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ON TIIE POLITICAL ECONOMT

Mr Bail’d of Aberdeen was certainly among the first, whointroduced machinery in the manufacture of wool in Scot-land. In 1789, he brought from Rochdale two carding en-gines, and four spinning-jennies, with the other necessary ap-paratus. That part of the machinery which required thepower of water was erected at Stoneywood, on the riverDon; but the jennies, with the looms, &c. were erected atAberdeen . About 600 lbs. of wool were manufactured week-ly, until the year 1796, when the machinery was increasedto twice the extent. The preparation of wool by hand wasgenerally laid aside, and several other mills were erected inAberdeenshire ; so that, in 1799, about 4000lbs. were week-ly manufactured by 18 engines. So rapid, indeed, has beenthe increase of this manufacture, that mills have been erect-ed, not only in the different parts of Aberdeenshire , but atElgin, Forres, Inverness , Cromarty, in Caithness, and insome of the southern and western counties of Scotland *•But the most considerable work of this kind in Scotland is,that of Messrs Hadden and Company at Aberdeen , whichextends to 20 machines, wrought by two powerful steam en-gines.

2. Weaving _In Scotland, the manufacture of woollen

cloth was formerly confined to coarse fabrics; every attemptto produce a fine quality, on equal terms with the English having failed; and as far back as 150 years ago, a species ofcloth termed Jingrams, was made at Aberdeen for the foreignmarket: but the general manufacture of the country was seysand serges for home consumption. Since the introductionof machinery, however, superfine broad cloths, equal to thebest made in England, are manufactured in Scotland , parti-cularly at Cothal-Mills, in the parish of Fintray ; at Kin-mundy, in the parish of Longside; and at Peterhead, in

* At many of these mills, the country people get wool teazed and carded, «‘ lfcso much per stone, which they spin at home ; or it may be spun by the inaclu*nery, and returned in the state of yarn.