the end of the spindles of the two engines N and O, where the rags are ground.

W, fig. 1, is a wheel turned by the teeth of the great wheel DD; the axis of this wheel is formed into a triple crank v, w, r, which gives motion to two or three pemps, by means of levers or beams y, z,, which cannot be fully seen in the figures, but may be easily imagined, These pumps raise up a constant stream of clean water, which is necessary to be kept running through the rags in the engine to wash away the dirt separated from them in the process. By the arrangement of the cog wheels, the pinions I. M and cylinders of the engines are caused to revolve at the rate of 150 times per minute, when the water wheel moves with its proper velocity.

The internal construction of the engine is explained by the remaining figures. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section, showing the cylinder in action; Fig. 4, a plan looking down upon it; fig. 6, the cylinder separate; N and (), in fig. 1, represent a large cistern or vat of an oblong figure, with the angles removed, as shown by fig. 4; it is lined with lead inside, and divided in the middle by a partition ef, figs. 3 and 4. On the front and back of the engine two short beams TT, figs. 2, 4, and 5, are bolted; they have long mortises through them to receive tenon's at the ends of two horizontal levers SS, which rise and fall in bolts in one of the beams T as centres; the front one of these beams, or that nearest to the cylinder R, is capable of being elevated or depressed by turning the nut of the screw r, which, as shown in fig. 5, is fixed to the tenon of S, and comes up through the top of the beam T, upon which the nut takes its bearing. Two brasses are let into the middle of the levers S, S, and form the bearing for the spindle of the engine to turn upon. Ris the cylinder made of wood and fixed fast upon the spindle; it has a number of knives or cutters fixed upon it, parallel to its axis, and projecting from its circumference about an inch: e, fig. 3 and 4, is a circular breasting, made of boards and covered with sheet lead, which fits the cvlinder very truly, and leaves but very little space between the teeth and breasting. An inclined plane leads regularly from the bottom of the engine trough to the top of the breasting, at the bottom of the breasting beneath. The axis of the cylinder, a block a, fig. 3, is fixed, and has cutters of the same size and exactly similar to those in the cylinder, which at all times of the process pass very close to the teeth in the block, but do not touch. This block is fastened by a dove-tail fixed in the wooden bottom of the breasting; it comes through the woodwork of the chest, and projects a small distance on the outside of it, and is kept up to its place by a wedge, so that by withdrawing this wedge the block becomes loose, and can be removed to sharpen the cutters as occasion requires. The great velocity of the cylinder draws the rags, with which the engine trough is filled between the cylinder and the cutters in the block a, and by this they are cut in pieces; then by the rapid motion of the cylinder the rags are thrown over the top of the breasting, and they run down the

inclined plane, and passing round the partition ef come to the cylinder again, so as to be repeatedly cut till they are reduced to a pulp. This circulation or turning the rags over in the engine, causes them to present themselves to the cutters in a different direction every time; for as the cylinder cuts or clips in straight lines, in the same minner as a pair of shears, it is requisite to cut the rags across in different directions, to reduce them to a pulp. The screw r is used to raise or lower the cylinder, and cause it to cut finer or coarser by enlarging or diminishing the space between the cutters in the block and those of the cylinder. These cutters act in the same manner as a pair of scissars cut, the teeth of the cylinder being as before-mentioned parallel to the axis of the cylinder, and those of the block are placed rather inclined to them, so that the teeth of the cylinder come first in contact with the cutters of the block at one end, and then successively the contact proceeds along to the other end, so that any rags interposed between them are cut in the same manner as they would be between the blades of a pair of shears. Sometimes the plates or cutters in the block are bent to an angle in the middle instead of being straight and inclined to the cylinder; in this case they are called elbow plates, and of course the two ends are both inclined to the axis of the cylinder in an opposite direction; in either case the edges of the plates of the block cannot be straight lines, but must be curved to adapt themselves to the curve which an inclined line traced on the cylinder will of course have. The plates of the block are united by screwing them altogether, and their edges are bevelled away on one side only.

The cutters of the cylinder are fixed in. as shown in fig. 7; here R is the cylinder, formed of a solid piece of wood, and having grooves cut on its circumference parallel to its axis; each of these grooves has two cutters put into it, and a fillet of wood is driven fast in between them to hold them in; the fillets are kept in by spikes driven into the solid wood of the cylinder. A cover is put over the cylinder to prevent the water or rags being thrown out of the engine by its great velocity; it is a square box, g h ki, fig. 3, and marked P, figs. 1 and 2; it has two small troughs, k and i, coming through the sides of the box; at mm are two hair or wire sieves sliding in grooves made in each side of the box. The cylinder as it turns throws a great quantity of water and rags up against these sieves; the water goes through them and runs down into the troughs at k and i, and thence into the end of the leaden pipes pp, fig. 2, by which it is conveyed away; n, n, fig. 3, are grooves for two boards, which when down in their places cover the hair sieves and stop the water from going through them. A considerable part of the rags thus thrown up by the cylinder passes quite through it, and goes down under it again. The water is brought to the engine by a pipe from the pump; this pipe delivers it into a small cistern adjoining and communicating with the engine; the pipe has a cock to stop the entrance of the water when required; the exit of the foul water is, as before-mentioned, ma le by the cylinder throw

ing it up into the troughs i and k. The two engines N and O are placed at different levels as shown by fig. 1, the bottom of N being higher than the top of O; the latter is called the washer, where the rags are first worked coarsely with water running through them, to wash and open the fibres of them, which after washing are called half-stuff, and are then let down into the beaten engine O; here they are ground and reduced to a finished pump, or prepared stuff, as

it is called.

For making superfine paper, the following has been given as the established system of manufacture for the London market: 1 cwt. of the best white rags, called No. 1, is put into the washing engine, and the cock opened to let a considerable stream of water run through it. The screw of the cylinder is adjusted to raise it up, so that its teeth do not actually touch the teeth of the block the rags are not therefore cut, but rather rubbed in a violent manner, so as to open and expose every fibre to the action of the water, that it may carry off all dirt; this gentle washing continues for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes, when the cylinder is laid down, that is, the screw is turned back till the cylinder is let down upon the cutters of the block, and rests its weight upon them; in this state they begin with a tremendous noise and vibration to cut the rags into pieces; this is continued for about four hours, by which time the engine will come to work very steadily and with less noise, because the rags are cut into pieces and chopped up very much, though not yet reduced to a pulp. The bleaching now commences, if it has not been done in the first stage upon the rags. To bleach the stuff in the engine they stop the water from running in, and throw in a quantity of bleaching salt, or muriate of lime; for fine rags, one or two pounds, more or less, are used according to circumstances; the two sliders, n, n, fig. 3, are put down in the cover of the cylinder to prevent the water getting away, and in this state the engine is worked about an hour for the bleaching. During this time the rags lose their color, but this does not color the water, though it is rendered rather white and milky by the salt. The very best rags, when first put into the engine, are of a yellow and dirty color, but they become by the bleaching a very perfect snow white. The cylinder is usually raised up a very little during the bleaching; which being concluded, the water-cock is opened again, the boards n, n, removed, and the washing continued about an hour to wash the salt away. This concludes the operation, and the half-stuff, as the rags are now called, is let off into a basket which suffers the water to drain through it: or if the manufacture is proceeding with despatch, and every thing is ready, it is let off into the beating engine at once; here the stuff is worked for about five hours with a sufficient quantity of water to make a pulp; in this affair great judgment is required, as it materially influences the quality of the paper; the water is not suffered to run through the beater, as in the other engine. The only difference between the two engines is the firmness of their teeth. The cylinder of the washer has twenty grooves in it, each containing two

bars or teeth, as shown in fig. 7, but the beater has three in each, so as to have sixty teeth in all. The beater is made to turn with a greater velocity than the other; the pinion L, fig. 1, which turns the beater, having only twenty teeth, while the other, M, has twenty-two. This greater velocity and number of teeth in the beater cause the strokes of the several knives passing by each other to be so rapid that they produce a coarse musical note or humming, which may be heard to a great distance from the mill; but the washer, being coarser and less rapid, produces the most horrible growling that can be conceived, and is so violent as to shake the whole building. In small mills, and where perhaps there is a deficiency of water, they only use one engine bot for washing and beating, as it will do for either purpose; but the mills near London, chiefly at Maidstone, in Kent, have two, three, or even five engines. These require an immense body of water to turn them, and the steam engine has been, of course, very successfully applied in some mills. The stuff when finished is conveyed to a general receptacle called the stuffchest, where it is kept till wanted to be made into paper; for the engines work day and night, though the making the paper, as it requires many workmen, is of course only carried on in the daytime.

The implements employed in this department of the manufacture are as follows: the vat with its stirrer, sometimes called a hog, the moulds and deckles, the felts, the vat press, another similar press to it for giving the paper a second pressure, &c.

The vat is made of wood in the form of a tub, and generally about five feet in diameter and two and a half in depth. It is kept at a proper temperature by means of a grate introduced at a hole in the side, and surrounded on the inside of the vat with a case of copper. For fuel to this grate charcoal or wood is used, and frequently to prevent smoke the wall of the building comes in contact with one part of the vat, so that the fire has no communication with the place where the paper is made. Every vat is furnished on the upper part with planks, enclosed inwards, and even railed in with wood to prevent any of the stuff from running over in the operation. Across the vat is a plank pierced with holes at one of the extremities, and resting on the planks which surround the vats. This is used to rest the mould upon when a sheet of paper has been made. In different mills two methods are made use of to mix up the stuff and water with which the vat is filled, and keep it in such an agitation as will prevent any coagulation or subsidence of the pulp, which would render the paper flaky and the different sheets of unequal thickness; in one, two instruments are employed to mix them, one of which is a simple pole, and the other a pole armed with a piece of board, rounded and full of holes. The operation of stirring is repeated as often as the stuff falls to the bottom. In the principal paper mills for making writing paper, they use for this purpose what is called a hog; which is a machine within the vat, that by means of a small wheel on the outside is made to turn constantly round, and keep the stuff in

perpetual motion. When the stuff and water are properly mixed it is easy to perceive whether the previous operations have been complete; for, if the stuff floats close and in regular flakes, it is a proof that it has been well worked in the engine.

The mould is a square frame or box made of well seasoned mahogany, and covered at the top with wire. In the old way the wires were disposed in parallel rows, with others across to strengthen them; this may be readily understood from the examination of a sheet of paper. But the modern paper is chiefly made on wool wire, which is exactly like cloth. The wire cloth is made larger than the intended sheet of paper, and turned down over the sides of the frame; the size of the sheet is determined by a square frame of mahogany bound with brass; this, which is called the deckle, when placed upon the wire of the mould, forms a shallow dish or mould, in which a quantity of the pulp is taken up, and by the draining through of the water the pulp is left in a sheet upon the wire, therefore this frame is necessary to retain the stuff of which the paper is made on the cloth; it must be exactly adapted to the wire cloth of the mould, otherwise the edges of the paper will be ragged and badly finished. The wire cloth of the form is varied in proportion to the fineness of the paper and the nature of the stuff. The deckle is moveable, and only held upon the mould by the workmen grasping the mould and deckle together in both hands at the opposite sides, so that the deckle being removed the sheet of paper may be taken up from the wire by applying the mould upon a piece of felt; it is then pressed with a felt between each sheet.

The felts are pieces of woollen cloth spread over every sheet of paper, and upon which the sheets are laid to detach them from the wire of the mould; they prevent them from adhering together and imbibe part of the water with which the stuff is charged, and transmit the whole of it when placed under the action of the press. The two sides of the felt are differently raised, that to which the hair is longest is applied to the sheets which are laid down, and any alteration of this disposition would produce a change in the texture of the paper. The stuff of which felts are made should be sufficiently strong, in order that it may be stretched exactly on the sheets without falling into folds, and at the same time sufficiently pliant to yield in any direction without injury to the wet paper. As the felts have to resist the reiterated efforts of the press, appears necessary that the warp be made strong of combed wool and well twisted. On the other hand, as they have to imbibe a certain quantity of water and to retain it, it is necessary that the woof be of carded wool, and drawn out into a slack thread. These are the utensils together with the presses which are used in the apartments where the sheets of paper are formed. Three principal workmen are employed in the operation of making the paper, which they manage thus: the first, called the dipper, stands in a nitch or hollow part of that kind of ledge or table which goes round the circumference of the vat, he holds a mould in both hands by the two

it

extremities with the deckle, applied exactly over the mould as if only one piece; then inclining it a little towards him he dips it into the vat and brings it up again in a horizontal position. The superfluous part of the pulp flows over on all sides, and the quantity thought sufficient is shaken gently from the right to the left, and up and down horizontally until it is equally extended over the whole surface of the mould. These two motions are also accompanied by a slight shake, that serves to fix and stop the sheet as the water drains through the wire; and then, the parts of the pulp uniting, the mould is immediately laid on the edge of the vat, the deckle taken off, and the mould made to slide along the board which is laid across the vat to the part where the sheet is to be laid or taken off. This board, which is but two inches in breadth where the sheet is laid, is nothing more than a deal board, which runs along the length of the vat, and is pierced with several holes at the broad extremity for letting the mould drain into the vat. The dipper, now taking the deckle off the first mould, places it immediately on the second which is given him for dipping it immediately in its turn, and the second workman, called the coucher, taking the mould on the board that runs across the vat, with the left hand raises it gently and lays it in an inclined position against one or two small pins which are driven into the board on the edge of the vat. In this condition the mould remains two or three seconds of time for draining into the vat, whilst the coucher extends a felt on which he applies the mould to take off the sheet, which being done he returns the mould to the dipper. These operations are performed in so short a time, that seven or eight sheets of a middling size can be made in a minute; but it is advisable to proceed more slowly, as the paper is thus better made, and of a stronger consistence.

The dipper is attentive in distributing the matter on the mould to reinforce the corner he is to take hold of, in raising and extending the sheets; for without this precaution he would break a great many If he also take up too much matter with his mould, if he do not equally extend it, or if he strike his mould against the drainer, in all these cases, the matter is accumulated in certain parts of the mould, which produces something like ridges in the paper; or if he let the matter rest on the mould, and do not distribute it immediately, there will be parts of unequal thickness. When the vat is too hot, the stretching out of the sheet will be ill performed, because the water evaporates too soon over the mould. Add to this, that, in letting the matter run towards one of the edges, by not giving his arm a regular motion, he may form a feather-edged paper, which may likewise happen if he do not extend his stuff sufficiently; if the vat be too hot; if the fecula of the pulp be too crude, and do not run well; if his arms be too stiff, and if he give an irregular shake, or if the mould be ill made. An indented sheet is made by not taking off the deckle properly, or by the felts having stitches, seams, and selvages in them. In examining a sheet of paper, before the light, a greater opacity

is sometimes seen on both sides of each brass wire than towards the midst of the space. This is occasioned by the pulp, which the motion of the mould could not distribute, being stopped by the wires, or the manicord, that serves to string them; a defect, however, almost wholly remedied by the improvement of weaving the wire of the mould like cloth. In order to avoid drops of water, which, if they fall upon the paper will make disagreeable spots, the mould is to be laid gently, and raised readily; and, as often as the coucher returns his mould to the drainer, he ought to be careful to shake his hands behind him, for, without this precaution, his fingers, which are wet, would drip upon the sheet already laid, whilst he is covering it with the felt. If he is also too quick in laying, the air, detained and compressed under the sheet, occasions a blemish.

The coucher, having taken off the several sheets from the mould as fast as they are made, lays them one by one in a pile under the press, with the felt between each individual sheet, until they have in this manner made six quires of paper, called a post, and containing 144 sheets. When the last sheet of the post is covered with the last felt, the workmen about the vat assist each other to submit the whole heap to the action of the press. They begin, at first, to press it with a middling lever, and afterwards with a lever fifteen feet in length; this operation expresses the water, and thus gives the paper a strength which it did not possess before. The vestiges of the protuberances made by the wires of the mould are altogether flattened, and, of consequence, the hollows opposite to them disappear also; but the traces formed by the interstices of the wire, in consequence of their thickness, appear on both sides, and are rounded by

the press.

The business of the third workman, called the lifter, begins after the operation of the press, and consists in taking the sheets off the felts (for they are caused to adhere to them by the action of the press), and making them up in a second neat and compact pile; for this is very necessary to make the paper of a regular and equal thick ness. It is now put under a second press, with all the sheets in contact with each other: this expresses a great quantity of water from the paper, and gives the sheets a very considerable strength; it also tends to take out those freckles in the surface which were occasioned by the impression of the felt; though it is necessary to have felts in the first pressure, because the paper is then so wet that it would be pressed into a solid mass if the sheets touched each other. The paper remains in the second press until another pile is made ready by the lifter, when it is taken out and sometimes separated sheet from sheet, which is called parting the packs: at other times it is taken in small masses of six or seven sheets into the drying-house.

For when the sheets are very thin, and it is found after the second pressure that they are formed by a fecula which is still saturated with a great deal of water, so that they have little consistence, it is probable that the second press has so joined them to one another that it is dif

ficult to separate thein; and, indeed, they cannot well be taken off, one by one, without tearing a great number: this, however, generally shows improper management in the second pressing. But, happily, this separation, sheet by sheet, is not necessary for drying, so that seven or eight may be taken together, which is called forming the pages; sometimes, also, a less number may do when the paper is of a large size, but never less than three sheets are hung up together. It is of more importance than we are at first aware of, that the sheets should remain, as it were, pasted several of them together; if they were single, and one by one, they could not resist the moisture of the size, yet this moisture is sufficient to facilitate their operation; and to hinder their separating, when they are hung up to dry, they should be so placed that the pages may receive the wind in the surface and not in the sides and edges.

The drying-lofts are extensive apartments, usually the upper parts of all the buildings of the mill; the sides are formed by loffer boards, which are a kind of lattice, or boarding, which can be opened and shut to admit more or less air at pleasure. The sheets are taken up upon a piece of wood like a T, and hung upon hair lines, stretched across large horizontal wooden frames, called tribbles; and then, as they are filled, are lifted up between upright posts, to the top of the room, and retained by pegs put in the posts; then another frame, being filled, is put up in its turn, and so on, till the loft is filled from top to bottom.

Mr. Bramah has suggested an improvement in this method, which enables women or children to perform the business of the drying-house instead of men, and adds considerable facility to the process of hanging and re-hanging the sheets. Instead of using tribbles, he has a proper number of frames, made of wood, mounted with leaves, to represent so many frames or clothes' horses, similar to those used by any common laundress, but of a length proportioned to the dimensions of the drying-house, which may be divided into two or more rows, so as to leave room and proper aisles or passages for the convenience of the operators to hang and re-hang the sheets; and the height of the frames may be equal, or nearly equal, to one half the story in which they are fixed. They are stationed at proper distances from each other by means of upright posts with grooves fitted to the frames so that each may slide vertically up and down, by means of lines and pulleys affixed to each, just like sash windows that are double hung; so that, while one of the frames is sliding up to touch the ceiling of the building with its upper edges, the alternate one may be depressed till its lower edge, or the paper which hangs upon it, may come nearly in contact with the floor. By this means children can reach to hang the paper, and can afterwards elevate the frames to their proper height in the loft.

Writing paper, when dry, is carried to an apartment where it is sized by dipping each page, that is, each bundle of thirty-four or thirtyfive sheets, which have been dried together, into a vat, containing a weak size. Printing-papers

are more generally sized in the beating-engine. The best size is made from shreds and parings got from tanners, curriers, and parchmentmakers; all the putrefied parts and the lime are carefully separated from thein, and they are enclosed in a kind of basket, and let down by a rope and pulley into the cauldron. This is a late invention, and serves two valuable purposes. It makes it easy to draw out the pieces of leather when the size is extracted from them by boiling, or easy to return them into the boiler if the operation is not complete. When the glutinous substance is sufficiently extracted it is allowed to settle for some time, and it is twice filtered before it is put into the vat where they dip the paper. Immediately before the operation, a certain quantity of alum is added to the size. The workman takes a handful of the sheets, smoothed and rendered as supple as possible, in his left hand, dips them into the vat, and holds them separate with his right, that they equally imbibe After holding them above the vessel for a space of time, he sizes on the other side with his right hand, and again dips them into the vessel. When he has finished ten or a dozen of these handfuls, they are submitted to the action of the press, from which the superfluous size is carried back into the vat by means of a small pipe. The vessel in which the paper is sized is sometimes made of copper, and finished with a grate, to give the size, when necessary, a due temperature, and a piece of thin board or felt is placed between every handful as they are laid on the table of the press. This is technically called tub-sizing.'

the size.

After the sheets are sized and pressed, they must be quickly separated from each other, to prevent their adhering together; but it is to be remembered that the size is an extremely weak solution, so that the sheets will be in no danger of adhering until they are dry. In some of the most improved mills the sizing is performed in a machine, consisting of a large square vat, or wooden cistern, containing the size; in this a strong screw press is situated horizontally, the side beams of the press forming the outsides of the vat, and the screw works through a tight collar of leather. The press being open, the sheets of paper are suspended on lines, stretched in a frame, similar to those on which they are dried, and this is let down to immerse them in the size; and, after remaining a proper time, the screw of the press is worked, and the sheets thus gathered up into a close parcel; then, the lines being withdrawn, a strong pressure is given, and the paper, when taken out, is finished ready to be hung up again to dry. By this means the paper is sized very equally, whereas, in the old method of tub-sizing, some sheets drained off more size than others, and rendered them unequal as well as making marks in them.

The sizing of most printing-papers is however accomplished by throwing a small quantity of oil mixed with alum, pounded very fine, into the beating-engine towards the end of the process. About a pint and a half, or less, is sufficient to give the paper a proper quality for printing; powder-blue is also put into the engine to give a bloom to the paper.

When the paper is sufficiently dry, it is carried to the finishing room, called the Saul, where it is pressed, selected, and examined, by women, who remove all damaged and imperfect sheets; it is then put into the dry press, and squeezed with an immeuse force, to render the paper flat, and give it a good surface. The lever of this press is fifteen or eighteen feet long, and ten or twenty people are employed at the last to work it, though they sometimes use the Sampson, as it is called; that is, a windlass like a crane, with which they move the lever of the screw. The dry press is generally large enough to hold two packs of ordinary paper side by side. The Saul is surrounded by these dry presses. The paper remains under pressure as long as the demand of the mill will admit; but while it is in this operation it is parted, once, twice, or even three times : to do this, the heaps are carried back to the table, and the whole turned sheet by sheet, in such a manner that the surface of every sheet is exposed to a new one, and in this situation they are again brought under the press. It is in conducting these operations of parting and pressing sometimes four or five times, or as often as the nature of the paper requires, that much of the perfection and finish of the finest writing and drawing-paper consist. If the stuff is fine, or the paper slender, the parting is less frequently repeated. In this operation, it is necessary to alter the situation of the heaps, with regard to one another, every time they are put under the press; and, as the heaps are highest in the middle, to place small pieces of felt, which will bring all parts of the pile to an equal pressure.

Bramah's hydrostatic-press has been found most admirably adapted for dry-pressing paper. This press has no screw, but, in lieu of it, a piston or plunger, fitted accurately into a chamber, or barrel of cast iron, by collars of leather; a small force-pump is situated near to the press, and water is injected by it into the great chamber, and the piston is thus expelled from it; and presses up the board, or follower of the press, with a power in proportion to the relative diameters of the pump and the piston. The bot tom of the cylinder must be made sufficiently strong, with the other parts of the surface, to resist the greatest strain which can ever be applied to it: the pipe from the forcing-pump communicates with the cylinder at the bottom, and the pump has, of course, valves to prevent the re

turn of the water.

In a screw-press, of a fine thread, it requires nearly as much labor to unscrew as to screw it down, an evidence of the enormous friction of a screw when acting against a great pressure; but the hydrostatic-press only requires a cock to be opened to let out the water from beneath the piston, which then descends quickly by its own gravity, or the elasticity of the substance under the pressure. The greatest convenience of the hydrostatic-press is, that the power can so easily be transmitted to it from any distance, and in any direction, by means of pipes conducted along in situations where all other means of conveying the motion would be complicated and expensive in the extreme. Thus, in a large paper-mill, an injecting pump may be kept in