This state of things had long occupied the attention of the thinking portion of the spinners, but without any practical result until the invention of the " jenny," by Har greaves, about 1767. By this machine, eight threads at a time could be spun against the one of the spinning-wheel. - Hargreaves was much abused by the populace of his native town and neighborhood, who feared that the invention would deprive them of all employment; the machine was destroyed, and the inventor compelled fo leave his birthplace. Genius, however, ultimately triumphed, and the "spinning-jenny" was patented at Nottingham in 1770. The year previously, Arkwright had patented his " water-frame," or " throstle," for spinning by rollers, by means of which a stronger and much firmer yarn was produced. It was about this period that fabrics composed entirely of C. were woven for the first time, the " jenny ' supplying the weft, and the " throstle " the warp. A few years later, Mr. Crompton brought out a new piece of mechanism, which he styled the " mule-jenny," from its combining the principles of both Hargreaves' and Arkwriglit's patents; but it had an advantage over both, insomuch as it produced a much finer yarn than either. The " mule " came into full play in or about 1780, which is the period assigned for the birth of the muslin trade. There was now no longer a scarcity of yarn; the fear was, that there would be too much, for it was clear that the hand-loom weavers of the time could not keep up with the improved spinning machinery. But the invention of the "power doom," by Dr. Cartwright, in 1785, set aside all doubts in this respect; the question now was, whether a sufficient , quantity of raw C. could be obtained in order to keep pace with the requirements of the .rising manufacture. West India C., which in 1784 averaged 18. 6d. per lb., rose to 2s. in 1788; 2s. ld. in 1792; and 2s. 8d. in 1798. Great exertions were made to obtain increased supplies from India; but the invention of the saw-gin in America brought the required succor from an unexpected quarter. It was only by means of this machine that the production of the short-stapled C. of the United States could be made at all remunerative. The export of hand-cleaned C. in 1791 was only 189,316 lbs., and in 1702 only 138,328 lbs.; but the year after the appearance of the gin—viz., 1794—the exports rose to 1,601,700 lbs.; in 1795, to 6,276,300 lbs.; and in 1800 to 17,786,803 lbs.
But to return. The first " mule-jenny " contained about thirty spindles, which, instead of being stationary, as in the " jenny " and " throstle," were placed on a car riage, which was moved outwards, in order, whilst twisting, to increase the fineness of the thread, and inwards again, to wind the yarn on the spindles. This required the constant attendance of a spinner to wheel the carriage backwards and forwards; but subsequent improvements have gone so far as to produce what is called the self-acting mule, two or three of which only require the assistance of one person, generally a boy or girl, whose place it is to piece any of the threads which may break during spinning. 3iiites of this construction are made with as many as 1000 or 2,000 spindles, sometimes more; and with the self-actor, as now improved, a single thread has been produced . measuring upwards of one thousand miles in. length, and yet weighing but one pound! A word or two on the processes preliminary to spinning. The raw material is received from the various producing countries, packed either in bags or square bales.
On arrival at the mill, the C. first enters the miring-room, where it is sorted, and the various qualities, which are often contained in a single purchase, laid out iu layers of equal extent, one over the other, and trodden close together. In this manner, two descriptions of C. are sometimes placed in one mixing. When Surat, for instance, is scarce and dear, and short-stapled low American plentiful and cheap, spinners of what are called coarse numbers invariably use a mixture of both•growths; the same of other kinds, provided there is an approach to equality in length of fiber. C. of different shades of color are also sometimes spun together, in order to produce a particular yarn. A quantity of this bing, as it is called, is then raked down from the top to the bottom of the side, a portion of each layer being thus secured. This is carried to the scotching or fallowing machine, by means of which the C. is cleansed from all impurities, such as sand, seeds, leaf, etc. The cleaned C. is then taken to the spreading-machine, through which it passes, and is then wound, in a fleecy state, upon a large wooden roller, to be transferred to the carding•machine. The latter machine is brought into requisition for the purpose of drawing out the fibers of the C. into parallel layers, so as to facilitate the twisting of them together. Originally, this process was performed by hand. The first improvement was made by Lewis Paul in 1748, and the next by Hargreaves in 1760. Arkwright and subsequent spinners have perfected the machine. The C. wi:s formerly cleaned by hand. The sliver is next passed through the drawing-frame, which removes all inequalities, and reduces the bands to one uniform thickness. Here also several of the slivers are joined together (called doubling), so as to form one continuous cord, which is still further lengthened and increased in fineness by the roring-machine, whence it passes on to bobbins ready for spinning. Under the heads SPINNING and WEAVING, will be found a full description of the various processes above briefly glanced at. 'Other branches of the subject are treated of under CALICO-PRECTING; CALENDERING; DYEING, etc.
- The finer kinds of yarn are spun from sea island and long-stapled Egyptian. and from them are fabricated our muslins, laces, etc. From Brazil and the better classes of short-stapled American, come our cambrics, calicoes, shirtings, sheetings, etc., and from the inferior qualities of American and Surat are spun the coarse yarns required for fustians and other heavy fabrics. Yorkshire broadcloths are sometimes half cotton. From warps of C. and wefts of wool or worsted, are formed varieties of Orleans cloths, Coburgs, inousselines de laine, damasks, etc. There are also fabrics composed of silk, and C., linen and C., alpaca and C. etc.
Of the 'total amount of yarn produced, from one fifth to one fourth is exported in its raw state. The following figures will give the reader an idea of the progress of our export trade in C. yarns and goods: In 1818, 14,743,675 lbs. of twist were exported, of which 14,727,882 lbs. went to Europe, and only 1861 lbs. to India and China. In 1843, 149,206,448 lbs. were exported; 128,664,218 lbs. to Europe; 899.746 lbs. to America and Africa; and 12,642,484 lbs. to India and China. In 1874, of the 220,599,000 lbs. exported, 77,438,000 lbs. went to Germany and Holland, 62,781,000 lbs. to India, China, and Japan. In 1877, there were in all 227,651,402 lbs. of yarn exported.