The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1866-12-18
The Lawrence, Mass. Cotton Factories

search the world over and not find high
er standard by which to compare and judge
of horses and sheep than that presented
by those superior animals raised in Vcr-
mont, and Addison Go. in particular.
But il any ones actual observation of
cotton manufacturing is limited to YER
mont Cotton Mill only,a very meager idea
can be formed of the magnitude of their
business as seen in some Of the large man
ufacturing cities in Mass. Take for
example Lawrence, and though there are
MT 50 many mills here as in Lowell, they
are probably rs large, and one of them
larger than any in that city On the
north bank Of the Mcrrmac river are sit
uated the cotton mills belonging to four
different corporations. First, the tactic
then the Atlantic, then the pember;on, onc
building of which it will he remembered
fell on the 10Th Of Jan, 1860, while all tho
machinery was in motion, killing out OF
700 persons in the building II and wound.
ing l34, ii MORALLY, and lastly the
Everett mill. The method of getting the
power 10 these mills is monument to
human skill and ingenuity. Just above the
Pacific mill is the dam across the Mcrri-
mae This was bull; in 1915 Sat a cost of
$350,0L0 1T is massive structure !. G20
loot Z i,n 4. l. -
thick at the crown and 40 feet high t
the deepest part of tie river Imnedi-
atcly in front Of the mills, and between
them and the city ON the north. and open.
iLg from the basin above the dam is n
distributing canal. This is one mile long.
twelve feet deep, one hundred feet wide
at the head. and sixty feet wide at the
mouth, and cost - 5000. This furnish
es water for power to run the machinery
o. all these mills. But that which belongs
10 The inside of the mi i, more pari.
larly ro;ic abe than what pertains to the
outside. The Pacific mill is the one Of
the greatest in;cr,s to the visitor. This
Is sald to he the largest cottoi mill unlcr
one roof in the world and is owned by
one of the largest corporations. The
main building is 500 feet long, and GO
feet wide inside of the walls, an is six
stories high above the basement The
only way the visitor can gain access 10 it
is through the olli C, Here an honest
couni,n.'nce and fair account of one :
self will generally secure pass which will
admit him 10 my part of the building.
The basement is taken up mostly by the
power with some storage and course
machinery. The two first stories are
devoted TO weaving, n on each floor there
arc eleven hundred and forty five looms.
TO stand at uiic end of the room AMI look
through 1t seems like a city in II house
and 10 II STRANGER the noise is dra!cnin.
Ii would be dill ult TO imagine more
motion or "a greater variety of it witt
the given space Here all kinds Of cot
ton cloth are made, from the finest muslins
TO the heaviest shccting including (aficr it
has been 10 the print work. all kin l. OF
prints and dclaincs. The cardng is done
on the third floor and the spinning on the
fourth and fifth and in these two rooms
are continually at work one hundred
thousand spindl,s. The sixth story is tie
Il cS,ing room where the thread is star, h.
cl preparatory for weaving 1t is passc.l
between two rollers, the lower one revol
wing in a trough OF liquid starch, and over
steam pipes to dry it. The temperature
of this room is kept at about ll5 :
The print work, however afford the most
oljrcls Of greatest interest and are more
seldom seen than the other processes Il
manufacture. In a large flame are
arranged in an are Of circle us many
copper cylinders as there are to he figur S
or colors put upon the cloth, each cylir 1T
three and II half feet long mi three to five
inches in diameter. Tho figures to lie
printed upon the cloth are sunk in these
cylinders instead Of bcin. raised ike or,li
nary type. and each cylinder revulvcs in IA
trough of paint Of the desired color.
Each cylinder is PARED with corrcspon-
ding plain one and the cloth i made Ia
pass between them. Between the paint
below and the cloth above Il metal plate
Is made to press against the figured cylin
der so that when lis surface touches the
cloth it is cleaned from any stain of inl,
except the sunk figures and into these the
cloth is pressed by the plain cylinder AMI
50 by absorbing the INK receives its print.
The cloth is then carried around steam
drums until perfectly dry. From one Ia
sixteen of these cylinders are used at !,
time, generally more in printing deainc
thsn calico, us "A figure gocs out Of FASH, n
the cylinder containing it is put into II
lathe and the old figure turned off AMI n
new one put on. Thus cylinders weighing
two hundred and fifty pounds are turned
down TO forty pounds Before printing
tie cloth is bleachcd and if intended for
delainc is treated to preparation OF tin
and often being printed the man process
is that of sicaming and washing by which
the colors are set and the gums, etc, OF
the ink removed. If it is TO be an ordi-
nary calica, the print is put upon the
bleachers cloth and then it i. sent to the
dye house where it is hcated to a dye
composed al madden and iron, the latter
purpose with wood acid. This effects
chemically the ink in tho print Frightening
| conn, coI,rs Jnll;nY otho,., ,,,l a.,