2nd Process.-7 balls from the carding-engine are put into the screw-gill balling-machine, and doubled into one with a draft of about 5. The object is to straighten and draw the fibres into parallel order more perfectly. The machine has oue head of one delivery, gill-screws to carry 12 gill-bars, and hailing motion with surface rollers.
3rd Process.—The halls from the preceding machine, to the number of 10, are next supplied to tbe screw-gill lap-machine, the function of which is to reduce the round slivers of the balls to a ilat sliver or lap, to suit the combing-machine, which comes next in order. It has one head of one delivery, fluted rollers hack and front, and screws for the same number of gill-bars as the preceding, the Niers having brass gills double pitch, and the rollers weighted with racks and frietion-pulley.
4th Process.—Oonabing is performed on Little & Eastwood's patent combing-machine, which is a very compact and highly efficient machine, nearly all the working parts being placed inside the circular comb of about 40 in. diam. The gill-head is put within the circular comb, and is fitted with 8 gill-bars. Inside the circular comb is a cylinder, around whose circumference 6 pairs of nippers are arranged. A stripper removes the noil, and a stop-motion arrests the action of the machine when the sliver accumulates ou the drawing-off rollers. Its action is as follows: The wool is fed into the fallers of the gill-head by feed-rollers having an intermittent action ; the end of the lap is seized and held fast by a pair of nippers on the cylinder, while the feeding head recedes and draws the wool through the teeth of the fallers, combing one end of the tufts by this operation. When the lap is nearly pulled apart, a spring divider thoroughly separates it, leaving a tuft of combed wool in the nippers on the cylinder. The revolving cylinder next carries the tuft over and deposits it on the pins of the circular comb, the uncombed portion or noil ends being left inside the circle behind the pins; this end of the wool is then combed by being drawn outwards through the teeth of the circular comb by means of the drawing-off rollers. As the circular comb receives the tufte of wool with one end combed, the whole of the noil beiog placed behind the pins, its action is quite free, and little strain is put on the pins; the brushes and drawing-off leathers have diminished work ; the fibres of the wool are better preserved ; and tbe wear and tear of the working parts is reduced to a minimum. This structure of machine possesses great capability, being well adapted
for Australian, Cape, River Plate, and similar wools. It is especially snitable for short wools, and in long wools will comb up to 6-7 in. in staple. Its delivery is arranged to double three into one: that is, as the sliver from the drawing-off rollers is delivered into tbe can, it may be so set as to take one or two other slivers along with it. In the combing process, therefore, with drawing three into one, the drawing after passing through the comb is altogether nine ioto one.
5th Process.—In this, nine slivers from the eomb are combined in one by means of the screw gill balling-machine, the draft being about four. It preseuts no important features of difference from the one described before, except being doubled, having two heads of two deliveries each, two sets of gill-bars, and brass gills of double pitch. All these particulars can be varied Recording to requirement.
6th and 7th Proeesses.—The sixth process is that of back-washing. In the Eoglish eystem, it is regarded as desirable to wash and clear the wool before reaching the comb, whilst in the French plan this is deferred to this point. The back-washer contains two washing-troughs, eaeh fitted with two immersion-rollers ; two sets of squeezing,-rollers, aud five copper drying-cyliuders. It has one head of two deliveries, with front and back rollers fluted, Ecrews for twelve gill-bars, belling motion, and creel for eighteen bulls. The wool leaves this process thoroughly cleaosed from oil and earthy discoloration, and is further drawn and straightened. It works with a eteam pressure of 5-10 lb. a sq. in. in the drying-cylinders, which are without hearings on one side to permit of the wool being easily passed over theta. It will efficiently wash and ball 800-1000 lb. of wool in a day.