There are many descriptions of dohbies, but it will suffice to notice the most recent and improved. This is one invented by Ainsworth, of Preston, and made by Willan and Mills, of Blackburn. Fig. 569 shows it in elevation. In working, it is fixed upon the top of the loom. With the dobby, the pattern is obtained by pegs, inserted according to the requirements of the design, in holes made in the bars of a lattice, each of these bars being the equivalent of a card in the jacquard. In the latter machine, the warp threads are worked in single ends ; but in the dobby, in groups of healds upon staves, according to the requirement of the design. In the dobbies that have hitherto been in general use, considerable defects have existed, owing to many of their parts not being direct and positive in their action. In this instance, these defects have been almost obviated. The jacks A A', the wires connected with the former, the lattice for giving the patterns, and the racks K K' for carrying them, are not changed. The knives, however, instead of being con nected by straps, have their ends projecting outside the frame of the dobby, and are attached by link-rods EEL to studs on tho toothed beetors C These are geared together by the carrier-wheel D. The lever M is fixed on the same shaft as the sector 0, and is moved up and down by the rod V, which is actuated by a crank, fixed on the extremity of the tappet-shaft of tho loom. The rod V, passing downwards on the outside of the loom, is out of the way of the warp—an unusual advantage. The two lattices are worked by cylinders, mounted on a carriage, and geared together by the wheels G G. This carriage moves to the right or left at every pick. On its movement to the right, the ratchet-wheel F is pulled round by a catch, which causes the two lattice-cylinders to perform part of a revolution, and brings fresh bars of each lattice in a position to act on the wires of the dobby. The motion of the carriage is obtained by a bell-crank lever L, which is connected with another, fixed to the shaft carrying the sector C and the lever M. The lever M is lifted by the crank on the tappet-shaft ; and the jaoks and knives, worked from the right hand, are lifted also ; whilst those on the left are lowered, and vice versa. When the jacks fall, the healda are drawn downwards by spiral springs, to which they are attached beneath.
The capability of the plain loom is much increased by the introduction of special tappets. Of these, there are many descriptions, ranging between the three-leaves twill pattern, to the section tappets, known by the name of the late Bennett Woodcraft. Even to enumerate them would occupy too muoh apace.
The check or shuttle loom is supplied with two or more boxes, at one end of the slay, for the reception of ahuttlea containing different colours and counts of wefts, by means of which a striped warp of coloured yarns can be crossed with similar or contrasting colours. In most cases, the shuttle-boxes are arranged horizontally over each other, at one end of the slay, and are elevated into or depressed from the level of the shuttle-race, as occasion may require. This is accomplished by means of levers, actuated on the jacquard principle, the metallic cards of which are set to produce any given pattern. With " riaing-boxes," as this arrangement is called, it is possible to have six boxes thus superposed. With this plan, as with all in which boxes are set at one end of
the slay, the shuttle must make two picks, having to return to the box from which it has bean despatched. There is, however, another arrangement, called the " piok-and-pick " plan, in which there are an equal number of boxes at each side, by means of which a single thread of any colour or quality desired can be put in as desired ; or any other odd number. This is useful where ornamental threads are required to be used economically, or to give peculiar effects.
In other eases, the superposition of the boxes is departed from, they being arranged to revolve around a centre. Fig. 570 shows one of this description. The driving-gear is removed to the aide on which the pulleys are placed, in order to make room for the parts necessary to work the boxes, whioh revolve around a centre. The arrangement by which this is accomplished is remarkably neat and effective, the boxes being geared with and moved by a pair of bevel wheels, which quite prevent back-lashing in working. There is a repeating motion for the jacquard cards, by means of which any number of pioks can be obtained from any card, to produce any size of pattern. The arrangement for moving the boxes is very simple, yet certain of rc-ult. At the option of the 3 E superintendent, it can be set as a "skipping-motion "—that is it can be made to select any box of the six, as may be required.
In finishing this brief delineation of the numerous machines employed in the manufacture of cotton, it is incumbent upon the author to acknowledge obligations to the leading machinists of the country, who have promptly responded to inquiries for information concerning their specialities, and, by furnishing drawings and photographs, have enabled this article to be enriched with illustrations of the latest improvements that have been introduced to the notice of the trade. The names of several have been mentioned in the course of the article. Amongst others, without being invidious, mention may be made of Dobson and Barlow, of Bolton, whose cards are illustrated ; Curtiss, Sons, and Co., Manchester, to whom the illustrations of the mule are due ; Howard and Bullougb, Accrington, whose drawing and roving-frame, electric stop-motion, and Rabbeth-spindle ring-frame and spindle, have been described ; and Booth and Co., Preston, for the Booth-Sawyer ring-spindle. In the manufacturing section, the winding, warping, and sizing-frames of Howard and Bullough's make are illustrated ; whilst the plain loom is a representative of the Blackburn make, by Henry Livesey, Limited. The names of others are mentioned in connection with their specialities.
Commerce.—There remains to briefly consider the products of the above processes in their com mercial aspect.
Cotton, having passed through the first series of machines, in which it has been transformed into yarn, becomes a commercial article, and appears in the market under various forms, the chief of which may be enumerated as follows :—Grey yarns (natural colour) grouped in Nos. or counts of 4's-8's, 8's-16's, 16's-24's, 26's-30's. These are warp yarns, and are generally sold in ranges of these Nos. at one price, in either cop or bundle form—mostly the latter—for export to foreign markets. Bundles are 10 lb. packages for low and medium Nos. and 5 lb. for fine counts.