Scribbling, Carding, and Condensing.—These processes are simply stages of one and the same thing, namely carding. Up to this point, the operations have been designed to free the wool from dust, gresiee, burrs, &c., and to open the felted or matted portions. The machinery employed has been of a character appropriate for the work, the clothing of the various rollers, oylinders, &c., having been rough and strong. Scribbling and carding are intended to perfect this work, accomplishing by finer instrunients that which the rough ones could not achieve. The entangled looks of wool are DOW separated fibre from fibre, the curls or undulations of the wool are straightened out to some extent, and the blend is more thoroughly intermixed than befure, the whole being reduced to a perfectly homogeneous condition.
Carding machinery is usually arranged in " sets," one set being those machines which perfect the preparation of the wool for the spinning process. 'Usually in this country, or rather in the Yorkshire woollen districts, the set is oomposed of two machines, the scribbler and the carder with its condenser attachment. In some districts, of which New England (U.S.) may be cited as an instance, the set is composed of the scribbler, intermediate, and condenser. Where the best results are required it is necessary to use the three. or at least it may be regarded ELS advisable. There are many variations of form, and different systems of feeding these maohines. It is not needful to describe these in detail; therefore a seleotion will be made of the most recently improved or per fected.
The English system of wool carding for the production of woollen yarn is perhaps as perfectly illustrated in the set of machines constructed by the firm of John Tatham and Co., of Rochdale, as by any now in the market. Good carding is to a great extent dependent upon regularity and even ness of feeding. This was previously and is now widely performed by manual labour, the process being to weigh a given quantity of wool, and spread it equably by hand over a measured space of the feed-lattice. A good result is thus entirely dependent upon the conscientious performance of duty and the shill of the labourer : qualities that are net always to be had. The difficulty of securing them has led, as in many previous instances, to the invention of an automatic method of weighing and feeding the scribbler-card. This is of American origin, and is named the Bramwell automatic feed. By this invention, results are achieved surpassing in quality the best efforts by hand. The machine forms an attachment to the carding-engine, and is shown at A on the right of Fig. 1451. The wool is fed promiscuously at the back, a large supply being placed in the feed box or receptacle a, which has a grating at the bottom, to pernait dust or similar refuse to pass through. At the rear of this box, is an elevator, a toothed apron, the teeth of which are of peculiar
construction. These teeth take hold of and carry the material upwards, until it arrives in contact with an oscillating comb, which has a long slow sweep in front of the apron. The function of this comb is to take off the surplus wool from the apron, leaving only an evenly-distributed layer amongst the teeth of the latter. On the descending side of the apron, it is brought iuto contact with a short stripping-apron, the action of which is much quicker. This is produced with flexible strips of leather, which sweep off tbe wool from the teeth, and convey it in connection with a hollow or concave shell into a weighing-scale b. This scale is composed of two parts, kept together by weights, the whole being suspended on steel knife-edges, and balanced with movable weights, which can be fixed to weigh any desired weight. When the scale has received its proper amount, it liberates a small trigger, which causes a projection to come into contact with the teeth of a revolving disc, connected with an automatic clutch that disengages the driving-belt actuating the toothed apron, and stops the further delivery of material to the scale, which now remains at rest. When the proper moment arrives, the parts of the scale separate, and deposit the wool on the feed lattice c in a loose open condition, well suited for the cards. The scale then closes, and is carried back for more wool, the toothed apron recommencing its revolution, and the process going on as before. In the meantime, the lattice which has received the wool has moved on, and has brought up a clear space on which to receive the next discharge.
This attachment to the card has met with great favour in America, and has latterly been received with approbation in this country, numerous manufacturers of eminence having adopted it. It takes no more room thau the ordinary lattice-table, is complete, perfectly automatic, and requires but little power to drive it. Besides delivering the wool with great regularity, it naixes and opens it, thereby improving its condition for the card. It takes out a considerable portion of the foreign matters the wool may contain, rendering the carding much easier, and preserving the cards. An increased production of 20-30 per cent. is obtained, whilst considerable economy is effected in the matter of wages, one man being able to superintend three sets of three cards to a set. It is so constructed as to seldom get out of repair. The qualities it possesses in combination are that it delivers a uniform quantity over a given space at uniform intervals of time. All these factors can be varied separately or together, so as to produce any modification of the result that may be desired.