in the line looking toward the cloth beam; Fig. 168, is a vertical section, also at right angles to Fig. 165, in the line looking in the opposite direction, that is, toward the warp beam; and No. 30, Fig. 167, is a horizontal view of a portion of the lay of the loom, taken at that end where the improved parts are connected; the respective letters of reference pointing out the same parts in all the figures.

The yarn beam A, is mounted on the side framing of the loom in the usual way. From this beam the warp threads pass over a whip roller B, above, and thence through the headles C, C, and reed D, in the ordinary way. The reed is mounted in the lay in a frame, which is capable of vibrating on pivots or centres, for the purpose of allowing the reed to fall back when it strikes forcibly against the weft thread in beating up. The cloth produced by the intervention of the warp and weft threads in the front of the reed, passes over the breast beam E, to the cloth roller F, and is wound upon a loose roller G, by the friction of their

surfaces.

The crank or driving shaft H, by which the working parts of the loom are driven, is connected by the crank rods II, to the back part of the lay; and hence, as the crank shaft rotates, the latter is made to vibrate in the usual way; and by the ordinary connexion of toothed wheels, the tappet shaft K, is also driven, which works the headles CC, that open the sheds of the warp, and also the picker staves LL, that drive the shuttle to and fro.

In the representation of the back of the lay at Fig. 167, it will be perceived that the reed D, is fixed in a frame MM; which frame is mounted in the lay, and held by pivots on studs NN, bolted to the upper parts of the swords of the lay. Upon these studs or pivots N, the reed, with its frame, is enabled to swing backward, but it is confined in its situation by powerful springs 0 0, secured to the back of the lay, the ends of these springs pressing against the lower rail of the reed frame. The tension of these springs may be tempered by the adjustable staples and screws P P.

These parts of the loom are described for the purpose of leading to, and more readily illustrating the design and operation of the present improvement.

A perpendicular lever Q, is attached to the side of one of the swords of the lay by means of a fulcrum stud R, projecting from a bracket bolted to the sword. The upper end of this lever bears against the bottom rail of the back of the reed frame M, and is held there by a slight spring (see Fig. 167.) The lower part of this frame is attached by an axle joint to a horizontal rod S. That end of the rod S, to which the lever Q, is connected, is bent downward, as shown in Fig. 166, for the purpose of enabling the rod to pass over the rocker at bottom of the sword, which the lay vibrates upon. The joint connecting the end of the lever Q, and rod S, must be brought as nearly in coincidence with the axle of the lay as may be found practicable.

At the back part of the loom there is a perpendicular shaft T, supported in brackets bolted to the side frame or standard. Upon the upper part of this shaft is fixed an endless screw or worm taking into the teeth of a wheel on the yarn beam; by the rotation of which worm the beam is turned, and made to deliver the warp. A ratchet wheel U, is made fast by a bolt to the perpendicular shaft T, near its lower end; and below this a cylindrical piece or collar V, is loosely fitted upon the shaft, and held up by a pin.

From this side of the collar V, a small arm extends, carrying an upright stud, which passes through an eye at the back end of the horizontal rod S, for the purpose of forming a jointed support to that end of the rod. At a short distance from this joint, a standard W, is fixed into the horizontal rod, carrying a click or tooth, the point of which drops into the teeth of the ratchet wheel. This tooth is the driver that gives rotary movement to the ratchet wheel U, and shaft T.

A bent arm X, is affixed by bolts to the horizontal rod S, the elevated end of which arm being struck by the sword when the lay falls back, gives a sliding movement to the rod S, and thereby causes the click W, to drive the ratchet wheel U.

Below the endless screw on the perpendicular shaft T, another ratchet wheel Y, is fixed, corresponding in the number of its teeth with the ratchet wheel U. This ratchet wheel acts upon a tooth at the end of the shorter arm of a bent lever Z, Z, suspended on a pivot or stud in a bracket attached to the side frame. At

the reverse end, that is, near the extremity of the longer arm of this bent lever Z, a tappet pin is fixed, for the purpose of raising the arm of the ordinary taking up lever, which works the click or driver of the ratchet connected with the ordinary train of toothed gear, for taking up or winding the cloth upon the beam in front, as usual.

After every flight of the shuttle through the open shed or warp, the lay advances for the purpose of causing the reed to beat up the weft thread; but as it is mounted in a vibrating frame M, the force with which it strikes against the cloth causes the lower rail of the reed frame to recede or swing back from the lay a short distance, as shown in the section Fig. 166.

As the upper end of the perpendicular lever Q, bears against the lower rail of the reed frame whenever the reed frame recedes, as above described, that end of the lever is necessarily forced back, and the under end consequently moved forward, bringing with it the horizontal rod S. This movement of the rod S, causes the end of the bent arm X, to be brought close against the vibrating sword of the lay, and also draws back the click W, over one tooth in the ratchet wheel U. On the return of the lay into the inclined posi tion, as shown by dots in Fig. 166, the sword will strike against the end of the bent arm X, and slide the horizontal rod S, back again, which will cause the click W, to drive the ratchet wheel U, one tooth, and thereby turn the shaft T, and its endless screw, by means of which the yarn beam is drawn round, and the warp given out.

But in the event of the weft thread having broken, there will be no delivery from the shuttle, and consequently a want of filling to the cloth; the reed, therefore, in beating up, will not meet with that resistance which it did when the filling of the weft thread was perfect. In the beating up of the lay, therefore, the reed frame will not now be driven back as before, nor the lever Q, be sufficiently acted upon to cause it to slide the horizontal rod S, through the same distance: consequently, the click W, will not be drawn over another tooth of the ratchet wheel U, and the shaft T, being thus allowed to remain in a quiescent state, the warp will no longer be given out from the yarn beam.

The rotary movement given to the shaft T, in the way described, carries round the ratchet wheel Y; and the teeth of this ratchet wheel acting upon the tooth at the end of the shorter arm of the bent lever Z, causes that end of the bent lever to be depressed every time that a tooth of the wheel Y, passes over the tooth of the lever, as shown by dots in Fig. 166.

By these means, the reverse end or longer arm of the lever is

raised, which causes the tappet pin fixed near its extremity to lift the take-up lever, which operates upon the ordinary gearing for winding up the cloth on the roller as usual. But when the rotary movement of the perpendicular shaft T, is suspended, owing to the breaking of the weft thread, as before stated, then the taking up of the cloth ceases, as well as the delivery of the warp, although the loom continue in action.

To a superficial observer, this contrivance of Mr. Stone's might appear to be the very acme of perfection; yet, it possesses many defects, in a practical point of view. In the first place, it is of too complex a character: indeed, all that it accomplishes, can be effected with one-fifth of the machinery which it contains. Mr. S's. loom is not capable of producing thin goods with any degree of regularity; and this will be evident when it is remembered, that it is by the accumulating pressure of the cloth against the reed that motion is communicated to the yarn beam. It is clear, therefore, that for light muslins, or delicate silk textures, where only from 10 to 25 threads of weft per inch are required, this contrivance would not answer at all; unless Mr. S. hung his reed upon a wisp, and employed, in conjunction, a native of the Emerald Isle, to assist, by coaxing the warp from off the yarn beam as fast as required. The cloth, instead of being taken up regularly as the weaving proceeds, is wound up by fits and starts; for it is not until a number of threads of weft have been added to the face of the cloth, equal to the length of one of the teeth in the ratchet wheel U, on the end of the perpendicular shaft T, that the click or driver W, is allowed to fall into a new tooth; and after this has taken place, it will keep jiggling or dancing there, until another ridge of cloth is piled up against the reed, when the point of the click W, will again hop over a tooth, as before.

In order to make this loom weave thin goods perfectly regular, it would be absolutely necessary to have the teeth of the ratchet wheel U, as fine as the diameter of the weft thread to be used; but we question whether teeth of this fineness would not be more than a match for the eye-sight of any manufacturer in the United States. For textures having from 35 to 80 threads of weft per inch, however, Mr. Stone's loom will be found an acquisition.

Fig. 169. represents part of the frame of a loom, with the common ratchet take-up motion attached thereto. as well as an improved method of governing it, receiving motion from a vibrating reed, which is arranged in a frame, precisely the same as that shown in Figs. 165, 166, 167 and 168. The improvement now to be de