362

COTTON MANUFACTURE.

explanation, so far as the properties and operation of the rollers are concerned. Theframe-work of this part of the machine, called the roller-beam, is a cast-iron bench, uponwhich nine bearers, c, are mounted for carrying the rollers. The fluted rollers a a a, fig.334, are constructed in four pieces for the whole length, which are parted from eachother by thinner smooth cyiindric portions, 2 , called necks. Seven such partings forfour rollers, and one parting for two rollers, constitute together the 30 fluted rollers ofwhich the whole series consists. The coupling of these roller subdivisions into onecylinder, is secured by the square holes x, and square pins y,fig. 334, which fit into the

holes of the adjoining subdivision. Thetop or pressure rollers b, are two-fold overthe whole set; and the weighted saddlepresses upon the neck w, which connectsevery pair, as was already explained underfig. 329. These weights g g,fig. 333, are applied in this as in the drawing frame; d arethe bars faced with flannel for cleaning the top rollers. A similar bar is applied beneaththe rollers, to keep the flutings clean.

The structure and operation of the spindles i may be best understood by examiningthe section fig. 335. They are made of iron, are cylindrical fromthe top down to a 2 , but from this part down to the steel tipped roundedpoints they are conical. Upon this conical portion there is a pulleyfc, furnished with two grooves in its circumference, in which the cordruns that causes the spindle to revolve. The wooden bobbin h isslid upon the cylindrical part, which must move freely upon it, aswill be presently explained. To the bobbin another two-groovedpulley or whorl g is made fast by means of a pin r, which passesthrough it; by removing this pin, the bobbin can be instantly takenoff the spindle. The upper end of the spindle bears a fork s I,which may be taken off at pleasure by means of its left-handedscrew; this fork, or flier, has a funnel-formed hole at v. One armof the fork is a tube, s, u, open at top and bottom; the leg, t, isadded merely as a counterpoise to the other. In fig. 333, for thesake of clearness, the forks or fliers of the two spindles here repre-sented are left out; and in fig. 332, only one is portrayed for thesame reason. It is likewise manifest from a comparison of thesetwo figures that the spindles are alternately placed in two rows, sothat each spindle of the back range stands opposite the intervalbetween two in the front range. The object of this distributionis economy of space, as the machine would need to be greatly longerif the spindles stood all in one line. If we suppose the spindles andthe bobbins (both of which have independent motions) to revolvesimultaneously and in the same direction, their operation willas follows: The sliver, properly drawn by the fluted rollers, entersthe opening of the funnel v, proceeds thence downwards throughthe hole in the arm of the fork, runs along its tube u, s, and thenwinds round the bobbin. This path is marked, in fig. 335, by a dot-ted line. .

The revolution of the spindles in the above circumstances effects the twisting ofsliver into a soft cord; and the flier s, t, or particularly its tubular arm . 5 , lays this coi^upon the bobbin. Were the speed of the bobbins equal to that of the spindles, that i->did the bobbin and spindle make the same number of turns in the same time, the P 1 ,cess would be limited to mere twisting. But the bobbin anticipates the fliers a M 'that is, it makes in a given time a somewhat greater number of revolutions thanspindle, and thereby effects the continuous winding of the cord upon itself.the bobbin to make 40 revolutions, while the spindle completes only 30; 30 of these r elutions of the bobbin will be inoperative towards the winding-on, because the fli er s ,j ielow at that rate, so that the cord or twisted sliver will only be coiled 10 times roun ^bobbin, and the result as to the winding-on will be the same as if the spindle had sstill, and the bobbin had made 40 — 30 = 10 turns. The 30 turns of the spindles setherefore, merely the purpose of communicating twist. on

The mounting and operation of the spindles are obviously the same as they ar ® * cesthe household flax wheel. In the bobbin and fly frame there are some circums ^which render the construction and the winding-on somewhat difficult, and the rnec n( jnot a little complicated. It may be remarked, in the first place, that as the cord is j eon, the diameter of the bobbin increases very rapidly, and therefore every g t j, eround it causes a greater length of roving to be taken up in succession. ' e ase dmotions of the bobbins to continue unchanged in this predicament, the mvelocity of the winding-on would require an increased degree of extension, or 1