a train of wheels consisting of a pinion n fixed on the principal spindle R, turning a wheel o, which has a pinion fixed to and turning with it, giving motion to a larger wheel p. This, again, has another smaller wheel upon its spindle, with a pin fixed in it, so that at every revolution it raises a hammer and strikes upon a bell s, whereby the attendant has notice of the quantity wound on the skeins.

When the machine is employed for the first operation of twisting raw silk for organzine, which requires a strong and close twist, the wheel must be of greater and the pinion i of less diameter than are here represented, in order that the reel K and the bobbins may receive a slower motion, in proportion to the speed of the spindles.

The silk is now in the form of singles, the only difference between which and the single twist in course of preparation for organzine, besides the degree of hardness noticed above, is, that in the latter process the crank must be turned in an opposite direction, so as to give a reverse motion to the machinery. Organzine silk is of the nature of rope, where the combined strands are twisted in an opposite direction to that given to the separate threads, whereas singles and tram are twisted only in one direction, similarly to twine, or to the individual strands of which the larger rope is made.

When silk is intended to be dyed in the skein, the twisting in this machine is but slight, and its direction must of course depend upon its ulterior destination, whether for tram or for organzine. Silk thread intended for organzine is, in this first operation, twisted in a left-hand direction.

The next operation is to bring two, three, or more of these twisted threads together upon one bobbin. The number of the threads depends of course upon the substance which it is intended to give to the organzine, and a careful sorting of the threads must be made, so as to bring together such only as are of an uniform texture. To effect this, a machine is used, very similar to the winding machine already described. Instead of gathering the silk from the bobbins on a reel in its first twisting in the throwing machine, when the object is to prepare organzine, it is usual to transfer it to other bobbins. In the operation of doubling, these bobbins are placed in front of the winding machine, where, of course, they take the place of the swifts, and stand two or three or more in a row, according to the number of strands to be subsequently brought together in the organzine, in the manner shown by the following figure.

The threads in the bobbins are passed over one and beneath another wooden rail m and n, with both of which they are brought in close contact. These rails being covered with cloth serve to cleanse the silk in its passage, equally well with the less artificial means offered by the fingers of the person employed in winding.

In their passage or transference from one set of bobbins to the other, each thread passes through a small piece of wood e, which slides freely up and down in a mortised hole through the fixed board f. The use of these slides, which are equal in number with the threads to be brought together, will soon be seen. All the threads are then passed through the wireeye d of the layer D, which it is more convenient to place behind the bobbin, causing the wire to be bent over it, as shown in the figure. The bobbins to be filled, rest upon, and take their revolving motion from the wheels F, as in the winding machine. The degree of tension given to the silk threads in winding causes them to raise the sliders e. Should any one of the threads break, the slider through which it passed, no longer supported by it, strikes upon the bent lever tv, which, moving upon its centre w, causes the hook v to catch into the notches made for that purpose in the disc of the bobbin B, and this immediately stops its motion. The winding of the required number of threads thus proceeds with as much certainty as the winding of one would do. It is the business of the attendant to repair the broken thread, when the slide e being again raised, the weight x, attached to the bent lever t v, raises the end t, frees the notched bobbin from the hook v, and the machine is once again in motion.

The bobbins, thus filled with double or triple threads, are once more carried to the throwsting machine, and are there spun or twisted together by an operation similar to that already described, with the sole difference before mentioned, of giving a reversed direction to the spindles and flyers. In this operation, the silk, now converted to organzine, is transferred to reels instead of bobbins, and then, being made up

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into skeins, is sorted for sale or use. Previously to this, however, and in order to prevent its crinkling when removed, a tendency to which it has acquired in the twisting, the reels are subjected for two or three minutes to the action of steam, which is found effectually and permanently to set the twist. This is a modern improvement; it having formerly been the practice to steep the reels in boiling water, a more tedious and less effectual operation. The degree of hardness given to the twist is varied according to the purpose for which it is intended, and depends, as already described, upon the relative diameters of the wheel and pinion h and i of the throwsting machine.

The silk thus thrown is called hard silk, and must be boiled in order to discharge the gum, which otherwise renders it harsh to the touch, and unfit to receive the dye. The silk is boiled for about four hours in a plentiful proportion of water, into which a quantity of soap, equal to about one-third of the weight of the silk, has been placed; this assists in dissolving the gum, and in rendering the silk soft and glossy.

By this boiling, the silk, which has already in the previous operations of organzining lost in the proportion of from five to seven and a half out of each one hundred pounds of its weight, is further diminished to twelve, and sometimes to eleven and a half ounces for every pound. Considerable carefulness is called for in this operation, to prevent injury to the threads from burning, which sometimes will occur, and occasion material loss to the manufacturer, or to the dyer, to whom the process is intrusted. If, by reason of the viscid gum contained in the silk, the skeins adhere to the bottom of the copper in which they are boiled, the heat is, by that means, necessarily intercepted in its passage to the water, and accumulated in the silk, which is in consequence partially carbonised and spoilt. Even when the injury thus occurring to the staple of the thread is less apparent, it frequently discovers itself when put into the loom, causing infinite trouble and delay to the weaver, who often, in such a case, cannot weave in a working day of twelve hours more than, in the absence of injury to the silk, he would have woven in half that time; and the injury to him is therefore one of very serious consequence. After this boiling, the silk is well washed in a current of clear water to discharge the soap; and when subsequently dried, although its weight is so sensibly diminished, its bulk is, on the contrary, visibly increased, and it is seen to have acquired that peculiar glossiness and softness of texture which form its principal and characteristic beauty.

The gum which has been now discharged served the useful purpose of causing the adhesion of the fibres, as originally wound from the cocoons. This end is now more effectually attained by the twist the thread has received in the throwing mill; and the gum would henceforth be considered as a foreign matter, impairing the beauty and destroying the flexibility of its texture. Were the boiling performed before the twisting, this operation could scarcely be at all completed, and at best only an entangled woolly or downy substance would be obtained, wholly unfit for manufacturing purposes. Before a thread of useful texture could be then got, the silk would require to be spun by some process similar to that followed with cotton wool, or such, indeed, as is necessary with the waste silk drawn from the cocoons in the first operation of reeling, and with those cocoons which are injured or reserved for breeding, and which it is found difficult or impossible to wind in the filature.

It has always been asserted, and, if the assertion be correct, it is a curious fact, that, notwithstanding the great advantage of superior machinery, the English throwster is unable to produce organzine silk equal in quality, and at as small an expense, or with as little waste, as that prepared in Italy. It was long held, and is still believed by many, that the Italian throwster, who is also most usually a dealer in silk, reserves the finest qualities for his own operations, and exports only that which is inferior. Supposing, however, that the difference in the value of the thrown silk is such as is stated, it is perhaps nearer to the truth to believe that the climate may influence the quality of a substance so delicate, since it is well known that, during certain states of the atmosphere, the throwing of silk is performed in this country at a comparaative disadvantage. Or it may be, that the fibre of the silk is injuriously affected by its being packed before twisting, or by the lengthened voyage to which it is subjected in its transit to this country; and the higher estimation uniformly evinced by our throwsters for silk of the new crop, over that which has lain for some time in the warehouse, would seem to indicate another cause for the alleged superiority of Italian organzine. It is owing to this preference of foreign thrown silk, that, in the face of a high protecting duty, it has always met with a certain, although limited, demand from the English silk weaver. Prior to the year 1824 this protection in favor of the English throwster amounted to more than nine shillings per pound; and when, by the removal of all save the merely nominal duty of one penny per pound on raw

silk, such a spur was given to this branch of the manufacture, that the quantity of silk thrown in England was doubled, the importation of foreign thrown silk, although burdened with a duty of seven shillings and sixpence per pound, was not diminished, but rather the reverse. This impost in favor of the home throwster was afterwards reduced to five shillings, and subsequently, in the year 1829, to three shillings and sixpence per pound, without any material alteration in the quantity imported following these abatements. These facts must be held to confirm the correctness of the belief, that foreign organzinë is, to a certain extent, and in some branches, necessary to the operations of the weaver, who, therefore, will purchase it, whatever may be the duty wherewith it is burdened; so that, in truth, any impost would be nearly inoperative as a protection to the English throwster, while it would constitute a considerable hardship to the weaver. It is certain, however, that this preference of Italian thrown silk is fast disappearing; and there are now many among the principal English manufacturers who make use of English thrown silk exclusively for the manufacture of every description of goods.

The act of parliament, which was passed in the year 1824, whereby the duty on raw silk was all but abolished, and that on thrown silk was so materially reduced, occasioned, as has already been remarked, considerable animation among the silk throwsters, who for some time experienced great difficulty in keeping pace with the demands of the manufacturers. This state of things naturally led not only to a great extension of their establishments, and to the erection of new throwing mills in various parts of the country, but called likewise the attention of ingenious men to the improvement of machinery already employed in the processes of throwing, and to the proposing of new modes of effecting these processes. It does not appear, however, that any new and material invention has hitherto been brought into use in throwing machinery; the improvements effected being, with some comparatively immaterial exceptions, confined to the more perfect formation and execution of machinery already invented. The rude wooden wheels and drivers which were long used have now given place to well constructed cast-iron gearing; the old rough wrought-iron spindles are now superseded by others of steel, accurately turned; and metallic bearings have been substituted for the barbarous wooden shoulders with which the throwsters were formerly contented. The consequence has been, that at a less ex