Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1876-06-20
MISCELLAHE E0US.
THE STORY OF A SEED.

!6NCE upon time, away down in Georgia,
man planted little seed.
The sun Shone warm on it, aud the rain
came ard softcned it, and it soon began to
ssprout Day and night it grew, till It was
high as mans head. Buds formed all over
It, and ono night they burst into bloom
beautiful cream colorcd flowers they were,
something like mOrning-g glory
l5y noon the sun was too warm. The beau
t:tul blossoms shut their leaves and hung
their heads, and before night each cream.
colored flower dropped off. Where each one
had been was little germ.
This little green germ grew and grew till
II was as big as an egg, when it burst open
and threw out long, beautiful floss of cotton,
several inches long
1t was cotton seed, of COURSE
Then mana negro-came and tore tho
cotton from its boil, put it into a basket with
others like 1t, and carried it to a room whore
were hundreds of pounds of cotton. In tho
room was busy machine, and into that ma,
chine the cotton was thrown.
This cotton, you must know, is full of seeds.
Very troublesome little fellows they are. too.
Tor they have no idea of leaving their COM
Portable homo, and it is very hard to get them
out.
III tell you how the machine does it. AS
the cotton goes in it comes to roller covered
with wire teeth. These teeth siezc the cot
ton and draw it through sort of grating. SO
fne that the seeds can't get through, SO they
just stay oD-she-eAtside. fs-=sz :
As the roller goes around it comes to q
brush roller, which brushes off the cotton as
nicely as any brush can do it. Then the cot
ton Is packed in bale aud sent to the cotton
mills
Now the cotton that came from the little
seed away off in Georgia is, by this time, very
dlTty. and what do you suppose comes next?
y bath No; what's good for bows isn't So
good for cotton. 1t gets-a beating It is
laid on sort of net work, and beaten with
bundles of twigs. The dirt falls through tho
net work, and then the cotton is called bat
ting"
But the cotton from the seed I'm telling
about dou't stop at batting. 1t is very fine
and an! nice, aud it goes to the carding machine
1hIs machine lays all the threads one way by
drawing It through sets of wire teeth.
1t comes out on to roller, and is taken of
by still another roller, on which it looks like
wide tieecy ribbon. But it don't keep that
pretty look very long. 1t is drawn through
funnel, which makes it small and much
hrmer. 1t isn't fine enough yet, however.
and 1t goes between another set Of rollers. /
wonder 1t there's anything that can't be done
with rollers.
When it comes out pressed quite firm it is
called rowing, and is ready to be spun.
You IL hardly believe me, but the spinning
is done on mule
It's very peculiar mule, l must admit,
made of wood and iron, and carrying twenty,
two hundred spindles. So it spins twenty>
two hundred threads at once, and is won
deriul machine if it has funny name.
1t spins the loose rowing into a much finer
thread, slightly twisted. This thread next
runs through gas flame to burn off the little
tuzz, then over a brush to take off the ashes,
and then through hole in brass plate Just
the size of the thread.
Then it is wound in skeius and mt nm in
i've or ten pound bundles
Alter all these travels the thread has lit
tie rest before it starts through the last ma
chlne--the one that makes the soft cotton
into the solid, strong thread We buy on spools
to sew with.
The skeius are wound on bobbins and put
IN the machine. Six of tie fine threads start
together.
Look on spool, and you'll read, ''Bcst
six-cord cotton" That means, as said, that
six of these threads are united to make our
sewing thread.
But must tell you how they CO. First
over glass rod, and through little trough
of water then between rollers to press them
tightly together. Leaving the rollers, they
go down, twisting they 90, to where a
spOolis fastened. There it is regularly wound
on, firm, smooth thread, while the spool
moves up and down as it winds, SO as to make
regular layers'of it.
Now the fruit of the little cotton seed has
become beautiful spool of thread, ready for
useful life. Before it goes out into the
would it is ornamented at each end with a
round paper, gummed and stuck on by some
child. The last paper is put over the end Of
the thread to keep it from getting loose, and
then it is put into packages of dozen spools
You've seen fine thread, perhaps as fine as
No. 200, which we use on sewing machines,
but what would you say to thread No GOO,
only one-third the size of that? And how
would you like to see the cobweb thread ae-
tually woven into lace +?
At the great exhibition in London such
| fine lace was showO. And, almost as won
! derful, piece of muslin woven of thread No.
400. 1t was so delicate that when laid on the
grass aud wet it could not be seen.
You know how large roll of batting is
! Well, it can be stretched out SO as IN be -