Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-06-10
CENT-A-YARD PRINTS.
story OF the Man Who Made 1t Possible
to sell Them at so Low = Price.
IRON, tic Asto York Sun

crowded almost to sufiocation, and the
nolfdozen nimble attendants had all thay
could do to reel of the measurements III
sccordance with the demand. SIS it pqs-
i.te0 one Of the proprietors was asked
.at these cent-@-yard prints are good
anything"
Yes =" was the reply. ''Excellent goods,
last colors and good wear"
But can you make any prodt on them
at that priceY' !
Yes, when we buy at bargain. Those
prints. however, are just as good and at
trsctige as were sold in my boyhood at 30
and 40 cents a yard" Here the proprieE
Tor stroked his beard medltativeIyI
whenever l see cheap prints OF various
kinds being whacked off at this rate-al.
most given away, you might say-and re-
member the prices they once brought, l
think of one of the most illustrious names
i'm British craftsmanship"
"In what wayy"
"IGs pretty long story, but mighty
interesting one. Somewhere about the
middle of the last century a Lancashire
farmer Of small means, but Of indomitable
nerseverance and a naturally inventive
bent. lived in the village of Black burn.
He was born genius for experimenting.
in the long winter evenings, when farm
ing was unavoidabiy suspended, he was
in the habit of exercising his crude inge-
nulty in mechanical cOnJTiVances. At that
time ali Lancashire and the Manufacture
ing districts Of the north of England were
greatly interested in the subject of cotton
manufactures, which the improvements of
Hargreaves and some others had brought
to a perfection that promised to make that
region an immense commercial centre.
Naturally turning his attention to this
branch of manufacture, our Lancashire
farmer was struck with the clumsy tedi-
BUSINESS of the process by which the cot
ton wool was made ready for spinning,
and set about contrlving cleVerer
method Of doing the WORK. His PERI
ment gradually led him to the adoption of
a cylinder instead of the common hand
cards then in use, and he finally produced
machines of simple construction, by which
the work Of carding was greatly eXpe-
dited. His success In this direction was
80 decided that he gave up farming and
resolved 10 devote himself exclusively to
his new and more congenial employment.
The cotton fabrics produced at that period
were only cotton cloths, either inditfer-
emily white or dyed in such hOmely cOlors
as were then in vogue. Though useful
tor a variety OF domestic purposes and for
for personal adornment and elegant wear
had as yet suggested itself to no one. But
now our Lancashire farmer conceived the
idea, and, inspired by his success in
wool cardlng, he set himself to carrying
it out with his wonted energy and inge-
nuity.
"Shrewdly keeping his own counsel, he
procured a stout block of hard wood, ten
inches long by five wide, and about two
inches thick. On the smooth side of this
he drew with pencil the exact tracing of
a parsley leaf, gathered from bis garden.
Then, with a penknife, some small chisels
and such other tools as he could purchase,
with his own hands he diligently cut away
all those parts of the wood not covered by
the drawing, leaving the parsley spray
standing 10 relief. In other words, ne sue
ceded in making a coarse and crude wood
engraving of the leaf. In the back of the
block thus prepared he fixed handle, and
at each of the four corners of it heinserted
a small pin of stout wire. He next mixed
in a tub a bright green color, well ground
up with alum, to a consistency lit tor
printing. On the surface of this cOloring
material lay a thick wooden cloth, or
blanket, thoroughly saturated with the
dye. Laying another blanket on his
kitchen table, and stretching some white
calico on the top Of that, the inventive
farmer applied his wooden block to the
saturated wooden cloth, dabbing II re-
peatedly until it had taken up sufficient
quantity of the color. He then laid the
block sQuarely on the stretched white
cloth and gave II a sharp blow on the
back with mallet, thus printing the i'm
preston of the parsley leaf. The four pins
liked at the corners of the block served to
guide him in applying it squarely at each
consecutive impression. He worked on
until the entire surface of the cloth
was covered with the bright green parsley
leaves. He had produced tue first piece
OF printed cotton goods the world had ever
seen.
This pattern succeeded so well that he
found himself called on for other and vari-
Gus designs. These he also made With his
own hands, jealously keeping his secret
to himself and preserving monopoly OF
the trade his ingenuity had created. The
demand for his cOlOred prints grew so fast
thaJ he could not begin to produce them
rapidly enough. He then impressed the
services Of bis entire family into the manu-
facture, his sons aiding him in print
Ins tine goods ard his wife and dauSh-
ters working early and late IN ironing
out the printed cloths after the coloring
became dry.
This ironing process especially was
laeorious and tedious. Although the
women bent over the flat-irons early and
late, they could not meet the orders that
constantly poured in. The Ingenious
farmer then set TO work TO overcome this
obstacle. Remembering the advantages
he had derived from the use OF acyllnder
IN cTding the cotton wool, be once more
turned 10 the cylinder to help him out
with machine TO supersede hat-irons.
with the help Of a carpenter ne con
structed large clothing Frame with a
smooth bed Of solid planking, supported
On upright posts, and with raised iedge
On either side. Running from side To- SIDE
le placed a roller, with handle 70 bnrh
", and around the roller ne wound a rope
10 spiral fashion. Each end OF the rope
was fastened TO a strong Oblong box as
large as the bed of the frame, and the box,
being filled with paving stones, was heavy
enough 10 impart a powerful pressure.
instead OF ironing his pieces OF calico. the
inventive farmer now wound Them care
July around small wooden rollers, which
nc placed In the smooth bed beneath the
oo1 of stones, drew that back and forth
o'yr them by means of the handleaitdched
~ We cylinder, which had the rope coilad
aI"und 10, and IN thie maenec. without the
Use oi hot lAt-irGns, bee gave tdO requisite
GaHl5n To his work. Thus u WAS that tue
Ni't manglc came into the world. The
uHrhlne being succees, u, Of course,
greatly Increased the producing power OF
.i1 inmily. Tho farmer worked on win
4u''unied Industry. The more goods no
printed Tho f1.fa fftatf worn KNNuteIi. aud.