SPINNING.

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acknowledged infringements. The patent of 1824 was the beginning; the result ofwhich was the several patents for improvements in 1835, 1837, 1838, and 1842, of Mr.Bodmer.

By a machine generally called a Devil or Opener (“ Wolf,” in German), whichconsists of a feeding-plate set with teeth and a roller covered with spikes (see fig. 136),the cotton is cleared from its heaviest dirt and opened. This machine delivers thecotton into a room or on to a travelling cloth, from which it is taken, weighed in cer-tain portions, and spread upon cloth in equal portions : this is then rolled up, and placedbehind the first blower.

The first blower has a feeding-plate like Jig. 137, without teeth, and over this plate thecotton is delivered to the operation of the common beaters, from which it is received

Patents of 1824 and 1835.

Patent of 1835.

into a narrow compartment of 4| or 5 inches broad, and wound, by means of his lap-machines, upon rollers in beautifully level and well-cleaned laps. Eight of thesenarrow laps are then placed behind a second blower, of a similar construction to thefirst. Instead of the common beater, however, a drum with toothed straight edges isused (see Jig. 138), which opens the cotton still more, and separates the fibres from oneanother. The cotton is again formed into similar narrow laps, which are still moreequal than the preceding ones, and eight of these laps are then placed behind the cardingengines. It was only by applying his lap-machine, patented in 1842, that he succeededin forming small laps on the blower; without this he could not perform the doffing ofthe laps without stopping the wire-cloth, and in doing this, an irregular lap would beformed because of the accumulating of the falling cotton in one place while the wire-cloth was standing.

Carding Engine .—His patent of 1824 showed a mode of coupling a number of cardingengines, the product of which was delivered upon an endless belt or a trough, and atthe end of this trough was wound upon a roller. This arrangement wants no description,as it is generally known. I have seen it in use on the Continent.

When a set of cards work together, any interruption or stoppage of a single cardingengine causes a defect in the produce of the whole lap. Interruption occurred severaltimes a day by the stripping of the main cylinder, and during this operation themissing band or sliver was supplied out of a can, being the produce of a single cardingengine working into cans (a spare card). The more objectionable defect was, however,the difference of the product of the carding engine after the main cylinder had beenstripped ; the band or sliver from it will be thin and light until the cards of the maincylinder are again sufficiently filled with cotton, when the band will again assume itsproper thickness. Another irregularity was caused by the stripping of the flats or topcards, but was not so fatal as the first one. These defects were of course a seriousurawoack in his system of working, the latter of which he provided against in his firstPatent by stripping the top cards by mechanism ; the former, however, was onlyconquered by his invention of the self-strippers for the main cylinders; thus thecarding engine may now work from Monday morning till Saturday night withoutinterruption, the cylinders requiring only to be brushed out every evening; the con-sequence is, that much time is gained, and a very equal, clean, and clear product isobtained. Old carding engines to which he applied his feeders (see fig. 139), and maincylinder-clearers produce much superior work, and increase the production from 18 to24 per cent.

The main cylinder-clearer consists of a very light cast iron cylinder upon which