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Title: Cordage and cordage hemp and fibres
Author: T. Woodhouse
P. Kilgour
Release date: January 4, 2026 [eBook #77619]
Language: English
Original publication: London: Isaac Pitman & Sons, 1919
Credits: deaurider, Raymond Papworth, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CORDAGE AND CORDAGE HEMP AND FIBRES ***
Transcriber’s Note: Italic text is enclosed in _underscores_. Small
capital text has been changed to all capital. Additional notes will be
found near the end of this ebook.
CORDAGE AND CORDAGE HEMP AND FIBRES
[Illustration: ROPE DRIVE FOR A MILL SHAFT
_Frontispiece_]
_PITMAN’S COMMON COMMODITIES AND INDUSTRIES_
CORDAGE AND CORDAGE HEMP AND FIBRES
BY
T. WOODHOUSE
HEAD OF WEAVING AND DESIGNING DEPARTMENT, DUNDEE TECHNICAL COLLEGE AND
SCHOOL OF ART;
FORMERLY MANAGER, MESSRS. WALTON AND CO., LINEN MANUFACTURERS,
BLEACHERS AND FINISHERS, KNARESBOROUGH;
AUTHOR OF “THE FINISHING OF JUTE AND LINEN FABRICS”; “HEALDS AND REEDS
FOR WEAVING, SETTS AND PORTERS”; JOINT AUTHOR OF “TEXTILE DESIGN: PURE
AND APPLIED”; “JUTE AND LINEN WEAVING MECHANISM”; “CALCULATIONS AND
STRUCTURE OF FABRICS”; “JUTE AND JUTE SPINNING,” ETC.
AND
P. KILGOUR
HEAD OF THE SPINNING DEPARTMENT, DUNDEE TECHNICAL COLLEGE AND SCHOOL OF
ART;
FORMERLY MANAGER, BELFAST ROPE WORKS; JOINT AUTHOR “JUTE AND JUTE
SPINNING,” ETC.
London
Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., 1 Amen Corner, E.C.4
Bath, Melbourne and New York
Printed by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd., London, Bath, Melbourne and
New York
PREFACE
The function of a small article in commercial undertakings is often
overshadowed by that of the larger and usually more valuable article,
and yet the use of the former is often an absolute necessity for the
safety of the latter. This relative value is emphasized in the use of
cordage, because the successful prosecution of many industries depends
in no mean way upon the utilization of this useful and common commodity.
Some of the various types of cordage are well known to the general
public, but the methods employed in their manufacture, the machinery
used, and the sources of the fibres are not quite so well known. We
trust that these phases are discussed in as brief but as complete a way
as is possible in this little book, which we hope will take its own
place in the literature of our Common Commodities of Commerce.
We take this opportunity of recording our warmest thanks to Messrs.
David Bridge & Co., Ltd., Castleton, Manchester, for loan of blocks; to
Messrs. The Edinburgh Roperie and Sail Cloth Co., Ltd., Leith, for
assistance and for several photographs; and to Messrs. Landauer & Co.,
London, for some of the statistics regarding the fibres.
T. WOODHOUSE.
P. KILGOUR.
_September, 1919._
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
PREFACE v
I. INTRODUCTORY 1
II. DEFINITION OF CORDAGE AND SOURCES OF FIBRES 5
III. CLASSIFICATION OF FIBRES 16
IV. THE CULTIVATION OF HEMP 19
V. RETTING, BREAKING AND SCUTCHING 24
VI. THE CULTIVATION OF PLANTS FOR HARD FIBRES 31
VII. THE PREPARING AND SPINNING MACHINERY FOR HEMP AND OTHER
SOFT FIBRES 55
VIII. THE PREPARING AND SPINNING MACHINERY FOR MANILA AND
OTHER HARD FIBRES 87
IX. TWINES, CORDS AND LINES 93
X. ROPES AND ROPE-MAKING; YARN NUMBERING 100
XI. MARKETING 108
ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG. PAGE
ROPE DRIVE FOR A MILL SHAFT _Frontispiece_
1. TWO-YEAR-OLD SISAL PLANT 6
2. AGAVE AMERICANA 8
3. TRANSVERSE SECTION OF A LEAF OF AGAVE AMERICANA 10
4. PHOTOMICROGRAPH OF A SECTION OF FIBRES OF AGAVE
AMERICANA 11
5. PHOTOMICROGRAPH OF FIBRES OF AGAVE GROWN IN MEXICO
SHOWING OXALATE OF POTASH CRYSTALS 12
6. GROUP OF HEMP PLANTS 13
7. CROSS-SECTION OF PLANT 13
8. LONGITUDINAL VIEW OF COTTON FIBRES 15
9. CROSS-SECTIONAL VIEW OF COTTON FIBRES 15
10. MANILA FIBRES: ORDER OF GRADING 35
11. BRIDGE’S “ACME” GRAVITY PATENT SISAL BREAKER 38
12. BRIDGE’S “CLIMAX” PATENT SISAL DECORTICATOR 40
13. WASHING TANKS 43
14. HOUSING FOR POWER PLANT 43
15. CUMMINS’S PATENT HORIZONTAL HYDRAULIC BALING PRESS 43
16. MAURITIUS FIBRE PLANT 47
17. BALES OF MANILA, NEW ZEALAND AND SISAL FIBRES 54
18. BREAKING MACHINE 60
19. HACKLING MACHINE 62
20. SPREAD BOARD 69
21. BREAKER AND FINISHER CARDS 74
22. DRAWING FRAMES 80
23. ROVING FRAME 81
24. DRY SPINNING FRAME 84
25. HACKLER AND SPREADER 87
26. INTERMEDIATE MACHINE 89
27. AUTOMATIC SPINNING MACHINE 91
28. DRYING BLEACHED YARNS 93
29. ROPE-MAKING (HOUSE MACHINES) 101
30. LAYING OF A FOUR-STRAND CABLE-LAID ROPE IN THE ROPE WALK 105
31. VIEWS OF LARGE AND MEDIUM-SIZED COILS OF ROPE 106
CORDAGE AND CORDAGE HEMP AND FIBRES
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
Records of civilization are incapable of furnishing the era when the
equivalent of strands or cords were first used, singly or collectively,
for the purpose of holding two or more articles securely in position.
But, although it is impossible to fix a period, one might safely say
that the original material which served the purpose was some kind of
light twig or lanceolate leaf, and that its appearance when in use as a
binder strip differed little if at all from its appearance in the
natural process of growth. Even at the present day some of these runners
are still used, notably with others the rattan canes for binding bales
of manila fibre and other purposes.
The wants of prehistoric man would be very few indeed, but, although he
was accustomed in many climates to make use of very scanty clothing or
covering, and, in many cases, was practically without any covering, it
is obvious that it would be necessary to provide himself with food--the
first essential condition to life. In his efforts to secure the
necessary food-stuffs, animate or inanimate, it is safe to conclude that
some type of ribbon-shaped vegetable material would be necessary or
desirable at an early stage, and probably at the same time or a little
later period sinews of different kinds would be brought into use.
As years rolled on, further uses would undoubtedly be found for various
kinds of fibrous material, and more improved methods would be applied in
adapting the vegetable matter and the like to the purposes intended, as
well as more care exercised in the selection of the materials. Some of
the characteristics which are essential in practically all binders or
tying strips are length, strength, pliability and a tendency to resist
atmospheric influences and other natural agents.
The gradual development of civilization, and the gradually increasing
demand for suitable substances to be used as binders and for various
other purposes would naturally lead to improvements in the utilization
of fibrous and other suitable plants, and ultimately to more or less
scientific methods of treating these plants with the object of removing
the objectionable constituents which are useless for cordage purposes,
and of retaining those parts which are considered to be most suitable
for the purpose in view.
A complete description of the evolution of modern cord and cordage is
practically impossible, for the simple reason that there is no full
record of the efforts of many of the earlier pioneers in the various
stages, and it is quite possible that many early and praiseworthy
improvements have been forgotten or overshadowed, or perhaps absorbed,
by the more modern and more elaborate methods which are now
indispensable for the successful prosecution of this important branch of
the textile industry.
The separation of fibrous material from various kinds of plants is by no
means of modern origin, for the great antiquity of yarns which have been
spun from vegetable and animal fibres is universally acknowledged.
Reference to the process of preparing flax for the purpose of spinning
appears in Exodus ix, verse 31, while the first Biblical reference to
thread--one of the technical names for a continuous length of prepared
fibrous material--is in Genesis xiv, verse 23: “That I will not take
from a thread even to a shoe-latchet.” Again, another early reference in
Chapter xxxviii refers to a scarlet thread, an indication or suggestion
that the art of dyeing was also known at this early period in the early
Biblical history.
Herodotus records garments made from hemp by the Thracians, and to the
present day hemp is largely cultivated in the vicinity of the lands
occupied by the descendants of this ancient race.
Moschion, whose writings appeared before the Christian era, states that
the “great ships of Syracuse which were built by command of Hiero II
were supplied with hemp and ropes from the Rhone districts. Hemp was
brought from Colchis to the ports of the Aegean Sea by the merchants who
were connected commercially with the north and east coasts of the Euxine
through their Milesian colonies.”
Pliny also records the use of hemp for ships, and states that it was in
common use among the Romans in the first century for ropes and sails, as
well as for other purposes.
The more or less uncertain knowledge of practically all the earlier
attempts at the solution of fibre extraction renders it impossible for
us to bridge the gap between the time when crude primitive methods were
practised and that which ushered in the more perfect methods described
by Pliny in the first century--methods which, in certain cases, have
varied little since this early period, and which are practised with a
high degree of success. We may, therefore, leave this interesting period
to the researches of students in history, and enter upon the description
and illustration of the various plants from which fibre is extracted,
and the actual processes which such fibre has to undergo before it is
ready for the market in one or other of the well-known types of cordage.
CHAPTER II
DEFINITION OF CORDAGE AND SOURCES OF FIBRES
The definition of cordage usually takes the form of “a quantity of cords
or ropes as the rigging of a ship, etc.,” but in commerce the word has a
more elastic meaning, and, in general, may be said to include all kinds
of continuous strands or the like which are not intended to be woven
into cloth or to be knitted into hosiery. Differentiation occurs,
however, for one often finds the phrase “Ropes, Cords and Twines” as
referring to special types of cordage, while further subdivision occurs
when one includes the many types of finer material such as lines, sewing
thread, and the like. And when one considers that the various articles
which are included in the generic term cordage have a range from ropes
of 9 or 10 in. in diameter to fine threads of not more than perhaps
1/60th of an inch, and for which a very large number of different kinds
of fibres are used, some idea of the immense variety can possibly be
formed.
From whatever source a vegetable cordage fibre is derived, it is
necessary to eliminate more or less of the substances which are closely
connected with it in the plant, in order that the comparatively pure
fibre may be spun into thread form with the maximum of strength and
production, and the minimum of difficulty and waste. In this respect it
is quite likely that an animal fibre such as wool would be more easily
separated than any other known fibre. Wool, however, is rarely used for
cordage purposes, although hair, which approximates to wool, is used for
certain types of cord. There are certainly many types of wool ropes used
for decorative purposes, but, in general, this most valuable substance
is, for obvious reasons, unsuitable for the usual kind of cordage, and
hence wool will not be discussed in this work.
The fibres from the leaves of certain tropical plants may be separated
with a little more difficulty than that which is experienced in the
operation of shearing a sheep, but these fibres are hidden, and even
when found originally, great difficulty would be experienced before a
continuous thread could be made from them. It is quite probable that a
natural process of disintegration would disclose these vegetable fibres
to primitive man, and lead to their ultimate utilization for various
purposes. Or perhaps the gradual wear and tear of the leaves used,
either loosely or bound in some crude form, as floor-covering would
result in the discovery of the fibrous layers. It is the remarkable
advance in mechanical science which has made the production of a
continuous thread from such fibres a possibility for industrial
purposes.
Long before continuous spinning was invented, however, it would be
desirable to extract the valuable fibrous material from its bed of
vegetable matter because the latter is, in general, quite unfit for the
purposes which the fibrous material has to perform. This remark applies
not only to the fibres which are extracted from leaves, but also to
those valuable fibres which are embedded in the bast layers of the stems
of certain plants.
We might now with advantage illustrate by means of photographic
reproductions of plants, and photomicrographs of sections, the three
sources from which vegetable fibres are obtained to be utilized in the
manufacture--or spinning as it is technically called--of the world’s
supply of cordage.
[Illustration: _By permission of Messrs David Bridge & Co., Ltd._
FIG. 1
TWO-YEAR-OLD SISAL PLANT]
A typical example of a leaf plant from which one type of textile or
cordage fibre is extracted is illustrated in Fig. 1. This particular
example is designated as a “Two-year-old Sisal Plant.” It is 49 in.
high, and was grown in the Voi district, British East Africa. Sisal is
the commercial name of the fibre obtained from such plants, while the
botanical name of the plant is _Agave Rigida_, variety _Sisalana_; it is
sometimes, though erroneously, termed the Americana.
[Illustration: FIG. 2
AGAVE AMERICANA]
A recently suggested nomenclature of the Agave and other plants, from
which sisal and similar fibres are extracted, is due to Professor Lyster
Dewey of the United States Department of Agriculture--
(1) Agave Fourcroydis of Yucatan; this plant yields 90 per cent. of the
sisal fibres exported from all countries. The leaves bear marginal
spines as illustrated in the _Agave Americana_ shown at A, Fig. 2: the
plant was formerly known as _Agave Rigida_, variety _Elongata_.
(2) _Agave Sisalana_ grown for use by the natives of Central America and
South Mexico, but not much exported.
(3) _Agave Cantala._ This is the “_Maguey_” plant of the Philippine
Islands, and is grown in limited quantities in Java and India.
[Illustration: FIG. 3
TRANSVERSE SECTION OF A LEAF OF AGAVE AMERICANA]
When a thin slice or fine transverse section of one of the leaves of
such a plant is mounted, and its appearance magnified by
photomicrography, the structure of the leaf is shown to be similar to
that illustrated in Fig. 3. The upper and the lower outer surfaces or
cuticle A resemble greatly the whipped edges of blankets. These
surfaces, and all the pulp-like matter lettered B, must be removed,
either by manual or mechanical means, in order to separate or extract
the groups of fibre some of which are denoted by the letter C. A still
further enlargement of a few of these groups of fibrous material appears
in Fig. 4.
[Illustration: FIG. 4
PHOTOMICROGRAPH OF A SECTION OF FIBRES OF AGAVE AMERICANA]
A photomicrograph of two fibres of a type of Agave grown in Mexico is
shown in Fig. 5; it is interesting because it depicts the formation of
crystals of Oxalate of Potash. The presence of such crystals makes the
fibre unsuitable for cordage purposes, but it may be used in the
manufacture of coarse brushes.
[Illustration: FIG. 5
PHOTOMICROGRAPH OF FIBRES OF AGAVE GROWN IN MEXICO, SHOWING OXALATE OF
POTASH CRYSTALS]
The second source from which fibre is extracted is that from the stems
of plants such as flax, hemp, jute and the like. A photographical
reproduction of a group of hemp plants grown by the Authors appears in
Fig. 6. A female plant is illustrated on the right, while the remaining
two which are taller are male plants.
[Illustration: FIG. 6
GROUP OF HEMP PLANTS]
[Illustration: FIG. 7
CROSS-SECTION OF PLANT]
A thin cross-section cut from the stem of such a plant exhibits the
characteristics in Fig. 7, in which A is the cuticle or outer bark, B is
the woody part, and C the pith. The fibrous layer is between the two
dark circles D, and a few groups of fibres in this layer are indicated
by the letter E. Here, again, a considerable amount of extraneous matter
must be separated from the bast layer, and when separated, the latter
appears in the form of long ribbons. The cuticle and bast layer were
originally stripped from the plants; the former were then placed in the
mouth so that the saliva could aid in the separation of the fibres from
the bark, and permit of a finer reduction of the fibrous layer to
produce finer threads. And although at the present time this method is
practised for thread making in many primitive communities, it need
hardly be said that much more efficient methods have long been practised
for commercial purposes, such methods being known by the technical terms
“retting,” “breaking,” and “scutching.”
[Illustration: FIG. 8
LONGITUDINAL VIEW OF COTTON FIBRES]
[Illustration: FIG. 9
CROSS-SECTIONAL VIEW OF COTTON FIBRES]
The third source of vegetable fibres is the cotton plant _Gossypium_,
the white fluffy fibres being obtained from the pods or bolls. The
operation of cotton picking which is often referred to consists of
removing this white fluffy mass from the pods in which also the seeds
are located. Cotton fibre is unlike the two previous classes of fibre
because its method of growth is different. The other textile fibres are
composed of bundles of plant cells, whereas the fibres of cotton are
individual cells; they form as it were individual hairs on the seed, and
in drying flatten and also assume a twisted and crinkled condition as
exemplified in Fig. 8, which illustrates the longitudinal
characteristics of several fibres. Fig. 9 shows the sectional
enlargements of a few fibres. This structure of the cotton fibre is a
very valuable property, since it not only assists in the binding of the
fibres into a thread, but also gives a resiliency and spring to ropes
manufactured from it which is most useful in driving; this property
makes cotton almost indispensable for the construction of the smaller
sizes of ropes for driving purposes.
CHAPTER III
CLASSIFICATION OF FIBRES
Cordage fibres which are used at the present time are naturally of
greater variety than those which were utilized for similar purposes in
the early periods of history, for records of those used in such early
periods appear to indicate only hemp and flax. As already stated, wool
would not be used to any great extent, but, after methods had been
evolved for spinning a continuous thread from fibres such as hemp and
flax, it is highly probable that the cotton fibre would also be used in
the making of cords and ropes.
Authentic records point to the fact that the cultivation of flax plants
for fibre was practised in Egypt from 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, and
hence it is quite possible that hemp plants would be grown under similar
conditions and for suitable purposes; moreover, if the hemp fibre were
proved to be suitable for cordage purposes, it is not difficult to
believe that the cultivation of this important plant in suitable
districts would become as universal as that of flax.
Another reason which suggests the early use of hemp as a cordage fibre
is the universality of its presence in most eastern countries as a
vegetable product. It is at present cultivated in most European
countries, and especially in Russia, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Serbia,
France and Germany. It is also found on the East and West coasts of
Africa, in many of the States of America--particularly in Kentucky--as
well as in India, China and Japan.
If the climate is comparatively moist, with a period of mild temperature
and a suitable soil, the hemp plant can be successfully cultivated for
fibre; it is cultivated in India and in most of the tropical countries
for the production of a liquor which the natives consume in much the
same way as intoxicating liquors are consumed in temperate countries.
True hemp is a plant which grows wild in Central Asia, but must be
cultivated in practically all other areas. It is an annual, and requires
a rich soil with a subsoil capable of retaining sufficient moisture to
promote the growth during periods of dry weather. If otherwise, the
growth of the plants would be checked during this dry period with a
consequent deficient yield of fibre.
With the gradual development of trade, and the introduction of new kinds
of fibre to be used for cordage, an extended meaning has been applied to
the word hemp, but, unfortunately, the word has been applied rather
loosely to many types of fibre which are used for rope-making. Thus, one
frequently hears the following names in reference to different fibres--
Manila Hemp,
Sisal Hemp,
New Zealand Hemp,
Mauritius Hemp,
Bowstring Hemp, etc.;
whereas the real hemp is usually designated as--
Russian Hemp,
Italian Hemp,
Indian Hemp,
Sunn Hemp, etc.
To differentiate between these different fibres, and so provide a better
classification and conception of the terms, it should be clearly
understood that the proper hemp fibres, _e.g._, Russian, Italian and
Indian, are obtained from the plant _Cannabis Sativa_, and that the
fibres are located in the bast layers of the plant stems as exemplified
in Fig. 7. The fibres are extracted from these layers in the same way as
the fibres of flax and jute are extracted from similar layers, that is,
by a process technically termed “retting.” Such fibres are called soft
fibres in contradistinction to hard fibres to which class Manila, Sisal,
New Zealand, Mauritius and Bowstring fibres belong. The hard fibres are
located in the leaves or in the leaf stalks of plants; typical examples
of the general appearance of such plants and the internal
characteristics are illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5.
CHAPTER IV
THE CULTIVATION OF HEMP
The botanical or scientific name for hemp is _Cannabis Sativa_, order,
_Moraceoe_, sub-order, _Cannaboidae_. The plant grows wild in Central
Asia, but is cultivated in many tropical and temperate regions of both
hemispheres. From a cordage point of view the fibre is, naturally, of
most importance, but, incidentally, it might be mentioned that the seed
is used as a food for birds, and oil is extracted from it; in addition,
in tropical countries, a resinous juice exudes from the stalks, leaves
and flowers which is made into a violent intoxicant.
The plants in general attain a height of from 4 to 8 ft. or more, and in
exceptional cases, such as under good cultivation in suitable soil,
approach 20 ft. in height. The leaves are five to nine lobed with
serrate margin. The plants are dioecious and the flowers are
yellowish-green, small and inconspicuous; the male flowers are numerous
and produced in drooping panicles, each flower of five segments; the
female flowers are fewer in number, on spikes, single leaf, single
ovary, with greyish-green to brownish-grey seed, and rich in oil. The
matured stems are usually hollow, and the bark layer very fibrous
throughout the whole length of the stem.
The plant readily adapts itself to great changes of climate, and, as
already stated, is found in all climates, from the tropical ones of
India and China to the frozen regions of Northern Russia. It is
adversely affected, however, in the earlier stages of its growth by
frost, and always requires a moderately strong sunny period during its
growth. It is cultivated in the temperate climates chiefly for its
valuable fibre, but a serviceable fibre may be obtained from the plants
which are grown in tropical countries.
The most important fibre-producing areas are Russia, Italy and
Austria-Hungary, but it is produced in other countries, notably those
mentioned below, as well as in Turkey, China and the Southern and
Western areas of the United States of America. The Italian fibre is the
best of all for fine work, while the Russian fibre, which has a special
affinity for tar, is the most satisfactory for use in the manufacture of
heavy cordage for maritime purposes.
The approximate annual production of hemp from fourteen different
countries appears below--
Russia 400,000 tons
Italy 80,000 „
Hungary 50,000 „
India 36,000 „
Siberia 22,000 „
Austria 18,000 „
France 15,000 „
Japan 8,000 „
Serbia 8,000 „
Caucasus 5,000 „
Poland 4,000 „
Bulgaria 2,000 „
Germany 2,000 „
Roumania 1,500 „
The successful cultivation of hemp requires a rich, deep and well-worked
soil with a large amount of humus. Alluvial soils are well adapted for
the purpose. The strong loam soils of Italy are typical of the best. In
all cases a good supply of moisture is necessary, otherwise the crop
would be short and stubby and ill adapted for the production of fibre.
The land should be well prepared by deep ploughing, and followed by
rolling and harrowing to produce a level and uniform seed bed. The roots
of the plants will penetrate into the subsoil if the land is well
ploughed, but waterlogged land is unsuitable. A liberal supply of manure
is essential owing to the vigorous growth of the crop, and while
farmyard manures are the best, the stalks of a leguminous crop may be
ploughed in. Manure from animal slaughter-houses is very suitable, and
all refuse from the previous hemp crop should be returned to the land.
Since the hemp fibre contains a large amount of lime and phosphates, it
may sometimes prove advantageous to use dressings which contain these
substances.
The seed should be selected with care, and should be tested for its
powers of germination. Stored seeds are liable to heat and lose their
vitality, and immature seeds are also unsatisfactory. Indian and Chinese
seeds are often mixed with home seed. In temperate climates sowing
should take place as early in spring as possible, but after the night
frosts have passed. The early spring rain and sun are very beneficial,
and the foliage which appears moderately early helps to conserve the
moisture in the soil as the heat of the sun gets more intense.
The amount of seed to be sown depends upon the type of fibre desired;
thus, one bushel of seed per acre for coarse fibre to three bushels per
acre for fine fibre are the approximate quantities, and the seed may be
sown broadcast by hand, or by machines into drills about 6 or 7 in.
apart. In all cases the seed should be well covered to prevent ravages
by birds, hence, it is usual after sowing to harrow and roll the fields
again for the above purpose, as well as to prepare a level and uniform
bed for the germination of the seeds.
Where the land is cultivated with the production of seed as its main
object, the seeds should be sown thinly and wide apart, say, in drills
or rows from 6 to 7 ft. apart, so that the plants will branch
extensively and thus provide facilities for a profusion of flowers. The
male plants are pulled after the bloom is shed, but the female plants
are allowed to mature under the best conditions so that a large crop may
result. Great care must be taken in harvesting and in storing the seed;
provision must be made to prevent the deterioration of seed through a
process of heating. The average yield of seed per acre is about thirty
bushels, but in exceptional cases as many as sixty bushels may be
obtained.
Under satisfactory conditions the young plants should appear in from
seven to twelve days, after which it is necessary to thin them out and
to remove the weeds. While the plants must be wide enough apart to
facilitate good growth, there should not be too much space between them
when grown for fibre, or branching out will result. If a field has
become troublesome with weeds, no crop will eliminate them as quickly as
that of hemp.
If desired both male and female plants may be harvested at the same
time, but it is often considered advisable to harvest them separately.
It is as well to make most of the mixed crop if the labour is available.
The male plants may be cut or pulled when the flowers attain maturity or
a little after, and when the leaves are changing colour from green to
brown. The female plants being shorter may be allowed to remain for
about four weeks when the seeds are beginning to ripen.
The yield of fibre per acre of land cultivated is influenced by several
conditions, but on good lands under satisfactory conditions of
cultivation, an average of 6 to 7 cwt. may be relied upon, and in many
cases this quantity is easily exceeded.
After the plants are harvested, a number of minor operations take place
in different districts before the plants are subjected to the important
process of “retting” or rotting. These preliminary operations are mostly
to reduce the weight of the plants and to discard undesirable matter
which happens to be easily detached, as well as to secure uniformity.
Thus, the tops and roots may be cut off, and the leaves stripped or
beaten off, while after the plants have been dried, they may be arranged
according to length and thickness. They are then tied up into bundles of
suitable bulk for the operation of retting.
CHAPTER V
RETTING, BREAKING AND SCUTCHING
The retting operation is that process which converts the constituents of
the stems into that condition which will enable the bast layer, see Fig.
7, to be separated easily from the remaining parts of the stem. In all
fibrous plants of the type illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, a retting
process is conducted in which the plants are either submerged in water,
called “water retting,” or spread on lands adjoining the cultivated
areas to undergo what is termed a weathering action, or “dew retting.”
Water retting is the more satisfactory and gives the better results,
and, in the hands of experienced operatives a more rapid production of
fibre of the better grades.
The submersion of the plants, caused by placing stones, clods or the
like on to the bundles, may be in slowly-running rivers, in which case
the bundles are kept intact in crates moored to the bank, or a similar
submersion may be conducted in a series of tanks or ponds. In the latter
case a supply of water may be allowed to enter and leave the tank, and
the plants are kept there until the operation is complete. Stagnant
water acts quicker on the plants than does running water.
The retting action is a process of fermentation, and the amount of
active bacteria can be regulated by the temperature and rate of movement
of the water. Flax retting in the river Lys, near Courtrai, is the
finest system known at present, and its value is due to the slow rate of
movement of soft water which is favourable to the production of the
retting bacteria; the adaptation of a similar system to this where the
water supply is suitable will give high-class results.
Fermentation starts soon after the plants are submerged, and the rate of
fermentation depends upon the temperature of the air and water; its
progress is identified by the presence of air bells on the surface of
the water. As the operation proceeds, the bundles have a tendency to
rise to the surface, and hence extra weights are added to keep them
submerged. When the formation of air bells ceases, the operatives
carefully examine and test the stems to ascertain the progress of the
operation; they usually strip off part of the bast layer, see Fig. 7,
from the wood or core, and their judgment of the correct stage of
retting is determined by the ease with which this separation is
effected. Great skill is required here, or rather ripe experience, for
if the retting is not complete, a portion of the woody matter goes
forward with the fibre, while if the stems are over-retted, the fibre is
weak; in both cases, a faulty judgment causes trouble in the actual
manual or mechanical processes which follow.
Other methods of retting are adopted in different countries, and even in
certain districts of those countries where the above system is in vogue.
It will be understood that the choice of any system will depend largely
upon local circumstances, and in all cases, other things being equal,
the method adopted will be that which will yield the largest quantity of
hemp fibre at the least cost.
The characteristics of the fibres are typical of the countries in which
the plants were grown, and of the processes of retting. It will be
almost invariably found that the best fibre is the result of the most
elaborate and careful methods of cultivation and retting, together with
the equally careful and efficient subsequent processes of breaking and
scutching.
It need hardly be said that the above elaborate and costly methods are
adopted only for the very finest grades of fibre; they would not be
attempted in the case of those plants which grow and ripen so rapidly in
some tropical countries, and in which a short, harsh fibre only is
obtained; for such plants the cheapest and simplest methods of
extraction are practised.
Many praiseworthy attempts have been made, and others are still in
progress, with varying degrees of success, to extract the fibre quickly.
None has yet been able to supplant the above-described costly, lengthy
and laborious process, but with modern science, machinery and
experience, one might expect that some brilliant genius will ultimately
solve the problem. Many industrial problems have been solved by the
joint action of experience and applied science, and one might therefore
hope to see a great simplification of the present hazardous operation of
retting.
The successful introduction of a machine or a system of machinery which
would pull, strip and clean hemp and allied plants and fibres on the
field of growth would not only open up new fields of cultivation, but
would increase the wealth of our country by millions of pounds; it would
do much to prevent the depopulation of the rural districts and so help
to preserve the hygienic conditions of our large towns.
The retting operation completed, the stems are washed and spread on
grass land, if available, or stooked like grain and allowed to dry
thoroughly. It is acknowledged to be advantageous to allow the stems to
remain a few days on the grass, for after this exposure the fibre is
more easily and efficiently separated from the other constituents of the
bast layer.
The ribbon-shaped layer may be about 3 ft. long in the shorter Russian
grades of hemp, but up to 15 ft. in length in the Italian grades. The
colour varies from grey and brown to a rich cream and almost white in
the finest grades.
The ultimate fibres are large and somewhat irregular in shape; they vary
in length from 0·2 to 2 in., with an average length of about 1 in.,
while the diameter is only about 1/1000 or 0·001 of an inch.
BREAKING AND SCUTCHING.--Various methods are adopted to separate the
bast layer from the central or woody part of the retted and dried stems
of hemp, but in all cases the operation thus involved is termed
“breaking.” The central woody part has to be broken into a great number
of short lengths, and this is done in some districts by exceedingly
simple apparatus, and in other districts by modern breaking machines.
Perhaps the simplest apparatus which is used for this purpose consists
of a series of Δ-shaped wooden bars arranged horizontally in the form of
a grid, and into the cavities of this row of bars fits another group or
series of similar bars but inverted. The latter group is hinged at one
end and provided with a handle at the other.
When the handle and the upper set of bars are raised, a few hemp stems
are laid across the fixed lower bars; the handle is then pressed
downwards, and this causes the stems to be squeezed and broken between
the two sets of bars. By repeated blows with the upper bars, and lateral
movements of the stems, it is evident that the woody core would be
broken, and this is done without damaging the fibrous layer. A treadle
may be attached to the handle end of the hinged grid and thus leave both
hands free to manipulate the stems and to remove that portion of the
broken wood which has not already dropped through the slots in the lower
grid but remains between the bars of the same.
The mechanical means for this purpose consist of a number of fluted
rollers between which the stems pass and by the flutes of which the wood
is broken. Sometimes scrapers are used in the same machine to help to
remove the small particles of wood. What remains in the hand after the
simple manual process is completed, or what is delivered from the
machine by the delivery rollers, are the unbroken fibrous layers to
which still adhere several particles of woody matter or shive as it is
called. A further operation, termed “scutching,” is necessary to remove
this shive and so leave the lengths of fibre as clean as possible.
SCUTCHING.--The operation of scutching may be considered in some
respects in the light of a scraping action in which the broken and
partially-clean, ribbon-like structures of fibres occupy a position
between a fixed and a movable board, and are subjected to the friction
between them. The simplest apparatus for this purpose consists of an
upright wooden board with a horizontal slot near its upper end and
through which the ends of the fibres are passed. The fibres hang
downwards, and while thus depending a flat wooden “scutching handle” or
flail--very similar in shape to a baking spit--is brought smartly with
its edge to traverse downwards against the fibres, and thus to remove
the objectionable shive but at the same time to prevent, as far as
possible, the destruction of the fibrous layer and the accumulation of
waste. The operative can expose as much of the fibrous layer as desired
to the action of the scutching handle in virtue of the slot, and after
one end of the “strick” is finished, the other end is treated similarly.
While the above hand method is largely practised and is quite
satisfactory where comparatively small quantities have to be treated, or
for very fine and expensive material where delicate treatment is
essential, the modern method of scutching is done by power. The feeding
and manipulation of the stricks are, however, still under the direct
control of the operative. In these mechanical scutchers it is usual to
employ six to twelve handles--narrower but longer than the hand
flail--and these handles project from a common centre or shaft, somewhat
after the form of the sails of a windmill. As the shaft rotates, the
handles are brought successively to act against the fibres as in the
simpler process.
Large quantities of Russian and other hemps are only partially cleaned,
and are termed “siretz” hemps, while in some districts where the most
valuable plants are grown, the bast layer is stripped from the stems,
and the material subjected in smaller quantities to the cleaning and
washing processes, thus producing a higher value fibre.
In hand scutching an operative cleans on an average about 10 to 12 lb.
of Italian hemp per hour, but such quantities can be, obviously, only
approximate, for the quantities prepared will vary greatly, depending as
they do upon the efficiency of the apparatus at command, the degree to
which the fibrous layer has to be cleaned, the quality of the material
and the skill of the operator. The better grades of fibre usually and
almost invariably receive more treatment than the lower grades.
The commercial value of hemp depends, as already stated, upon its
strength, colour, freedom from faults, and its spinning properties;
comparative values are scarcely possible unless in certain seasons,
because prices fluctuate greatly according to the demand for certain
grades of cordage as well as to the prices of other fibres which may be
used for similar goods.
Italian hemp can be spun into thinner or finer yarns than any of the
other hemps, and it is therefore a competitor with certain grades of
flax. French, Chinese and Russian hemps are also valuable, and besides
being used alone, are sometimes mixed with the coarser varieties of
Italian hemp for certain kinds of cordage and lines.
The following table shows the amount of fibre in tons for five years in
regard to Russian and Italian hemp imports to the United Kingdom.
──────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┬─────────┬────────
│ 1907. │ 1908. │ 1909. │ 1910. │ 1911.
──────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────
Russian │ 17,299 │ 15,753 │ 13,816 │ 12,576 │ 14,981
Italian │ 10,462 │ 8,133 │ 10,144 │ 10,298 │ 10,343
──────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────
│ 27,761 │ 23,886 │ 23,960 │ 22,874 │ 25,324
══════════╧═════════╧═════════╧═════════╧═════════╧════════
CHAPTER VI
THE CULTIVATION OF PLANTS FOR HARD FIBRES
The different types of hard fibres for cordage are mentioned in Chapter
III, page 17, and, although there are certain features which are more or
less common to all, there are differences which make it advisable, if
not necessary, to discuss each main type separately.
One of the best-known hard fibres is the Manila or Abaca fibre (obtained
from the wild plantain, a variety of the banana plant) _Musa textilis_.
It is an excellent cordage fibre and is largely used both in this
country and in the United States of America. The plant, from which the
fibre is obtained, is in many respects indistinguishable from the banana
plant during the period of growth; the colour of the leaves of the
banana plant is, however, usually of a darker green shade than that of
the leaves of the _Musa textilis_, while the flowers and fruit of the
banana are much more abundant than are those of the Manila plant. On the
other hand, the fibre of the banana plant is very poor in quality, and
practically valueless for cordage purposes.
The _Musa textilis_ is peculiarly indigenous to the Philippine Islands,
indeed most of the attempts to cultivate this plant in other areas have
been unsuccessful. Manila, Luzon and Cebu are three of the principle
fibre-producing areas, and, because of the suitability of the soil and
climate in these areas, the growth of the Manila industry has been
extensive, and large quantities of high-grade fibre are produced
annually in these three areas.
Cleared forest land is very suitable for the propagation of young plants
which require a certain amount of shade to assist their growth in the
early stages. During the period of growth a large number of suckers or
young plants grow around the parent plant; these suckers are used in
general to start a new plantation, while in other cases the young plants
are raised from seed. In both cases, the young plants are set out so
that from 500 to 600 may occupy an acre, and the distance between the
plants is from 8 to 10 ft. If plants are propagated from seed it takes
about one year before the shoots can be set out in the plantation, and
they should be spaced in the same way as the suckers.
The ground should be kept clear of weeds at least during the first year;
after this period, vigorous growth starts, if the usual moist season
prevails, and during the three or four years of growth the plant attains
a height of 8 ft. and upwards. Occasionally a plant grows to a height of
20 ft. After the lapse of three to four years, the fibre plant develops
a flower, and then the plant should be cut down to obtain the best type
of fibre.
Hilly land, and particularly volcanic slopes with a moist loose soil,
are very well suited for the cultivation of these plants. Swamp lands,
while satisfactory for certain types of plants, are unsuitable for the
cultivation of Manila.
The work of harvesting and the extraction of the fibre are usually done
on the contract system; a supervisor will take over the plantation upon
which he starts his men on the dual process.
The fibre is produced in the sheathing leaf stalks which form a bundle 6
in. to 1 ft. or even more in diameter with a central stem or flower
stalk about 3 in. in diameter. The flowers are near the upper part which
may reach a much greater height than the leaves. The pistillate flowers
are nearest the base and form fairly large fruits which are filled with
black seeds.
The bundle of sheathing leaf stalks are cut off a few inches above the
ground and split up into widths of about 5 to 6 in., after which the
fibre can be extracted either by hand or by machine. When the hand
method is practised, the stalks are first well beaten with wooden
mallets, and then scraped with suitable instruments until the fibre is
freed from the surrounding vegetable matter. The separated fibre is
finally washed and dried, and made up into bales of 280 lbs. each.
It is very important that the substances which surround the fibres
should be completely removed, and that the fibre should be thoroughly
dried after it has been well washed. These operations completed, the
dried fibre is conveyed to the premises of the owner of the plantation
to be selected and valued. The approximate cost of extracting the fibre
is half its market value, and this sum is often paid by the farmer to
the men who perform the work.
The stripped and cleaned fibre is now graded by experts who are
appointed by the Government of the Islands, and the various qualities
are now much more uniform than they were formerly, see page 34.
In general, a yield of 2 to 3 lb. of fibre per plant is obtained, but
this quantity may be doubled in some cases. With the average mentioned,
approximately 12 cwt. of fibre per acre would be produced, but a
considerably higher quantity could be obtained by more perfect
machinery, as the loss of fibre in the operation of stripping amounts,
in many cases, to 25 per cent. of the possible production.
The following table shows one method of grading the fibre, and the
average price per ton during June, 1915. See also page 51.
Extra Fine Prime £56 to £58
Prime 52 „ 54
Superior Current 50 „ 52
Good Current 48 „ 50
Midway 44 „ 46
Current 41 „ 42
Seconds 38 „ 39
Brown 36 „ 38
Fair 37 „ 38
Medium 32 „ 33
Coarse 28 „ 29
Coarse Brown 27 „ 28
Another method of grading is by means of letters, and Fig. 10 is a
photographical reproduction of fifteen different samples representing
the general grading and marked A to M. There are also a few intermediate
grades which are of similar classes of fibre but discoloured--a fault
due to imperfect cleaning.
[Illustration: FIG. 10
MANILA FIBRES: ORDER OF GRADING]
The imports of Manila to the United Kingdom for the years 1911 to 1915
inclusive and the actual value appear in the following table, while the
average value of one grade, Fair Current, appears alongside. See also
page 34.
────────┬─────────┬───────────────┬────────────────────────────────
Year. │ Tons. │ Total Value. │ Price per ton of Fair Current.
────────┼─────────┼───────────────┼────────────────────────────────
1911 │ 75,449 │ £1,647,542 │ £19 -- --
1912 │ 83,313 │ £1,990,481 │ £21 10 --
1913 │ 64,579 │ £1,600,450 │ £34 -- --
1914 │ 54,206 │ £1,396,593 │ £27 15 --
1915 │ 57,783 │ £1,760,471 │ £28 10 --
────────┴─────────┴───────────────┴────────────────────────────────
SISAL.--This is a fibre which is almost of equal importance to Manila
for the production of cordage. The plants, which are produced
extensively in Mexico, Africa and the Bahama Islands, form a group
termed the Agaves.
Those plants which are most extensively cultivated for fibre purposes
have recently been classified, see page 8.
The particular Agave plant from which the Sisal fibre of commerce is
obtained is the _Agave Sisalana_, or Henequen, natural order,
_Armaryllidaceae_, the chief centres of production of which are Yucatan
and Campeachy; the cities of Merida and Progresso are the centres of
production of the fibre for the export markets.
The plants grow very successfully on waste and arid lands, and require
very little attention after the preliminary operations of clearing the
land and of planting out the young Agaves either as bulbules or
“bulbils” produced from the creeping roots.
The stems of the plants are stumpy, and large fleshy leaves are produced
which attain a height of 3 to 6 ft. The flowers are produced on a long
stalk or pole which often rises to 30 ft. or more. The flowers appear in
dense groups on lateral branches upon the axils of which develop
bulbils; these grow to maturity and then drop to the ground where many
of them take root and thus provide young shoots which may be replanted
for another crop.
In the formation of new plantations for the production of fibrous
plants, it is only necessary to clean the ground and dig the soil round
where the young bulbils, suckers, or a mixture of both, are to be
planted. They are so arranged that there is a greater space between the
rows than there is between the plants in a row, say in the proportion of
8 to 6, and about 1,000 plants are spaced in an acre.
If the plants are taken from nurseries where the bulbils have been
propagated for transplanting, it may be found advantageous to provide
light tramways for their conveyance, as well as for the conveyance of
the mature leaves in the opposite direction. The extra space between the
rows is for facilitating such work by rails and other means. In fact, a
plantation for the cultivation of Sisal plants and the production of the
fibre should be laid out on a definite plan with provision, not only for
successful cultivation, but for the subsequent operations of stripping,
washing, cleaning and baling the fibre, while a desirable, if not
absolutely necessary consideration, is the choice of ground in close
proximity to a satisfactory district for labour.
A short time after the plants have been set it is advisable to clean and
weed the ground periodically for at least two years to give the plants a
favourable start; afterwards vigorous growth occurs, and no further
attention in this line is necessary.
It will be evident that a more vigorous growth will obtain in warm
climates than in cold climates, but at the same time these warm climates
may be exceptionally suitable; indeed, it has already been proved that,
in some of the more recently-established centres of cultivation such as
Africa, a better fibre is being produced than in some of the older
established centres, and, moreover, the growing period is shorter.
To make a fibre-production area a success, it is advisable to adopt a
systematic extension of the plantation each season, so that a continuous
supply of leaves will be obtained, and that the available labour supply
can be fully utilized either with operations in cultivation or fibre
extraction; in this way a regular supply of fibre could be placed on the
market for manufacturing purposes.
After a plantation is completed, the first cutting of the leaves may
take place in from two to four years, depending upon the situation of
the plant and its state. It is not necessary to cut down the whole
plant; the larger leaves are cut when at maturity, and others as they
mature; successive cuttings may be at intervals of approximately six
months, after which the plant may be cut down and the spot allowed to
remain fallow for a year, when a new plant is introduced.
The yield of fibre from the plants will vary considerably from time to
time, such variation being influenced by the district, the weather and
by the degree of perfection of the methods employed for extracting the
fibre from the leaves.
The usefulness of the Agave fibres has been acknowledged for some time,
and their value has been enhanced by the production of superior fibres
in various centres of Africa as already stated; improved methods of
cultivation and the use of modern and efficient stripping and cleaning
machines may lead to the production of this type of fibre which will
compete successfully with many of our most valued fibres for cordage
use.
As the leaves are cut down from the plants, they should be removed at
once to the stripping machine. The original name for such a machine was
“Raspadore,” and supposed to be an invention of a Franciscan friar. The
modern English word for the purpose is “Decorticator,” and, although the
term “leaf-crusher” or “scutcher” appears to be more in keeping with the
operation to be performed on Sisal leaves, than that of “decorticator,”
a more extensive meaning has been given to the latter term which is now
taken to indicate the mechanical operation for the separation of the
pith and surrounding vegetable structure from the fibrous layers in
practically every type of plant.
Two distinct machines, one for crushing the leaves, and the other for
finishing the stripping, are made by Messrs. David Bridge & Co., Ltd.,
Castleton, Manchester, and these provide an excellent system for
treating the leaves as they are delivered from the field of growth.
[Illustration: _By permission of Messrs David Bridge & Co., Ltd._
FIG. 11
BRIDGE’S “ACME” GRAVITY PATENT SISAL BREAKER]
The crushing machine, termed Bridge’s “Acme” Gravity Patent Sisal
Breaker, is illustrated in Fig. 11. The leaves of the plant are placed
on the travelling endless cloth between the wooden side guides on the
right-hand side of the illustration. They ultimately come into contact
with the first pair of corrugated rollers which are so set that there is
a minimum of ¼ in. between the surfaces of the opposing corrugations.
After the leaves have been crushed between these rollers and carried
forward by them, they pass between a second but smooth pair of rollers
the nearest distance between the surfaces of which is 3/16 in. On
emerging from these rollers, the leaves pass down the delivery table on
the left. The upper roller in each pair is acted upon and pressed
downwards by spiral or coil springs which not only yield slightly to the
varying thicknesses of the leaves, but which will allow the roller to
rise fully ⅞ of an inch in case any foreign substance should enter
between the rollers.
[Illustration: _By permission of Messrs David Bridge & Co., Ltd._
FIG. 12
BRIDGE’S “CLIMAX” PATENT SISAL DECORTICATOR]
The crushed ribbons from the foregoing machine are now taken to Bridge’s
“Climax” Patent Sisal Decorticator, illustrated in Fig. 12. As in the
crushing machine, the material is fed into the rollers by an endless
cloth; the ribbon-shaped lengths are exposed to the action of opposed
drums on the same principle as that embodied in the original raspadore,
the result being that the remains of the objectionable matter which
accompanied the fibrous layer from the crushing machine is scraped off
and a maximum amount of fibre delivered. The Decorticator is provided
with all the latest improvements for a maximum production, and both
machines, together with the washing tanks, Fig. 13, and the necessary
power plant for driving the whole system can be housed in or near a
simple structure somewhat as illustrated in Fig. 14.
[Illustration: _By permission of Messrs David Bridge & Co., Ltd._
FIG. 13
WASHING TANKS]
[Illustration: _By permission of Messrs David Bridge & Co., Ltd._
FIG. 14
HOUSING FOR POWER PLANT]
[Illustration: _By permission of Messrs David Bridge & Co., Ltd._
FIG. 15
CUMMINS’S PATENT HORIZONTAL HYDRAULIC BALING PRESS]
The fibre, having been extracted, washed and dried, is conveyed to the
rapid baling press, Fig. 15, which is an illustration of Cummins’s
Patent Horizontal Hydraulic Baling Press. Here the fibre is packed by
hydraulic pressure into a small space ready for exportation to those
countries where the fibre is to be manufactured. The above type of
baling press is now largely used, not only for Sisal fibres, but also
for China jute, cotton and other textiles, and it is capable of
compressing the fibre to a density of 60 lb. per cubic foot.
After the third year’s growth, the annual production of fibre reaches
about one ton per acre. The production of fibre from the various
countries has been greatly increased during recent years, and that for
1914, which will be found in the table on page 52, may be taken as a
good indication of the quantities placed on the market.
There has not yet been any considerable competition between Sisal and
Manila fibres for the manufacture of similar types of cordage, but with
improved methods of cultivation and of cleaning the Sisal product, a
greater competition may be expected.
A large quantity of Manila fibre is used in this country for binder
twine, whereas Sisal is used for the same purpose in the American
centres. As a matter of fact, the U.S.A. markets of different kinds
absorb 90 per cent. of the total Sisal crop which amounted in 1914 to
220,000 tons.
A new method of marketing the Sisal fibre from Yucatan has been
introduced through a Committee or Commission who will be responsible for
the grading and marketing of the fibre and will, with the sanction of
the Government, deal entirely with the financial arrangements.
The Commission will receive all the graded fibre, and on receipt of this
a payment will be made to the farmer. The fibre will be placed on the
market at current rates, and every five years the accounts will be
balanced and the surplus, if any, will be divided _pro rata_ amongst the
producers. In the case of loss, the deficit will be met by the
Commission.
Sisal fibres are graded as under--
_Special_: perfectly clean and absolutely white fibre, free from stains
or adherent pulp.
_Superior Clean_: perfectly clean fibre of creamy or yellowish tint,
free from stain or pulp.
_Current Clean_: well scraped, whitish or greenish colour, 5 per cent.
dust permitted. This is the standard grade for price.
_Stained_: also well scraped but with dark or red streaks. No more than
25 per cent. dark and no adherent pulp.
_Inferior Stained_: must be free from adherent pulp, but may contain as
much as 75 per cent. of dark fibres.
NEW ZEALAND HEMP OR FLAX.--The botanical name of this plant is _Phormium
Tenax_, natural order, _Liliaceae_. The plant has long,
peculiarly-shaped leaves, the roots of which send out creeping rhizomes
on which the leaves 6 to 10 ft. in height, are produced in clumps.
Maturity is reached in about four years, and propagation is obtained by
the growth of the rhizomes, and also by the self-sown seeds which are
produced in large numbers from the flowering and fruiting stage.
Large quantities of this useful fibre are used, and it can be produced
cheaply and in large quantities from otherwise unproductive lands, such
as the drained swamp lands in the neighbourhood of the Manawatu river in
New Zealand. In this district the plants grow in dense masses, and
although more than 20,000 acres are under cultivation, additions are
gradually taking place. Through this area are laid about fifty miles of
light railway tracks. The plantations require little attention beyond
that of careful drainage; over-drainage may cause as much damage as
under-drainage. Wellington is the principal shipping port, but shipments
are also made from Auckland and other ports when the value of the fibre
makes such a course profitable.
_Phormium Tenax_ has also been cultivated on a comparatively large scale
in St. Helena, and the results, both financially and otherwise, are
satisfactory. The selected lands in this island are now well drained,
and tramways are laid for the rapid conveyance of the leaves after they
are cut down to the stripping mills. Sometimes aerial railways are used
when a river has to be negotiated. It will be quite well understood that
a cheap and rapid transport is a desideratum.
Only well-matured leaves must be cut down, and these are conveyed to the
stripping mills; in the Manawatu district of New Zealand about fifty
such mills are in existence, and the introduction of improved machinery
for this stripping operation will certainly lead to the extension of the
cultivation of these plants and to the after processes.
Much has been done to introduce an efficient machine for stripping the
leaves, and many premiums have been offered by the New Zealand
Government for a perfect machine. One now under trial gives promise of
good results.
The greatest difficulty in connection with the stripping of _Phormium
Tenax_ leaves is due to the peculiar shape of the lower end of the leaf.
A very deep midrib extends for some distance and gets more pronounced as
the lower end of the leaf is reached. A large quantity of the fibre is
collected in this rib, the shape of which makes it difficult for
mechanical parts to treat successfully, and necessitates a larger amount
of labour than in the case of straight or flat leaves of the ordinary
type.
In former methods of stripping and cleaning it was found necessary to
paddock and bleach the stripped fibre, but the claims of the new
invention, if sustained, will render these processes unnecessary.
The production of the fibre may reach 13 cwt., and 2½ cwt. of tow per
acre during the life of the plants, while the stripper can produce from
20 to 25 cwt. of fibre per day.
The colour of the fibre is light yellow to brownish, but it is rather
soft and dirty at the top end. It is graded as below--
91 to 100 marks = Superfine,
81 to 90 „ = Fine,
71 to 80 „ = Good Fair,
61 to 70 „ = Fair,
51 to 60 „ = Common.
OTHER FIBRES.--The chief hard fibres are augmented by the use of the
“Maguey” plant which is cultivated largely in the Philippine Islands in
districts bordering on the Manila centres, while Mauritius fibre is
produced largely in the Islands from an Agave, the _Furcroea Gigantea_,
order, _Amaryllidaceae_, known in Mauritius as “Aloes.” The plant, see
Fig. 16, is somewhat similar to the Sisal plant, while the fibre
obtained from it is of a soft nature, and is usually sent to this
country in an imperfectly-cleaned state. The dust which accompanies the
fibre emerges from it in the processes of manufacture, and is very
disagreeable to the operatives. Owing, however, to its good light
colour, and the softness and pliability of the goods made from it, the
fibre is often preferred to the other hard fibres for certain types of
work.
[Illustration: _By permission of Messrs David Bridge & Co., Ltd._
FIG. 16
MAURITIUS FIBRE PLANT]
COIR.--Coir fibre is obtained from the husks of cocoa nuts. The
extraction of the fibre from these nuts forms native industries in many
parts of India and Ceylon. The husks are soaked in water for a time, and
then beaten with sticks or mallets; the separated fibres are then dried
and spun by hand with the aid of very simple appliances. Afterwards, two
of these single yarns are combined or twisted together to make what is
known as two-ply or two-fold twist. The twist is then made up into short
lengths, rolled into small hanks and baled for export. Of later years,
much longer lengths have been made and done up into coils, while small
“dolls” or rolls are made up for sale in small quantities, particularly
for use on farms.
Coir fibre has been very widely used for many purposes in the rope and
cordage trade, principally for the manufacture of mooring ropes, spring
ropes and lashing cords, while large quantities of the imported yarns
are used for matting and farming purposes.
It is a very useful fibre when properly made up, and is of great
importance for purposes where it is necessary for the manufactured
article to be exposed to variation of climate and to wet, while the life
of the manufactured article is greatly extended if it is steeped in oil.
SUNN HEMP (Bengal Hemp).--Sunn Hemp or _Crotalaria Juncea_, natural
order, _Leguminosae_, is used on a smaller scale and for certain goods
such as cheap grade ropes and box cord. The plants grow in several parts
of India, _e.g._, near Bengal, Allahabad and Benares in which the
cheaper grades are produced, and in some districts of Western Bengal
where a better class of fibre is obtained. All are of the same family,
the difference being due to the variation of the soil and the method of
retting. (This is really a bast fibre, but it is used almost solely
along with the hard fibres.) The fibre is harsh and very irregular in
the lower grades; in the better grades it can be used to mix with other
fibres for the production of tow yarns.
The other hemps obtained from India, particularly from Madras, are not
so high grade as to warrant them being used alone to any great extent,
so it is usual to mix them with other low-grade hemps of higher tensile
strength, or these Indian hemps may be combined with scutching and
hackling tows. The scutching and hackling tows are sometimes used to
produce twines and cords suitable for box cords and for parcel tying
yarns.
CHINA JUTE.--Although this is a bast fibre, its use is mostly confined
to purposes for which the hard fibres are applied, and hence its
introduction amongst them. It is a product of Hankow and Teintsin in
China, and is largely imported to Great Britain. When suitably treated
it forms a satisfactory fibre for the manufacture of box cords or
similar goods where great tensile strength is not essential. The fibre
is of a good light colour, and little or no waste is incurred in its
transformation into cordage.
The following details of the production of fibres and relative costs are
given so that the normal values, as well as the normal quantities may be
judged, and also compared with the abnormal conditions which have
prevailed during the great world’s war.
Italian and Naples hemp is imported to these islands in large quantities
as will be seen from the following particulars for ten seasons--
Season. Italian. Naples.
1903-04 62,000 tons 28,000 tons
1904-05 40,000 „ 23,000 „
1905-06 12,000 „ 27,000 „
1906-07 58,000 „ 30,000 „
1907-08 58,000 „ 31,000 „
1908-09 41,000 „ 20,000 „
1909-10 55,000 „ 24,000 „
1910-11 50,000 „ 27,000 „
1911-12 33,000 „ 30,000 „
1912-13 58,000 „ 31,000 „
─────── ───────
10)467,000 10)271,000
46,700 average 27,100 average
═══════ ═══════
Average price P.C. Italian, £39 11s. 3d. per ton
„ „ P.E. Naples, £41 9s. per ton
„ „ F.S.P.R.H. Russian, £31 17s. per ton
The prices since these dates have gradually increased, and the present
prices are approximately as under--
P.C., Italian £190 per ton
P.E., Naples £200 „ „
F.S.P.R.H., Russian £170 „ „
China Hemp £154 „ „
The following table illustrates the grading of Manila fibre for June,
1917, together with the number of bales for that month, and the
percentage quantity of each grade. In addition, the last two columns
give the prices; that for 1917 is the market price, while that for 1918
is the controlled price. Fig. 10 might be studied along with this table.
─────────┬──────────────────┬─────────┬────────┬──────────┬──────────
Grade │ Grade. │ Bales. │ % of │ 1917. │ 1918.
Letter. │ │ │ Total. │ Market │ Market
│ │ │ │ Price │ Price
│ │ │ │ per ton. │ per ton.
─────────┼──────────────────┼─────────┼────────┼──────────┼──────────
A │ Extra Prime │ 899 │ 0·7 │ │
B │ Prime │ 2,182 │ 1·6 │ │
C │ Superior Current │ 6,852 │ 5·0 │ £150 │ £155
D │ Good Current │ 10,020 │ 7·3 │ £145 │ £150
E │ Midway │ 17,358 │ 12·7 │ £135 │ £135
S¹ │ Streaky 1 │ 1,865 │ 1·4 │ £130 │ £130
S² │ Streaky 2 │ 3,937 │ 2·9 │ £120 │ £120
S³ │ Streaky 3 │ 2,935 │ 2·1 │ £115 │ £115
F │ Current │ 22,284 │ 16·3 │ £125 │ £130
G │ Seconds │ 3,908 │ 2·8 │ £115 │ £115
H │ Brown │ 1,886 │ 1·4 │ £105 │ £105
I │ Good Fair │ 12,791 │ 9·3 │ │ £120
J │ Fair │ 13,561 │ 9·8 │ £85 │ £100
K │ Medium │ 4,226 │ 3·1 │ £80 │ £95
L │ Coarse │ 12,780 │ 9·2 │ £78 │ £93
M │ Coarse Brown │ 5,140 │ 3·7 │ £76 │ £80
DL │ Coarse │ 7,153 │ 5·2 │ £75 │ £75
DM │ Coarse Brown │ 4,306 │ 3·2 │ £73 │ £73
OYT │ │ 3,159 │ 2·3 │ │
│ ├─────────┼────────┤ │
│ │ 137,242 │ 100·0 │ │
╵ ╘═════════╧════════╛ ╵
The standardizing of the grades has been rendered necessary by the large
amount of inferior fibre which was being produced, and by the irregular
baling of the fibre. The gradual improvement of the fibre as a whole may
be gleaned from the undermentioned particulars of the number of bales
which were graded into four of the lowest types. These numbers referred
to what were allocated in August and September, 1917, and it will be
seen that there was a much smaller percentage of these low marks in
September than in August.
────────┬────────────────┬───────────────────
Grade. │ Bales: August. │ Bales: September.
────────┼────────────────┼───────────────────
L │ 10,548 │ 7,462
M │ 4,553 │ 3,201
DL │ 5,775 │ 2,960
DM │ 2,290 │ 952
────────┼────────────────┼───────────────────
│ 23,166 │ 14,575
╘════════════════╧═══════════════════
The shipments of Manila and other fibres for six years, 1910 to 1915
inclusive, appear below--
───────┬───────────────┬───────────────┬─────────────┬───────────
Year. │ Manila bales. │ Mexican Sisal │ New Zealand │ Mauritius
│ │ bales. │ bales. │ bales.
───────┼───────────────┼───────────────┼─────────────┼───────────
1910 │ 1,272,000 │ 582,142 │ 103,750 │ 9,990
1911 │ 1,332,297 │ 713,008 │ 96,850 │ 9,161
1912 │ 1,466,110 │ 859,000 │ 96,360 │ 8,697
1913 │ 964,000 │ 876,000 │ 140,445 │ 14,404
1914 │ 943,000 │ 982,000 │ 98,510 │ 8,947
1915 │ 1,160,440 │ 950,000 │ 116,100 │ 6,838
───────┴───────────────┴───────────────┴─────────────┴───────────
The three columns in the following table show the prices which ruled in
1915 and 1916 and the current prices for 1918.
──────────────────────────┬────────┬────────┬────────
Type of Fibre. │ 1915. │ 1916. │ 1918.
──────────────────────────┼────────┼────────┼────────
│ £ │ £ │ £
P.C. Italian Hemp │ 55 │ 90 │ 190
F.S.P.R.H. Russian Hemp │ -- │ -- │ 170
China Hemp │ -- │ -- │ 154
Manila (Fair) │ 37 │ 54 │ 100
New Zealand Hemp │ 32 │ 86 │ 99
Mexican Sisal │ 28 │ 77 │ 97
Java Sisal │ -- │ 95-100 │ 99
Mauritius │ -- │ 70 │ 95
Maguey │ 30 │ 70 │ 74
──────────────────────────┴────────┴────────┴────────
The controlled Government price (U.S.A.) for Sisal fibre for June (1918)
is as follows--
19 cents per lb. for fibre
23 „ „ „ for 500 feet of binder twine
Since one sheaf of corn requires about one yard of twine, and since the
expected requirements for the Continent of America are 200,000 tons of
binder twine, it follows that this weight of yarn will provide the
binding material for 71,680,000,000 sheaves--almost an incredible
quantity.
[Illustration: FIG. 17
BALES OF MANILA, NEW ZEALAND AND SISAL FIBRES]
Fig. 17 shows three distinct methods of baling--
(_a_) Manila Hemp with rattan canes.
(_b_) New Zealand Hemp with ropes made from New Zealand fibre.
(_c_) Sisal Hemp with wire.
CHAPTER VII
THE PREPARING AND SPINNING MACHINERY FOR HEMP AND OTHER SOFT FIBRES
Since there is such a great variety of ropes, cords and twines, not only
in regard to diameters, but also in regard to the different fibres used
in the manufacture of these goods, it is not surprising to find that
there are many different kinds of machines involved in the various
operations; some of these machines are introduced for the special
purpose of reducing the fibres to practicable lengths, but these
machines are, of course, used only for the type of fibres which exceed
about 36 in. On the other hand, it is sometimes found desirable to cut
certain types of fibres which do not exceed the limits demanded by the
capacity of the machines, but this is done only as a selective operation
to obtain the best and strongest part of the fibre.
While certain classes of soft fibres such as Russian, French, Chinese
and Indian hemps may be used without any previous hackling operation in
the spinning of certain sizes of cordage, it is found that Italian,
Serbian, Roumanian and Neapolitan hemps must be cut into suitable
lengths and hackled before they can be passed through the preparing
machines; in these latter machines the fibres are arranged into a
practicable condition before they are subjected to the actual spinning
operation.
The production of yarn for use in the making of cotton driving ropes
involves the use of the whole system of cotton-spinning machinery,
while, on the other hand, hemp yarns, besides being prepared
mechanically, are still produced by a series of the simplest and oldest
methods of hand hackling and hand spinning.
Fine ropes and twines may be, and often are, produced by an elaborate
system of machinery, and modified forms of such a system, in which a
smaller number of machines are employed, may be adopted for the spinning
of the heavier yarns.
A complete plant for the manufacture of these yarns from soft fibres
would include the following--
Softening Machine,
Cutting or Breaking Machine,
Hackling Machines,
Spread Boards,
Drawing and Doubling Frames,
Roving and Gill Spinning Machines,
Automatic Spinning Machines,
Throstle Spinning Machines.
The yarns employed may be as small as 60’s for the finer sizes and as
thick as 18’s for the heavy or common sizes; the significance of this
yarn numbering will be explained later.
In order to have some definite purpose in view, let it be assumed that
it is necessary to make a high-class rope from Italian hemp; the fibre
to be used must, of course, be of a good quality of cordage hemp. When
the bale of hemp is opened, the fibre will be found to be in “heads” or
“stricks,” that is, collected into groups with a girth of from 8 to 12
in., and to be from 7 to 12 ft. in length and sometimes even longer.
The first operation is that known as “softening,” which makes the
fibres, as the name of the operation indicates, more supple, and hence
better adapted for undergoing the subsequent operations. Different makes
of machines are in use for softening the fibrous material, the chief
feature in each machine is that the heads or stricks of fibre are
squeezed between fluted rollers.
In one type of machine the end of the strick is passed between the first
pair of blades of an Archimedean screw, then between the fluted rollers
of which there may be three, and its end brought round and joined to the
other end of the strick; in this way an endless band of fibres is
formed. The fluted rollers act as indicated, and at the same time the
Archimedean screw gradually conveys the endless band of fibres from one
end of the screw to the other end, each slight movement causing the
fibres to enter between the fluted rollers at a different place. This
type of machine, which is, however, rather dangerous for certain classes
of workers, is considered quite efficient and satisfactory by many
spinners, but the machine which is most extensively used is known as a
“reciprocating softener,” and is made by such firms as Messrs. Reynolds
and Messrs. Combe Barbour, both of Belfast, and by Messrs. Lawson of
Leeds.
The action of the rollers of the reciprocating softener is rather
complicated, for, in addition to the usual method of rotating in one
direction for the sake of delivering the material, the rollers are moved
bodily forwards and backwards a short distance alternately. The
multiplicity of motions has for its aim that of subjecting every
particle of the strick as much as necessary to the softening action of
the flutes; the effect of these operations on the hemp is quite evident
when the stricks emerge from the delivery end, for the material is much
more pliant than when it entered, and is in such a condition that it may
be greatly refined in the subsequent operations.
In this machine the forward motion of the rollers is obtained by a
special arrangement of gearing from the pulley shaft which extends
through the machine and carries a further belt pulley at the other end.
A belt from the latter pulley drives by means of another pulley an upper
shaft, while a further belt connection from a pulley on this upper shaft
conveys motion to a pulley running on a stud projecting from the main
frame. Compounded with the latter pulley is the speed change pinion, and
a train of gearing, consisting of four pairs of compound wheels, conveys
the desired motion to the fourteen pairs of fluted rollers which are
arranged in two concentric semicircles in the upper part of the machine.
The centre of these concentric semicircles is the central shaft of the
machine, and on this shaft is placed the pinion and wheel of the second
compound. Near the ends of this central shaft, and close to the outer
part of the two main frames, swings two substantially-constructed
brackets; each bracket has two horizontal arms from each of which a
short shaft projects to carry a wheel and pinion, while the extreme
lower end of the bracket is attached by means of a connecting rod to a
crank placed on the large wheel below, and driven from, the main pulley
shaft.
As indicated, this mechanism is duplicated, one set on each side of the
machine. The object of the small pinions on the horizontal arms of the
swinging brackets is to drive the fourteen pairs of fluted rollers
through the medium of two large wheels, one on each side, each wheel
being provided with internal teeth. The object of the cranks and
connecting arms to the said brackets is to cause the fourteen pairs of
rollers to reciprocate. This reciprocation adds to the effective
softening of the stricks by rotating the material for a longer time in
the machine, and thus repeating the softening effect of the rollers on
different parts of the fibrous material.
After the stricks have been efficiently softened in one or other of the
machines mentioned, they are conveyed to the cutting or breaking machine
which is adapted to sever the stricks into lengths suitable for
treatment in the hackling machine.
[Illustration: _By permission of Messrs David Bridge & Co., Ltd._
FIG. 18
BREAKING MACHINE]
These cutting or breaking machines are of two distinct types--
(_a_) Those in which the fibres of the stricks are torn asunder; and
(_b_) Those in which the fibres are broken by the action of what are
known as “cutting wheels.”
A good example of a machine which tears or breaks the stricks is that
illustrated in Fig. 18, and made by Messrs. David Bridge & Co., Ltd.,
Castleton, Manchester. The machine is of substantial construction, but
experienced operatives are required to take charge of it. One end of the
softened strick is wrapped round the back fixed square bar to the left
of the illustration; then about two turns of the strick are wrapped
round the front square bar which rotates when the attendant presses down
the foot lever near the floor. Since the revolving bar has a tendency to
carry the strick round with it in virtue of the movement given to it by
the train of wheels from the motive part, it follows that ultimately the
stretch of fibres between the two square bars will be broken, and then
the operation is repeated with the remainder of the long strick. The
friction clutch, on the right of the three pulleys, and the main shaft
are revolving continuously while the belt on the middle pulley is in
motion, but the friction pulley itself moves only when the friction
clutch is expanded due to the downward movement of the foot lever which,
at the same time, releases the brake on the left pulley of the three.
When the foot is removed from the foot lever or treadle, the clutch fork
slides the clutch on the shaft and breaks the contact between the
friction clutch and friction wheel; simultaneously the brake grips its
pulley and thus arrests the wheels and the rotating square bar.
The cutting or breaking type is designed on quite different lines from
the above machine, and a very popular and efficient machine of the
former type is known as the “Revolving Cutting Machine.” A series of
round pins (sometimes V-shaped teeth) project from the face or periphery
of a large central revolving wheel, and on each side of this wheel, and
at a suitable distance from it, is a pair of slowly-moving rollers which
are grooved on their circumferences to intersect with each other and so
grip or hold the material as it is being fed to the pins of the cutting
wheel. The operative cutter stands in front of the machine with a long
strick of hemp in his hands. He grips the strick at two convenient
places, and, having decided upon the point where the piece should be cut
or broken, he arranges for this point to pass into the machine midway
between the two pairs of feed or retaining wheels. The machine is made
in duplicate so that the same cutting, or breaking wheel may serve for
both, but each operative has, naturally, his own set of feed wheels.
As already stated, the lengths of the pieces when broken or cut will
depend upon the type of hackling machine in which the severed lengths
are next to be treated, and also upon the particular class of rope into
which the fibres are to be spun. The usual length limits are 24 in. and
30 in., although conditions might arise in which it is desirable to go
beyond the extremes of these common lengths.
The suitable lengths of cut material are now made up into convenient
sizes or bunches and conveyed to the machine hackling department.
Certain classes of Russian, French, Chinese, Indian and Italian hemps
may be considered in common in all subsequent operations, and, in
general, will require most of the treatment which is given to the
specific case of Italian hemp under discussion.
[Illustration: _By permission of the Edinburgh Roperie Co._
FIG. 19
HACKLING MACHINE]
The hackling machines which are used in modern cordage or rope walks are
similar to that reproduced in Fig. 19. In this particular machine there
are sixteen different holders with pieces of hemp fibre depending from
each, the lowest visible part of the fibre being on the same level as
the uppermost part of the hackles or tools. The visible parts of the
latter extend to a point in line with the waist of the attendant. There
are four sections of tools in the full width, and each section is made
up of four sets, while each set contains twenty-four tools, the whole
arranged in a closed path so that while they rotate, the pins in the
tools may act upon the pieces of hemp as the latter move in a vertical
plane under the influence of what is termed the “head” of the machine.
The number of tools vary according to the accommodation available in the
department devoted to this section of the work. The tools are fixed to a
series of bars which in turn are riveted to a set of leather sheets, the
whole being rotated as indicated by means of carriers which are arranged
on two shafts with suitable fixings.
In the “head” the necessary mechanical parts are placed for moving the
holders, and therefore the pieces of hemp, collectively and
intermittently along what is known as the “channel.” The inclined rod,
immediately under the name plate of the machine, with its additional
parts convey this motion to each of the holders. In this manner, each
holder, with its complement of hemp, is moved in regular succession
opposite each of the sixteen sets of hackles or tools, and therefore
passes from one end of the machine to the other. This movement takes
place when the hemp is at or near its highest point. As each holder
reaches the end of the machine, it is removed from the channel, the bolt
of the holder unscrewed, the plate removed, and the piece of hemp turned
end for end. After this the plate is again placed in position, the nuts
screwed tight, and the holder entered into a similar channel on the
other side of the machine, but with the undressed end of hemp downwards.
A very similar movement is now imparted to the holders at this side of
the machine so that the same process of hackling as that performed
already may be imparted by an identical group of tools. The work is, of
course, continuous in this respect that the girl or boy is almost
constantly engaged with the attention of the holders as they reach the
end in regular short periods of ten to fifteen seconds. The hemp
ultimately reaches the end of the machine from which it started, but in
a different plane, and is withdrawn from the holder to be replaced by an
undressed piece.
Until a comparatively short time ago all the above operations of feeding
were done by hand as explained, but most modern hackling machines have
now attached automatic mechanism for performing these functions. The
machine in Fig. 19 is provided with this automatic screwing and
unscrewing mechanism. One attendant introduces the pieces of hemp
between the plates of the holder when such plates have been separated by
the apparatus, but from this point all the operations, including the
removal of the holder, the turning of the piece of hemp, the unscrewing
and screwing of the nuts, and the insertion of the holder with the
unhackled ends downwards into the second channel, are performed by this
ingenious group of automatic machinery. The design of such machinery
differs with different machine makers, but very similar principles are
embodied in all. The ends of the hackling machine frame are in all cases
substantially made so that all parts may give the minimum amount of
trouble in actual work.
The size of the pieces which are held by the holder and acted upon by
the tools during the operation of hackling will depend upon the class of
yarn to which the fibre has to be spun. As a general rule, the pieces
for rope and twine yarns are arranged so that there are two to four per
pound; in other words, the pieces are from ¼ lb. to ½ lb. each. It must
be remembered that the finer the quality of yarn desired, the more
hackling must take place, and hence it will be necessary to use a
hackling machine with finer tools, and also to employ more tools in a
row.
As a general rule the best yield of fibre is obtained when the maximum
number of tools are used, but at the same time it is necessary that the
grading of the pins or hackles in such tools should be judiciously
chosen in order that the splitting or cutting should be gradual, and
thus exercise a less violent action on the fibre than would obtain with
an indifferent grading.
In addition to the grading of the pins, advantage may also be taken of
what is known as the “grouping,” that is, the order in which the pins
are arranged on the tools. The grouping is of the greatest value in the
coarser-pitched tools, and although some hackling experts prefer to have
the pins in two rows on the finest tools, the Authors consider that when
all the pins in the finer tools are in one row, the work is done better
for the line, and the tow produced is of good quality, while such an
arrangement offers the best and most economical facilities for keeping
the tools in good condition. A good arrangement of grading and grouping
on ten tools may give a greater variation in the splitting or cutting
than would result from an indifferent arrangement of grading and
grouping on a larger number of tools.
Three different arrangements of grading appear below--
Number of pins per inch width of tool
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
¼ ½ ¾ 1 1½ 2 4 6 8 10 = 10 tools
⅛ ¼ ⅓ ½ ⅔ 1 1½ 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 = 14 „
⅛ ⅙ ¼ ⅓ ½ ⅔ 1 1½ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 = 16 „
All modern hackling machines should be arranged to give the best
possible yield of line, and also of tow, from the material which is in
process, since by this effort an increase in the relative value of the
finished article is obtained, and a highly-valued product secured at a
comparatively low cost of manufacture.
As the pieces of hackled hemp are delivered from the hackling machine,
they are made up into suitably-sized bundles and conveyed to the line
store.
A record of all the materials in the various stages of manufacture is
kept in the books of the respective departments, and such records can
quickly be referred to at any time by those who are responsible for the
production of the various classes of goods which are being made.
As already indicated, certain classes of hemp may be so clean when
purchased, that they can be used for some types of cordage yarns without
any preliminary hackling, and goods made in this way may compete
favourably with those made by processes which include hackling. The
object aimed at in these cases is usually one of price and not exactly
of quality, for when the latter is the predominating condition, the
superior value is attached to the yarns made from hackled fibre.
Nevertheless, when it is simply a question of equivalent suitability for
specific purposes, and when approximate values are obtainable by the two
methods of manufacture, the conditions offer a choice which is of
extreme importance at those times when the available suitable fibre for
either method is scarce, or when either is very abundant.
Although the above choice presents itself for the cases mentioned, it
will be understood that for the better grades of cordage one must employ
either a very high grade of cleaned hemp, or a grade of hemp which has
been hackled and cleaned by hand or by suitable kinds of machines.
In very special cases, _e.g._, high-class threads and cord yarns, where
great strength and uniformity are desired, it has been found advisable
to prepare the fibre entirely by a system of “hand dressing.” The hand
method lends itself naturally to more careful selective treatment. It
should, however, be stated that it is not usual to adopt this method
except for the production of a comparatively small quantity of fine
yarns, that is, thin yarns. Sewing twines and cords should be level and
strong, but not necessarily fine, unless for the finest class of work
into which these threads are to be introduced, as, for example, in the
glove industry in which case the fibre used is often flax. These finer
grades of threads and twines, as well as the finer classes of cordage,
may require the whole range of operations to produce the finest and
cleanest product consistent with the work for which it is intended to be
used, although, as stated, the hand hackling may be employed for the
flax intended for use in the manufacture of fine thin yarns, whereas, it
is preferable to employ machine hackling for the equally valuable but
thicker yarns. From this stage, however, the operations for the
continuation of the processes of manufacture from the two distinct types
of dressed line are conducted mechanically.
In perhaps the most extensive scheme of hackling there is a combination
of hand and machine work. The first operation is termed “Roughing,” and
consists of drawing the pieces of hemp or flax through a set of hackle
pins arranged or grouped in a wooden block, and termed a “Rougher’s
Tool.” This operation, when correctly performed, leaves the fibres
practically parallel, their ends approximately in line with each other,
and separates these long fibres from the shorter ones which are left
amongst the hackle pins, and which are removed regularly to be
ultimately used as “tow” in what is known as the “carding” process.
These long, partially-combed and split fibres are now taken to the
hackling machine to undergo a further treatment of combing and splitting
as already briefly described. Finally, when the pieces leave the
hackling machine they have to undergo for a second time a hand process
of hackling which is termed “Sorting and Selecting,” after which the
material is made up into a bundle.
It is obvious that such an extensive scheme of hackling is not only slow
but also costly, and is attempted only for the most valuable raw
materials to be used for costly finished goods such as fishing lines,
fine cords, and for valuable threads which are used in the glove,
leather and cognate industries.
It will thus be seen that there are in reality three distinct methods of
preparing the fibres into the product known as “line,” and the finished
product thus obtained then passes through a series of machines, termed a
“system,” in which the fibres are first arranged in such a way as to
form a continuous thin and broad ribbon termed a “sliver,” then into a
more or less circular and slightly-twisted form termed a “rove,” and
ultimately into a much finer circular and twisted form termed a “yarn”
or “single thread.” Rope and heavy cordage yarns are often made by a
simpler process than that just enumerated. The operations which these
yarns or single threads subsequently undergo will be discussed at the
proper place. In the meantime we purpose mentioning the different
machines, and then briefly to describe and illustrate these machines
which jointly form what we have called a “system.”
────────────────────┬────────────────────┬───────────────────────
System I for Fine │ System II for │ System III for Common
Classes of Line │ Heavier Line │ Yarns from Tow.
Yarn. │ Yarns. │
────────────────────┼────────────────────┼───────────────────────
Spread Board │ Spread Board │ Carding Machine
│ │
Sett Frame │ Sett Frame │ Drawing Frames
│ │
Drawing Frame │ Finishing Drawing │ Roving Frame
│ Frame │
│ │
Roving and Gill │ Automatic Spinning │ Dry Spinning or
Spinning │ │ Automatic Spinning
│ │
Dry Spinning │ │
────────────────────┴────────────────────┴───────────────────────
The machine known as the “spread-board” is so called because the
function which it performs is the mechanical sequel to the manual
operation which was conducted somewhat as follows: A board about 9 ft.
long was covered with an even layer of the pieces of hackled flax or
hemp so arranged that each succeeding piece partially overlapped the one
immediately before it much in the same way, so far as overlapping is
concerned, as obtains with the scales of a fish or the parts of a fir
cone. One operative would place his hands on the material thus arranged,
while another operative would draw forward the material, reducing it in
girth but increasing it in length, by causing some of the fibres, and
all of them in turn, to slide a distance on their neighbouring fibres.
At the same time the drawn-out material would be kept as uniform as
possible in thickness, and the operation would be continued until the
thin drawn-out length was probably five to ten times the length of the
more bulky material which was originally laid as explained on the board.
The modern technical term for this elongation or attenuation of groups
of fibres is “drafting,” and the dual operation described above is now
performed in the modern spread-board, the delivery end of one of which
is illustrated in Fig. 20.
[Illustration: FIG. 20
SPREAD BOARD]
The use of the spread-board is rendered necessary because the pieces of
material from the hackling machine are made up of individual and
comparatively short lengths of fibre, and the essential object for the
satisfactory continuation of the processes of manufacture is to convert
these short lengths into a continuous length termed a “sliver.”
The pieces of hemp or the like are first weighed in a balance near the
feed end of the machine, and are then arranged by hand on narrow endless
travelling belts, termed “spread leathers,” so that the thin end of one
piece of hemp is overlapped by the thick end of the next piece and so
on. These “spread leathers” form the moving bases of narrow channels,
the sides of which keep the pieces of hemp in their own channel. But
instead of only one row of moving fibres or pieces as in the primitive
process, there may be four or six of the above-mentioned channels.
The neatly-arranged pieces in each channel are carried forward slowly
but continuously, each group by its own endless belt, until all the
groups reach the first pair of rollers called the back or retaining
rollers. After the pieces leave these rollers they are penetrated by a
large number of pins or hackles arranged on what are known as “gills” or
“fallers.” There may be four or six gills on each faller, and the
fallers rise in turn to cause the pins to enter the narrow sheets of
fibres, to join the faller which immediately preceded it, and to move
along with the majority of the fallers in a body towards the drawing
rollers. In the spread-board illustrated in Fig. 20 there are four
channels, and therefore four pressing rollers in contact with the
drawing roller which extends the full width of the machine; all the four
pressing rollers are distinctly shown near the upper part of the
illustration.
It will be understood that the four narrow sheets of fibres will
ultimately reach the drawing and pressing rollers, and since the surface
speed of these rollers is much greater than that of the back or
retaining rollers, the fibres which are clear of the grip of the
retaining rollers will slide on those whose movements are restrained by
the rollers and gill pins, and since there is always a quantity thus
liberated, the draft is accomplished according to the relative speeds of
the two sets of rollers. The effective contact between the rollers for
drafting is obtained by means of levers two of which are shown near the
floor and to the right of the sliver can in Fig. 20.
The gills or fallers are moved forward by spirals or screws and at
practically the same surface speed as the “spread leathers” and the
retaining rollers; as each faller reaches its full forward position, it
is caused to move downward and then backward in a lower plane, and
ultimately to rise again to enable the pins to enter into a fresh
portion of the sheet of fibres; after this cycle is completed, the same
functions are repeated while the machine remains in motion.
The four slivers which leave the drawing and pressing rollers unite into
two pairs through the medium of doubling plates; one pair of slivers
thus united is guided to a conductor, and then passes between the
delivery rollers and into a sliver can shown in the foreground of Fig.
20, while the other pair, part only of which appears in the
illustration, follows a similar course into a neighbouring sliver can.
The extent to which the fibres are drawn out in the spread-board, that
is, the draft of the material, varies from about ten to twenty.
The gradual tendency to call into action mechanical parts to perform
work which was originally done by hand is further emphasized in the
latest attempt to feed the above-mentioned short pieces of hemp or the
like automatically from the hackling machine to the spread-board. This
ingenious device, the invention of Mr. Joshua Eves, of Belfast, carries
the hackled pieces from the holders of the hackling machine and lays
them on the “spread leather” in the channel, and, in addition, it is
provided with a regulating device to preserve as near as possible
uniformity in the thickness of the resulting sliver which, as usual, is
delivered into sliver cans as already described.
Even with the greatest care, the most efficient type of machine and the
finest stage of hackled fibre, it is practically impossible to achieve
an absolutely uniform sliver. In order, therefore, to approach a
practicable ideal sliver, it is usual to resort to a process of
“doubling” and a further operation of drawing; indeed, the next machine
to which the slivers pass is termed a “drawing frame.” Before dealing
with this machine, however, it is desirable to discuss another distinct
method of forming the initial sliver from fibrous material.
In general, the sliver prepared by the spread-board is intended for the
production of level and high quality yarns, but it is evident that,
during the operations of scutching and hackling, a certain quantity of
the shorter fibres will become detached from the main body of the
strick. These shorter fibres, termed tow, are not only weaker than the
line fibres but are also accompanied by impurities which must be removed
in the subsequent operations; they are graded according to quality, and
ultimately treated by a distinct method which, however, prepares them
into a sliver very similar to that which emerges from the delivery
rollers of the above-described spread-board. Then, as already mentioned,
the after processes for both types of sliver are practically identical.
The conversion of this tow into a sliver takes place in what is known as
a “carding” machine. This is a particular construction of a general type
of machine which is used for the same purpose in most textile trades
where comparatively short fibres have to be converted into sliver form.
The function which the card--a contraction for carding machine--performs
is to split up the fibres and to lay them parallel with their
neighbours; for this purpose the machine is provided with a series of
rollers which are covered or clothed with sharp pointed pins, the size,
direction and inclination of which depend upon the particular work which
each set has to perform. A set of cards comprises two or more machines
each of which differs slightly from the others, and invariably arranged
so that succeeding machines in a set are provided with finer clothing,
_i.e._, smaller and shorter pins and more closely set. The simplest set
is where two machines are involved, the first one termed a “Breaker
Card,” and the second one termed a “Finisher Card.” In both machines a
series of comparatively small rollers, say from 8 to 20 in. diameter,
and covered with pins, are arranged partially round and close to a large
central roller of 4 to 5 ft. diameter, also covered with pins and termed
a cylinder. The general appearance of the machines will be gathered from
the two rows in Fig. 21; the nearest machine on the left shows the
delivery side of a breaker card where the sliver is delivered into a
can; the nearest machine on the right illustrates both feed and delivery
sides of a finisher card.
[Illustration: FIG. 21
BREAKER AND FINISHER CARDS]
The tow, which has been previously softened, is laid as evenly as
possible on a travelling endless sheet by means of which the fibrous
material is carried to the pins of the “feed roller” which rotates very
slowly and at the same surface speed as the feed sheet. Immediately the
material emerges from the feed rollers, or feed roller and “shell,” it
is acted upon by a series of hackle pins projecting from the periphery
of the cylinder, and moving at a surface speed of more than 2,000 ft.
per minute. The fibres are therefore combed and carried off the pins of
the feed roller by the pins of the cylinder to a series of rollers
arranged in pairs, each pair consisting of a “worker” and a “stripper.”
When the fibres on the pins of the cylinder reach the first pair of
worker and stripper, the bulk of the material is carded and ultimately
returned to the pins of the cylinder to be carried to the next pair of
rollers, and so on, until it has been sufficiently equalized and cleaned
for the particular yarn into which it is to be made.
By this time the uneven fibres have been considerably reduced in
thickness, and have indeed been converted into a thin wide film or sheet
of fibrous material, and in this state it is removed from the pins of
the cylinder by the pins of a “doffing roller” or “doffer.” The thin,
broad film of fibres now enters between a pair of drawing rollers--seen
near the top of the machine on the left in Fig. 21--and into the upper
and wide part of an almost vertical tin conductor. The width of this
conductor decreases from the upper to the lower end, and ultimately its
width is contracted to about 3 in. where the contracted sheet, now much
thicker and about 3 in. wide, is in the well-known form of a sliver. The
sliver emerges from the mouth of the conductor, enters between the
delivery rollers and ultimately drops into a sliver can in a very
similar manner to that depicted in Fig. 20.
About ten or twelve of these sliver cans from the breaker card are now
transferred across the space, termed a “pass,” to the feed of the
finisher card on the right of Fig. 21. These ten or twelve slivers are
fed into this machine and they undergo a further and similar treatment
with from four to six pairs of rollers, and finally the finished and
single sliver is delivered into a can near the side of the machine. In
both machines the material is drafted according to requirements.[1]
We have thus arrived by two several ways at the production of a
continuous sliver. Both types of sliver pass next to what is known as a
“Drawing Frame,” or rather to a set of drawing frames, usually termed,
first drawing, second drawing, third drawing, and so on, if more than
three are employed.
The machines used for the two kinds of slivers are practically identical
in principle and construction, the only difference being that provision
is made to suit the lengths of fibres of which the respective slivers
are formed; in technical phraseology the “reach” for the line sliver is
longer than the “reach” for the tow sliver and is, approximately,
proportional to the maximum length of fibres which compose the two types
of sliver.
It will be understood that, in general, the ultimate aim is the
production of a thread of some kind, the sectional area of which is less
than that of the sliver which is produced either at the spread-board or
the finisher card. And it will be obvious that if we unite two or more
slivers at the feed side of the “Drawing Frame” we increase the
thickness or volume proportionately; hence, if the sliver which is
delivered from the drawing frame is required to be smaller in volume
than any of the single slivers which enter the machine, and this is
generally the case, although not universally so, the process of drawing
out the fibres, or drafting, must be continued. In the first drawing
frame uniformity is chiefly the object, and it may happen that in the
combined processes of doubling and drafting it may be convenient to
produce in this frame a sliver of greater volume than the individual
slivers at the feed. In such cases, most of the drafting would take
place in the succeeding drawing frames.
The first drawing frame is often termed a “Sett Frame,” and sometimes a
“Doubling Frame.” The first-named of the three owes its designation to
the process of attenuation or drafting, the second to the number of
slivers which in the process are employed to form one sliver, and the
third to the particular case where two slivers only are united. Although
the exact meaning of doubling is the combination of two slivers, the
same word is used however many slivers are combined in one group.
The drawing frame has a great resemblance to the spread-board, so far as
the principles of the operations are concerned; it differs from it in
the fact that whereas the latter is fed by short detached lengths, the
former is fed by continuous slivers.
The length of sliver which is delivered from the spread-board is
measured; this is accomplished by the size of one of the drawing rollers
and the necessary subsequent mechanism; these jointly cause a bell to
ring, or to move a hand over the face of a clock. The length thus
indicated is called the “bell or clock length,” and whichever system is
adopted, the operative receives a certain weight of material which must
be fed into the machine between two consecutive ringings of the bell, or
during the time that the clock hand makes one complete revolution.
The cans are weighed as they are filled and the net weight of the sliver
marked on. After a sufficient number of cans have been filled, say
eight, averaging 20 lb. each, or 160 lb. in all, and the length of
sliver in each can, say 250 yd., eight cans are placed at the feed side
of the drawing frame. The average weight of the combined slivers on
entering the drawing frame is, therefore--
160 lb. × 16 oz. per lb.
──────────────────────── = approximately 10 oz. per yd.
250 yd. length
If the draft is, say 12, the 160 lb. of material when delivered in the
form of a single sliver will be--
250 yards × 12 draft = 3,000 yd.
Then--
160 lb. × 16 oz. per lb.
──────────────────────── = 0·85 of an ounce per yd.
3,000 yd. of sliver
The operation of drawing is conducted as in the spread-board by means of
retaining or back rollers, gills, drawing and pressing rollers. It
should be again pointed out that the distance between the retaining
rollers and the drawing rollers--termed the “reach”--should be regulated
by the length of the fibres under treatment, and should be greater than
the longest individual fibres, otherwise such fibres, instead of sliding
on those already held, would obviously be broken because the surface
speed of the drawing rollers is much greater than that of the retaining
rollers; in the case under notice the ratio is 12 to 1.
The best scheme yet devised for filling up this intervening space
between the two pairs of rollers, and of providing support for the
moving fibres is that of the above-mentioned gills. The use of gills in
the machine is of great importance, for on the correct adaptation of the
gills to the material in process depends the degree of efficiency of the
machine.
As the gills move from the retaining rollers towards the drawing rollers
in virtue of the action of suitable spiral or other mechanism, each
group forms a compact sheet or field of hackle pins, and this field of
pins regulates and restrains the movements of the fibres to the
requisite extent as the latter move amongst them due to the pulling
action of the drawing rollers.
In this way each individual sliver in its own set of pins is reduced in
size, and any local defect in a sliver is calculated to be overshadowed
or eliminated when the said sliver joins the remainder of the slivers at
the “doubling plates” which are situated between the drawing and the
delivery rollers. The result is, therefore, a single sliver of greater
uniformity than any of the constituent slivers, such sliver being
smaller, equal to, or greater than, any of the individual slivers from
which it has been made according to the ratio of the doublings and
draft.
A series of drawing frames in system as illustrated in Fig. 22, will
provide the necessary doubling and drafting, and so reduce the sliver to
a suitable size for use in any of the following yarn-forming or spinning
machines--
(_a_) The Roving Frame which would be used to convert the sliver into a
somewhat circular form, and simultaneously to wind this twisted sliver
on to a large two-ended bobbin ready for the spinning frame (dry
spinning).
(_b_) The Gill Spinning Frame which is a machine by means of which very
high-class yarns can be produced with a perfect system of drafting and
twisting in one operation.
(_c_) The Automatic Spinning Frame in which the heaviest class of
cordage yarn is spun by the simplest and most direct method.
[Illustration: FIG. 22
DRAWING FRAMES]
The roving frame is one of the most complicated groups of mechanism and
one of the most perfect machines which is used in the whole system. Its
function is of a multiple type, for the mechanism of the machine not
only necessitates the use of retaining rollers, gills and drawing
rollers to effect a draft, but after the reduced sliver has been passed
through the delivery rollers, it introduces a certain amount of twist to
the sliver--incidentally making it somewhat circular in section--and
finally winds the twisted sliver, termed “rove,” on to a large bobbin.
The method of drafting has already been briefly described, hence, no
recapitulation is necessary. The essential amount of twist for each
individual sliver is imparted by its own spindle, an upright rod which
rotates rapidly, and upon which the large bobbin runs or rotates
loosely, while attached to the top of the spindle is a “flyer”
resembling an elongated inverted U, thus: ⋂. Most of these parts are
clearly seen in Fig. 23, which represents, of course, the delivery side
of the machine. At the other side of the machine, the feed side, there
is a sliver can with its sliver for each thread and bobbin, the bobbins
being arranged in two rows upon discs in corresponding holes in the long
shelf, termed the “lifting rail,” the “builder rail,” or simply the
“builder.”
[Illustration: FIG. 23
ROVING FRAME]
The extreme ends of the two legs of the flyer are bent to form or carry
eyes, and into one of these eyes the twisted sliver is passed, while
between this eye and the delivery rollers the sliver is centralized by
passing it through a guide eye. The function of the eye in the flyer is
that of guiding or winding the rove on to the bobbin, and this is made
possible because the bobbin itself is made to rise and fall between the
legs of the flyer through a distance equal to the length of the
bobbin--hence the necessity for the long legs of the flyer or inverted
U.
The spindles and bobbins are driven independently and positively by
wheel gearing, and it is obvious that the rove must be wound on to the
bobbin at the same rate as it is produced. Since the speed of the
drawing and delivery rollers is constant, the delivery of the sliver is
constant, and so is the production of rove, although the length of rove
delivered is infinitesimally less than that of the sliver in virtue of
the small contraction which takes place during the twisting. If the
diameter of the rove on the bobbin always remained the same size, which
is obviously impossible, the revolutions of the bobbin would be
constant. But every layer of rove which is wound on to the bobbin by the
joint action of the rotating spindle, the rotating bobbin, and the
vertical movement of the bobbin on the builder, adds for each vertical
movement, up or down, one more layer of rove to the partially-filled or
empty bobbin, and thus increases the diameter of the combined bobbin and
rove. Hence it is necessary to impart what may be termed an intermittent
and variable motion to the bobbin; this is done by an exceptionally
unique and intricate group of mechanical parts termed the “differential
motion.” The function of the differential motion is to alter the speed
of the bobbin after each complete layer of rove has been wound on to it,
because it will be clear that when the direction of the builder is
changed, the winding of the rove is performed on a diameter which is
greater than the last by approximately twice the diameter of the rove.
The discs upon which the bobbins rest are provided with two vertical
pins which enter two of the holes in the flange of the bobbin, seen
clearly in the empty bobbins near the frame, and by means of which the
bobbins are driven at the desired speed. Accurate adjustment of the
parts is necessary, and a lengthy description with numerous line
drawings are essential to a clear understanding of this ingenious
mechanism.[2]
SPINNING.--The bobbins filled with rove yarn, as illustrated in Fig. 23,
are ready to be removed or “doffed,” as the operation is technically
called, preparatory to being taken to some type of spinning frame where
a further extension or “draft” of the yarn takes place, and
simultaneously the finished product of the desired thickness or “count”
is wound upon a much smaller two-ended bobbin.
A large-used type of dry spinning frame is illustrated in Fig. 24, and
this type of machine is usually employed for spinning yarns the “counts”
or “sizes” of which are represented by the numerals 3 to 16. Yarns which
happen to be of lower or higher count than these limits are produced on
other similar or different type of machine.
In Fig. 24 the large rove bobbins are seen distinctly on projecting
pins--termed a creel--at the top of the machine. Each rove from its
bobbin, which can rotate freely on its peg, is passed between retaining
rollers, and over what is known as a “breast-plate,” through the
contracted groove of a “tin conductor,” between a pair of drawing
rollers, through a slot in the “thread-plate,” through an eye in one of
the legs of the flyer, and ultimately on to the bobbin which rotates on
a spindle upon the upper end of which the flyer is fixed. In
“long-reach” machines it may be necessary to use additional rods or
binders which act as auxiliary breast-plates.
[Illustration: _By permission of the Edinburgh Roperie Co._
FIG. 24
DRY SPINNING FRAME]
All the spindles on one side of the frame are individually driven by
flat tapes or round bands from a driving tin cylinder situated near the
floor and inside the frame as shown in Fig. 24, and driven direct from
the main pulley. The flat tape or band passes partially round this
cylinder, and then partially around a “whorl” or bobbin-shaped pulley of
about 1½ to 3 in. diameter on the spindle; these whorls and tapes are
seen clearly on the first three spindles in the illustration, and in the
same line as the “temper weights.” The latter hang from cords attached
to the back of the “builder” which imparts the up and down motion to the
bobbins during the operation of spinning, and so enables the yarns to be
distributed over the full length of the bobbin. The cord which is
attached to the temper weight is caused to bear on the grooved flange of
the bobbin, and by moving the cord into successive grooves or notches in
front of the builder as the bobbin fills, a greater part of the groove
is acted upon by the cord and weight, and thus the drag is increased.
Demi-sec spinning, as the name implies, refers to a process between dry
spinning and wet spinning. In the demi-sec frames a slight quantity of
water is added to the drawn-out and partially-twisted threads as the
latter pass from the drawing rollers to the flyers. The purpose of this
moisture is to smooth and lay the hairs of fibre which would otherwise
project from the main body of the yarn as in the case of dry-spun yarns.
It is usual to apply this method of spinning to thread yarns.
The draft necessary for converting the rove to the desired size or count
of yarn is regulated by changing the value of the gearing, the wheels of
which are enclosed in the oval covering at the end of the view in Fig.
24; near this covering is also seen the heart-shaped cam, lever and rod
which are used for operating the builder.
GILL SPINNING.--In the ordinary spinning frame the material supplied is
from rove bobbins, but in the gill spinning machine, the material is
supplied as a sliver from a sliver can, one for each spindle. The gill
spinner has a drawing head similar to that in a roving frame, and the
spindles and flyers are usually driven by bands. The machine used for
gill spinning might be compared with a roving frame with or without the
winding motion or differential gear.
[1] For an exhaustive description of Carding see the Authors’ work on
_Jute and Jute Spinning: Part I_.
[2] Readers who are sufficiently interested in this and several other
machines which are briefly described in this work, might consult the
following works of the Authors, which are at present appearing
serially, and which will be published in book form when completed:
“_Jute and Jute Spinning_”: _The Textile Manufacturer_; “_Flax and
Flax Spinning_”: _The Textile Recorder_.
CHAPTER VIII
THE PREPARING AND SPINNING MACHINERY FOR MANILA AND OTHER HARD FIBRES
The method of producing yarns from the hard fibres involves the use of
quite different machines in the preparatory processes; this departure is
necessary on account of the nature of the material and the length of the
raw fibre.
The bales of raw material, Manila, Sisal, New Zealand, or the like, but
all from one type in general, are arranged in a convenient position near
the feed of the first machine which is called a “Hackler and Spreader,”
and one type of which is illustrated in Fig. 25. The bales which are
grouped together for this first treatment are chosen from different
“marks” or grades of fibre in order to mix them to secure uniformity and
to produce yarns of a given quality at the desired price.
[Illustration: FIG. 25
HACKLER AND SPREADER]
The heads of material are split up into suitable and uniform stricks,
and when various classes are to be mixed it is essential that
proportionate quantities should be drawn from the various bales in the
“batch” or blend, and fed proportionately and uniformly on to the feed
sheet of the machine. The feed sheet conveys the stricks slowly towards
and ultimately between a pair of retaining and feed rollers, and when
the material emerges from these rollers it is acted upon by a series of
large hackle pins fixed in a chain of fallers or bars. These pins move
at twice the speed of the feed and retaining rollers, and this relative
movement enables the pins to hackle and open out the stricks. The
partially-hackled stricks are now conveyed to a second chain of fallers
and hackles which move at a much greater speed than that of the first
hackles; it is here where most of the drawing takes place, and the
material as it leaves these hackles is in the form of a thin sheet of
fibres which enters a pair of drawing rollers. Finally, the material is
delivered on to the floor in the form of a sliver and at the opposite
end of the machine.
The bundles of sliver are conveyed to another machine, termed the
intermediate machine, where further processes of equalization and
drawing take place. In this, and in any subsequent machine of the same
type, of which there may be three or four, the slivers are fed as
illustrated on the left of Fig. 26, while several lengths of slivers
appear in the foreground. After the drawing and hackling operations, the
sliver is delivered as illustrated. These processes prepare suitable
slivers for the remainder of the operations which are somewhat similar
to those which are used for the soft fibres, although the “reach” in the
machines for the hard fibres is very much longer than that necessary for
the soft fibres. In the final preparing machine, the sliver is delivered
into sliver cans which are then taken to the automatic spinning frame.
[Illustration: FIG. 26
INTERMEDIATE MACHINE]
AUTOMATIC SPINNING MACHINES.--A row of automatic spinning machines is
illustrated in Fig. 27. The slivers from the last drawing frame are
placed at the feed, one sliver can with its length of sliver for each
machine. The sliver is passed through the first conductor, situated
about a yard above the sliver can, and then between a pair of feed
rollers seen to the right of the machine. From here the sliver is
deflected to the proper bell-mouth conductor and to the long stretch or
reach of gill pins shown clearly in the view. On emerging from the gill
pins, the sliver passes through a nipping die and thence to the enclosed
flyer from which it is wound on to the bobbin.
[Illustration: FIG. 27
AUTOMATIC SPINNING MACHINE]
The drafting is accomplished by a series of rollers or pulleys which
draw the fibres through the gill pins and the nipping die, while the
twist is imparted as usual by the flyers which revolve at about 1,400
revolutions per minute. The flyers are now enclosed in a safety cage of
about the same width as the name plate.
The yarns thus spun are built upon large steel-ended bobbins which, when
filled, may be conveyed direct to the transferring or warping machines
where the yarns are prepared for further treatment, if and when any
further treatment is necessary, or to the rope machines. Thus, if the
yarns are to be made up into a tarred rope, it is necessary to prepare
them into a suitable form for the tarring operation. This usually takes
the form of a warp, and such warps are most satisfactorily made on a
warping mill or winding reel. It is usual to run twelve threads from
twelve bobbins and to make the warp a suitable size by continuing the
operation of warping in the same way as is done for warps which are to
be woven in a loom.
The warp is then passed through a tarring machine in which the tar,
usually Russian or Swedish, is kept warm during the operation. After the
necessary amount of tar has been applied, it is usual to store the warps
of yarn for a lengthened period, say up to six months, to condition
them. The individual yarns from these warps are then rewound on to
twelve large bobbins in what is known as a 12-bobbin vertical
spindle-winding machine.
CHAPTER IX
TWINES, CORDS AND LINES
There are many instances in which yarns made by the foregoing operations
are incorporated in twines, cords and ropes, while, on the other hand,
special types of machinery are utilized to manufacture certain grades of
such goods with an entirely different system of machinery. It is in
connection with the latter branch that this chapter will for the most
part treat, but, before dealing with these machines for specific
purposes, we might just say that there are huge quantities of yarn spun
by the methods already described, and the single yarn so spun is then
twisted so that the resulting compound may contain two single threads
twisted together, or any other greater number twisted either in one
operation, or two or more separate operations, to obtain the desired
type of cordage. In many cases the yarns have to be bleached before they
are twisted, and Fig. 28 illustrates the drying of bleached yarns.
[Illustration: FIG. 28
DRYING BLEACHED YARNS]
The terms twine, cord and rope all indicate to the textile technologist
a multiple structure, that is, an article in which two or more single
threads are united by the process known as doubling, folding or
twisting.
Thus, in the manufacture of twines, of which there is a great variety,
the process is a comparatively simple one. A number of bobbins are
arranged on pins in a creel somewhat similarly to those illustrated in
the spinning frame in Fig. 24. The requisite yarns, from 2, 3, 4 ... n
bobbins, for the type of twine in process are led from the bobbins
through an eye or guide or through a “register plate,” then between a
pair of drawing rollers, and thence to the flyer and spindle as in the
spinning operation. As the spindle and flyer rotate, the group of single
yarns are drawn through the guide or eye, or through the register plate
by the drawing rollers, and the necessary amount of twist applied before
the finished product is wound on to the bobbin. The amount of twist, or
the technical term “twist per inch,” is fixed by the speed of the
spindle and the delivery of the yarn by the drawing rollers. In other
words we have--
revs. per min. of spindle
───────────────────────────────── = the number of turns per
delivery of twine in in. per min. in. or the twist per in.
There is this difference between spinning and doubling or twisting; when
a thread breaks in spinning, the supply of yarn to the bobbin ceases,
and the production from that spindle stops until the broken thread is
repaired; on the other hand, when two or more threads are being twisted
together and wound on to a bobbin, it is evident that if one thread
breaks the supply is not stopped entirely, but the product is defective
because it is short of that yarn. In order to prevent the production of
faulty goods and to minimize waste, it is a common practice to introduce
delicate mechanical parts to such frames, the function of which parts is
to stop the delivery of yarn to any spindle in connection with which any
of the constituent threads are broken. A frame so fitted is said to have
an “Automatic Thread Stop Motion.”
In many cases the twines made by the above process are taken to another
machine in which a number of bobbins are again arranged on pins, the
twines passed under rollers and immersed in polishing mixtures of starch
or size contained in troughs or boxes. A quantity of the size adheres to
the twines as they pass through it, and revolving brushes are used to
remove the excess of size and to clean the twines. These operations are
repeated a few times and ultimately the twines so starched, cleaned and
polished are led over drying cylinders in front of which are placed
rollers covered with suitable material, usually coir yarns. These
rollers rotate at a high speed, and sometimes wax is applied to the coir
yarn-covered rollers, so that the twines are dried, polished and
finished simultaneously before they leave the hot cylinders to be wound
on to a second set of empty bobbins. This machine is usually termed a
“bobbin to bobbin polishing machine,” and the bobbins upon which the
twine is finally wound are frictionally driven because the delivery of
twine is constant. In this way the requisite finish or polish is applied
to the surface of the twine, and this gives the twine the smart
appearance which makes it quite attractive.
In the operation of twisting single yarns, that is, in the roving frame
and in the spinning frame, it is usual to impart what is known as a
“right twist.” Thus, if one looks down on a spinning or roving spindle
and the direction of rotation is clockwise, then the twist imparted is
right hand. On the other hand, if, when viewed from the same position,
the spindle rotates counter-clockwise, the definition is “reverse” or
left-hand twist. When two single threads of right-hand twist are
combined in twisting as in the formation of the above-mentioned twines,
it is usual for the doubling or twisting spindles to rotate
counter-clockwise. This is done for practical reasons which need not be
discussed here, but, although this is the usual way, there are cases in
the twisting of textile threads where two right-hand twists are combined
with the same direction of twist. Some such definition as the above will
help considerably to elucidate the structure of more complicated
multiple-twist cords.
CORDS.--In the manufacture of cords, three or more twines are combined.
Thus, if three twines, each of reverse or left-hand twist and made from
two single yarns of right-hand twist, are combined together by a further
process of twisting, it is usual to apply a right-hand twist to these
three two-ply twines. When treated in this way, the finished article is
termed a cord which is “cable laid.” And, in general, in the twisting of
such cords, each successive twisting operation is in the opposite
direction to that which immediately preceded it.
Whip-cords, fishing lines and window-blind cords are typical of this
structure which, in general, involves the use of complicated machinery
or else a long rope walk. The single yarns are first made into twines
and finished as already described; afterwards the necessary number of
twines to form the cable-laid cord are united.
The operation is a costly one when compared with the simpler process of
twine making, but the cable-laid cord is a much more handsome product
than the twine, and is admirably adapted for purposes where a smart
compact and ornamental structure is desired or necessary.
BOX CORD.--Box cord is a very simple form of cordage, the method of
manufacture being quite different from that of the foregoing laid cords.
In the box-cord process there are two distinct groups of twisting
operations conducted simultaneously. The single threads, of which there
may be from two to eight, receive the necessary additional twist by a
corresponding number of flyers which differ in shape, however, from the
ones in roving and ordinary spinning in that they are known as enclosed
flyers. While these individual threads are being twisted, the several
yarns converge towards, and pass direct to, the eye of another enclosed
flyer which completes the process by twisting the component threads in
the opposite direction to that imparted to the single threads by the two
to eight different flyers. It should be mentioned that the building of
the completed box-cord on the bobbin is accomplished by suitable
mechanism attached to the flyer.
The machine is comparatively simple, and the attendants need little
experience beyond that of detecting broken threads and repairing them.
It need hardly be pointed out that the omission of a thread from the
requisite number in the group for the finished cord is a fault the
prevention of which constitutes one of the chief duties of the
attendant. The finished product is termed two-ply, three-ply, ...
eight-ply box-cord according to the number of single yarns which are
utilized. Practically all classes of fibre are used in the manufacture
of these goods, and this method of twisting is largely adopted for the
making up of comparatively light cords from fairly heavy sizes of yarn.
The product is used extensively for tying boxes and large packages and
thus serves the purpose of a light rope which is a more expensive
article.
PLAITING OR BRAIDING.--Special classes of lines and cords are now made
on a machine of an ingenious design. One of the advantages of this
machine is the fact that great lengths of line can be made; indeed,
there is practically no limit to the length which may be made beyond
that of the difficulty of handling the huge size of the finished
product.
The machine, which is complicated and costly in its upkeep, is used
extensively for the production of log lines, sash cords, and a large
variety of blind cords. The requisite number of threads for the cord are
wound on a suitable number of bobbins, and the latter are placed in
carriers in the machine. The yarns or twines are passed over or across
each other in such a way that they are locked in position and in the
well-known plaited form which is characteristic of this class of goods.
This scheme of interlocking is formed by an even number of groups of
threads, usually eight or more, and the movements of these groups, or
rather the bobbins which contain them, are practically identical with
the familiar “grand-chain” in circle dances practised by children and
also by grown-up persons. Alternate bobbins move sinuously round a
circle in one direction, while the remaining alternate bobbins move
similarly in the opposite direction. Each bobbin passes those in the
other group first on the left and then on the right of a circle whose
path is the centre of the two sinuous paths described by the two sets of
bobbins.
The continuous movements of the two sets of bobbins in each machine form
the elegant cord which, when plaited, passes through a guide eye in the
centre of the circle but in a higher plane. From this eye the cord rises
to a pair of hauling-winch pulleys around which it passes a few times
forming the figure 8. Finally, the cord passes between a pair of
delivery rollers into a large box at the back of the machine. The
hauling-winch pulleys and the drawing rollers, which combined give the
necessary firmness, are driven positively and accurately so that their
surface speeds may coincide with the amount of cord which is formed at
the guide eye.
CHAPTER X
ROPES AND ROPE MAKING; YARN NUMBERING
A considerable quantity of the smaller-sized ropes are now made on what
are termed “house machines.” These machines perform the same function as
those in the rope-walk but they occupy a much smaller space; they are
adapted to deal with a great range of sizes although, in general, it is
not necessary to use one machine for a large range of work; there is
such a variety of ropes in use that in a well-equipped rope works it is
possible to keep each machine almost constantly on ropes within a small
range of size. These remarks refer, as indicated, to ropes which come
within the limit of, say 2 to 3 in. in circumference. In the manufacture
of the larger sizes of ropes, it is usual to use two distinct machines,
one termed the “strander,” and the other the “closer,” and, although the
house-machine made ropes are often considered inferior to those made in
the rope-walk, many of the objections urged against the untarred ropes
made in the house-machine are more imaginary than real.
Fig. 29 is illustrative of a number of machines of a type used for the
making of ropes in which twelve to forty-five threads may be combined in
one operation during the manufacture of a three-strand or a four-strand
rope. The bobbins are placed in creel flyers of which there may be three
or four according as the rope is to be a three-strand or a four-strand
one. The creel flyers are composed of two parts, one of which carries
the bobbins, and the other carries the hauling and twisting gear. All
the three or the four strands are made at the same time; when formed,
they leave their respective flyers and converge towards the top and the
die or central tube where they are formed into a rope by the proper
degree of twist according to the purpose for which the rope is to be
used. Finally, the finished rope is drawn forward by a series of hauling
pulleys which also conduct the rope to the winding-on reel or bobbin,
and by suitable mechanism the rope is wound into a temporary form of
coil. As the bobbins are filled with rope they are removed from the
machine and conveyed to special coiling machines where they are measured
when necessary as they are made up into coils suitable for the
particular purposes desired. A common length of coil is 120 fathoms.
[Illustration: _By permission of the Edinburgh Roperie Co._
FIG. 29
ROPE-MAKING (HOUSE MACHINES)]
Although the various house machines represent the latest developments in
the art of stranding and closing--the two essential operations of rope
making--a modern rope and cordage works is provided not only with the
various machines which have been illustrated and described, but also
with a well-equipped rope-walk so that the products may include a great
variety of cordage from the finest lines to the mammoth ropes for ships,
steamers, harbours and heavy hauling purposes generally.
The combination of the house machines and the modern rope-walk makes
present arrangements very complete when compared with the old type of
rope-walk, but the apparatus employed in these old rope-walk machines
embodies all the principles of construction which are present in the new
machines for the same class of work.
Rope-walks are, naturally, long, narrow buildings because the full
length of the rope is in one stretch.
The work which is conducted in such places and the type of building is
admirably portrayed in the first three verses of Longfellow’s poem--
THE ROPE-WALK.
In that building long and low,
With its windows all a row,
Like the port-holes of a hulk,
Human spiders spin and spin,
Backward down their threads so thin,
Dropping, each, a hempen bulk.
At the end an open door;
Squares of sunshine on the floor
Light the long and dusky lane;
And the whirling of the wheel,
Dull and drowsy, makes me feel
All its spokes are in my brain.
As the spinners to the end
Downward go and re-ascend,
Gleam the long threads in the sun;
While within this brain of mine
Cobwebs brighter and more fine
By the busy wheel are spun.
At the top of the rope-walk is a stand or bank which contains the
bobbins of yarn, and this yarn may be dry or tarred according to
requirements. The bobbins are arranged on pins and the necessary number
of yarns for each strand are drawn from the bobbins and passed, in their
proper order for ensuring a uniform strand, through a number of holes in
a “register plate” immediately behind the machine. In a modern machine
any number of strands up to six can be formed at the same time, and
hence there will be six register plates for the yarns. For the
larger-sized ropes only one strand can be drawn out in one operation.
A machine termed a “traveller,” is employed to draw out the strands, and
this machine is provided with a series of hooks as well as a central
spindle. The strands may be attached as required either to the hooks or
to the spindle. A rope-driving gear causes this traveller to move on
rails down the walk and for the distance required, and it will be
evident that as the traveller recedes from the bank it will draw the
groups of threads from the bobbins and through the register plates; at
the same time the several hooks are caused to rotate, and thus each
strand is twisted and hauled simultaneously.
When the traveller has moved backwards or downwards for the necessary
distance to form the length of strand, the strands are removed from the
hooks and attached to suitable supports until a sufficient number has
been made for closing or laying-up.
To form the strands into a rope, it is essential to use a fixed or
stationary machine along with the traveller and a top-cart. The
stationary machine is substantially built, and, _inter alia_, is
provided with a central spindle around which are grouped a set of
hooks--usually in sections of two circles. Two wheels on the central
spindle drive a number of pinions, one behind each hook, the ratio of
one wheel to half the pinions is 34 to 16, while the ratio of the other
wheel to the other half of the pinions is 54 to 11. Thus, the
revolutions may be--
1 to 1 when the strand is on the central spindle,
34 to 16 or approx. 2 to 1 when on large hooks, and
54 to 11 „ „ 5 to 1 when on small hooks.
When the necessary strands to form the rope are stretched between the
stationary machine and the traveller, an extra amount of twist is
imparted to each strand, an operation which is termed “hardening the
strand”; the amount of twist can be judged only by past experience,
although it is common to give instructions in the words “harden so many
fathoms”; at other times the strands are hardened until the threads form
a desired angle. In all cases the strands should be twisted equally so
that the same tensile stress is on each strand. After this twist has
been applied, all the strands are placed either on one of the hooks or
on the central spindle of the traveller. A top-shaped block is put into
position inside the three strands--this top is in full view in Fig. 30,
which, by the way, illustrates the laying of a 28-in. circumference
four-strand hawser with a central core--and the machines started for a
few revolutions. When the first make of the rope is formed, the top is
brought back to its proper place, a few pieces of rope, termed tails,
are placed round the newly-formed portion of the rope, and these may be
collected and held in position by a bar as shown; one of these tails was
removed when the photograph was taken in order to show the finished part
of the rope between the top-cart and the traveller. The traveller is now
braked to keep the rope taut while the rope-maker lays the strands, the
hooks of the stationary machine at the top of the walk as well as the
hooks on the traveller being rotated meanwhile at a speed which is
suitable for the make or lay of the rope. The hooks in the two machines
rotate relatively about 7 to 9 or 7 to 11.
[Illustration: FIG. 30
LAYING OF A FOUR-STRAND CABLE-LAID ROPE IN THE ROPE-WALK]
When a hawser or cable-laid rope or a “trawl warp” is desired, the
formed ropes are again placed in position, and the whole routine
repeated, while if the warp is to consist of more than three strands, a
heart must be inserted, as exemplified in Fig. 30, upon which to lay or
build the strands. It will be understood that the view in Fig. 30 is the
interior of “a rope-walk,” and that the operative is looking towards the
top of the walk where the stationary machine is situated.
After the laying is completed, the finished rope must be made into a
coil ready for transportation. The coiling machines are often in close
proximity to the house machine or the rope-walk, and for the coiling of
such ropes as that illustrated in Fig. 30, it is obvious that the
machine must be of substantial build. When such a large rope is complete
and ready for despatch, it resembles the 18-in. circumference mooring
rope in Fig. 31; this rope was 90 fathoms long and two tons weight, and
was coiled in about ten minutes by a machine specially designed for the
purpose.
[Illustration: FIG. 31
VIEWS OF LARGE AND MEDIUM-SIZED COILS OF ROPE]
Rope driving has practically revolutionized the construction of modern
mills since ropes are used not only as a direct drive from the rope
pulley on the engine or motor shaft, but at many intermediate places,
and have replaced many installations of wheel-gearing. These
mill-driving ropes, which are invariably from 1½ to 2 in. in diameter,
are made extensively of cotton, hemp or manila. In exceptional cases
more than forty such ropes are used on the same pulley. The frontispiece
illustrates a rope drive in which seven ropes each of 1¾ in. diameter,
are utilized on the shaft of a motor for conveying the motion to a mill
shaft seen in the distance. Other ropes are seen in the next rope alley.
Somewhat similar ropes, but of a smaller diameter, are used for hauling
in the baling press illustrated in Fig. 15.
There are several methods of numbering yarns, most of which involve a
direct relation between the weight and length. Thus, to quote six of the
most widely-practised methods in the textile industry we have
Silk: count no. = the no. of hanks of 840 yards each in 1 lb.
Cotton: „ = „ hanks „ 840 „ „ „ 1 „
Wool: „ = „ skeins „ 256 „ „ „ 1 „
Worsted: „ = „ hanks „ 560 „ „ „ 1 „
Linen: „ = „ leas „ 300 „ „ „ 1 „
Jute: „ = the weight in lbs. of 14,400 yards
Hemp is sometimes reckoned according to the linen system and sometimes
by the jute system.
An entirely different method of counting or numbering obtains in regard
to ropes. The system of yarn numbering for ropes depends upon the number
of single yarns or threads required to make one strand of a 3-in.
3-strand rope. Thus, if 25 yarns are required to form such a strand, the
yarn is 25’s, while if 30 yarns were required for the same thickness of
strand, the yarn would be 30’s, and so on. The tube through which the
yarns are drawn is nearly half an inch bore.
If the yarn number is multiplied by 5, the product represents the number
of yards of yarn in 1 lb. Thus, in the above 25’s yarn there are
25’s × 5 = 125 yd., or 375 ft. per lb.
Ropes are usually designated by their circumferences in inches, and also
by the number of strands neglecting the heart if such is required.
CHAPTER XI
MARKETING
It is essential in modern times that goods which are placed on the
market should be as attractive as it is possible to make them, and
cordage forms no exception to this rule. The acme of attraction may be
said to have been reached when a sale is effected more from appearance
than from any immediate want, and this is the ideal to be aimed at. No
detail which will make the goods attractive or memorable should be
omitted. Carelessly made-up goods are quickly noticed, and however high
may be the quality of the article, an indifferent make-up creates an
unfavourable impression which is difficult to remove.
Little things, insignificant in themselves, often form the nucleus of
great undertakings. Mnemonic titles, trade names, distinctive labels and
the like are all adopted to safeguard the interests of the maker, to
guarantee his products, to spread his fame, and to keep his goods
constantly in the mind’s eye of the purchaser.
Whilst no great effort is necessary to parcel up small articles in an
attractive form, it seems hardly possible to deal with bulky articles
with the same degree of success. Nevertheless, several of these heavy
and unhandy articles are elegantly made up as is emphasized by the coils
in Fig. 31. This is the usual way of making up ropes, and the size of
the coil depends partly upon the length of the rope, partly upon the use
to which it is to be put, and partly upon the thickness. If the ropes
are to be cut up into definite lengths, the coil will be a multiple of
that length; if otherwise, a common length of rope is 120 fathoms as
already stated.
The smaller coils, and the better grades of larger coils, are often
enclosed in paper, while the larger ones are covered with wrappers of
suitable texture to ensure the arrival of the ropes in good condition at
their destination. The coils themselves are securely bound as
exemplified in Fig. 31 to prevent the displacement of the structure
during transit or handling, and, in addition, many of these large and
valuable ropes are entirely covered by a cheap rope binding.
A large quantity of ropes, cords and twines are made into hanks or
“rands,” as they are termed, on a special machine. For short lengths
this method of making up is very compact, very neat and very convenient
for marketing.
Binder twine is first made up into standard size balls which must fit
the boxes on the reaping and binding machines; afterwards they are
packed in bales ready for despatch.
Other varieties of twine are made up in the same shape of balls as
above, but the sizes of the balls depend upon many circumstances. Large
quantities for the retail trade are made up into convenient sizes to
suit the twine boxes, and again many are made to a specified weight.
It will thus be seen that a series of balling machines will be required
to deal with the making up of the twine in this form. These machines
make neat and attractive-looking balls, the weight of which may vary
from 2 oz. to 28 lb. each.
The mechanism by means of which the yarn is built up into balls is at
once elegant and ingenious, and the made-up ball is quite satisfactory
if when commencing to use the twine, the end is withdrawn from the right
end of the ball. A ticket with the words “pull out this end” is often
attached as a guide. If the twine is drawn from the wrong end of a ball,
the continual difficulty experienced in withdrawing the twine will be
always remembered; on the other hand, if the twine is drawn out at the
proper end, the correct running of the twine will enable the attendant
to complete his parcel tying with the minimum of trouble and time, and
enable him to give attention to other work in hand.
This inconvenience is obviated by a comparatively recent introduction in
winding which makes an elegant cylindrical structure termed a roll. This
popular and efficient mechanism is the Universal Winding Machine, the
various makes of which enable rolls of from 2 oz. to 72 lb. to be made
perfectly. The rolls are so attractive, compact, economical and easily
handled that one would not be surprised to see a much more extended
application of this useful form of package.
For shops and similar places, the smaller balls and rolls are made up in
paper parcels of about 12 lb. each. The larger balls and rolls may be
made up separately or in convenient numbers. Sewing threads and yarns
may be made up in small balls, but a more common and neater arrangement
is to make them up on reels or in rolls. Neatness, facility for use, and
suitability for intended purposes are the main points to be cultivated
in order to secure and retain business.
INDEX
AGAVE Americana, 8
---- ----, section, 10
---- ----, ---- of fibres, 11
----, Photomicrograph of Mexican, 12
---- sisalana, 35
---- ----, cultivation of, 36, 37
---- ----, harvesting of, 38
---- ----, height of leaves of, 36
---- ----, weeding of, 36
Automatic spinning frame, 79, 89, 91
---- thread stop motion, 94
BALING, 54
---- press, 43, 44, 107
Balling machine, 109
Bast layers, 24, 25, 29
---- ----, length of, 26
Batch, 87
Binder twine, 109
Blend, 87
Bobbin-to-bobbin polishing machine, 96
Box cords, 50, 97, 98
Braiding, 98
Breaker cards, 74
Breaking, 15, 24, 25, 27
---- machines, 60
CABLE-LAID, 97
Card, 73, 74
Carding machine, 73, 74
China jute, 50
Closer, 100
Closing, 103
Coiling machine, 101, 105, 106
Coils of rope, 105, 106
Coir, 47, 96
Cords, 5, 50, 67, 93, 97
Cotton driving ropes, 55
---- fibres, cross-sectional view of, 15
---- ----, longitudinal view of, 15
Cutting machine, 60, 61
DECORTICATOR, 38, 40
Demi-sec spinning, 85
Differential motion, 82, 86
Doffing, 83
Doubling frame, 77
Drafting, 69, 71, 72, 77, 80, 83, 85, 91
Drawing frame, 73, 76, 77, 79
Dry spinning frame, 83
Drying bleached yarns, 93
FALLERS, 71, 87
Fibre, grading of Manila, 33, 34
----, ---- of New Zealand, 47
----, harvesting of hemp, 22
----, Imports of hemp, 50
----, ---- of Manila, 35
----, price of different kinds of, 54
----, ---- of Manila, 34, 51
----, production of hemp, 20
----, yield of hemp, 22
----, ---- of Manila, 33
----, ---- of New Zealand, 47
Fibres, biblical reference to, 3
----, characteristics of, 2
----, classification of, 16
----, hard and soft, 17, 18, 89
----, views of cotton, 15
----, separation and extraction of, 2, 5, 6, 26
----, shipments of, 52
----, sources of, 5, 13, 15
Finisher cards, 74
Fishing lines, 97
Flax, 13, 16, 18, 24, 29, 45, 83
GILL spinning frame, 79, 85
Gills, 71, 78, 91
HACKLE pins, 79, 87
Hackler and spreader, 87, 88
Hackling machine, 62
---- ----, automatic screwing apparatus for, 64
---- tools, 65
---- ----, grouping of pins in, 65
Hand dressing, 66
Hardening the strand, 104
Hemp plants, 13
---- ----, cross section of, 13
---- ----, cultivation of, 21, 22
---- ----, grown in various countries, 16, 19, 20
---- ----, height of, 19
----, Siretz, 29
----, true, 17
House machines, 100, 101
INTERMEDIATE machine, 89
JUTE, 13, 18, 44, 76, 83, 107
----, China, 50
LAYING-UP, 103, 105
Line, 68
Lines, 93
----, fishing, 97
Log lines, 98
MAGUEY, 47
Manila, 31, 44
---- and other fibres, 87
----, grading of, 51
----, machine for, 87
----, plants, height of, 32
----, price of, 51
Marketing, 108
Marks or grades, 87
Mauritius fibre, 47
NEW Zealand fibre, yield of, 47
---- ---- hemp, 45
---- ---- ---- plants, harvesting of, 46
---- ---- ---- ----, height of, 45
Numbering yarns, 107
PLAITING, 98
Plants, cultivation of Manila, 31
----, height of Manila, 32
RANDS, 109
Raspadore, 38
Reach, 76, 78
Retting, 18, 23, 24, 25
Rope driving, 106
---- machine, 98
---- making, 17, 100
---- walk, 97, 100, 102, 103, 105
Ropes, 5, 15, 100, 102, 104, 107
Roughing, 67
Rove, 68, 80, 82
Roving frame, 79, 80
SCUTCHER, 38
Scutching, 15, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 73
Seeds, 15, 21, 22, 32
Sett frame, 77
Sewing twines, 67
Shive, 28
Sisal, 7, 35, 44
---- breaker, 38
----, grading of, 44, 45
Sliver, 68, 69, 72, 73, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80, 82, 85, 89
Softening, 56, 57
Sorting and selecting, 68
Sowing, 21
Spread board, 69, 72, 77, 78
Spindle winding machine, 92
Spinning, 5, 55, 79, 83, 85
Stationary machine for ropes, 104
Strander, 100
Strands, 5, 100, 103, 105
Strick, 28, 56, 73
Sunn hemp, 49
Systems of machinery, 56, 68
TAR, 91
Top cart, 103
---- -shaped block, 104
Tow, 49, 73, 74
Traveller, 103
Twines, 5, 93
Twist and twisting, 48, 82, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98
WARPING, 91
Washing tanks, 40, 43
Wet spinning, 85
Whip cords, 97
Winding-on reel, 101
Winding machine, 110
Window blind cords, 97
Winding reel, 91
Wool, 5, 16
YARN numbering, 107
THE END
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COMMON COMMODITIES AND INDUSTRIES SERIES
Each book in crown 8vo, cloth, with many illustrations, charts, etc.,
2/6 net
TEA. By A. IBBETSON
COFFEE. By B. B. KEABLE
SUGAR. By GEO. MARTINEAU, C.B.
OILS. By C. AINSWORTH MITCHELL, B.A., F.I.C.
WHEAT. By ANDREW MILLAR
RUBBER. By C. BEADLE and H. P. STEVENS, M.A., Ph.D., F.I.C.
IRON AND STEEL. By C. HOOD
COPPER. By H. K. PICARD
COAL. By FRANCIS H. WILSON, M.Inst., M.E.
TIMBER. By W. BULLOCK
COTTON. By R. J. PEAKE
SILK. By LUTHER HOOPER
WOOL. By J. A. HUNTER
LINEN. By ALFRED S. MOORE
TOBACCO. By A. E. TANNER
LEATHER. By K. J. ADCOCK
KNITTED FABRICS. By J. CHAMBERLAIN and J. H. QUILTER
CLAYS. By ALFRED B. SEARLE
PAPER. By HARRY A. MADDOX
SOAP. By WILLIAM A. SIMMONS, B.Sc. (Lond.), F.C.S.
THE MOTOR INDUSTRY. By HORACE WYATT, B.A.
GLASS AND GLASS MAKING. By PERCIVAL MARSON
GUMS AND RESINS. By E. J. PARRY, B.Sc., F.I.C., F.C.S.
THE BOOT AND SHOE INDUSTRY. By J. S. HARDING
GAS AND GAS MAKING. By W. H. Y. WEBBER
FURNITURE. By H. E. BINSTEAD
COAL TAR. By A. R. WARNES
PETROLEUM. By A. LIDGETT
SALT. By A. F. CALVERT
ZINC. By T. E. LONES, M.A., LL.D., B.Sc.
PHOTOGRAPHY. By WM. GAMBLE
ASBESTOS. By A. LEONARD SUMMERS
SILVER. By BENJAMIN WHITE
CARPETS. By REGINALD S. BRINTON
PAINTS AND VARNISHES. By A. S. JENNINGS
CORDAGE AND CORDAGE HEMP AND FIBRES. By T. WOODHOUSE and P. KILGOUR
ACIDS AND ALKALIS. By G. H. J. ADLAM
ELECTRICITY. By R. E. NEALE, B.Sc., Hons.
ALUMINIUM. By Captain G. MORTIMER
───────────────────────
_OTHERS IN PREPARATION_
Transcriber’s notes
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number was incorrect.
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