fibers. Cotton
to be used for making yarn suitable for hosiery, underwear, sewing
thread, lace, and for very fine cotton fabrics is carded.

In drawing, from six to sixteen "slivers" are run together and the
fibers drawn out in several stages until the soft rope is about an
eighth of an inch in diameter, called "roving." This tends to get rid of
any unevenness and makes the fibers all parallel. From this machine the
roving is wound on a bobbin ready for the spinning frame.

[Illustration: COTTON CARD

The roll of webbing _A_ is beaten and transferred to the cylinder _H H_,
carded by the spiked belt _E_, removed by the "doffer" and formed into a
"sliver" which runs into the can _M_.]

[Sidenote: Spinning]

The spinning frame may have a hundred spindles or more, each one of
which is drawing out its supply of "roving" to the required size of yarn
and giving it the twist necessary to bind the fibers together. The yarn
to be used for the warp is given a harder twist so that it may be strong
enough to stand the strain in weaving. The yarn for filling is usually
left soft.

[Illustration: COTTON COMB, USED FOR LONG STAPLE]

[Illustration: RECEIVING THE "SLIVER" AT THE BACK OF THE DRAWING
FRAME.]

[Illustration: DRAWING FRAME Drawing the Roving Finer.]

[Illustration: A FLY SPINNING FRAME The Spools of Roving Above Are Being
Drawn Out, Given the Twist by the Fliers, and Wound on Bobbins Below.]

[Illustration: MULE DRAWING AND SPINNING FRAME Always used for wool.
Part of the machine moves away from the frame, thus drawing out the
thread, which is then twisted.]

[Illustration: MODERN RING SPINNING FRAME FOR COTTON. SIXTY-EIGHT
SPINDLES Gives the Largest Production.]

[Illustration: A PLAIN POWER LOOM WEAVING LINEN]

The yarn for warp is now usually given a coating or "sizing" of starch
and gums so that the thread may not become unwound and break during
weaving.

The process of spinning is much the same for flax and for wool, although
somewhat differently constructed machines must be used. Flax is usually
spun wet.

WEAVING

[Sidenote: Modern Loom]

The modern power driven loom is a wonderful piece of machinery. The
principle of its operation is essentially the same as the hand loom, but
it is almost perfectly automatic in its action, a man or woman being
able to tend from ten to fifteen looms weaving plain cotton goods.

[Sidenote: Warping]

The yarn coming from the spinning frame is sometime