The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-12-05
THREAD AND SPOOL
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.ehaskal N5steriss.

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Few people ever stop to think Of shs
twisting and turning and the various
processes that cotton fibre roes
through after it is taken from the pod
before it is wound on spool ready for
use. To actually follow It on its
course would be long aud tedious
task. but in the National Museum at
Washington the whole story is told in
one OF the cases given up TO an ex.
hibition of textile fabrics.
First it shows a specimen OF cotton
IN the pod, just as It was picked. with
out having the seeds removed. Next
is shown specimen OF the Same cot
ton after 1t has been ginned and the
seeds have been removed. The Sea
Island cotton is used for thread on
account OF the length of the fibre. A
sample of the soaking in which the
cotton is baled is also shown. Then
the cotton is supposed to have been
baled and shipped to the thread fac
tory.
Here the first thing that is done
with the cotton is to subject it to the
''picker" process, by which the cotton
from several bales is mixed to secure
uniformity. During the picker pro-
cess much waste, in the form of dust,
dirt and 6bres, is separated from the
good fbres by the picker.
Next the picked cotton is wound
on machine. in sheets or laps. into
a roll. The next process illustrated
by practical exhibit is the carding,
by which the sheets of cotton are
combed or run out into long parallel
fbres.
The cotton is next seen drawn
through a trumpet-shaped opening,
which condenses it into single strand
or ''silver." Then eight such silvers
are run together into one; six of the
strands thus produced are drawn into
one and again six of the strands from
the last drawing are combined into
one.
Then comes the fast ''roving'' pro-
cess. which consists of winding the
strand on u bobbin. Two strands are
twisted and again wound on bobbin.
After number of other twistings
and winding, during which the strand
is gradually reduced in size until it be-
gins to assume a thread-like appear
ance. two strands of this fine growing"
are run together and twisted, under
considerable tension, on a bobbin that
makes 1000 revolutions a minute
Two of the cords thus produced are
then wound together on a spool and
then twisted from that to another
spool. The two-cord thread thus pro-
duced is transferred thence to another
spool and then three threads of two
cords each are twisted together, form
ing u six-cord thread. One who has
followed the process sees the cotton
gradually transformed from a wide
band, or sheet of loose cotton, to
compact thread that will pass through
the eye Of a needle.
The slx-cord thread is at last taken
from bobbin and reeled into skein,
from which it is bleached or dyed.
Then it is wound back from the skein
upon big spool, from which it is sup
piled to little white birch spools, upon
which it is wound in regular courses,
and is then ready for the market
The machine that regulates the last
winding measures the number OF
yards wound on. each spool. The
spools are made of various sizes, the
average spool containing 200 yards
of thread.
The labels that decorate the ends oil
the spools when they are sold ere last
put on. They are cut and pasted on