146

BLEACHING.

There are, beside?, smaller openings for the free admission and egress of the water em-ployed in cleansing. The cloth, by the motion of the wheel, is raised np in one part of

the revolution of the wheel; while, by its own weight, it falls in another. This kind ofmotion is very effectual in washing the cloth, while, at the same time, it does not injureits strength. The plan, however, where economy of water is of any importance, is veryobjectionable ; because the wheel must move at by far too great a velocity to act to ad-vantage as a water-wheel.

The wash or dash-wheel, now driven by power in all good bleach and print-works, is represented infig. 129, upon the left sidein a back view, and uponthe right side in a frontview (the sketch beinghalved). Fig. 130 is aground plan.

a a is the washing-wheel;b b its shaft-ends ; c c theirbrass bearings or plummer-blocks, supported upon theiron pillars d d. The frameis made of strong beams ofwood, e e, bound togetherby cross bars with mortises.f f, two of the circularapertures, each leading toa quadrantal compartmentwithin the dash-wheel. In

129 r -

the back view (the left-hand half of the figure) the brass grating g g, of a curvilinearform, is seen, through which the jets of water are admitted into the cavity of the

wheel; h h, are the roundorifices, through which thefoul water runs off, as eachquadrant passes the lowerpart of its revolution; *> awater-pipe, with a stop-cockfor regulating the washing-jets ; k k, the lever for throw-ing the driving-crab l>coupling-box, into or outof gear with the shaft of thewheel. This machine is soconstructed, that the water-cock is opened or shut bythe same leverage whicthrows the wheel into orout of gear, m, a whee,fixed upon the round ex-tremity of the shaft of the dash-wheel, which works into the toothed pinion connected