weights to their respective marches, and to connect the other marches with the treadles. The mode of applying the weights will appear in Fig. 54. This figure is a transverse section of the front part of the mounting of a whip net, of which it will be necessary to treat afterwards. In the mean time, as the cording of a common gauze is exactly the same as that of a whip net, it will serve to illustrate that part of the mounting.

The lower leaf, A2, (as seen in Fig. 49,) is connected with the first short march. (See Fig. 54.)

The upper half leaf, B, with the third couper above, and from thence with the third long march. (See Fig. 54.)

The application of the weights is therefore as follows:

From the first short march two cords descend, one passing on either side of the first long march, and from these cords the weight is suspended. Above the long march the cords are attached to each end of a piece of wood, Z, (see Fig. 54,) generally a piece sawed or cut from a common spool, by which they are kept asunder to prevent them from rubbing on the long march which works between them. Another piece of the same kind, Y, is fixed below, and from this the other weight is suspended. The same apparatus is applied to the third short march, and passes upon both sides of the third long march, for the upper half leaf.

When the open shed is made, the first standard is pulled down; this raises the first long march, which consequently lifts the weight, and allows the under half leaf, A', (see Fig. 49,) to rise; at the same time time the second standard is raised; this, of course, raises the third short march, and relieves the pressure of the weight from the third long march: the upper half leaf, B', is thus allowed to sink. In forming this shed, the standards and half leaves merely yield to the warp, for the raising and sinking are entirely produced by the back leaves (marked 3 and 4, Fig. 49.)

From these explanations, and from a careful examination of the Figs. 49, 50, 51, and 52, the general principle of weaving gauze may be pretty well understood.

The connections with the treadles will be found by examining Fig. 53, which is a horizontal plan, similar to those employed to illustrate other branches of weaving, particularly damask, (of which we shall treat in its proper place.) The warp thread A, which is drawn through the upper doup of the first back leaf 3, (see Fig. 53,) is distinguished by a black oblong mark, on the left side of the thread. The thread B, which is drawn through the under doup of the leaf 4, is distinguished by a white oblong mark, on the right

side of the thread. The draught of the warp thread A through the upper half leaf, b, is also denoted by a white oblong mark on the right side of the thread; and that through the front half leaf, a, by a black oblong mark on the left of the thread B. The connections for raising the back leaves and standards are indicated by black squares; and those for sinking them, by white squares or blanks, all of which will be evident by examining the extreme left of the plan (Fig. 53.) Where no connection from the marches to the treadles is necessary, the mark X is used. As the half leaves are raised and sunk by the warp, no mark is used for the cording of them. The open shed is formed by pressing down the treadle 1, the cross shed by the treadle 2; the treadle 3 merely reverses the motion of the treadle 2, to enable the weaver to work plain cloth as well as gauze, when he finds it convenient. The alternate motion necessary for plain cloth, is entirely performed by the standards and half leaves, the back leaves remaining stationary in this, as well as in the cross shed. But in this shed it is necessary to connect the marches with the plain treadle, to keep the half leaves tight when the weights are raised, the fore mounting in the plain shed being exactly in the same situation as in the open shed.

From the descriptions now given of gauze weaving, we hope that any weaver of even common perception, who will study them with care and attention, will find little difficulty in mounting a gauze loom for himself.

When the principle of gauze weaving is thoroughly understood, its application to the weaving of fancy nets may be easily acquired. Many varieties of net work are used, but a few which form the groundwork of all the rest, will be sufficient to elucidate the general principle; and, to use the words of a certain learned doctor of bookmaking notoriety, "the limits to which it is necessary to restrict this Work, will not admit of more particular details."*

WHIP NET.

This net takes its name from the warp being wholly of whip, without any other ground. The term whip is used by weavers to denote a species of warp rolled upon a separate beam to form fancy patterns. In this net the whole warp is of this description; and,

The principal reason why we are thus restricted is, that we have already extracted from the works of others all the valuable or “luminous” information which they contained about the manufacture of "textile fabrics." See "Ure's Dictionary," and "History of the Cotton manufactures."

therefore, only one beam or roll is required. The mounting of the whip net, like that of the common gauze, as already described, (see Figs. 49 and 50,) consists of two back leaves, two standards, and two bead lams or half leaves. The two back leaves are placed behind the reed in the usual way, and the bread lams with their standards are placed in front of the lay, between the race board and the reed, as formerly mentioned. But as glass beads are frequently used instead of eyes in the back leaves also, and these mountings are generally constructed to weave dropped as well as plain nets, the back headles are usually divided into four leaves; by which the friction is avoided that would be occasioned by the beads being too much crowded together.

Fig. 55.

Reed

is a plan of the whip net mounting, with a specimen of the cloth annexed, both when it is woven plain, and when it is dropped. A and B are the two back leaves, each of which being divided into the other two parts marked 1 and 2; C and D are the standards; and 1 and 2, the half leaves or bead lams, corresponding with the doups and standards of the full gauze mounting, (see Figs. 49 and 50.) The reed, which shows also the position of the lay, is here seen between the back and front mountings. Let the dots on the leaves C and D represent sections of the twine of which the headles

are made, and they will point out the position of the standards. The upper bead lams with their beads, through which the whip threads are drawn, will then appear as passing through the headles or standards on the leaf C, the beads being in front at v; and the under bead lams will be seen as if rising through their standards on the leaf D, crossing below the others towards the front at z. The marks on the treadles will point out the raising and sinking cords, as in the plain gauze.

But the manner in which the bead lams cross in front of the standards will appear to more advantage in Fig. 56.

Here the upper bead lam shaft is marked 1, and its standard C; the under lam 2, and its standard D, as in Fig. 55. When the open shed is formed, the bead lams assume the position represented in Fig. 56 at x, and v, that is, the bead lam x, on the shaft 2, crosses in front of a standard on the shaft C, and rises on the left of the bead lam v, while the bead lam v, on the shaft 1, crosses in front of a standard on the shaft D, and sinks on the right of the threads passing through these two beads, being on the same interval of the reed, this forms the open shed; which is pointed out by the pick 2 in Fig. 55. Again, in forming the cross shed, the bead v, is drawn close to its standard at u, and the bead r, is drawn back to its standard at a, (see Fig. 56,) while the standard D is raised, and C sunk, as in the cross shed of the common gauze, (this shed is marked by the pick 1 in Fig. 55,) and thus the crossings of the whip are effected.

It was formerly observed that the back and front mountings of the gauze are placed at about three and a half or four inches apart, that the warp may have sufficient room to twist between them in opening the cross shed. In nets, however, the corresponding crossing of the whip takes place in front of the standards, where it is forced nearly into a vertical position. It is therefore necessary that the whip should be slackened more in the cross shed than any other kind of warp, so as to yield freely to the pressure of the cross treadles; otherwise it would be almost impossible to obtain a shed. The method usually employed for this purpose, both for this and the other nets, is as follows: a o, Fig. 57,

is a couper suspended from the ceiling of the weaving room, or from the top of the loom, from the end a, of which a cord descends to the end of a long march n, which is again connected to the cross treadle t. To the other end o, of the lever or couper is tied the cord i, which after taking two turns round the whip roll z, suspends the pace weight u. Sometimes a thong or strap of leather is used for that part which goes round the roll, and a little chalk rubbed upon it to prevent it from slipping. Now, it is plain that when the cross 1, is pressed down, it sinks the long march n, and consequently the end a, of the couper, by which the other end o, will be raised, and turn the roll round on its axis by the cord i. By this means the whip is slackened, and a greater or smaller range is given to it, to suit any given pattern, merely by shifting the fulcrum or centre of motion farther from, or nearer to the end o, of the couper.