Gibson & Campbell's Improvements in the Manufacture of Silk, &c.

DISCLAIMER.

DISCLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATION proposed to be entered by the said John Gibson and John Gordon Campbell with the Clerk of the Patents of England, pursuant to an Act passed in the fifth and sixth year of the reign of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, entituled "An Act to amend the Law touching Letters Patent for Inventions."

NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said John Gibson, on behalf of myself, and also of the said John Gordon Campbell, do hereby declare that the nature of our said Invention consists,

First, in a part of our process by which we discharge the gum from that peculiar kind of silk denominated silk waste when the same is in the state of the sliver or rove.

Second, in a part of our process by which we dye silk waste when in the state of sliver or rove.

Third, in a part of our process by which we spin yarn from dressed or heckled silk waste of long fibres, either in the gum or discharged.

Fourth, in a part of our process by which yarn from silk waste with long fibres may be spun in combination with flax of a similar length of fibre.

And, fifth, in a part of our process by which yarn from silk waste with long fibre is spun in combination with wool. Sixth, in the application of our improved process to the throstle machine, on the principle of the long ratch, for the new and useful purpose of spinning silk waste.

Seventh, in certain improvements effected by us in the throstle machine, by which its utility in spinning silk waste is greatly augmented.

Eighth, in the application of water to silk waste with

Gibson & Campbell's Improvements in the Manufacture of Silk, &c.

long fibres in the process of spinning with the long ratch.

Having thus explained the nature or leading characteristics of our Invention, it is desirable, before we enter into the practical details of them, to give a brief outline of the methods heretofore adopted for spinning yarn from silk waste. Silk wastes differ considerably with respect to quality and cleanliness, and they are generally in a ravelled state. To free them from naps and other refuse matters, and to clear the ravellings, they are first submitted to the action of a machine called a breaker, for the purpose of breaking or clearing out the more stubborn or knotty ravellings. The waste is next put under the operation of the dressing machines, to be farther unravelled and cleared from naps and other impurities, which process also straightens the filaments, and causes them to lie evenly together, resembling in this respect heckled flax, although the fibres of the latter usually possess more uniformity as to length. This process of dressing is applicable to silk waste either in the gum or discharged. The former, however, is more easily dressed, contains less refuse, and is generally of a better quality.

The third process, upon the ordinary plan, is to take the dressed silk to the cutting machine, where it is cut into lengths of about two inches, a little more or less, according to circumstances. If the silk waste that has been thus cut be in the gum, it is next discharged, and afterwards dried. The silk having become matted in the discharging process, the fibres of it are next opened up by a scutching machine or other similar apparatus before it undergoes the process of carding. When carded the roving is prepared by a similar engine to that used for cotton, and it is spun on the mule jenny, which is on a similar principle to that of the cotton jenny.

Having thus explained the old or ordinary process of converting silk waste into yarn, I will proceed to describe our novel process by which we produce our new or improved

Gibson & Campbell's Improvements in the Manufacture of Silk, &c.

manufacture of yarn or thread.

The silk waste having been dressed in the usual way, or in any other manner that may be found more advantageous (such as heckling or otherwise), either discharged or in the gum, we submit it to the drawing, roving, and spinning machinery, thereby entirely obviating the supposed necessity of cutting or shortening the filaments of silk waste, a destructive process, which has heretofore been considered as an indispensable sacrifice in order to convert it into yarn or thread. The kind of machinery we have found to answer best for the drawings and rovings of dressed, heckled, or carded silk waste of long fibres is the same as that used by flax spinners, and we adopt the same methods as are practised by them with long or cut line flax. The silk is first submitted to the spreading or first drawing machine, the slivers obtained from which are doubled and applied to the second drawing, and in like manner to the third drawing machine, and finally to the roving machine. The number of doublings and drawings requisite will depend upon the kind of silk used, which every competent manufacturer will know how to determine and arrange. It may be proper to observe, that there are several kinds of flax drawing and roving machines, and as they are in common use for flax and tow, no description of them is necessary, and it will therefore be sufficient to distinguish them by their names of circular, spiral, and sheet or chain. Cut line flax and tow drawing and roving machines are made either in the circular or spiral plans. The sheet or chain is also made for cut line flax, but not for tow. The drawing and roving machines that we have found to answer best are those which are made on the spiral plan, as the gills or heckles of these come closer to the nip of the drawing roller than in either of the other plans, and thereby enables the short filaments of the silk to be drawn and distributed more uniformly with the long fibres than if the said heckles or gills were more remote from the drawing roller. For the longest fibres of dressed or heckled silk waste we employ what is designated

Gibson & Campbell's Improvements in the Manufacture of Silk, &c.

by flax spinners long line preparation; for the medium lengths of fibres of dressed, heckled, or carded silk, cut line; and for the short lengths tow preparations.

We have already noticed that The roving from silk waste may be made either when in the gum or discharged, and that the said rovings may be spun to suit the particular kind of goods to which yarn or thread is to be applied; but as there is a much greater demand for silk yarn discharged than in the gum, we usually discharge the gum from the sliver obtained by the first drawing or spreading machine. For this purpose the sliver is put into hanks of about half a pound each, then each of these hanks is put into a little bag made of an open fabric, such as thin canvas. A quantity of these are collected (according to the dimensions of the boiler), put into the vessel, and discharged or "boiled off" in the usual manner. After this the hanks still contained in the bags are to be well washed. to free them from the deposition of the glutinous matter, or the presence of soap, alkali, or other impurities. The silk is now to be taken out of the bags with care; and after being thoroughly dried, the hanks are to be put upon swifts, and after finding the end of the sliver it is to be coiled into cans, or it may be wound on bobbins, or otherwise disposed of as may be convenient. The next operation upon these slivers consists in submitting them to the drawing machines, whereby the required number of drawings and doublings are to be given, and, finally, the roving is formed as already mentioned. The process of boiling or discharging gum silk we sometimes apply after it has been formed into roving. In this case the roving is to be reeled from the bobbins into hanks of about half a pound weight each; these are to be put into bags, and the discharging conducted by the same process as that described with respect to the sliver. The discharged roving is next to be wound on bobbins preparatory to spinning; but we give preference to the roving made from silk, which has been discharged in the sliver.

Gibson & Campbell's Improvements in the Manufacture of Silk, &c.

Another improvement in our process or manufacture consists in dyeing the silk before it is spun into yarn or thread; and we find that this operation is best performed after it has been discharged and washed, and in the form of the sliver, as already described. After dyeing the silk undergoes repeated doublings and drawings, and is finally made into roving in the same manner and by the same mechanism as are employed with the undyed silk. The process of dyeing is also applied by us to silk which has been discharged previous to its being dressed or heckled, and we usually dye it in the hanks obtained from the sliver of the first drawing. The process of dyeing may also be applied to the rove which is to be reeled from the bobbins into hanks of a size and weight the most convenient to the dyer. After dyeing it is to be wound upon the bobbins previous to being spun; but we prefer the roving which has been made from silk dyed in the sliver. Care must be taken that the silk, whether dyed or undyed, be properly dried prior to its being submitted to any of the processes of drawing, roving, and spinning. The advantages obtained in this part of our Invention of dyeing the silk previous to its being spun in yarn or thread consist in the certainty that the coloring matter will reach every fibre, and consequently produce a more uniform and perfect dyeing. We also find that a superior lustre is obtained by our mode over that wherein the silk is dyed subsequent to being spun, which effect we consider to be caused by the violent action upon the silk by the dyer's process, by which many of the fibres are broken and started from their paralleled positions with respect to each other, thereby destroying the wiry and lustrous appearance of the yarn or thread. For making rove from silk waste of long fibres and flax combined, and from silk waste of long fibres and wool combined, we employ the same machinery throughout as we do for making rove from silk waste alone. The proportions of silk waste to that of flax, and of silk waste to that of wool, are varied according to the particular manufacture to which the yarns