, 1889-09-19
CHANT OF THE LOOM.
AS in Monotonous Key 1t Tells
the Story of It's Varied
Products.
The History of Wool, From the
Back of the Sheep in the
Field
To the Back of the Business Man
or Fop in the Streets of
the City.

the City.
"Clash, clash, the large steel shut.
ties dart from side to side, the sunshine
flashing from the polished surface, be.
ing all that the eye sees of It's course be-
tween the myriad thread. On the other
side of the loom slowly grows the cloth
which will robe the form of fop or busi.
ness man ere many months pass. A
dozen looms are on the floor, and the
possible TO hear anything else, Sud
denly one stops. The weaver quickly
glances oyer the threads, notices u
break, ties it up touches the machinery,
and again it begins its monotonous
''clash, clash" The breaking of tiny
thread has brought to n standstill n ma
chine weighing tons. Somewhat differ.
ent is this from the old hand loom with
which our grandmothers wove the
spun which was rich enough raiment
for our Woodworking and frugal grand
fathers. II is worthy of reflection, too,
that the many changes which span the
gulf of inutility between
THE OLD WOODEN LOOM
and the almost thinking combination of
steel and iron were made by what is mar
rowly termed uneducatod brains. How
well this machine, which helps to robe
mankind, compares with a literary COM
position, glittering though II be with the
crystailizations of polished intellect,
us judged by its benefit to the race. but
III, \,
incrustations of dirt which has settled
and adhered to oil.soakcd boards, amid
the din and the rattle of steel and iron,
l. not good vantage point for carrying
ON philosophical reflections, which be-
long rather to the quiet study. One can
not but acknowledge with awe the won
doriul capabilities of human hand and
head combined, as he sees the wonder
lul regularity and certainty in the work
of complicated machines.
THE RAW WOOL
from the back of the sheep comes to the
mill doors and leaves it In bolts of cas-
simeres and worsteds that find their way
to the shops of tailors and drapers from
the Atlantic to the Pacific. On the New
England farms 1t used to he the custom
To drive the sheep down to the creek or
pond before the annual shcaring and
there give them one and all thorough
scrubbing the decided aversion of the
sheep to the proceeding and the deter
mined efforts of the farm hands,
making the occasion one of great
delight to the younger element, The
wool as it comes to the mill is carefully
weighed and sorted, and then, no matter
whether previously cleaned or not is
most thoroughly washed in great tanks
built for that purpose and supplied with
clean running water from Il neighboring
stream. Then thoroughly washed IL
goes to the carding-room aud Is carded
or combed on the great cylinders that,
studded with tiny steel hooks, revolve
steadily while the wool is automatically
weighed out at the right intervals. From
THE HUGE CYLINDERS
1t is gathered ina coarse, fiimsy looking
yarn almost as large as ones wrist, and
wound on spool at the side. These
coarse strings are wound together by u
second machine, forty-eight threads
being drawn into one smaller than any
one Of its componcnts. Forty of these
are ngain by mechanical process united
and so the work goes on. Then comes
the combing machine, an intricate-look-
Ing affair, which with champ,
champ, sciZes the thread or yarn and
takes out all the short wool, the long
straight fibcrs alone being allowed TO
remain, and coils it into large cans
which prevent the adhesive fleece from
gathering stray particles Of dirt and dust.
These great cans, which look like milk
mans outfit, arc gathered when filled
about another machine which draws out
the coils and works them together.
! Through machine after machine goes
the yarn, becoming with each operation
finer and finer, until at last IL Is ready
for the spinning frames, whittier we
follow it.
THE wIIIR OF sPINDLEs
begins as they revolye, rises almost to a
whistle, and dies away as the roll of the
mules indicates that another section
of tho threads is being drawn out, Per-
chance Il thread in the many lines of
rapidly twisting yarn breaks; quicker
than thought the girl who follows the
machine as it rolls forward or backward
with def twirl of fingers has fastened
| the ends, and it is whirring along with
its fellows. Finally the thread IL recled
off in skeins and carried to the dye
house. where pigments of various kinds
| impart TO it the desired colors or tints.
| First they are given bath in some
mordant to prepare them for the dyes,
and then they are dipped or stepped in
| the colored liquid and carefully dried.
Once more the thread is wound upon
| spools in preparation for the looms. Ii
| the cloth Is 10 be what is known as
''silk-mxcd" it is, after dying, twisted
with bright colorcd
STRANDS ON SILK.
Once more we are back listening to the
''clash, clash of the looms. The
threads run through frames that are
technically known as harnesses. These
are crossed by wires known as "hed-
Dies in the center of each being an eye.
The operation of drawing the number
less threads through them is performed
by children, who by practice accomplish
the work with astonishing rapidity. 1t
| is the change of position of these har-
nesses which thus elevates or deprcsses
n certain set of threads which makes the
varying patterns, and this change Is
worked out on broad chains of peculiarly
formed links, which bring. about the
movements as it changes its position.
Every pattern Is designated carefully
thread by thread, and then this combi-
nation chain is taken to pieces and re-
! jointed so MS to bring corresponding ac-
tion in the machine as the various links
come into play
From the looms the cloth goes to the
gigging machines, which raise a soft
nap on its surface, which is then shearcd
off. 1t is
A PECULIAR FACT
that teazles arc used for this purpose,
and the ingenuity of man has as yet
failed to provide suitable substitute
| for this product OF a roadside weed.
Steel and rubber have been tried in
vain, and the tcazle consequently still
has u market value on account of this
use. Next the cloth Is inspected, then
pressed, dn operation which leaves 1t
too hard and rough, and to remove
/ xssl. .taIt atan sau IA 10