The philosophy of manufactures: or, an exposition of the scientific, moral, and commercial economy of the factory system of Great Britain / By Andrew Ure.

  • Ure, Andrew, 1778-1857.
Date:
1835
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The philosophy of manufactures: or, an exposition of the scientific, moral, and commercial economy of the factory system of Great Britain / By Andrew Ure. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    176/502 (page 160)
    CHAPTER IV. NATURE AND OPERATIONS OF A WOOLLEN FACTORY. Of the Short Wool, or Cloth Manufacture. In the structure and mechanical properties of its fila¬ ments, short or carding-wool resembles cotton very closely, and is therefore, throughout the spinning de¬ partment at least, the object of similar machinery and manipulation. The great contractility and elas¬ ticity of the animal fibres, however, give to the cloth made of them a susceptibility for peculiar treatment by what is called the fulling, felting, and teasling operations. The wool-mill or willy (called willow, in the cotton manufacture, probably a corruption of winnow) is the first machine to which clothing-wool is subjected. It opens up and cleans from sandy and other loose impurities the matted fleeces supplied by the wool- stapler. The most improved willy is the conical one, as now constructed by Mr. Lilly of Manchester, for opening out the staple of cotton as it comes from the bags. By the favour of this distinguished engineer, I shall be enabled to exhibit a correct delineation of all the essential parts of this very effective automatic apparatus. In the former willows used in cotton- mills, the cotton was introduced to the revolving spiked apparatus and removed by hand, not without risk of injury to the operator. Here, however, no such danger