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shire; Ar.derston, Tradestown, Hutchisontown, Calton, Gorbals,and Blantyre near Glasgow , in Lanarkshire : so that this branchof the cotton trade is likely soon to become very important; andalthough looked upon with a jealous eye by the workmen ot' thatclass, yet, in a political point of view, this mode of fabricatingcloth is more advantageous to the community, and, in many cases,will be so even to these men ; for, in a country like Scotland ,possessing, as she does, so limited a male population, by employ-ing artificial, instead of muscular power, a great number of ablemen, will be taken from the sedentary and penurious occupationof the loons, to others more healthy and beneficial, while theirplace will be filled up by the other sex, who are constitutionallybetter fitted for it, and of whom, owing to the unnatural situationof the country, there are, and long has been, a very great re-dundancy.
In weaving by power, the machine was frequently obliged to bestopped, until the yarn underwent the process of dressing: thisoccurred almost every yard, and lost much time : it was, besides,found more inconvenient, from the projecting parts of the ma-chinery, and other causes, to dress the yarn in the power-loom,than in the common. To avoid dreasing in the loom at all, becametherefore a great desideratum.—Hence dressing machines wereconstructed.
Dressing in the common way, is performed with two brushes,a foot or eighteen inches long each, with which the weaver worksthe flour-dressing, or other mixture upon the yarn, for smooth-ing its surface, to facilitate the operation of weaving. Its dryingis then accelerated, either with a hand-fan, a piece of hot iron,embers, or other contrivance to save time, particularly if theweather be damp, and the warp heavy.
In the dressing machine there are two cylinders, as long asthe web is broad : the surface of each of these is covered withbristles, forming a brush. These cylindrical brushes being fur-nished with dressing material, in revolving dress the warp, whichM made to pass slowly .along the surface of the brushes, and isdried in transitu, by one or more revolving fanners, driven by thetame power that moves the brushes and other parts of the ap-paratus. This power may be either muscular or artificial.
There have several kinds of Dressing-machines been invented,one of which in Scotland is under patent; but the principle offiiem all is nearly alike. With the assistance of a man or two,one machine can dress several webs in a day ; and, if well done,jhe power-loom can work them without intermission, except be-ing occasionally stopped for replenishing the shuttle with weft,repairing broken yarn and other contingencies. But the dressingMachine has as yet made very little progress, there not being a-nove a score in Scotland , and these lor power-looms only; some$ which are now working coarse cottons, without any dressing