The roof of the engine-house is fireproof, and supported on large rolled-iron girders ; that of the boiler-house is of ordinary construction, provided with ventilators. The chimney rises to a height of 210 ft. ; its diameter at the bottom is 17 ft. externally, and 8 ft. internally ; at the summit, it is 9 ft. 10 in. externally, and 7 ft. 6 in. in ternally.
The arrangement of the mill is as follows :—Tbe ground floor contains the blowing-room are three spinning: carding-room, warehouse, offices, and entrance lodge. Over the carding-room, rooms, of equal dimensions. Above the blowing-room and warehouse, are situated the mixing-room for cotton, and store-rooms for sundries. Partially over the mixing-room is the ba1e-room, provided with a door opening on the end of the mill, and fitted with a self-acting hoist. Level with the bale room is the reeling-room, and over these is a twining- or doubling-room. The boiler-house at the back of the mill oontains five Lancashire boilers, 30 ft. long and 7 ft. diameter, each having two eircular flues, 2 ft. 9 in. diameter at the thing end, tapering to 2 ft. 4 in. Behind the fire are in serted six Galloway tubes. The boilers are fed with water from the hot well of the engine. Behind each boiler, is fixed a fuel economizer, of ten pipes width : in all, 360 pipes. Passing through these, under the influence of the waste heat from the furnaces, the water attains a temperature of 138° (280° F.), before reaching the boilers. The latter are usually worked at a pressure of 90 lb.
The engines are of the tandem type, with low-pressure cylinders in front, and high-pressure behind, on the same piston ; the former are 40 in. diameter, the latter 21 in. The stroke is 6 ft. The air purup is situated under the slides of the piston-rod, and is worked by a bell-crank motion ; it haa a stroke of 3 ft. The condenser stands by the aide of the air-pump. Tho ordinary vertical type of the latter is still the most popular amongst practical men. The fly-wheel is 30 ft. in diameter ; its periphery ia 5 ft. 6 in. broad, and ia grooved for the reception of 23 ropes. The grooves are V-shaped, and of such a depth that the ropes do not touch the bottom. The ropes are of hemp or cotton, and are made in different ways. In the centre of, and extending around the periphery, are cast a set of cogs, for barring it round; these can also be used for moving it by a small bar-and ratchet arrangement.
Power is transmitted directly from the engine to each compartment of the mill, by means of the above-mentioned ropes, which are received by a grooved drum, fitted upon shafts that extend throughout the length of the mill. In the carding-room, the central shaft, driven from the engine, is turned by five ropes, and makea 220 revolutions a minute. Two other shafts, one on each side, run parallel with the former, and are driven from it, by ropes, at the same speed. The shaft nearest the rear of the mill auppliea the motive power to the carding-engines ; the middle abaft, to the drawing-frames, slubbing-frames, and intermediates; whilst the one farthest from the engine drives the roving-frames, the willows, and the openers. In the spinning-rooms, the shaft driven by the engine extends throughout the entire length, and makes 220 rev. tt minute. In the top room , a shaft is carried over the warehouse part, and drives the twining-jennies. The bale-room, which receives the raw cotton, aa it is hauled in from the mill yard by means of the automatic hoist, is pro vided with openings in the floor, bound with cast-iron frames, having covers of the same material. Similar provision is made in the mixing-room, for paaaing the raw material to the blowing-room. At the corner of this room nearest to the chimney, is a dust-flue, for carrying away the dirt and sand separated from the cotton by the willows, openers, and scutchers.
The machinery is arranged with a view to rendering the processes consecutive, and to incurring the least possible cost for handling the cotton as it passes through. For a mill of the dimensions indicated, 2 willows and 2 openers are required to serve 12 single-beater scutchers. These provide laps for 54 double carding-engines, 50 in. on the wire. Sufficient sliver is produced from these to supply 9 drawing-frames of 3 heads of 6 deliveries each ; which, in their turn, serve 9 alubbing frames, of 80 apindles each ; whilst the latter give full employment to 12-13 intermediates of 121 spindlea each, the production of these being taken by 40 roving.frames, of 168 spindles each. In a mill spinning 32's warp yarn and wefts to correspond, the above-named prepamtory machinery suffices to supply the complement of spindles, about 70,000. Twining, or doubling, is a subsequent process.