The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1870-09-22

"lhe better to manifest what wool is not,
let Us see what cloth is. Stage by stage, from
@entlcmen'S back to sleeps back we will
trace its history The wool being shorn, goes
TO the stapler's. and by him is sorted. 1t is
neither long nor short, and, for the manutar-
turcr, if wool be not moderately short it
must be shortened artificially. 1t is next
well oiled and spun into yarn or thread, then
woven INTO tissue that will be cloth by and
| by, though . long way distant from cloth
when it leaves the weaver The tissue, if
examined at this stage of manufacture,
would display its threads lust like madam's
stuff grown does. A coat of this material
would be threadbare all over, despite its new
ness Before this material can become COM
mercial cloth, five chief things will have To
be done to it, Its texture must be closed it
must be shrunk-that is to say, it must be
cleansed; a nap must be put upon it; super
tlous nap must be shorn off; finally, it must
be hot-preSscd First rs to the closing and
shrinking. If we bear in mind what has al
ready been stated about the quality of felt
ING possessed by wool, due to the presence OF
certain saw IKE teeth, the reason of shrink
age will be understood. To accomplish this
is the fuler's task. and he goes to work in
the following manner: He takes the mater
ial to be slrunk, wetS it, soaps it, and sub
mits it to the tulling mill for considerable
time seven or eight hours-undcr which
operation the shrinkage is affected. The
Telling machine is an engine so contrived
that certain heavy piles or hammers are
brought to bear upon the texture already
soaped, wettcd and laid in n trough. The
hammers are 50 fixed in the machine that not
only do they fall upon the texture with heavy
thuds, but at the same time turn it about
each stroke being delivered on Il fresh polr
ton. Now, bearing in mind the saw like
teeth and tnc quality OF ielting, what hap
pens will be easily understood, The wool
iibcrs are well soapcd, as we already know.
and but tor their scrratons all looking one
way, they would slide upon each other in
various and irregular directions Practically,
however, they can only slide one way
namely, with the roots foremost. They saw
like teeth catch among each other, at every
catch making the wool libcrs shorter, whore
by the entire texture is shrunk, and, Of course.
proportionatcly closed ZIP and thickencd.
This result being accomplished, the workman
cleans away the soap by means of tulicr's
earth and water, the fabric remaining still
in the trough, and still wrought upon by the
railing hammers OF piles.
Being taken from the iulIerS MILL the
shrunkcn material has ncNtto be dried. Ihs
IS done by hanging it ON tcntcr hooks stuck
III lliV IlllISII bt lu' lcAlhlt az N'HN tHl'H'
distances. Obviously this is an operation
that would admit Of considerable deceit in
dishonest hands. The wet fabric might hc
iniurioltsly stretched made broader and
longer; to the prejudice of material. Form
crly the exact amount OF stretching to be
used was regulated by act of Parliament, 50
important did the matter seem. Well, ou
material, woven, tullcd and dyed, i not
cloth vet, though a considerable way advanr-
ed on its way to cloth 1t has no nap; 50 tn"
next process will be in imparin@ nap to it.
Let Us suppose, now, by way OF Introducing
the nap-mparting process, that Il piece Of
our material having been laid Hat upon
board, a eat gets on it and scratches it. luS~
would get u sort of nap ON onr material,
though She would deal with il somewhat
roughly. If the scratching effect Of eats
claws was such IS the cloth worker rr-
qurcd, he might initiate the operation
by some sort of wire tooth machinery.
AItDUttlel too violent III