I desire to add just a word: if I ever have had any scales on my eyes regarding the possibilities of the metallic roll, they were removed yesterday on visiting the mills of the Merrick Thread Company at Holyoke. They have in their carding department an entire system of metallic rolls, and I have never been in any card room where the work was running so perfectly as there. I spent considerable time there, and I can say to you that I didn't see a girl piecing up an end, a very unusual occurrence. Some people may think that the clearance represented at B is not sufficient for the weight of the slivers; but I saw them passing under the rolls, with that clearance, a sliver that weighed 840 grains to the yard, spread on a twelve-inch boss roll, and you know how perfectly all their thread is made. The weight on the rolls all the way through is very much reduced, from 90 pounds to 5 pounds, I think, in some instances, and when they come to the fly and jack frames no weight is attached to the metallic roll. In new frames the metallic rolls were made in sections of four bosses, and their own weight was sufficient. I saw them making nineteen-hank roving made by the metallic roll throughout, and I hold in my hand a sample of a twenty-four-hank roving made in that way, and if you will examine it I think you will agree with me that I am not very far off in my prediction that we shall yet spin yarn with metallic rolls.

The PRESIDENT. You have listened to a very interesting paper, and you will now have an opportunity of discussing it or asking questions.

Mr. JOHN K. Russell. Do you consider the metallic rolls as valuable when using a short staple as a long one; will the work be as good?

Mr. PRATT. As to carrying a short staple through the entire process with metallic rolls, I cannot from personal experience answer that question; but judging from what I saw I should say that there is no question that it can be done successfully.

Mr. RUSSELL. My experience with the metallic roll has been just the opposite. Where we have used a low grade of cotton, or a mixture of waste, in connection with the metallic roll, the result was such that we took the rolls out of this mill and put them in our other mill, where we are using a longerstaple cotton.

Mr. PRATT. In what stage of the process were your metallic rolls?

Mr. RUSSELL. In the drawing frame only.

Mr. PRATT. I think there is where we are laboring under a great mistake. In many mills where this roll has been put in the entire process has not been carried through. In many cases it has simply been applied to railway heads, which is no criterion for the test. I think if we apply it to the railway and drawings, and then make the test, we should then be able to determine whether the lack of success, should it occur, is owing to the metallic roll or to some other conditions.

Mr. RUSSELL. When I took the metallic roll out I put back the leather-covered roll, and my drawing was much better than when I had the metallic roll on. I have been very

successful with the metallic roll on long-staple cotton.

Mr. F. M. MESSENGER. I would like to ask Mr. PRATT if in putting in metallic rolls he had to change the gears between front roll and calender roll.

Mr. PRATT. We changed the gear one tooth between front roll and calender roll. I think there are some other gentlemen here who have used these rolls.

Mr. J. J. CONNELL. I have run 164 deliveries with metallic rolls for a little over a year, from 1 to 1 inch staple cotton. I think from what the gentleman said who spoke of removing them that the trouble may have existed in the setting, or closing up of them. In using these metallic rolls, if they are not set exactly with the length of the staple, and allowance made for the weight of the sliver and the length of the staple, you get bad results; but if they are properly set the results are splendid. In my experience I can confirm everything that Mr. PRATT has said in regard to them.

Mr. RUSSELL. With regard to running the shorter staple of cotton, in the case I mentioned we run 25 per cent. of waste. We run some without the waste, that did better. In speaking about different rolls, perhaps we could not set rolls for every staple we used; we made all the trials we could by setting rolls in and out; but it was not found it would make any difference until we used a longer staple.

Mr. MOORE. I put in two railway heads and five deliveries drawing, using short-staple stock, kept them in four months, and made four tests a week; and carried that clear through to the spinning. The sliver was run through the same railway head and drawing, the same slubber and fly frame, and put on the same spinning frame; and after four months I had the rolls taken out. I have not the figures, but the yarn almost invariably broke at from three to seven pounds less than our regular yarn. In all this time there were one or two tests where the yarn with the metallic roll broke better, for some reason or other; but this was run through the same spinning frame, the same speeders and the same slubbers, and it was the same cotton exactly, and we laid it to its being short-staple cotton; there was no waste, and we concluded that the length of the staple made a great difference. We set the rolls in different ways, with the weights from none

at all up to the regular ones used with leather rolls; and I am sure we made as fair a test as possible. They didn't work with that length of staple, and we had them removed and our covered rolls put in in their place.

Mr. CONNELL. You have to adapt your roll to the length of your staple, or the results will be bad.

Mr. GEO. W. BEAN. In our fine mill we have the metallic roll in three railway heads and twenty-four deliveries of drawing. We also run for some little time waste stock through these rolls, and we had no difficulty whatever with the rolls, and the yarn tested from 5 to 7 per cent. stronger than with the common leather-covered rolls. We like the metallic rolls very much indeed.

Mr. R. R. SMITH. We have some metallic rolls in connection with one mill, where we spin waste and stained stock almost entirely. Sometimes bales of cotton come to us soiled or stained, perhaps the covering off, and this damaged cotton is thrown into a pile and with other waste is taken to the mill for making coarse yarns, Nos. 3 to 8. Since we have introduced the metallic roll drawing we have noticed a decided improvement in the yarn; it being stronger and the work running better. We have the metallic rolls in drawing frames in two other mills, and are so much pleased with them that we have given an order for an entire outfit of drawing frames in the other mills.

Mr. A. S. WINSLOW. All mills have trouble in running different lengths of stock, but different lengths have to be worked, especially in mills that run the cheaper grade of goods. I would like to ask Mr. PRATT's opinion as to the use of the metallic roll in connection with such stock.

Mr. PRATT. I don't comprehend the gentleman's inquiry. Does he refer to mixed stock, or stock of different lengths run separately?

Mr. WINSLOw. Yes, I mean mixed stock and stock of different lengths. If you have different lengths of staple

coming at the same time, how about using the metallic roll on such stock?

Mr. PRATT. If it is practicable to space the leather-covered rolls so as to adapt them to mixed stock, I see no reason why it is not practicable with metallic rolls.

Mr. HERVEY KENT. I have had a little experience with the metallic roll. I had one railway head running three years, and it worked remarkably well, and, in order to show that the right thing wants to be handled rightly, I may say that at the same time I knew of metallic rolls which were put into another mill sixteen miles from us, and they had a great deal of trouble there. Their carder was up to our place twice, to see if he could find out what the trouble was. Theirs did not work satisfactorily, but ours have worked so well that in the machinery I shall order for our new mill I intend to put the metallic roll into all our railroad heads and drawing, for I believe it is a very valuable addition. We use stock which we buy for 1 inch staple, but a good deal of it is much shorter than that.

The PRESIDENT. We will take up the next paper, "The best method of heating a cotton mill," by Mr. CHARLES R. MAKEPEACE of Providence. Mr. PARKER has kindly consented to read this paper, Mr. MAKEPEACE not being present.