There are hills on the east of the valley, forming a water
shed, and the town lies in a basin covered with a bed of stiff clay,
that holds the water, allowing it to evaporate just fast enough to
keep the air in the moist condition needed to fit the fibers for
weaving. Countries that have not these conditions are obliged to
produce them by artificial means--humidifying, etc.

[Illustration: PICKER ROOM

1. Hopper where the cotton from the bale is fed into Picker.
2. "Lap" showing how the cotton is prepared for the card.
3. Picker Machine (complete).]

CHAPTER X

MANUFACTURE OF COTTON YARN

[Illustration: PICKER ROOM--SHOWING END VIEW OF PICKER

1. Lap of Cotton.]

=Picker Room.= The first step in the conversion of the bale of cotton
into yarn consists in giving the cotton fibers a thorough cleaning.
This is accomplished by feeding the cotton to a series of picker
machines called in order, bale breaker, cotton opener and automatic
feeder, breaker picker, intermediate picker, and finisher picker.
These machines pull to shreds the matted locks and wads of cotton (as
we find them in the bale), beat out the dirt, stones, and seeds, and
finally leave the cotton in the form of batting upon the cylinders;
this batting passes from one machine to another until it issues from
the finisher picker as a downy roll or lap.

(Sometimes the bale breaker is not used in the mill.)

[Illustration: CARD ROOM

1. Roving Can--receptacle to hold the sliver. After it is filled it
is transferred to either ribbon lap machine or drawing frame.
2. Cylinder of the card. The cotton is on this cylinder in the form
of a web.]

=Carding Machine.= When the lap of cotton leaves the picker it goes to
the carding machine, where it is combed into parallel fibers by means
of a revolving cylinder covered with wire teeth called card clothing.
As the cotton is fed to the card in the form of a sheet or lap from
the picker, it is supposed to have been freed from a considerable
quantity of sand, seed, etc., but there still remain nep, fine leaf,
and short fibers, which are removed during carding.

On leaving the card cylinder the lap has become a gossamer-like web
thirty-nine inches broad. This web next passes through small "eyes,"
which condense it into a narrow band about an inch in width, known as
card sliver.

When a lap is delivered from the finisher picker, it should weigh a
given number of ounces per yard. The m