Page:Gandhi - The Wheel of fortune.djvu/145

Rh two feet to two feet and a half of yarn every five seconds. This comes to 8 to 10 yards a minute. If the sliver is good and the student in a spinning-mood, there is less breakage of yarn. Even considering the time lost on account of breakage and joining, some students are easily able to spin 400 to 500 yards of yarn of about 12 counts, fit for warp. This approximates to the speed of a mill spindle, and is therefore quite satisfactory. When the work is over, the student removes the spindle from the wheel and keeps it in good preservation. Yet accidents do occur. The class master must know how to repair a spindle which has thus gone wrong. He must also know how to put the wheel in good working order. The string which makes the spindle revolve often breaks, but if it is well-twisted, treated with wax, and then rubbed well with a piece of cloth, it becomes more durable and lasts for a number of days.

The students generally like to work on the rentia. But the moment it gets a little wrong and cannot be soon corrected, they rise and flee. Not only the beginners