
yarn; the latter being doubled in most cases in order to fit it for the
special work it is designed to do.
In a modern spinning mill the ground floor usually contains the openers,
scutchers, drawing frames, carding engines and bobbin and fly-frames.
The upper floors are usually covered by mules and other spinning
frames.
Image: FIG. 38.--Engine house, showing driving to various storeys.
In the last illustration (Fig. 38) is shown one of the latest engines
built for special work such as is required in a cotton mill. The huge
drum, on which rest the ropes and which can be clearly seen in the
picture, is divided into grooves. A certain number of these is set apart
for the special rooms. The strength of the rope is known and its
transmitting power is also known. When the power required to drive say
the first storey or second storey is calculated, it becomes an easy
matter to distribute the ropes on the drum as required. This engine is
now at work in the Bee-Hive Spinning Mill, Bolton.
INDEX.
A.
Abbasi Cotton, 62.
_Alethia argillacea_, 35.
_Anthonomus grundis_, 38.
_Aphis gossypia_, 38.
Arkwright, Richard, 102, 105, 113, 118, 123, 126, 160.
Ashmouni Cotton, 62.
_Ataxia crypta_, 38.
B.
Backing off, 152.
Bale Breaker, 83, 86.
Bales, cylindrical, 80;
varieties of, 80.
Baling, 76, 79.
Ballooning, 165.
Bamia Cotton, 62.
Bedding of cotton plants, 44.
Bobbin and Fly Frames, 84, 105.
Bobbins, 110.
Botany of cotton, 19.
Bourbon Cotton, 25.
Bran, cotton seed, 33.
Brazil, cultivation of cotton in, 47.
Breyn, 14.
Broach Cotton, 55.
Bundling, 178, 179.
C.
Caera Cotton, 30.
Carding, 83, 93, 116, 131, 132, 143, 166.
Central America, cultivation of cotton in, 18.
Chemistry of cotton plant, 31.
China, cultivation of cotton in, 59.
Civil War, American, effect on production, 43, 57.
Climate, 21.
_Cocaecia rosaceana_, 38.
Columbus, voyages of, 17.
Combing, 85, 166.
Cone drums, 112.
Congo River as a cotton district, 63.
Cop, 151, 156.
Copping motion, 157.
Coral polyp, 11.
Corea, cultivation of cotton in, 59.
Cortes, Hernando, 18.
Cotton Boll-Caterpillar, 35, 37.
Cotton-Boll Weevil, 38.
Cotton Caterpillar, 35.
Cotton Cutworm, 38.
Cotton lice, 38.
Cotton Puller, 83, 86.
Crioulo Cotton, 29.
Crompton, Samuel, 113, 126, 134, 160.
Cultivation in various countries, 39.
D.
Dacca cotton, 28, 54.
Da Gama, Vasco, 18.
Deo Cotton, 28.
Differential motion, 111, 147.
Differential winding, 156.
Diseases of cotton plant, 34, 38.
Distaff, 115.
Doffer and comb, 98, 131.
Doubling machines, 163, 183.
Draining, 44.
Drawing, 84, 100, 104, 105, 132.
Drop-box, 137.
Dyeing, 17, 68.
E.
Egypt, production of cotton in, 15, 19, 61.
F.
Faller wires, 153.
_Feltia malefida_, 38.
Fertilisers, value of artificial, 43.
Fibres, strength of, 30.
Flyer, 110.
Flying shuttle, 120, 137.
Friction clutch, 153.
Fungi affecting cotton plant, 39.
G.
Gallini Cotton, 25, 62.
Gassing, 185.
Ginning, 74.
Gin, Macarthy, 77;
saw, 78.
_Gossypium_, 20;
_Acuminatum_, 29;
_Arboreum_, 27;
_Barbadense_, 23, 28;
_Herbaceum_, 25;
_Hirsutum_, 27;
_Neglectum_, 28;
_Peruvianum_, 29;
_Religiosum_, 27.
Greece, cultivation of cotton in, 63.
H.
Hall ith Wood, 135.
Hargreaves, James, 105, 113, 122, 127, 160.
Hauling, 45.
Heilman, Joshua, 167.
_Heliothis armiger_, 35, 37.
Herodotus, description of cotton, 15.
Highs, Thomas, 113, 123, 127.
Hingunghat Cotton, 52.
History, cotton plant in, 10.
Holdsworth, 111, 147.
I.
India, cultivation of cotton in, 15, 16, 39, 50.
Insects, injurious, 34.
J.
Japan, cultivation of cotton in, 59.
Java, cultivation of cotton in, 63.
K.
Kay, John, 113, 120, 127.
Kidney Cotton, 29.
Kircher of Avignon, 14.
L.
Lap, the, 83, 92, 93, 173, 175.
Leaf-roller, 38.
Lee, Henry, "Vegetable Lamb of Tartary," 12.
Levant Cotton, 63.
Liberia, cultivation of cotton in, 63.
Lint, 25.
Linting machines, 76.
M.
Macarthy gin, 77.
Mako Jumel cotton, 62.
Mallow, 20.
Mananams Cotton, 29.
Mandeville, Sir John, 13.
Maranhao Cotton, 29.
Meal, cotton seed, 33.
Measurement of fibres, 68.
Mexico, cultivation of cotton in, 18, 48.
Microscopic examination of fibre, 64.
Mitafifi Cotton, 62.
Mixing, 83, 85.
Monsoons, 50.
Mule, the, 84;
Crompton's, 135;
self-actor, 131, 146.
Myths about cotton plant, 12.
N.
Nankeen Cotton, 26.
Nearchus, 16.
O.
Odoricus, 14.
Oil, cotton seed, 33.
Oomrawattee Cotton, 52.
Opening, 83, 88.
P.
Paul Lewis, 113, 121, 123, 132.
Pernan Cotton, 30.
Peru, cultivation of cotton in, 18, 49.
Picking cotton, 72.
Pizarro, 18, 49.
Plantation life, 72.
Press, cotton, 79.
Production, Brazil, 47;
China, 60;
Corea, 60;
Egypt, 19, 39, 61;
India, 39, 50;
Japan, 59;
Mexico, 48;
Peru, 49;
Russia in Asia, 57;
United States, 39, 40.
Q.
Quadrant, mule, 147, 156.
R.
Red Peruvian Cotton, 30.
Reeling, 178.
Ribbon Lap Machine, 85, 175.
Ring Spinning Frame, 84, 131, 160.
Roberts, Richard, 147.
"Rocking Day," 116.
Rollers, drawing, 121, 128.
Roots of cotton plant, 22;
medicinal use, 32.
Roving Frames, 107.
Rovings, 106, 117.
Russia in Asia, cotton production in, 57.
S.
St. Distaff's Day, 116.
Santos Cotton, 30.
Saw gin, 78.
Scutching, 83, 92, 166.
Seeds, cotton, 22, 31, 33, 76.
Seguro, 47.
Senegambia, 63.
Shuttle, flying, 120, 137.
Sind Cotton, 55.
Sizing, 177.
Slavery, abolition of, effect on production, 43.
Sliver Lap Machine, 85, 173.
Sliver, the, 84, 94, 101.
Slubbers, 107.
Soil, 21.
Soils, American cotton, 41.
Soudan, cotton production in, 63.
South Africa, cotton production in, 18, 63.
Species, 21.
Spindle, the, 110, 114, 122.
Spinning, early attempts, 112.
Spinning Jenny, 122, 138.
Spinning wheels, 116.
Strength of fibres, 30.
Sumatra, cotton production in, 63.
Surat cotton, 26, 55.
T.
Theophrastus, description of cotton, 16.
Thread, sewing, 9, 181.
Turkestan, cotton production in, 57.
Turkey, cotton production in, 63.
Twist in fibre, 66;
in rovings, 109.
U.
United States, cotton production of the, 39, 40.
Unripe cotton, 68, 84.
V.
"Vegetable Lamb of Tartary," 12.
Vine Cotton, 26.
W.
Wadding, cotton, 77.
Warping machine, 177.
Water Frame, 131, 162.
West Indies, cotton production in, 18, 63.
Whitney, Eli. 78.
Winding, 111.
Winding Chain, 156.
Winding frame, 182.
Wyatt, John, 113, 121.
Z.
Zahn, Johannes, 13.
THE END.
Transcriber's Notes:
Passages in italics are indicated by _underscore_.
Passages in bold are indicated by =bold=.
The following misprints have been corrected:
"a" added (page 10; orignial text reads: "...thread ready alike
for the sewing machine or the needle of seamstress."
"aecording" corrected to "according" (page 36)
"produed" corrected to "produced" (page 52)
"qnantities" corrected to "quantities" (page 63)
"reamains" corrected to "remains" (page 121)
"rapily" corrected to "rapidly" (page 125)
"to to" corrected to "to" (page 133)
"correet" corrected to "correct" (page 157)
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 text.