Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/534

Rh 502 C T T N About the end of last century the ornamentation of plain muslins with hand-sewed patterns began to be practised as a domestic industry in the west of Scotland; and by rapid degrees it rose into high reputation, many manufacturers having realized large fortunes from the trade during its palmy days. The trade continued to flourish till the great commercial crash of 1857, which compelled many to retire from it, and others thereafter gradually withdrew, till it dwindled down to its present comparatively humble pro portions. When in its zenith it afforded home-employ ment to large numbers of females not only throughout the west of Scotland, but across the Irish Channel. Elabor ate and artistic patterns were prepared for embroidering by specially trained designers; these patterns were printed, from engraved cylinders of wood, on the surface of suit able pieces of muslin, on which also was printed the number of the pattern, the length of time allowed for sewing it, and the price to be paid by the agent or manu facturer on the work being satisfactorily performed. Thread. Thread Manufacture, a branch of trade very intimately related to ordinary textiles, is carried on on a large scale in Glasgow, and is the outstanding feature in the indus tries of Paisley. From that town there are probably sent out a greater length and weight of sewing thread than from all the other thread factories of Great Britain combined. Within a comparatively recent period, what constituted the staple trade of the town from thirty to forty years ago shawl weaving has greatly decreased, whilst the manu facture of cotton thread has considerably extended, prin cipally through the almost universal introduction of sewing machines for dressmaking and other purposes. These machines, by requiring for the most part double threads, and by increasing the sewed work while lessening the cost of dressmaking, have very greatly increased the demand for thread. The process of thread-making is so well known that few vords are required to describe it. It is chiefly carried on by twisters, who purchase the yarn needed from cotton- spinners. To spin from the raw cotton, and twist yarn into thread, in the same factory, would require premises of much greater extent than any hitherto employed ; or the spinning and twisting would need to be confined to a small range of numbers. The manufacture of sewing cotton is, therefore, generally understood as confined to the twining or doubling of yarn previously obtained from the spinner. When the yarn is received it is tested by being reeled from the cops, and having a certain length of hank weighed. This is called sizing. The next pro cess is cop-winding that is, winding it from the cop on bobbins two or three ply as required. These bobbins are taken to the twisting frame and twisted first two ply, then this is doubled or tripled for four or six cord as required. Each number of yarn has its own twist, that is, the number of turns it gets per inch. When finished the thread is taken from the twisting frames, and according to the size so much of it is wound upon a large bobbin, from which it is reeled into hanks for bleaching or dyeing. After bleaching it is given out in bundles to the &quot;hank- windor, who winds it on a large bobbin, and that in its turn is handed to the spooler, who fills the bobbin with a certain length of thread say 100, 200, or 300 yards, and upwards. The largest portion of thread made is sold on spools, which contain a great variety of lengths. After spooling the bobbins are labelled on each end ; they are then arranged in dozens and grosses, papered and stringed, and finished for the market. The qualities principally used are 3, 4, and G cord the greatest portion of the sewing- machine thread being G-cord. A large quantity of thread is now polished, and is known in the trade as glace. Of Lite there has bean au increasing demand for crotchet thread, the manufacture of which is somewhat similar to the process for ordinary sewing cotton. The sloops are made of birch or ash preferably tho Spec former and the wood is obtained chiefly from the High lands of Scotland. Finished spools are made in large quan tities by wood turners in various localities, particularly in the Lake districts in the north of England, and find their way to those thread manufacturers who are unable to turn the whole of the spools they require. The birch, to be in proper condition, is cut when the sap is out of it, and partially rinded at once to prevent souring. After remaining in stock till perfectly dry it is sawn up into cross sections, from which are blocked out the various diameters of spools wanted. The blocking machines now in use over the whole country were invented at Ferguslie Works, Paisley (Messrs J. & P. Coats), and by their employment a great saving in both wood and labour is effected. These blocks are placed on the self-acting lathe, which turns them out finished spools with great rapidity. Statistics of Scotch Cotton Trade. In the year 1787 there were only nineteen cotton mills in the whole of Scotland, of which Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire each possessed four. In the report of Leonard Horner as one of the Factory Commissioners, dated 1834, it is stated that &quot;in Scotland there are 134 cotton mills; with the exception of some large establishments at Aberdeen and one at Stanley near Perth, the cotton manufacture is almost confined to Glasgow and the country immediately adjoining, to a distance of about 25 miles radius ; and all these cotton mills, even including the great house at Stanley, are con nected with Glasgow houses or the Glasgow trade. In Lanarkshire, in which Glasgow is situated, there are 74 cotton factories ; in Renfrewshire, 41 ; Dumbartonshire, 4 ; Buteshire, 2 ; Argyleshire, 1 ; Perthshire, 1. In these six counties there are 123 cotton mills, nearly 100 of which belong to Glasgow In Lanarkshire there are 74 cotton mills, 2 woollen and 2 silk factories ; 78 steam- engines aud 5 water wheels ; total horse-power, 2914, of which steam 2394, water 520. Total persons employed in factories, 17,969.&quot; In 1838, according to the report on hand-loom weavers by Mr Symons, there were more than 37,000 hand-looms in the west of Scotland directly con nected with cotton weaving. According to a Parliamentary return the cotton industries of Lanark, Ayr, and Renfrew in 1850 were distributed in 146 factories, of which 94 were in Lanark, 51 in Renfrew, and 4 in Ayr. These establishments had jointly 1,410,054 spindles and 21,575 power-looms, the whole of which gave occupation to 31,710 persons. la 1861 the same counties possessed 143 fac tories, with an aggregate of 1,577,584 spindles and 28,085 power-looms, in all employing 36,903 hands. In the year 1875 the three counties possessed 84 cotton factories, in which there were 1,526,980 spinning and doubling spindles and 27,489 power-looms, the whole cotton industry giving occupation to 33,276 individuals. The total number of factories in Scotland in the same year was 96, containing 1,711,214 spindles and 29,171 power-looms, giving employ ment in all to 35,652 persons, of whom nearly 30,000 were females above thirteen years of age. It may be gathered from this table that the Glasgow district has still a practical monopoly of the Scotch cotton trade, not more than 10 per cent, of the work being dis- trib ited among counties other than the three above named. On the other hand Scotland, taken altogether, does not employ in cotton factories more than one-thirteenth part of the number of operatives in the enormous cotton indus tries of England, while Scotch spindles are only as one to twenty-five of the English, and power-looms are as one t&amp;lt;-&amp;gt; about fourteen. In some of the Glasgow establishments the only fabric*