The President then stated that Mr. M. M. Laduc of Lowell, Mass., would explain a device connected with a frame loom in which he was interested; which the latter proceeded to do.

A MEMBER. Mr. President, I want to ask a question in regard to the machine we have before us for increasing the humidity of the atmosphere in the mill. I find that, if Mr. SAUNDERS takes the temperature and humidity of Lancashire, Eng., as a standard, it seems to me strange we should be compelled to increase the humidity of our atmosphere in our mills here. He gives as the water vapor in Stalybridge, the mean, 5.581 grains; and yet we find in the Wamsutta mills the mean is something over 7 grains; so that there is really more vapor, more moisture in the air, than there was at Stalybridge. Now, it seems to me that we not only require a machine for increasing the humidity of the atmosphere, but also for diminishing it, if these statements of Mr. SAUNDERS are correct.

The PRESIDENT. Mr. SAUNDERS, I have no doubt, can answer that inquiry.

Mr. SAUNDERS. Mr. President, I do not expect that I shall be able to answer all the questions that might possibly be asked in regard to a matter of this kind. In Stalybridge, Eng., or in Lancashire, where the temperature is about the same as in Stalybridge, you will observe by the table that the wind was south-west twenty-two days in the month of July; therefore we draw our conclusion that if in the month of July the wind was south-west twenty-two days, the humidity and temperature would run quite close. Now, in Lowell, you will see by the table, you cannot get any definite idea about the wind, because it is so changeable. Why I present those two tables is to show the extreme we have to contend with. The difficulty we have to contend with here in New England is, I think, in our changeable atmosphere; while in Lancashire, as you well know, it runs quite uniform. As to the amount of water vapor or relative humidity in New Bedford, we find that the conditions there are very much better than anywhere else probably in New England. You remember that last year Mr. Atkinson read a

paper in which he said New Bedford was the best place to manufacture cloth; but you well know we cannot all go to New Bedford, but must manufacture in Lowell and Manchester, and all over New England, and in New York State, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island; and so we must adjust ourselves to the conditions, if we possibly can. Now, the point that the gentleman makes is, that the mean in New Bedford was about 7 grains, is that so?

A MEMBER. Yes, sir.

Mr. SAUNDERS. While in Stalybridge it was only 5.5, and would indicate that we have a damper atmosphere in New England than in Stalybridge; we have had times in July when it has gone up to 10.5 grains. We run up as high as 9.5 in Lowell. Such days very rarely occur. It is very seldom we get a day where our instruments would indicate 9 grains. Our trouble is in the atmospheric changes. We start at 3.5 grains, and, unless we are pretty careful, we are apt to get light yarn.

Mr. MCARTHUR. Mr. President, we have listened attentively to the interesting papers read, and also to the discussion about the humidity of the atmosphere; and now we would like to know something about the humidity in the cotton; and some of the members would like to hear from Mr. BOURNE about that. I believe he has a very valuable method of regulating the whole matter of moisture in cotton; and I would be pleased to hear from him.

Mr. S. N. BOURNE. Mr. President, I did not expect to be called on. I invited Mr. MCARTHUR and yourself to see a little device I have. I cannot go into the matter of humidity, but I can tell you how the thing works. The old saying is, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." Last year our cotton that we received was put up very damp, and when we came to use it there was a great deal of moisture in it, and it did not work well, and a good many of our neighbors had the same trouble. We opened our cotton out into piles and let it lie there, and had a man move it, and that made a good deal of labor. It struck me there ought to be some better way than that; and I made a movable platform, a movable platform that

will hold three days' work or a little more, all I had room for. If I had room to have a week's work put on it, I should put it on.

A MEMBER. How many days?

Mr. BOURNE. About thirty days. We opened that cotton there. It is put on a pile there, and it is all loose, the air is all around it, and you can run your hand around it, and you are always using the oldest cotton, three days old. By doing that we find that our numbers are very much more even than ever before known on the start, and no more attention is paid in the carding room to keep it there than before, and we laid it to that. When I did it, I did it to save labor. I did not expect I was going to receive the benefit I did receive from it in the fineness of the yarn. It is a very simple device, and Mr. PERHAM, of the Kitson Machine Company, is prepared to furnish it. I suppose he gets pay for it, and if anybody puts it in, and is not satisfied with it, he can blow PERHAM.

Mr. MCARTHUR. Mr. President, Mr. BoURNE has another point. He has not told us about his method of removing moisture from cotton in one peculiar instance.

Mr. BOURNE. I will say that we did let one bale go down the river. It went down to Lowell, and they did not want it there. It went down to Lawrence, and they caught it there, and sent it back; and, after being in the river three or four weeks, it came out just as good as ever.

Mr. SAUNDERS. I would like to say Mr. BOURNE has touched a point, I think, of great interest where cotton comes to us damp. I have been for some two years trying to ascertain the loss of water vapor or moisture in cotton from the time that it was opened, carrying it directly to the card-room, where we were manipulating our cotton that had been through the picking and carding rooms, and I found it ran from 3 to 7 per cent. Now, cotton when it is taken directly from the bale and carried into the card-room and placed alongside of the sample cotton, I always watch my instrument, of course. * what the variation is, and amount of temperature in t and I found that cotton would open, at times, with 7 p

moisture; that is, that per cent. of moisture would actually come out by carrying it directly to the card-room before it would come to the condition where we were carding cotton. Now, if we could just get into a condition to prepare our cotton in our picking department, or before it was picked, in fact, then I think we would be able to card it better, and make a more perfect yarn than we now do.

Mr. BOURNE. I believe, Mr. President, this matter of preparation of cotton for the pickers is a very important one, and I hope that this Association will take up this discussion again at the beginning, and work up through the different departments of the mill. We all know that when cotton is damp it works hard, it is more dense, and more fibres work in; consequently the work comes heavier, the yarn is heavy. When yarn is dry, of course there is less fibre, and we get lighter yarn. I think it is a subject worthy of our attention.

Mr. SANFORD. Mr. President, before we leave this matter of humidity and atmospheric conditions, I would like to say a few words. Mr. SAUNDERS has said all cannot go to New Bedford. I wish to say you can all come to Fall River. I manufacture there, as you all know, and manufacture yarns which require humidity. General GREELY states a fact of interest here. He says, somewhere on the elbow of Cape Cod is the spot to manufacture cotton; that is, the greatest relative humidity will be found there. He does not state where that spot is, but we feel that it includes New Bedford and Fall River; and, in proof of that, we have mills in Fall River which are producing as fine goods as can be produced anywhere else. And yet, with all these advantages which New Bedford and Fall River enjoy, there are times when they have to be assisted by some such apparatus as is exhibited here. I only wanted to bring my town into comparison with New Bedford. We believe that Nature has done as much for us in Fall River as for those in any other spot, for the manufacture of cotton; and I only pity those who are not located on our New England coast, and have not this humid atmosphere; and, if they have not, then they must produce it by some of the artificial appliances now in use.

Mr. GARSED. I think that the mills in Providence and Norwich, and the Thread Company at Holyoke, can spin fine yarn equally with Fall River and New Bedford. Modern machinery, in my opinion, will spin cotton almost anywhere.

The PRESIDENT. At the last annual meeting, the secretary made his report in regard to the loss to the Association by the fire in Sears building, and suggested that a reprint of certain proceedings of the Association should be made. Since that time he has sent out circulars, inquiring of the members their wishes in regard to that matter. He will now state the result that he has obtained.

The SECRETARY. The matter was brought before the Board of Government, and they were disinclined to take any action upon it without understanding what were the wishes of the Association; and therefore directed the Secretary to inquire by circular. Circulars were sent out, but were not so fully responded to as to indicate clearly what the wishes of the Association might be. The vote was almost equally divided. A second circular was therefore sent out, and the result is, that, out of some two hundred and forty members, two hundred responded. Of these, those who objected to an extra assessment for reprinting numbered one hundred; those who favored it numbered eighty-two. There were responses from twentyone who expressed themselves as indifferent; willing to acquiesce in the action of the Association, whatever it might be. The vote therefore stood: No, one hundred; yes, eightytwo; indifferent, twenty-one.

The PRESIDENT. Does the Association desire to take any action in regard to that at this time? Under the circumstances, the Board of Government does not feel authorized to reprint the proceedings of the Association, and will not unless instructed by the Association.

A MEMBER. What is the assessment likely to be on each member for the expense of doing that?

The SECRETARY. The expense would be about fifteen dollars. It was proposed to divide it into three assessments of five dollars each.