IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR HECKLING, CARDING, DRAWING, ROVING, AND SPINNING FLAX, HEMP, Tow, SILK, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
PETER FAIRBAIRN, of Leeds, in the County of York, Machine Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain,
bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-sixth day of October, in the
twelfth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Peter Fairbairn, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Peter
Fairbairn, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as I, the
said Peter Fairbairn, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR HECKLING, CARDING, DRAWING, ROVING, AND SPINNING
FLAX, HEMP, Tow, SILK, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Peter
Fairbairn, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, parti-
Price 8d1

page_text: cularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to
be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and iminediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Peter Fairbairn, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following descrip-
tion thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
The first feature of my improvements consists in the peculiar adap-
tation of a rotary gill or porcupine roller to a machine for drawing out
the fibres or elongating the sliver of flax or hemp, this rotary gill being
employed solely for the purpose of opening or separating the fibres of
the material immediately in the vicinity of the drawing rollers.
In the usual machinery employed for drawing out the fibres a series
of travelling bars with heckle pins have been employed between the
holding and the drawing rollers. It has, however, been found that in
passing the sliver in the process of drawing between the series of heckle
pins of the gill machinery heretofore in use (whether on the sheet,
screw, or circular construction) that the fibres being held between the
pius of the gills became very considerably broken as the drawing went
on, and the staple thereby reduced in length and strength, to the injury
of the yarn produced by the after process of spinning. Now it is not
necessary under my improved construction of machinery to have a
series of gill pins, as heretofore, extending backward to the length of
the staple or fibres of the material under the process of drawing,
only the ends or those parts of the fibres in the immediate vicinity
of the bite of the drawing rollers requiring to be kept open or disen-
tangled. Therefore by my improvements the above-mentioned pre-
viously existing evils will be avoided. And, further, I am enabled
by my improved machinery to increase the draft of the sliver to the
extent of two or three times the amount which has hitherto been

page_text: obtained or now generally practised, as well as to avoid bending the
fibres over the gill roller (which takes place in drawing tow, the gill
being in that instance a holder of the fibres); but in my improved
machinery the fibres merely pass tangentially between the pins of the
rotary gill, simply separating and opening the sliver for the better
operation of the drawing rollers.
gear
with
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1, represents in sectional eleva.
tion a portion of my improved drawing machine, Fig. 2, being a
horizontal view of the same as seen from above. a, a, are the retaining
rollers, between which the sliver is conducted onward. These rollers
are kept revolving at an uniform speed by means of the toothed
wheels b, b, fixed upon their respective axles, which being in
each other cause the retaining rollers to revolve simultaneously, and
the whole substance of the sliver to advance uniformly. The sliver
proceeds onwards between the carrying roller c, c, and d, d, to the
rotary gill pins fixed to the axle e, and thence to the drawing rollers
f, and g. On the axle of the lower drawing roller, a pinion / is
fixed (see Fig. 2,) taking into an intermediate wheel i, and this wheel i
drives the wheel k, fixed on the end of the intermediate shaft l, which
extends the whole length of the machine. Upon this shaft also are
fixed a series of pinions m, taking into pinions n on the shafts of the
rollers g,
which connections are for the purpose of driving each pair of
top drawing rollers g, simultaneously with the bottom drawing rollers.
The object of gearing the drawing rollers together is to ensure a
perfect uniformity of rotary motion between each pair, whereby a less
amount of weight or pressure upon the drawing roller will be required,
and the fibres are more perfectly drawn out.
The second feature of my improvements consists in an adaptation of
the foregoing arrangement of machinery applicable to the spinning of
yarns direct from the slivers. The practice hitherto pursued has been
to spin from slightly twisted fibres, that is, rovings; and in consequence
of the twist retained in such rovings great impediment is experienced
in drawing out the fibres in their entire lengths, for in effecting this
drawing of the twisted royings the fibres are to a considerable extent

page_text: broken, and the yarns thereby rendered weaker and rough on their
surface. In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 3, represents in elevá-
tion a front view of part of a spinning machine, with my improved
drawing apparatus adapted thereto. Fig. 4, is a side elevation of the
same. a, a, are the retaining rollers, which are kept revolving at an
uniform speed by means of the toothed wheels b, b, fixed upon. their
respective axles; the sliver thence passes between the rollers c, c, andd, d,
and proceeds to the gill roller é. This rotary gill prevents the fibres
becoming entangled, and opens the sliver as it proceeds to the drawing
rollers f, g, where the foremost fibres are taken in the bite, and drawn
onward unbroken. In this improved mode of spinning from untwisted
slivers I obtain a much more uniform yarn, smoother on the surface
(technically denominated a better skin), and a more perfect combina-
tion of the fibres than is obtained by the ordinary operations of spinning
from twisted rovings. By the employment of my improved machinery
considerable economy also results in the process of spinning, for the
operation of roving is by the use of this part of my machinery altogether
dispensed with, and consequently the great cost and labour attendant
upon the employment of roving machines is avoided.
The third feature of my improvements is the adaptation of gill
drawing apparatus to machines for carding tow or short-fibred flax.
It has hitherto been the practice to receive the slivers from carding
engines into deep vertical cans, and from those cans to take the sliver
and perform the first drawing process in a separate machine. These
fibres of carded sliver, previous to drawing, being in the form of a thin
ribbon of slight tenacity, are very liable to be damaged in pressing
them down into the cans which receive them from the carding machine,
and also in their progress from the cans to the retaining rollers of the
drawing machines. This is found to be a great disadvantage, as any
damage which the slivers may thus receive in their progress cannot be
easily remedied in any subsequent operation. My present improve-
ment is designed to obviate these evils; as the sliver after it is dis-
charged from the delivering rollers of the carding machine is directly
taken hold of by the retaining rollers or pricking in rollers; and

page_text: carried at a uniform speed to the gills, over which it is attenuated and
extended by the drawing rollers, and rendered in a fit state to be con-
veyed to the second drawing machine, or to the roving machine, as the
case may be, the sliver being in this state less liable to injury than
before. In Fig. 5, of the accompanying Drawings part of a carding
engine is represented in sectional elevation, to which one example of my
improvement is attached, (viz,) the adaptation of the rotary gill draw-
ing apparatus to a carding engine. a, a, are the delivering rollers of
the carding engine; b, is the retaining or pricking in roller; c, is the
rotary.gill; d, and e, the drawing rollers; f, and g, the rollers which
deliver the drawn sliver. By these arrangements I effect considerable
economy; for my improved plan of attaching a drawing apparatus to
the carding engine enables me to dispense with the usually detached
first drawing machine, and it is now only required to use in addition a
second drawing machine to complete the drawing process.
The fourth feature of my improvements applies to the clearers or
rubbers of drawing and roving machines. The revolving clearers or
rubbers hitherto in use are frequently the cause of accidents, for in
consequence of the wheels being exposed the attendants are liable to
have their fingers drawn between them; by my improvement this evil
is obviated, the wheels being covered by a case, which also serves the
purpose of a radial arm, to carry and keep the wheels in gear with
each other. By this arrangement I effect a saving in cost of appara-
tus, together with greater safety than by the construction of apparatus
hitherto in use. At Fig: 6, of the accompanying Drawings is shewn in
elevation a portion of a roving machine with my improved adaptation
of revolving clearers or rubbers. Fig. 7, is a horizontal section of the
rubbers with the case in which their driving wheels revolve, taken in
the dotted line A, B, of the preceding Figure. One of the ordinary
upper drawing rollers of the machine is represented at r; and s; s, are
two revolving rubbers acting on the periphery of the upper drawing
roller. A pair of toothed-wheels t, t, upon parallel axles are employed
for giving rotary motion to the rubbers; and u, u, is. the cap, case, or
cover which not only shields the driving wheels of the rubbers, but

page_text: also answers the purpose of a radial arm carrying the axle of the
rubbers, the case rising with the axles of the rubbers as a lever upon
the driving shaft w, which forms the fulcrum.
The fifth feature of my improvements consists in a novel pall and
ratchet weight lever, to be used for giving the pressure required upon
the drawing rollers of spinning machines, by which, as the pressing
roller becomes reduced in its diameter by wear, a more ready and
economical means is attained of advancing it toward the drawing
roller than by the ordinary adjusting nut and screw, as heretofore
used. In Fig. 8, is represented a side elevation of a portion of a spin-
ning frame, with theimproved pall and ratchet weight lever attached.
Fig. 9, is a horizontal view of the same apparatus. a, and b, are the
drawing rollers. c,is the weighted lever for pressing the roller b, against
the roller a. This weighted lever c is hung upon a fulcrum pin in the
small bracketd, which bracket is fixed to the beam e, extending along
the frame of the machine. In the shorter arm of the weighted lever c
a pall fis mounted upon a fulcrum pin, which pall is intended to take
into a ratchet in the piece g, whereby the roller b is forced up against
the roller a: This piece g is a small loose bar passed freely through
a slot in the lower part of the shorter arm of the lever c.
The upper
end of this piece g is forked, and bears against the axle of the drawing
roller b, for the purpose of forcing the periphery of the roller 6 up into
contact with the roller a. In the upper edge of this forked piece g, a
series of ratchet teeth are cut, into which the end of the pall f is let
fall, and hence by the force of the weighted lever c, the pall. is
made to drive the piece g, and the roller b; up against the roller-a, by
which the contact of the drawing rollers is effected. It will hence be
perceived that in the event of the periphery of the pressing roller b
becoming worn away or reduced in diameter by use that the forked
piece.g may be advanced, and the roller thereby pushed up to its
bearing by placing the pall in one of the backward teeth of the
ratchet; the roller being thus held firmly by the pressure of the
weighted lever.
The sixth feature of my improvements applies to the gearing of

page_text: machines for heckling, carding, drawing, roving, and spinning flax,
hemp, tow, and other fibrous materials, and is designed to effect a
ready mode of connecting two or more shafts by means of intermediate
wheels, so that the change pinion may be altered with facility to any
required diameter. In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 10, shews in
end elevation, and Fig. 11, in partial front view, a portion of the end of
a roving frame with the improved apparatus adapted in two examples,
(viz',) in the instance where one intermediate wheel is used, and also
in the instance where two intermediate wheels are used. In these
Figures where one intermediate wheel is used a is the change pinion;
b, is the intermediate wheel; c, is the driven wheel on the axle e
of the front drawing roller of a roving machine; d, is an adjustable
radial arm, moveable upon its fulcrum at e. In this radial arm d,
there is a long slot formed in a segmental curve f, concentric with the
fulcrum e; a bolt g, is passed through a bracket on the side of the
frame, and through this curved slot, and when the arm d has been
moved on its fulcrum to the required situation, a nut screwed up tight
on the bolt g, holds the arm securely in this position. The lower part
of the radial arm has a stud h fixed in it, on which the intermediate
wheel is mounted and revolves. The change pinion a, may be
removed, and a larger pinion or wheel placed on its stud, as shewn by
the dotted circle in Fig. 10, and when this is done the intermediate
wheel and radial arm will assume the position also shewn by dots in
that Figure. Detached views of the radial arm in two positions are
given at Fig. 12. Where more intermediate wheels are required for
driving other parts of machinery I adapt a similar moveable radial
arm, as shown in the upper part of Fig. 10. Upon the axle of the
front drawing roller e, as a fulcrum, I mount the adjustable radial
arın i, i, which carries the axles of the intermediate wheels j, and k.
These wheels are driven by the change pinion 7, fixed upon the back
shaft m of the roving machine. In the event of employing a change
pinion of larger diameter, the arm i, with its wheels, may be raised,
as shewn by dots, a segmental slot in the side branch of the arm i
allowing of its elevation, as shewn by dots, and in which position the

page_text: arm and the wheels may be held securely by a nut upon the bolt n,
passed through the segmental slot of the arm i, and through a standard
piece p on the end frame. The last-mentioned adjustable arm i, i, is
shewn detached in two positions at Fig. 13.
The seventh feature of my improvements is a novel mode of con-
necting the counter shaft of a roving machine with the shaft that
drives the bobbins. This I effect through a train of wheels mounted on
a jointed arm suspended upona fulcrum, by means of which the bobbin
shaft may be allowed to move up and down to effect the required
traverse, and yet retain the said wheels in gear with each other.
Fig. 14, of the accompanying Drawings represents in elevation a
portion of the end of a roving frame with the improved apparatus
attached for traversing the bobbin rail. Fig. 15, is a horizontal repre-
sentation of the same as seen from above. Fig. 16, is a vertical
section,taken in the dotted line A,B, through the improved apparatus,
at a right angle to Fig. 14. Upon the counter shaft a, is fixed a
wheel 7, which drives the train of wheels c, d, e, f. These wheels are
mounted and revolve upon studs g, h, i, and j, fixed in the vibrating
arm or bark, which arm or bar at one end hangs loosely upon the
stud g, fixed in an arm 7, suspended on the counter shaft a. The
wheel c, is by these means kept in gear with the wheel b, and hence
the wheels c, d, e, and f, all of which are in gear, are caused to revolve
together. The end of the bar k is connected at j, with a sliding
piece m, which is capable of moving up and down between guides on
the side of the frame of the machine for the purpose of traversing the
copping rail of the roving machine, which is effected by ordinary
means. In order that these connected wheels may be kept in gear,
whatever may be the situation of the copping rail, the bars and l
assume the positions shewn by dots by moving upon the joints or ful-
crums at a and g.
Having now described the manner in which I construct and apply
my improvements in machinery for heckling, carding, drawing, roving,
and spinning flax, hemp, tow, and other fibrous substances, I desire it
to be understood that I do not intend to confine myself to the particular

page_text: forms, arrangements, and dimensions of the parts as set out in the
accompanying Drawings, the elementary features or principles of the
improvements being capable of some modifications. I therefore desire it
to be understood that the peculiar novelties which I claim and desire
to secure under the above in part recited Letters Patent are,―
Firstly, the adaptation of a rotary or circular gill to a machine for
drawing flax and hemp in such manner that the sliver of flax or hemp
in proceeding from the holding to the drawing rollers shall pass through
or between the pins of the revolving gill in the direction of a tangent
to its rotary motion, for the purpose of merely opening the fibres of the
sliver immediately in the vicinity or bite of the drawing rollers without
holding back the sliver or allowing it to lap partially round the gill, as
in the instance of drawing the sliver of tow.
Secondly,gearing or connecting together pairs of holding rollers, and
also pairs of drawing rollers, whatever may be the construction of the
gills or machinery to which they may be applicable, the object being
that the pairs of holding and drawing rollers shall respectively revolve
with equal surface speeds, and thereby cause the entire substance of the
sliver in each case to advance uniformly.
Thirdly, the adaptation and connection of gill drawing apparatus (of
whatever construction) to machines for carding tow or short-fibred flax
or other materials.
Fourthly, the peculiar construction of case or shell for covering the
wheels of the revolving rubbers or clearers, which case or-shell also
carries the axle of the said rubber, as shewn in Figures 6, and 7.
Fifthly, the peculiar construction of pall and ratchet holder for
keeping the drawing rollers in contact, as described and shewn in
Figures 8, and 9.
Sixthly, the adaptation of adjustable radial arms to various construc-
tions of machinery for manufacturing flax and tow, by means of which
radial arms carrying intermediate wheels several distinct wheels may be
actuated, whether such wheels are fixed on shafts, as shewn in the
Drawings at Figures 10, 11, 12, and 13, or mounted loosely upon
studs.
T

page_text: Lastly, I claim the arrangement, construction, and adaptation of
wheels mounted on a jointed arm or arms when applied to roving
frames for flax and tow, as shewn in Figures 14, 15, and 16.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Fairbairn, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.

page_text: En the Matter of Letters Patent granted the Twenty-sixth
day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and forty-eight, to Peter Fairbairn, of Leeds, in
the County of York, Machine Maker, for IMPROVEMENTS
6:
MACHINERY FOB HECKLING, CARDING, DRAWING, ROVING,
AND SPINNING FLAX, HEMP, Tow, SILK, AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES."
DISCLAIMER entered pursuant to an Act passed in the fifth and
sixth years of King William the Fourth, intituled "An Act to
amend the Law touching Letters Patent for Inventions."
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
PETER FAIRBAIRN, of Leeds, in the County of York, Machine Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
[Price 8d.]

page_text: Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-sixth
day of October, in the twelfth year of Her reign, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, did give and grant unto me, my exors, admors,
and assigns, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege aud
authority, that I, the said Peter Fairbairn, my exors, admors, and
assigns, and such others as I, the said Peter Fairbairn, my exors,
admors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within that part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland called England, the Dominion of Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR HECKLING, CARDING, DRAWING, ROVING, AND SPINNING FLAX, HEMP,
Tow, SILK, AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES: " And whereas I, the said
Peter Fairbairn, in pursuance of a proviso in the said in part recited
Letters Patent contained, did particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
commonly called the Specification, and did cause the same to be
inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery, on the
Twenty-sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty-nine: And whereas since the inrolment of
the said Specification doubts have arisen as to the novelty of certain
parts of the Invention claimed in and by the said Specification: And
whereas I am desirous, as well for the better protection of the rights
intended to be secured by the said Letters Pateut, as for the more
ample benefit of the public from the same, to remove such doubts, and,
for the reasons aforesaid, to enter a Disclaimer and Memorandum of
Alteration And whereas I have obtained leave of Sir Alexander
Edmund Cockburn, Her Majesty's Attorney General, certified by his
fiat and signature, to enter with the Clerk of the Patents of England,
pursuant to the statute in that behalf made and provided, a Disclaimer
of part of the Title and Specification, not being such Disclaimer as
will extend the exclusive right granted by the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE that I, the said Peter Fairbairn, do hereby

page_text: disclaim the word "heckling" in the Title of the said Letters Patent.
And I do hereby disclaim the portion of the Specification commencing
with the words "The fourth feature of the Invention" down to and
ending with the words "by moving upon the joints or fulcrums at a,
and 9."
And I do hereby disclaim the word "heckling" in the
sentence or paragraph immediately following that last above referred
to. And I do hereby disclaim, in the claiming part of the said
Specification, (that is to say) in the second claim, the words "holding
rollers and also pairs of," and the words " or machinery," and also the
words "holding and," and the word "respectively," and the words
"in each case." And I do hereby also disclaim the passage at the
close of the said Specification beginning with the words "Fourthly,
the peculiar construction" down to and including the words "as shewn
in Figures 14, 15, and 16." And I hereby also disclaim so much
of the Drawings as are referred to in the passages above disclaimed,
(that is to say,) Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. And
I hereby further declare that the Specification, as amended, when the
words shall have been disclaimed as above mentioned, will be as
follows:-
"The first feature of my improvements consists in the peculiar
adaptation of a rotary gill or porcupine roller to a machine for draw-
ing out the fibres or elongating the sliver of flax or hemp, this rotary
"gill being employed solely for the purpose of opening or separating
"the fibres of the material immediately in the vicinity of the drawing
"rollers.
"In the usual machinery employed for drawing out the fibres, a
"series of travelling bars with heckle pins have been employed between
"the holding and the drawing rollers. It has however been found,
that in passing the sliver in the process of drawing between the
"series of heckle pins of the gill machinery heretofore in use, (whether
on the sheet, screw, or circular construction,) that the fibres being
"held between the pins of the gills became very considerably broken
"as the drawing went on, and the staple thereby reduced in length and
"strength, to the injury of the yarn produced by the after process of

page_text: "
"
"spinning. Now it is not necessary under my improved construction
"of machinery to have a series of gill pins as heretofore extending back-
"ward to the length of the staple or fibres of the material under the
process of drawing, ouly the ends or those parts of the fibres in the
"immediate vicinity of the bite of the drawing rollers requiring to be
kept open or disentangled. Therefore, by my improvements the
"above mentioned previouslyexisting evilswill be avoided. And further,
"I am enabled by my improved machinery to increase the draft of the
"sliver to the extent of two or three times the amount which has
"hitherto been obtained, or now generally practised, as well as to avoid
"bending the fibres over the gill roller, which takes place in drawing
"tow (the gill being in that instance a holder of the fibres); but in my
"improved machinery the fibres merely pass tangentially between
"the pins of the rotary gill, simply separating and opening the sliver
"for the better operation of the drawing rollers.
"In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1, represents in sectional
"elevation a portion of my improved drawing machine; Fig. 2, being
"a horizontal view of the same, as seen from above.
56
a, a, are the
retaining rollers between which the sliver is conducted onward.
"These rollers are kept revolving at an uniform speed by means of the
"toothed wheels b, b, fixed upon their respective axles, which being in
" gear
with each other cause the retaining rollers to revolve simul-
taneously, and the whole substance of the sliver to advance uniformly.
"The sliver proceeds onwards between the carrying rollers c, c, and
d, d, to the rotary gill pins, fixed to the axle e, and thence to the
drawing rollers, f, and g. On the axle of the lower drawing roller f,
a pinion his fixed, (see Fig. 2,) taking into an intermediate wheel i,
"and this wheel drives the wheel , fixed on the end of the inter-
"mediate shaft l, which extends the whole length of the machine. Upon
"this shaft also are fixed a series of pinions m, taking into pinions n,
"on the shafts of the rollers g, which connections are for the purpose'
"of driving each pair of top drawing rollers g, simultaneously with
66
the bottom drawing rollers. The object of gearing the drawing
"rollers together is to insure a perfect uniformity of rotary motion

page_text: "between each pair, whereby a less amount of weight or pressure upon
"the drawing roller will be required, and the fibres are more perfectly
"drawn out.
"
**The second feature of my improvements consists in an adaptation
"of the foregoing arrangement of machinery applicable to the spinning
"of yarns direct from the slivers. The practice hitherto pursued has
"been to spin from slightly twisted fibres, that is, rovings; and in couse-
" quence of the twist retained in such rovings great impediment is
experienced in drawing out the fibres in their entire lengths, for in
effecting this drawing of the twisted rovings, the fibres are to a consi-
"derable extent broken, and the yarns thereby rendered weaker and
rough on their surface. In the accompanying Drawings,. Fig. 3, re-
presents in elevation a front view of part of a spinning machine with
my improved drawing apparatus adapted thereto. Fig. 4, is a side
"elevation of the same. a, a, are the retaining rollers which are kept
66
"
66
"
revolving at an uniform speed by means of the toothed wheels b, b,
"fixed upon their respective axles; the sliver thence passes between
"the rollers c, c, and d, d, and proceeds to the gill roller e. This ro-
tary gill prevents the fibres becoining entangled, and opens the
sliver as it proceeds to the drawing rollers f, g, where the fore-
"most fibres are taken in the bite, and drawn onward unbroken.
"In this improved mode of spinning from untwisted slivers, I obtain
"a much more uniform yarn, smoother on the surface (technically
"denominated a better skin), and a more perfect combination of the
fibres, than is obtained by the ordinary operation of spinning from
"twisted rovings. By the employment of my improved machinery,
"considerable economy also results in the process of spinning; for the
"operation of roving is by the use of this part of my machinery
"altogether dispensed with, and consequently the great cost and labor
"attendant upon the employment of roving machines is avoided.
"The third feature of my improvements is the adaptation of gill
"drawing apparatus to machines for carding tow or short-fibred flax.
"It has hitherto been the practice to receive the slivers from carding
engines into deep vertical cans, and from those cans to take the
"sliver and perform the first drawing process in a separate machine.

page_text: "
66
"
<
"
"These fibres of carded sliver, previous to drawing, being in the
"form of a thin ribbon of slight tenacity, are very liable to be damaged
"in pressing them down into the cans which receive them from the
"carding machine, and also in their progress from the cans to the
retaining rollers of the drawing machines. This is found to be a
great disadvantage, as any damage which the slivers may thus receive
"in their progress cannot be easily remedied in any subsequent
operation." My present improvement is designed to obviate these
"evils, as the sliver, after it is discharged from the delivering rollers
"of the carding machine, is directly taken hold of by the retaining
'rollers or pricking-in rollers, and carried at a uniform speed to the
gills over which it is attenuated and extended by the drawing rollers,
"and rendered in a fit state to be conveyed to the second drawing
'machine, or to the roving machine, as the case may be, the sliver
being in this state less liable to injury than before. In Fig. 5, of
the accompanying Drawings, part of a carding engine is repre-
sented in sectional clevation to which one example of my improve-
"ment is attached, videlicit, the adaptation of the rotary gill drawing
apparatus to a carding engine. a, a, are the delivering rollers of
"the carding machine; b, is the retaining or pricking-in roller;
c, is the rotary gill; d, and e, the drawing rollers; f, and 8. the
"rollers which deliver the drawn sliver. By these arrangements I
"effect considerable economy, for my improved plan of attaching a
drawing apparatus to the carding engine enables me to dispense
"with the usually detached first drawing machine, and it is now
only required to use in addition a second drawing machine to com-
plete the drawing process.
"
"
66
"
66
"
"Having now described the manner in which I construct and apply
my improvements in machinery for carding, drawing, roving, and spin-
ning flax, hemp, tow, and other fibrous substances, I desire it to be'
"understood that I do not intend to confine myself to the particular
"forms, arrangements, and dimensions of the parts as set out in the
"accompanying Drawings, the elementary features or principles of the
improvements being capable of some modifications. I therefore desire
"it to be understood that the peculiar novelties which I claim and
"

page_text: "desire to secure under the above in part recited Letters Patent
are;-
Firstly, the adaptation of a rotary or circular gill to a machine for
drawing flax and hemp in such manner that the sliver of flax or
hemp in proceeding from the holding to the drawing rollers shall
pass through or between the pins of the revolving gill in the direction
"of a tangent to its rotary motion for the purpose of merely opening
"the fibres.of the sliver immediately in the vicinity or bite of the
drawing rollers without holding back the sliver or allowing it to lap
partially round the gill as in the instance of drawing the sliver
"of tow.
"Secondly, gearing or connecting together pairs of drawing rollers,
"whatever may be the construction of the gills to which they may be
applicable, the object being that the pairs of drawing rollers shall
"revolve with equal surface speeds, aud thereby cause the entire
"substance of the sliver to advance uniformly.
"Thirdly, the adaptation and connection of gill drawing apparatus
"(of whatever construction) to machines for carding tow or short-fibred
"flax or other materials."
In witness whereof, I the said Peter Fairbairn, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.

page_text: considering his application, I directed him to advertise his said Dis-
claimer and Memorandum of Alteratious in the London Gazette, and
the Times, Morning Advertiser, and Leeds Mercury newspapers;
and such advertisements have been duly made. And no objection
having been made to the said application, I have accordingly granted
leave to the said Peter Fairbairn to file his said Disclaimer and
Memorandum of Alterations pursuant to the Statute passed in the
year
of the reign of His late Majesty, entitled An Act to amend
the Law touching Letters Patent for Inventions.
6th
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourteenth day of July,
in the year of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid Peter Fairbairn came before
our said Lady the Queen, in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Disclaimer aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and
specified, in form above written. And also the Disclaimer aforesaid
was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-fifth day of July,in the year of our Lord One