Popular Technology Volume I Part 8

2. The operations of rope-making are commonly performed in _rope-walks_, which are sometimes more than a quarter of a mile in length. These are usually covered with a slight shed, the nature and appearance of which are well exhibited in the preceding picture.

3. The first part of the process consists in spinning the material into yarn. The principle on which this is effected, is the same as that by which cotton or wool is drawn out and twisted into threads, although the machinery, and the mode of operating, are different.

4. The kind of wheel employed in spinning rope-yarn, is also exhibited in the cut. A band pa.s.ses around the periphery, and over the semicircle above it, in which is placed a number of wheels, the pivots of which terminate, on the other side, in a small hook.

5. The spinner, having a quant.i.ty of the material properly disposed about the waist, attaches a number of fibres to one of the hooks, which, being put in motion by the band pa.s.sing over the whirl, twists them rapidly into yarn. The part already twisted draws along with it more fibres from the bundle, and, as the spinner is regulating their uniform arrangement, he walks backward towards the other end of the walk.

6. When the thread has been spun to the proposed length, the spinner cries out to another, who immediately takes it off from the hook, gives it to a third person, and, in turn, attaches his own fibres to the same hook. In the meantime, the first spinner keeps fast hold of the end of his yarn, to prevent it from untwisting or doubling; and, as it is wound on the reel, proceeds up the walk, keeping the yarn of an equal tension throughout.

7. The second part of the process consists in forming the yarn into various kinds of ropes. The component parts of cordage are called strands; and the operation of uniting them with a permanent twist, is called _laying_, when applied to small ropes, and _closing_, when applied to cables or other large ropes.

8. The simplest twist is formed of two strands. The thread used by sail-makers, and pack-thread, furnish examples of this kind; but cordage with two strands is not much used; that with three is the most usual. Lines and cords less than one and a half inches in circ.u.mference, are laid by means of the spinning-wheel. Preparatory to this operation, the workman fastens the hither end of the yarns to separate whirl-hooks, and the remote ends to the hook of a swivel, called the _loper_.

9. The strands having been properly distended, the spinning-wheel is turned in the same direction as when twisting the yarns. A further twisting of the strands, during this part of the process, is prevented by the motion of the loper, which gives way to the strain, and, at the same time, causes the strands to entwine about each other, and form a cord. To prevent them from entwining too rapidly, an instrument is interposed, which, from its form, is called the _top_. It has two or more notches, which terminate at the apex, and a handle, called a _staff_. As the top is moved from the loper to the wheel, it regulates the degree of twist which the cord or rope is to receive.

10. The principle on which large cordage is laid, or closed, is the same, although some part of the machinery is different. The strands for large ropes and cables are formed of many yarns, and require considerable _hardening_. This cannot be done with whirls driven by a wheel-band; it requires the power of a crank, turned by hand, or by some other considerable force. The strands, also, when properly hardened, become very stiff, and, when bent round the top, cannot transmit force enough to close the unpliant rope: it is, therefore, necessary that the loper, also, be moved by a crank.

11. Cordage, which is to be exposed to the alternate action of air and water, is usually tarred. The application of this substance is made, in most cases, while the material is in a state of yarn. In effecting this object, the threads are drawn through boiling tar, and then pa.s.sed between rollers, or through holes surrounded with oak.u.m, to remove the superfluous tar. In like manner, ropes and cables are superficially tarred.

12. Various improvements have been made in the machinery, for performing the different operations of rope-making; but, these not having been generally adopted, it is unnecessary to notice them more particularly; especially, as they do not affect the general principles of the art.

13. Within a few years, cotton-yarn has been employed in the manufacture of ropes; but this material has not yet been sufficiently tested, to determine its fitness for the purpose. A kind of vegetable fibre, brought from Manilla, and hence called Manilla hemp, is very extensively applied in making ropes, and, for some purposes, is preferred to other materials.

14. The intestines of animals are composed of very powerful fibres, and those of sheep and lambs are manufactured into what is called _cat-gut_, for the use of musical instrument-makers, hatters, watch-makers, and a variety of other artificers. Animal hair, as that from the tail and mane of horses, is frequently employed as the material for ropes; and such are durable, elastic, and impervious to moisture. They, however, are not applicable in cases, where the rope is subject to considerable friction.

15. Hemp is cultivated in various parts of the world, and especially in Russia, whence it is exported to other countries in great quant.i.ties. It is also produced, to a considerable extent, in the state of Kentucky, and in many other parts of the United States. Flax is still more generally cultivated than hemp; but its chief application is to the manufacture of cloth, as it does not answer well for any cordage larger than a bed-cord. The formation of cloth from hemp is also very common; and, in this case, the yarn for the coa.r.s.e cloths is spun on the rope-maker's wheel in the manner already described. The cloth is generally used for making bags, sacking-bottoms for beds, and sails for vessels.

16. Rope-making is a manufacture of general utility, as cordage of some kind is used more or less in every family in all civilized communities; nor are there many trades capable of being carried on, with convenience, without it. But the great utility of cordage, in all its varieties, is most conspicuous in the rigging and equipment of vessels; and the extensive demand for it, in this application, renders rope-making one of the most important and extensive of the primitive trades.

17. Nor does the utility of cordage end with its application to the purposes for which it was originally designed. Old ropes are converted into oak.u.m by untwisting and picking them to pieces. The oak.u.m thus produced is driven into the seams of vessels, to render them water-tight.

18. As regards the invention of this art, nothing can be gathered from ancient records. We only know, in general, that cordage was in considerable use among the nations of antiquity, especially among the Greeks and Romans, who probably learned its application to rigging vessels from the Phoenicians.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TAILOR.]

THE TAILOR.

1. The business of the tailor consists, princ.i.p.ally, in cutting out and making clothes for men and boys, together with habits and cloaks for ladies. It is usual for persons who carry on this business in cities and large towns, to keep a stock of cloths and other stuffs adapted to the season, which they make up into garments to the order of customers. In such cases, they are termed _merchant tailors_.

2. The operation, preparatory to cutting out the cloth for a garment, is that of taking the measure of the person for whom it is designed.

This is done with a narrow strip of paper or parchment, and the dimensions are either marked on the measure with the scissors, or entered in a _pattern-book_ kept for the purpose.

3. The cloth is cut to the proper shape, with a large pair of shears.

This is performed either by the individual who carries on the business, or by a foreman. The parts are sewed together, and the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs applied, by means of thread and silk; this is commonly done by those who devote their attention to this branch of the trade. It sometimes happens, however, that the same person performs the whole of the work, particularly in country places, where the business is very limited in extent.

4. Females often serve an apprenticeship to this business. Many of them learn to cut out, and make with skill, certain kinds of garments, and are after wards employed in families, or by the tailors. Most of the ready-made clothing, kept for sale in cities, is made up by females.

5. The instruments employed in performing the operations of the tailor, are few and simple; the princ.i.p.al of these are the shears, the scissors, the needle, the thimble, the bodkin, the goose, and the press-board.

6. The great art of a master tailor consists in fitting the dress to his customer, in such a manner as to conceal any defect of form, and display his person to the best advantage. He should, therefore, be a good judge of the human figure; as, from this knowledge, arises, chiefly, the superiority of one workman over another in this branch of the business.

7. The first hint on the art of clothing the human body, was given to man by the Deity himself; for we read in the Scriptures, that "Unto Adam and to his wife, the Lord G.o.d made coats of skins, and clothed them." From that time to the present, the art of cutting out garments, and of sewing their different parts together, has been practised, more or less, in every place, where there has been any degree of civilization.

8. For a long time, it is probable, that thongs and the sinews of animals were used, for want of thread made of silk or vegetable fibre; and, doubtless, the same necessity caused the subst.i.tution of pointed bones and thorns, instead of needles. Such rude materials and instruments are still employed for similar purposes by savage nations.

The dresses of the people of Greenland are sewed together with thongs made of the intestines of the seal, or of some fish, which they have the skill to cut fine, after having dried them in the air; and even the inhabitants of Peru, although considerably advanced in civilization, when that country was first visited by the Spaniards, made use of long thorns, in sewing and fixing their clothes.

9. We have no means of determining the period of the world, when this art was first practised, as a particular profession. We know, in general, that the dress of the ancients was usually more simple in its construction than that of the people of modern times; and, consequently, it required less skill to put the materials in the required form. It may, therefore, be inferred, that either the females or the slaves of each family usually made up the clothing of all its members.

10. The distinguishing dress of the Romans was the _toga_, or gown; as that of the Greeks was the _pallium_, or cloak. The toga was a loose, woollen robe, and covered nearly the whole person; it was round and close at the bottom, and open at the top, having no sleeves, but a large flap, or lappet, which was either thrown over the left shoulder, or over the head, to protect it from the heat or cold.

11. The Romans, at an early period of their history, used no other dress, and it was also, at that time, worn by the women. Afterwards, they wore, under the toga, a white woollen vest called _tunica_, which extended a little below the knee. At first it was without sleeves. Tunics, reaching to the ancles, or having sleeves, were reckoned effeminate; but, under the emperors, they became fashionable.

12. The toga was usually a.s.sumed at the age of seventeen. Until then, the youth wore a kind of gown, bordered with purple, denominated _toga praetexta_; and such a garment was also worn by females, until they were married. The youthful dress was laid aside, and the _toga virilis_, or manly toga, a.s.sumed with great solemnity; as, by this act, the individual a.s.sumed the responsibilities of a citizen. The toga was worn chiefly in the city, and only by Roman citizens.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MILLINER.]

THE MILLINER, AND THE LADY'S DRESS-MAKER.

THE MILLINER.

1. The milliner is one who manufactures and repairs bonnets and hats for ladies and children. Her business requires the use of pasteboard, wire, buckram, silks, satins, muslins, ribands, artificial flowers, spangles, and other materials too numerous to be mentioned.

2. The first part of the process of making a hat, or bonnet, consists in forming a crown of buckram; which operation is performed on a block of suitable size and shape; and to this is applied pasteboard, or buckram, edged with wire, to form the front part. The foundation having been thus laid, it is usually covered and lined with some of the materials just enumerated, and finished by applying to it the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs required by the fashion, or by the individual customer.

3. Ladies' hats are also made of rye straw, and a kind of gra.s.s, which grows in Italy; those made of the latter material are called _Leghorns_, from the name of the city, in or near which they are princ.i.p.ally made. A few years since, these had almost superseded those made of straw; but the latter, of late, have nearly regained their former ascendency.

4. In the United States, and likewise in various parts of Europe, there are several establishments for making straw hats, in which the proprietors employ females to perform the whole labor. The straw is first cut into several pieces, so as to leave out the joints, and then whitened by smoking them with the fumes of brimstone. They are next split longitudinally into several pieces by a simple machine, and afterwards plaited with the fingers and thumbs. The braid, or plait, thus produced, is sewn together to form hats adapted to the prevailing fashion.

5. Great quant.i.ties of straw are, also, plaited in families, especially in the New-England states, and sold to neighboring merchants, who, in turn, dispose of it to those who form it into hats.

The milliners usually keep a supply of Leghorn and straw hats, which they line and trim according to the fancy of their customers.

6. Head-dresses were probably used nearly as early as any other part of dress; and their form and material have likewise been equally variable. In the early days of Rome, the head-dress of the women of that city was very simple; and, when they went abroad, which was seldom, they covered their faces with a veil; but, when riches and luxury had increased, dress became, with many, the princ.i.p.al object of attention; hence, a woman's toilet and ornaments were called her _world_.

7. The head-dresses of the ladies, in various parts of Europe, especially in the eighteenth century, were particularly extravagant, being sometimes so high, that the face seemed to be nearly in the centre of the body. In 1714, this fashion was at its height in France; but two English ladies visiting the court of Versailles, introduced the low head-dresses of their own country.

8. The high head-dresses had no sooner fallen into disuse in France, than they were adopted in England, and even carried to a greater degree of extravagance. To build one of these elevated structures in the fashionable style, both the barber and milliner were necessary.

The head-dresses of the ladies of the present age, are characterized by great simplicity, when compared with those of several periods in preceding ages.

THE LADY'S DRESS-MAKER.