motes, thus occasioning a considerable loss of cotton. The object of my improvement is to avoid this loss, which I effect by so placing a perma. ment brush that it shall hold on to the motes or other impurities as the fibres are stripped from the saws by the stripping brush, the fibres being under the operation of the two brushes at the same time. The mote brush has the effect also of more effectually stopping the current of air generated by the rotation of the stripping brush from acting on the fibres before they are cleaned, than if located at a greater distance from the point of action of the stripping brush.” The improvements secured by the second above-mentioned patent appear to be of great importance to the cotton-growing portion of the community. It is impossible immediately to determine what may be developed by experiments long conducted upon an extensive scale; but, so far as appearances may be relied upon, the improvements now under consideration are among the most valuable which have been made upon the cotton gin since the days of Whitney. The following extracts from the patent are sufficient to convey a sufficiently clear view of the nature of the invention: “The ginning of cotton with the saw gin has for a long time been attended with much difficulty from the very nature of the fibre, its condition in the pod, and the operation of the instruments employed to separate the fibres from the seeds, to which they adhere with more or less tenacity according to the quality. These difficulties have led to many modifications of the gin, with the view to remedy the evils, but so far little improvement has been made in that most valuable of all modern inventions, The fibres are united to and surround the seed, forming pods, which contain motes, particles of dead leaves, and other foreign matter very injurious to the gin, and particularly to the staple when passing through the gin with the fibres; and the tenacity with which the fibres adhere to the seed, and to each other, renders it very difficult to separate then without either cutting or breaking them, or otherwise injuring them by abrasion. When the fibres are not properly loosened, préparatory to their being drawn through between the ribs by the saws, they are liable to coil around the upper part of the ribs, and are there cut by the saws, and choke the operation of the machine. Again, after the fibres have been properly separated from the seeds, much difficulty has attended, the removal of them, from the teeth of the saws by the rotating brush, which, by the action of currents of air drawn on both sides of the gin by the rotation of the brush, force the fibres towards and clog in the middle, so that the action of the brush. fails to act equally in removing them from the saws and from the bristles;, and at no time does the brush comb out the fibres, and separate from them the foreign matter, which is always found with cotton in great quantities. “The object of my improvements is to avoid these serious evils; first, by combining with the saws and ribs a rotating cleaner, consisting of one or two arbors placed parallel with each other, and provided with pins projecting therefrom radially and playing between each other and between permanent teeth, so that by their rotation they act on the pods of cotton, loosen the fibres and separate from them motes and other impurities, which fall through the grated bottom of the hopper. From this cleaner. the cotton falls on to the saws and is acted upon by the teeth; but if the pods are not sufficiently loosened, they are carried up and again, acted upon by the cleaner, and thence again fall on to the saws. In this way. the pods are not only freed from all impurities, but the fibres are sufficiently loosened to be separated from the seeds without injury to the staple: or the liability of breaking the seeds, the particles of which, when carried through by the saws, are very injurious to the staple. Second, in making: the upper surface of the ribs or grates between the saws without a double: bevelled surface, with a series of transverse projecting ridges from the bottom to the top, and also in having their lower ends attached to a hinged frame which rests on springs, the effect of which is that, as the pods are carried up from the bottom of the hopper, they strike against the projecting ridges or teeth, which causes them to roll up, at the same time giving to the ribs, in consequence of their spring attachment, a tremulous motion that greatly facilitates the action of the saw teeth on the fibres, as the pods are thus carried towards and from the teeth, which have the action of combs to loosen the fibres. Third, in providing brushes below: the rotating brushes and placed parallel with the axis thereof, and slightlyinclined in the direction of the rotation, for the purpose of combing or brushing the fibres which are caught by the stationary brushes and acted upon by the rotating ones; and when properly brushed, and the motes and other impurities separated from them and discharged through a grating below, are liberated from these stationary brushes and delivered in the usual manner. And fourth, in providing the ends with spiral fans, which draw in a current of air from each end and force it out by centrifugal action equally from end to end of the saw cylinder, to liberate the fibres from the brûshes, and to generate an outward current to carry off the motes. and other impurities below the stationary brushes and the concave, on to which the cleaned and brushed fibres are delivered.” - * The foregoing extracts will enable those familiar with ginning cotton. to judge of the character of the improvements. Wool carding.—Three patents have been granted for improvements in machinery for carding wool. In the ordinary carding engine the wool is. fed to the carding cylinder on one side, and is carried by it over to the opposite side, and in its passage it is constantly operated upon by cards or toothed cylinders to complete the carding. On the side of the engine, opposite to the feeders, are placed doffers, for removing the wool from the cylinder. One of the machines patented this year receives the wool from: the feed rollers, and instead of carrying it over to the opposite side it carries it under, and an entire revolution of the carding cylinder, subjecting it constantly to the action of strippers and workers, or to cards, and finally delivering it to the doffers directly over the point where it was received. - "Another of these machines receives the wool in the usual way, subjecting it, as it is carried over, to strippers and cleaners; and on the opposite, side are placed two doffers, the one above the other. Beyond is another carding engine. The first or upper doffer partially strips the first cylinder and communicates directly with the second cylinder; the second doffer, completes the stripping of the first cylinder, but does not directly communicate with the second cylinder. Between the two doffers is a stripper, which strips both doffers and carries the wool to the second cylinder, which carries the wool over and subjects it to a second carding process in the usual way; after which the cylinder is subjected to two doffers, having segment strips of teeth and equal segments without teeth, extending lengthwise of the doffers, and these segments having such relative poo

sitions that the strips of wool left by the first doffer upon the cylinder will” be removed by the second. The machine possesses merits which will be appreciated by the manufacturer, but to which I have not time to allude. The third machine above mentioned is intended to card wool upon the same principle with the old fashion of hand carding, and is said to possess great merit; it certainly possesses the merit of simplicity, and there are but few obvious defects. The inventor stretches two or more endless belts of ordinary cards each upon two driving and distending rollers; the faces of these cards are placed in contact with each other, and with them both so bent as to work together; supports are placed behind the belts in such manner as to keep their whole faces in contact. The wool is fed to one of them in the usual way, and the belts set in motion by their rollers. Thus the wool is carded over any extent of surface that may be preferred." The doffing is effected in any convenient way. But I must hasten to another branch of this class. Paper.—Two patents have been granted this year connected with the manufacture of paper, but they do not possess that kind or degree of novelty which calls for notice in this place. Cotton batting.—One patent has been granted this year for improvements in the manufacture of this fabric, but it was examined in 1845, and was noticed in my last report. No new applications have since been made. Manufacture of hats.—Three patents have been granted this year for’ improvements in machinery for making hat bodies. One of the patentees combines the old bow string, worked by machinery, to throw the fibres upon a perforated revolving cone, with an exhausting fan below. The merits of this improvement will be readily understood. Another of these machines possesses much novelty, and produces work of a very perfect character, and with great expedition. It is perhaps the first machine which succeeded in forming the hat body upon the perforated cone in a uniformly satisfactory manner, and is worthy of particular notice. It will be understood by the following extract from the tent : - “It has long been essayed to make hat bodies by throwing the fibres of" fur, wool, &c., by brush or picker cylinder, on to a perforated cone, exhausted by a fan below to carry and hold the fibres thereon by the currents of air that rush from all directions towards and through the apertures of the cone, and thus form a bat of fibres ready for hardening and felting ; but, from various causes, all these attempts have failed. I have, however, so improved this machine in various important particulars, as to remove all the objections, as proved by the test of experiment. My improvements consistin feeding the fur, (called the stock,) after it has been picked, to a rotating brush between two endless belts of cloth, one above the ether, the lower one horizontal and the upper inclined, to gradually compress the fur and gripe it more effectually where it is presented to the action of the rotating brush, which, moving at a great velocity, throws it in a chamber or tunnel which is gradually changed in form towards the outlet, where it assumes a shape nearly corresponding to a vertical section passing through the axis of the cone, but narrower, for the purpose of concentrating and directing the fur thrown by the brush on to the cone; this casing being provided with an aperture immediately under the brush, through which a current of air enters, in consequence of the rotation of: the brush and the exhaustion of the cone, for the purpose of more effectu.

ally directing the fibres towards the cone which is placed just in front of the delivery aperture of the chamber or tunnel, which aperture is provided at top with a bonnet or hood hinged thereto, and at the bottom with a hinged flap to regulate the deposite of the fibres on the cone or other former, with a view to distribute the thickness of the bat wherever more is required to give additional strength, as the fibres are only held to and on the cone by the pressure of the surrounding air in consequence of the exhaustion of the cone or former. Preparatory to the suspension of this pressure, some means must be adopted of holding and retaining the fibres composing the bat; and it is obvious that this delicate web thus formed has not sufficient tenacity to admit of moving it from the cone or former before the hardening process; and, therefore, my invention also consists in covering the bat, before it is removed from the cone or former, with felted or fulled cloth, and then employing one or two perforated metallic cones— one to put over the bat after it has been surrounded with the moist felt or cloth, for the purpose of making pressure on the fibres, and to admit of the circulation of hot water where the whole is immersed therein to harden the bat preparatory to felting, and the other to be placed within the perforated metallic cone on which the bat has been formed, and which is necessarily thin and weak for the purpose of resisting the pressure of the surrounding water consequent upon a partial vacuum produced within, when the whole is withdrawn from the water.” Letters patent have also been granted for a modification of the chamber through which the fur is thrown or blown up on the perforated cone. Two vertical partitions are placed in it longitudinally, in such a manner as to be adjustable ; and by changing their relative positions, the fur is more or less concentrated upon particular points of the cone, as circumstances may require. - - Spinning.—Seven patents have been granted this year for improve-, ments in this branch of fibrous manufacture, some of which are of great importance. In my last report I had occasion to notice an ingenious and valuable improvement in the mode of depositing roving in cans. Letters . patent have since been granted for an improvement upon this invention, which renders it capable of greater variety and perfection of operation. Letters patent have also been granted for an improvement which is applicable to most kinds of spinning machinery. As the roving is fed to the flyer or other device for spinning, it is well known that some of the fibres will extend out from the roving, and thus partially escape the proper twist, and render the thread less perfect. To obviate this inconvenience, each roving is caused to pass over a beater, revolving in a direction opposite to the motion of the roving, which lays the protruding fibres, or removes them. The cap spinner has also been modified by giving the motion of the traverse rail to the cap, to avoid the unequal action of the band upon the bobbin warves, which would result from the motion of the bobbin. t; In spinning, evenness of the thread is a matter of primary importance; and when the thread is spun from roving which is regularly sed, if the roving be uneven, the thread will inevitably be uneven also. To secure the necessary equality in the roving many devices have already been resorted to. Within the year letters patent have been granted for a self-regulating combination for the accomplishment of this object, which is well worthy of notice. Its character will be understood by reference to their following extract from the patent: !. or , -i, of oil **The nature of our invention consists in making each section of the *first or back set of rollers conical, that the supply of cotton, &c., to the other rollers may be more or less to increase or decrease the draught on the fibres, and thus regulate the size of the yarn; and also in combining with this guides, connected with the condensing tube, which is on the upper end of a vibrating arm, the connexion between the guides and arm of the condensing tube being made by means of levers, so arranged that when the yarn is too large and binds, the tube shall be drawn towards the calendar rollers, which operate the guides to carry the roping towards the smaller diameter of the circuit rollers to diminish the supply; and when it is small, to permit it to be drawn back by a weight or spring to move the guides back towards the large diameter of the rollers.” | Letters patent have been granted this year for an improved self-actin mule, differing widely from those which have herotofore been in .# “evincing a degree of ingenuity and skill rarely found or required in any libranch of fibrous or textile manufactures. The operations necessary in *the self-acting mule are so various, and require such multiplicity and complexity of parts, that any description or representation would fail to render it generally intelligible. The following extracts from the patent, however, present the characteristics of the machine with clearness, precision, and force, and will be sufficient to convey to those acquainted with mule spinning an outline of the invention : “The motions of the mule may be divided into three series, which are subdivided in the action of the apparatus. The first series consists in the drawing out of the carriage, the revolving of the draw rollers, and the whirling of the spindles, by means of which series of motions the rovings are drawn out and the threads spun and twisted. The second series eonsists of backing off, as it is termed ; that is, turning the spindles the reoverse direction, to uncoil the threads from the points of the spindles to the cops, and turning down or depressing the front faller; at the same time, to place all the parts in a proper condition for the third series of motions, which consists of putting or running in the carriage, winding on the yarn or threads, by giving a varying motion to the spindles corresponding to the form and size of the cops, and operating the faller to give the proper shape to the cops. * “The first series of motions is regular. The carriage is drawn out by a regular motion, effected by a train of wheels from the driving pulley to a line shaft, which carries endless chains connected with the carriage at different parts of its length to insure steadiness of motion. During this, the draw rollers are rotated to give out the staple as it is spun by another train of wheels, deriving motion from the same source as the preceding, and in manner substantially similar to other mules; and, at the same time, the spindles are whirled or rotated by a band, receiving motion from a pulley on the shaft of the driving pulley, as in other mules. This completes the first series of motions, in which I claim nothing new. , “At the end of the first series of rhotions, the threads that have been spun are coiled on the spindles from the cops to their points; it is therefore necessary to uncoil them, (called backing) preparatory to winding on, and at the same time to depress the front faller, to place it in a proper position for winding on. The second series of motions effects these puriposes, and the various parts of the mechanism are put in a proper condition to effect this by the momentum of the moving parts, at the end of the