THE SPINNER.

The Spinner reduces silk, flax, hemp, wool, hair, &c. by means of a machine, into thread.

In many country villages the art of spinning is carried on by women and children in the open air.

The art of spinning wool and other materials is of the highest antiquity, and must of course have preceded the art of weaving.

The process of reducing cotton wool into yarn or thread, was for a long series of years performed by the hand, upon a machine which is called the one thread wheel, for the origin of which instrument we might possibly search in vain. In the reign of George the Second, several machines were constructed for facilitating the spinning of cotton, but without producing any material advantage till, about 1867 Mr. James Hargrave constructed a machine by which a great number of threads (from twenty to eighty,) might be spun at once, and for which he obtained his Majesty's letters patent. This machine is called a Jenny and is considered as the best contrivance for spinning what is called woof or shute, that has hitherto appeared. It is now commonly constructed for eighty-four threads ; and with it one person can spin a hundred English hanks in the day, each hank containing eight hundred and forty yards.

Spinning by hand is performed either by the distaff and spindle, or on the wheel ; in the former case, the person sits at her work ; in
the latter, she stands, or rather runs backwards and forwards. We shall describe both methods. When the distaff and spindle are
used, the flax or other substance is tied or fixed on a long stick : the spinner draws out a thread, which she fixes to a spindle ; then with her left hand she turns the wheel, and with her right she guides the thread drawn from the flax, &c. round the spindle, or rather round a pole which goes on the spindle. When a sufficient quantity is wound on the pole it is taken off thrown into the basket, and replaced by an empty one.

Spinning of wool is managed by a different process. Here the wool, in those fine slivers taken from the wool-comber, (which see under that article,) is held in the hand; a thread of it is fastened to the wheel, which the spinner turns with velocity, and turns backwards from it, thereby drawing out the thread to a considerable length. In either mode of Spinning, when the spindle is filled,
its thread is wound upon a reel, aid taken off in the form of a skein or hank. The wool is delivered out to the spinner by weight, and
when she returns it, it is again weighed. Women must be very expert who can earn at this business one shilling in a day. Children at
an early age are taught the art, and will soon earn from sixpence to one and sixpence a week.

Besides tbe above mode of spinning wool upon the wheel, a more ancient method is still practised in Norfolk with the distaff and
spindle, which may be used either sitting or walking, while the spinner tends on cows, poultry, &c. The sliver of wool is braided
round the distaff (or rock, as it is called by the Norfolk spinners,) from the slit end of which a thread is drawn and fastened to the slender spindle, which receives a whirling motion by beiug quickly rolled upon a piece of smooth leather, called the trip-skin, fastened upon the thigh of the spinner, who with one hand gently draws a few hairs from the tail of the sliver, while the other winds up the spindle and renews its whirling motion. In this way finer yarn is made than by any other method, but more than sixpence per day can seldom be earned.

Spinners are employed by the master woolcombers, for an account of whose art we refer to the article. Spinning wool into skeins is the next process : these are afterwards put into tbe hands of other women, called winders, whose business is, by means of a wheel and other simple apparatus, to wind two, three, or more of these skeins together, so as to make a compound thread of them. This thread is wound on two spoles or bobbins, for the convenience of having them fixed on spindles, which are turned round by mill-work, in order to twist the threads thus combined into a firm substance. When taken from the mill, the worsted is washed, dyed, and dried ; it is then done up in cruels and fit for sale.

The variety and importance of those branches of our manufactures, which are produced from cotton, wool, and flax, spun into yarn, have occasioned many attempts to render spinning more easy, cheap, and expeditious, by means bf complicated machinery. Several of these have been very successful, particularly for cotton by Sir Richard Arkwright; but the spinning-mill has not as yet been able to afford worsted yarn so cheap as that which is spun by hand.