OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2558, 20 July 1909, Page 2

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

HOW WOOL IS MADE INTO CLOTH. (From Our Own. Correspondent.) , ' BRADFORD, June 4. Sheep farmers the world over have very little conception of how- their fleeces are manipulated before they leave, the manufacturer's warehouse as a finished article, and I do not think it will bo badly spent time just to briefly epitomise the various processes through which wool goes after it leaves the sale-room. Nothing surprised me more when a young man, than to read the order sheets we received from merchants and wholesale clothiers for pieces, for they evidently had a notion that a piece of cloth could be manufactured in 24 .hours. HANDLING THE RAW MATERIAL. I take for granted that every woolgrower is familiar with the way his lieeces are dealt with when they leave the station, the same being sold by private treaty, or else by public auction. From the sale-room wool goes direct to manufacturing districts, there to be dealt with in one way or other by the owners. It is, perhaps, not to well known as it should be that there aro two different and distinct methods of handling the raw material, namely, in the production of woollen or worsted fabrics. These processes are different and distinct, but the subject is too big for tackling in one article. However, I will briefly outline the various ways wool is dealt with on arrival, say, in Bradford. The first process that- wool undergoes is that of sorting. Even this operation is not so extensively performed as was the case twenty years ago, simply because of the better preparation for market and classing that is now being done by Australian wool-growers. However, sorting is done by all topmakers, some firms doing the work more thoroughly than others. Every bale should bo looked over for the purpose of removing all stained britch „ ends that may have accidentally got in. I am now supposing we are dealing with straight greasy fleece wool. By sorting, the operative is able to at once detect any coarser fleece, or even finer fleece that may have got into the bale. For, bear in mind, the object of sorting is to have a blend of material as uniform as possible, both in quality and length or staple. Every sorter will have immediately around him four or five little skeps or baskets, and as a fleece comes on to the board he will devide that fleece into perhaps three or four qualities, allotting a portion, say, to 70’s, another to 64’s, and the strongest portion to 60’g. It is a daily, occurrence where topmaking is carried on to make a pile or blend of wool, this consisting oftentimes of raw material grown in Australia, South Africa, and South America. The great principle to observe is to have the blend all one quality and length. After it has been made, the next process is that of scouring or washing. This is most carefully performed, and deserves a chapter to itself. If wool ; is damaged in the scouring operation, it can never be brought back to its natural state. The great secret of washing is to preserve intact as much as nossible the original staple, that is, the fibre should not be mashed or broken, otherwise it will be irreparably damaged. To this end there should be as little agitation and working upon the wool in the wash bowl as possible. The first bath is usually fairly hot, and the scouring agent employed is soft potash soap. Soda ash, which is a chemical compound, is largely employed nowadays, but a potash soap is infinitely .better, for it leaves the fibre with much more handle and elasticity, two important characteristics in all wool. The wool .passes through two or three scouring bowls or large tanks, and is automatically' carried forward with slowly revolving forks, getting cleaner as it nears the end. The next operation is that of drying. Wet woo] cannot be manipulated on machinery, hence it is dried in various ways. The great thing is to drive off the moisture, and this is done by passing the wool through a large, square machine heated with steam, or spreading it out upon a wool-drying table through which hot air is driven with a fan. In up-to-date plants, the wool goes straight from the scouring bowl through the drying machine, it. coming out at the other end. as dry as snuff. This saves valuable time, and .is a wonderful invention. In .the olden times, and in many woollen factories to-day wool is spread upon an iron floor in the boiler house, but that takes 24 hours for the wool’ to dry, and such a method is an obsolete one. The question now arises, what about the seeds and burrs which are often found in the raw material. These are a source of trouble, must be removed, and the sooner that is done the better. If they are too numerous to be removed by the burring machine the wool is carbonised or extracted, but as a rule the few burrs that often trouble combing fleece can be taken out as the wool gees on to the carding machine as it is “prepared” for the combing machine. All the very seedy and burry parcels which come to hand, and which cannot be dealt with by the burring machine, must be carbonised, the sulphuric acid which is used eating away the vegetable matter. When the wool has been steeped in a diluted solution of sulphuric acid, it is then washed in order, to remove this fiery element, otherwise it would soon act upon the wool fibre itself/ destroying all its manufacturing properties. Great care lias to, be exercised in this process, otherwise'the life and elasticity of the fibre would soon become utterly destroyed, and the wool rendered brittle and weak in staple. Then comes the carding operation which simply means that the wool fibres are carefully separated'from each, other, loosened, and so prepared for the combing operation. No words can adequately explain this process, it being done upon a fairly long machine with large revolving cylinders, all set with fine steel. teeth. These act upon the wool fibre, and separate one from" the other. Then comes the back washing, which carefully cleanses the wool from any accumulations of dirt which it has gathered through the previous processes, it being imperative

that the raw material oe made as white as possible. The bath through which the wool now goes contains a portion of blue powder, this helping to whiten tlie wool. Color is an important essential in tops, and means a penny per lb. on its value, the whiter the tops tlie better. . Tlie combing operation follows, and this process takes the straightened wool fibres and lays them parallel with each other, forming a combed sliver, which is technically called a “top.” This operation is best understood by the uninitiated when I say that it is simply a duplicate of what a lady does when coming her long hair. Each fibre is laid parallel and straight, and is then ready for the. spinning operation. The reader can see at once how impossible it would be to spin the fibres if they were not previously prepared in this way, and being so got ready, the process of spinning is considerably augumented. The spinning of wool simply means the drawing out and twisting together the small wool fibres into the requisite thickness required by the manufacturer. It is surprising what elasticity a staple of wool possesses, and this principle is availed of by tlie spinner in a remarkablo degree. In this process the wool fibres are drawn out or stretched, and while that is being done strength is at the same time imparted by tlie yarns being twisted. Then follows, the warping ojieration. Spun yarn threads are no earthly use unless they can be yoked to the loom, and yarns have to be warped to a beam, put through the “gear” and “slay,” and then the warp is ready for the weaving operation. This is done by experienced workmen, and tlie weft is shot through tlie warp at the rate of 100 picks per minute. It is in the warping and weaving operation that the various patterns are made, it being all due to the different thread arrangement, and the design put into the loom. The subject here is too technical for any man to understand unless he lias a knowledge of the weaving process. When a piece is woven, then the same is scoured, dyed, and finished, and tlie fabric is then ready for the tailor.