Opening.—After being properly dried, the wool is ready for opening, which has for its objects the disentangling of any matted fibres, rendering the whole mass loose and open, so that the fibres can be easily worked or drawn from each other in subsequent stages ; and the removal of the dust and impurities that re main after the washing and scouring processes. The " shake willow " or " teazer," Fig. 1445, is the machine usually em ployed. It is composed of a eylinder a having spiked teeth, which usually runs 400-500 rev. a minute. Over tho cylinder, workers b are arranged, which are ac tuated by means of the gearing shown en the exterior. These make about 30 rev. a minute. The action of cylinder and workers in combination tears and opens all matted and entangled portions, and releases the dust and foreign substances, permitting the heavier portion to fall through the grid c at the bottom. At the back, an exhaust-fan having a rapid revolution draws away the lighter refuse, which is discharged through a tubs into the open air. The machine receives its charge through the door formed by the grate, which, being hinged, can be raised or lowered at will. When closed for work, a canvas apron is brought down before it, to confine the dust.
When charging, the attendant takes up an armful of wool, and placing it in the machine, doses the door, sets it to work, and allows it to run for the time which experience teaches him the quality or state of the wool will require in order to effect a thorough cleansing. After work has commenced, it is usually charged and fed without being stopped, though the operation is net free from risk, and a little carelessness renders it highly dangerous.
Of late years, efforts have been made to improve the common " willow." Fig. 1446 shows ene of tho most recent attempts to realize this end. In some respects, it is not unlike the conical willow, so well known in the woollen trade, and which was adapted originally from the cotton 6 trade ; but it has several important differences. The wool is placed upon the endless apron a, by which it is carried to the feed-rollers b; behind these, it is immediately seized by the teetla c of the teazer, which tear it asunder and open it out. These teeth are set upon bands of iron, arranged spirally round the .front part of the shaft, in such a manner as to send the wool forward towards the interior of the machine. This part is constructed so as to form a fan, which, by its action, draws the air forward, and with it the wool, preventing the latter becoming matted or entangled. When the wool has cleared these teeth, it enters the larger part of the machine, where it comes into contact with the beaters, helically arranged upon the shaft d. These, whilst the wool is suspended in the air, drive it against the casing of the machine. This casing in the upper part is provided with iron rails, against which the wool is thrown, and further opened without injury. The lower
half of the casing consists of a grid, through which the dust and dirt escape. The fore part of the grid, beneath the teazer, is composed of iron bars, whilst that of the length under the beater is of wire network. In the former case, the heavy dust and dirt of dyed wool is shaken out before it comes to the blend, where it would absorb a large quantity of oil. When the wool has arrived at the end of the machine, it is ejected through an opening provided for that purpose. One impor tant addition is the hopper e on the top of the case, which will permit the introduction a second time of wool that requires an extra amount of beating, but vvhich might be injured by further teazing, the teazer being avoided at this point. It also serves for introducing wool of a quality that requires no teazing. Mungo and wool may be mixed by the same means. The novel points embodied in this machine entitle it to the notice of manufacturers, Burring.—Many wools contain a great quantity of seeds, and other matters of vegetable origin, acquired in the pastures in which the sheep have been fed. These are technically termed " burrs," and are often exceedingly difficult to remove, owing to their frequently being covered with sharp hooked prickles or claws, a provision of nature to effect their distribution. These considerably depreciate the value of wool, because of the trouble and eost entailed in their removal. If allowed to pass on to the card, they get broken up, the husks and spines becoming embedded in the yarns and cloth, occasioning much annoyance in the spinning and weaving processes, and ultimately being discoverable in the finished fabric, yielding a sensation as if the manufacturer had wrought into his cloth an infinite number of needle points.
There are two systems of getting rid of this vegetable matter, both of which are effective and highly useful, though not without certain drawbacks. The first is by means of the burring machine, and the second is hy the process previously described as " extracting," by which, in the rags of union textures, the vegetable matter is destroyed, leaving the wool or other animal tissues intact for use again. The extracting process is deemed the best for the class of wools and noils technically denominated " shivey," and which contain broken burrs, small seeds, and motes in con siderable quantity, for the removal of which, the burring-machine would not be very efficacious. To some extent, the nature of the wool is injuriously affected by the chemicals used, but this is a minor evil compared with the other, and therefore is the one the manufacturer elects to encounter. Whir° the " burrs" are of fair size and unbroken, it is preferable to remove them by mechanical means, rather than by the chemical process. The wool is thereby preserved in all its qualities, at the cost of a little trouble and expense.