Damping.—The damping process is required after starching, since experience shows that the cloth must contain a certain anaount of moisture to subsequently acquire the proper feel and finish. Some times damping is rendered unnecessaiy, by regulating the speed of the drying machine, and allowing the pieces leaving it to contain the necessary amount of moisture ; this is called " conditioning the pieces. To gain speed, however, the pieces are generally hard dried, and a special damping machine" is employed. Fig. 360 represents such a machine. D is a water box, with roller-brush E, which dips more or less into the water ; in the upper part of the box, there is a narrow slit, across which the cloth passes at B, and there catches the fine spray thrown up by the rapidly revolving roller-brush. W is a weight attached to the lever L, to depress the loose roller R, on which the damped cloth is beamed &garnet the driven roller C. The amount of moisture imparted to the cloth is determined by regulating the height of the water in the hox. The pieces are allowed to remain on the beams for some time, in order to equalize the damping. There are other forms of damping machines, e. g. where the injector principle is applied as a spray producer ; hut the one described is the most general. According to the finish required, the goods, after damping, are either " calendered" or " beetled "; for a soft finish, this is done even without previous starching.
Calendering.—The beamed cloth from the damping maohine is placed in front of the calender, passed between the rollers of this machine, and thus subjected to powerful pressure or friction, or both combined. Fige. 361 and 362 represent a six-bowled calender of the best description, as made by Meesrs. Duncan Stewart and Co. A A' A' are bowls, made of highly-compressed paper sheets manufactured from linen rags. They are exceedingly hard and elastic, and not at all liable to crack or warp under the immense pressure to which they are subjected. B B' aro hollow iron cylinders, which can be heated by hot bolts, steam, or gas ; is a fan, to supply the air necessary for combustion when gas is used. D D are driving and friction pulleys, driven by a straight and a crossed belt respectively, from overhead shafting, and having reversible action ; they are connected with the three lowest bowls by gearing, which is so arranged that the roller B' may be made to revolve with a surface speed about a quarter greater than tbat of the rollers A2 and C, which revolve at the same speed. E E are screws, for relieving at once the pressure of all the cylindere on each other, when the machine is standing. G G are levers, in action when all the eix bowls are in use ; HH are levers, employed when only the three lowest bowls are required. For common caleudering, or " ewissing," as it is termed, the gearing wheel I is withdrawn, and the whole six bowls revolve with an equal surface speed, no friction against the piece taking place. The hollow
iron cylinders may be heated or not, according to the fuaish required ; aud the fabric is smoothed by simple pressure, or by pressure and heat combined. The dotted line in the figure shows the direction of the piece for " swissing." To give the pieces the highest degree of lustre, i. e. for " glazing," only the three lower bowls are used, with the wheel I in gear, the upper bowls being slightly raised, and the hollow cylinder B' heated. The plain line in the figure gives the direction of the piece for " glazing," during which process the machine performs, in an intensely exaggerated degree, the effect of the " ironing " of the laundry-maid.
Beetling.—The " Beetling machine," Fig. 363, gives to the cloth a finish entirely different from tbat imparted by the calender. It consists of a row of heavy beams of hard wood A, about 5 in. square and 6 ft. long, provided with notches or projections, by means of which they are raised by came or projections C on the revolving roller B, and are then allowed to fall with their own weight on a roller D or table below, on which the cloth is placed, several folds in thickness. By this repeated hammering, the cloth, which, if on a flat table, is constantly moved about by hand, if on a roller, by the revolving and lateral movement of the latter, becomes extended both in breadth and length ; it acquires a certain lustre, and a thick and leathery feel. By the pressure of the threads of one layer of cloth on those of the other, a watered effect, similar to that of moire antique, is produced. The weft and warp threads are not flattened so smoothly as with the ealender ; the cloth still retains, at some stages, a thready appearance, and might almost be mistaken for linen, which it is in fact intended to imitate.
As has been said, the first effect of beetling is to stretch the cloth, and, in order to economize time in this respect, a novel machine has been made by Messrs. Duncan Stewart and Co., and has proved itself thoroughly efficient. Fig. 361 represents a front viow of this machine. The damped cloth is led under and over the straining bar and rollers A A, between the wooden rollers B B, back hetween the middle rollers B and C, and then through the grooved metallic rollers C C; from here the piece passes behind, over the scroll roller D, over the roller E, and between the folding rollers F. The grooved rollers, which fit into each other, but without actually tonching, stretch the cloth at once, thus saving time in the beetling. Another machine well worth notice here is the new " Beetling machine," Fig. 365, introduced by Patterson, and made by Messrs. Mather and Platt, of Manchester, and Messrs. Duncan Stewart and Co., of Glasgow.