weaver can now attend to a surprisingly large number of looms, being
greatly assisted also by the automatic warp and filling "stop motions."

CHAPTER IX

The Finishing Operations

Following the manufacture of the cloth, come the operations necessary to
prepare it for the market. These involve such treatments as bleaching,
printing, mercerizing, dyeing, and finishing (in the narrow sense).

The number of machines involved in these various processes rivals the
number which are used in the actual spinning and weaving operations.

Modern bleaching is a highly technical science, conceived and planned by
engineers, and carried out with elaborate machinery by skilled workers.

Gray cloth, as it comes from the loom, is of an unattractive color, a
dirty grayish yellow, and contains not only those impurities which it has
picked up on its journey through the mill but those inherent in its
natural state as well, all totalling some five per cent. more or less, of
the total weight. In addition there may be numerous bits of leaf from the
boll which have clung to the fibers through all the processing, and which
appear finally in the cloth as little brownish specks, known to the trade
as motes. Finally, there is the sizing which was put into the warp.

[Illustration: _Warping--The creel in the rear_]

Bleaching an Intricate
Chemical Process

In the bleaching of cotton, there is a series of operations which have
for their object the elimination of the waxy, fatty matters embodied in
the fiber, as well as any dirt which it may have acquired. Then, there is
the actual whitening and the bleaching of the cloth which destroys any
coloring matter which it may contain and finally there are treatments
designed to neutralize the effect of the chemicals used in the bleaching.
Thus, the sequence of treatments might be: first, boiling in plain water,
which removes certain soluble substances; next, an extended boiling in a
strong alkaline solution, which saponifies the waxy, fatty matters in the
fiber, and thus removes them from the cloth or yarn. Third, a steeping in
a bleaching solution--a solution of chloride of lime being largely
employed for this purpose, and which treatment is known as the chemic.
Next, after another thorough washing there is a treatment in diluted
sulphuric acid to neutralize the effects of the chemic, and finally this
is followed again by another thorough washing with possibly an additional
mild alkaline