The Press., 1910-01-12

buE0Au upOu hpOOIBs 30 GH&6 was 6n6 place to go for the spools. and never heard that that company ever refused to sell them what spools they needed, but Mir. Johnson and the company did not propose to buy what they could manufacture.
 Very soon after the starting of the mill MT. Hall delegated James Holt, Jr., to visit the plant in New Hamp. shire. which he did, I think. early in 1842. and judge from the result that he brought away under his hat a complete plan of their machines for the turning of spools.
 MT. Holt was a fine mechanic, and in short time had his shop equipped for the making of spools I was something of a natural mechanic, and then was interested in wa chiug the process of making of the spools MT. Holt employed several hands, as the process from the green biroh to the finished spool was slow. As I re. memb ber, the spools were at first made from the larger birches that were split in as near the size of the spool as possible, the biroh being cut the length of two spools and put in a quick revolving machine and Q broad cutter forced against the revolving block, bringing it to the required size: then the large, rough bloc ks were put in racks in a dry room, over the stovepipe which ran around the room, and kiln dried. They were then sawed the right length, bored, and in a machine were turned by using two sets of outtsrs, first the heads, then the barrel
 MT. Holt continued to make the spools for several years till about SAG or z, when Mir. Holt believe, died I went to Rockville in the fall of 1S45 to complete my trade as a car penter. and while I was there the spool making was removed to the basement of the mill and Mr Bur. well. an Englishman-don'E yer know -introduced the new way of turning of spools with the gouge and chisel and the, using of the smaller birches, using none larger than three inches, putting the larger ones under a hol, low ohisel, cutting them to the size needed for the spools and then turning them while green with gouge and chisel, and right here I recall an in. cident.
 have said that Mir. Burwell was an Englishman, "don't yer kuow, '' and not only that but Johny Bull as we'll. MT. Johnson, the president of the company, was passing through the shop where Mr. Burwell was busy at his lathe and said to him pleasantly, "Let me see if can turn one of those.'' '' Mr. Burwell replied ourtly. "If you take up that chisel lay it down." For time MT. Burwell was able, with one or two helpers, to prepare his blocks to supply the demand for spools, but soon found il necessary to employ more on the lathes.
 The work was done by the gross and was easily learned. The busi- ness of the company grew quite rapid ly and MT. Burwell soon had qaits a number of hands under him. Almost the first one to learn the turning of spools was Timothy Merrick, and there was where he took his firLt lessons in the manufacture of spool cotton in 1947
 Mir. BurWell's method of turning spools was far from perfect, as it did not give perfect spool, but it was the best to be had for some years The spools were turned from the green birch wood, and of course had to be kiln dried, which would bring out uneven spools of uneven size. The spools then had to be reamed to fit the spindle aud had to be polished by putting them in a revolving barrel, with large pieces of beeswax, and the process of polishing was slow, as the green tp lols were rough.
 The revolving barrel for the polish ing of the spools with beeswax, ] think, has never been superseded, or it had not been up to some years ago.
 Another serious defect in the hand, turned spools was that it was im- possible to turn them of exact size, so that the exact number of yards could be wound on each spool.
 The next step in the process of evo- lution in the making of the spoc Is was when the first more modern ma. chine was introduced by another Eng lishman, a MT. William Parker, about 1853. and the modern tougher was invented by Jonas Parker, fine ma. chinist from Rockville, who had been made the master mechanic of tn company and had much to do with the improving, if he was not the in ventor of the first thread winding ma. chimes.
 The invention of the roughar opened up good maj k.t for what had been up to that time 8 nuisance on many of thuse Wilmington and Holland farms-theswhite birch polss-mak- ing them a. source of income, or at least paying the cost of the putting. I know from experience that white bi1ches had been for years a psrfect nuisance on the Merrick homestead! as many acres were covered with them, and at the time that I left the old farm estimated that it would grow about ten cords of birches a year.
 Some years later. after the Willi. mantle Linen company had built their second large mill at Willimantic. the demand for spools became such that several spool factories were established in neighboring towns. and for some