The daily national Whig. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1847-1849, 1849-04-26

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From the New York Trbube 18th instant.
Il PROGRESS OF AMERICAN MANUFAC.
TuREs-cARPET WEAVING.
j The manufacture Of Carpets is among
those most recently established among u
which have already attained to decided i'm
portance. So far as we are aware, yer,
little was done in the way Of Carpet Weav
| ing in America prior to the passage Of thu
Tariff Of lS2s--the first thoroughly Protec
tive Tariff we had--which gave sigma
impetus to the growth and expansion Of GU
Manufacturing Industry. We believe ont
of the pioneers in extensive and successful
Carpet Weaving was Mr., Orrin Thompson
whose large establishments at Tariifvills
and Thompsonville, Connecticut, are now in
vigorous operation. There is another, ]
we mistake not, at Roxbury, Massachn-
sets, and very large one was commenced
| some three or four years since at Lowell,
Massachusetts, to run new power-loom just
invented by the famous Mr., Bigelow Of that
city, which makes an excellent carpet ra-
pidly and cheaply--its drawbacks being its
unusual expensiveness and the severe labor
Of tending it. There has been Carpet
Factory at Poughkeepsie, but we believe it
is now entirely devoted to other uses, SO Of
another at Paterson, and there is a small
one at Troy, Of which we have no definite
knowledge.
The most extensive manufacturers oil
Carpets in America at this time are Messrs.
A. & E. s. Higgins & Co., whose ware
house is at GO Broad street, AMI who, in
addition to their two large factories at Asto-
ria, employing three hundred persons, and
one at Haverstraw, Of nearly the same ex-
tent, have Just put in operation new one
within the limits Of our city, between the
18th and 10th avenues, fronting (southerly)
on AID street--in other words, on the North
River, about three miles above the City
Hall. Hearing that such factory had
gone in operation in our city, not very far
from our own residence, we called over on
Monday morning and were politely shown
through it by Mr.. David B. Kerr, the fore
man, who served his time in Scotland, some
twenty odd years ago, but who has kept on
learning his trade ever since. As sach a
factory is novelty in our city, and as il is
in itself an interesting study, plainly fore
shadowing the state whereto human indus
try in general is rapidly though silently tend
ing, we think few will deem column
misapplied to such an account Of it as our
hurried observation will enable US to give,
The main factory is four stories above
the basement--really five in ail-very sub
stantially built, 200 feet long by fifty wide
with two-story building for dyeing, warp
ing, SC. in the rear, l SO feet long by forty
two deep. Between the two, let down upon
and pinned to the rock, is a superb engine
BY H, r. Durham & Co. whereby all the
machinery in either building is propelled
now running at sixty horsepower, but capa-
BILE Of being brought up to one hundred and
6ftyif needed The boiler is so contrived
that no heat escapes by the chimney, and
all parts of both buildings are warmed by
the escape heat collected in furnace above
the boiler The ground on which this fac
tory stands was wild and solitary only tw'
years ago; good part Of it was covered
BY the Hudson at high water, while the bal.
ance was rocky bank or ledge, which has
been blasted away to make room for the
structure. Since this factory was COM
menced, good number Of dwellings aud
other buildings have grown up around it,
and the value Of land in the neighborhood
has been considerably enhanced.
The principal material employed in the
manufacture Of carpets IS the course, dirty
wool Of South America, though for the
Brussels apd Tapestry carpetings bette
quality of American wool is used The
latter are woven upon hand-looms, Of which
there are already some forty in the main
building, all directed by men. The dyeing
and coloring departments are also mainly OF
entirely in their hands but the combing,
spinning, power loom weaving, &C., are
chiefly superintendent by women.
Wool, dyes, labor, and coal for fuelD are
the raw materials used here--the two for
mer introduced in their primitive rudeness.
The wool (foreign) comes here just as il
came of the backs Of the half wild sheep Of
Buenos Ayres- and knotted and full
Of burrs Of the most adhesive character. |,
is first picked to pieces--then passed through
Parkhurst's famous Burning Machine
recent Yankee iuyention--which takes the
kinks and burrs out Of it in short order
throwing the refuse one way, and drawing
the wool the other. There is another ma.
chine Of rare efficiency Yankee improve
ment on foreign invention--employed N
combing the wool for notwithstanding II
Of whatever dirt may remain in i and then
separating the longer from the shorter hbres,
and making a special deposit Of each.
Thence the longer staple is taken to other
machines, and drawn and redrawn many
times Ito make it even and free from de-
fects) until it becomes worsted yarn OF q
choice quality. This is the staple OF Brus-
sells and Tapestry. The shorter staple Is
devoted to the Ingram and other common
carpetings.
The spinning-machnes are few in num-
Der, but each draws l56 threads at once,