The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1874-01-26
The Story Of . seed.

OnCe upOu y SinSb nWoy uo"a io
Georgia, . man planted little seed.
The sun shone warm on it, and the
rain came and softened il. and it soon
began to sprout. Day and night it
grew, till it was high as mans head.
Buds formed all over1t, and one night
they burst into bloom. Beautiful
cream-colored flowers they were. some
hing like morning. glory.
By noon the suu was too warm. The
beautiful blossoms shut their. leaves
and hung their heads, and before night
each cream -colored flower dropped off.
Where each one had been was q little
germ.
This little green germ grew and grew
till it was as big as an egg, when it
burst open aud threw out long, beauti-
ful floss of cotton, several inches long
1t was cotton seed, Of course.
Then q msn-a negro-came and
tore the cotton from it's boil, put it into
a basket with others like il. and carried
il 10 q room where were hundreds oil
pounds Of cotton. In the room was o
busy machine, and into that machine
the cotton was thrown.
This cotton, you must know, 10 full
OF seeds. Very troublesome little fell
lows they are, too, for they have no
idea OF leaving their comfortable home.
and is very hard 10 get them oLt.
III tell you how the machine does
it. As the cotton goes in it comes to 3
roller covered with wire teeth. These
teeth sieze the cotton and draw 1t
through q sort oil grating, 90 fine that
the seeds can't get through, 30 they
just stay on the outside.
As the roller goes around it comes
to a brush roller, which brushes OF
the cotton as nicely as any brush can
do it. Then the cotton is packed in .
bale and sent 10 the cotton mills.
Now the cotton that came from the
little seed away of in Georgia is, by
tbis time, very dirty. and what do you
suppose comes utxtP A bsshf Ne;
what's good for boys isn't 30 good TOR
cotton. 1t gets-a beating. 1t Is laid
on a sort of net work, and beaten with
bundles OF twigs. The dirt falls through
the net work, and then the cotton ls
called batting.
But The cotton from the seed I'm
telling about don't stop al batting, II
is very fine and nice, and it goes TO the
csrdinp machine. This machine lays
all the threads one way by drawing 1t
through sets OF wire teeth.
1t comes out on to a roller, aud ia
taken off by still another roller, on
which it looks like wide feecy ribbon,
But 1t don't keep thas pretty look very
long. 1t is drawn through a funnel
which makes it small and much firmer
l: isn't fine enough yet, however, and
il goes between another set OF rollers.
wonder if there 3 anything that can
be done with rollers.
When it comes out pressed quite firm
it is called rowing, and is ready 10 o'
spun.
You'll hardly believe me, but th'
spinning is done on a mule !
It's a very peculiar mule, l must sd
NIT, made OF wood and iron, and carry
ing twenty-five hundred spindles. So il
spins TWENTY-FIVE hundred threads al
once, and is a wonderful machine II II
has q funny name.
1t spins the loose rowing into much
finer thread, slightly twisted. Thi'
thread next runs through a gas flame
TO burn off the little fuzz, then over
brush to take off the asses, and ther
through q hole in q brass plate just tht
size of the thread.
Then il is wound is skeius, and pu'
up in five or ten pound bundles.
After all these travels the thread
has a little rest before it starts throu2f
the last maehine-the one that make'
the soft cotton into the solid, stropt
thread we buy on spools to sew with.
The skeins are wound on bobbins ant
nut in the machine. Six OF the fin'
threads start together.
Look on spool, and you'll read
BEST six-cold cotton" That means
ss I said, that six Of these threads AZ
united to make our sewing thread.
But I must tell you how they 90
First over q gla.s rod, and through
LITTLE trough OF water; then between
rollers to press them tightly together
Leaving the rollers, they 60 down
twisting as they 60, TO where spool
fastened. There il is regularly woun
on. q firm, smooth thread, while to
spool moves up aud down as it winds
50 ss to make regular layers OF it.
Now the fruit Of the little cotton see
has become q beautiful spool OF thread
ready for a useful life. Before it goe
out into the world it is ornamepted o
each end with q round paper, gumme
and etuck on by come child The las
paper is put over the end OF the threa
TO keep it from getting loose. and the
It is put into packages OF dosen spoo!'
You've seen foe thread. perhaps Q
fine a. No. 200. which we uee on se"
ing machines, but what would you %
TO thread No. 600, only one-third th
size of that? And how would you lil
10 see the cobweb thread actuail
woven into lace? -.
At the great exhibition in Londo
such fine lace Was shown. And aimo
as wonderful. q piece Of muslin wovs
Of thread No. 46o. 1t was 90 delica
that when laid on the grass and wet
could not be seen. -.
You know how large . roll OF bsttir
ia Well, it can be stretched out 20
to be more than . thousand miles Jon
That is thread No. 2,l00.
II seems 10 wonderful too be true. b