machine for weaving cloth, silk, &c., by raising the threads of the warp in order to throw in the shuttle, and strike it close. Of these there are various kinds, distinguished by the different sorts of cloths, stuffs, silks, &c., in which they are employed; and which are chiefly distinguished by the number and variety of the threads they raise in order to work the warp, either plain or in figures, by making more or less of the woof or shoot appear through the warp. In order to give a general idea of weaving, we shall here describe the parts of the common weaver's loom. See Plate XXXIX. fig. 1, in which e f, e f are the front poles, and g g the back poles of the loom; l l, m m, m m are the lamms in their place at Q, or, as they are called in some parts of Scotland, the hiddles, and in others the flames. They are composed of strong threads, stretched between two horizontal bars, an upper and a lower. The threads of one lam are so disposed as to pass between the upper threads of the warp, while they admit the lower threads to pass through loops or small holes in them, and the disposition of the threads of the other lam is such, that while they pass between the lower threads of the warp, they admit the upper threads to pass through the small holes just mentioned. The lamms are suspended from the cross bar or lam-beam HH, by means of ropes n n passing from the upper bars of the lamms over the pulleys at EE, and balanced by weights at the other ends. From the lower bar of each lam or hiddle a rope passes to the treadle or moveable bars at O O; so that when a foot presses a treadle, the lam fastened to it sinks, while the other rises by means of the balancing weight suspended from the pulley at E. The workman then throws in the woof by means of the shuttle, and closes it by one or two strokes of the lay or batten, of which WB, WB are called the flames, CC the cap, or in Scotland the upper shell, DD the block or under shell, and PP the reed or comb contained between these shells. LL is the bench on which the workmen sit; for the loom which our figure represents is constructed for weaving cloth of such a breadth as to require two workmen, who have their quills in a box d on the middle of the bench on which they sit. Between the workmen's bench and the batten or lay is the breasting-bar I, I, a smooth square beam, in which there is an opening to let the web through as it is woven. From this opening the web SS passes to the knee-roll or web beam GG, round which it is rolled by means of the spokes visible in the figure, and kept from being unrolled by a wheel with teeth and clench, visible likewise in the figure. In some looms the web passes from the knee-roll to the wooden frame X, to be dried as it is woven. Opposite to the breasting-bar, and on the other side of the batten or lay, is the cane-roll or yarn-beam, on which the warp is rolled when put into the loom, and from which it is gradually unrolled as the work proceeds. TT are bobbins filled with yarn of the warp to mend such threads of it as may be broke in the weaving; and B b, B b are clues of the same kind of yarn with the borders of the warp, to mend such threads as may there be broken.
Fig. 2 represents the common shuttle with the vanity in the middle, in which the quill with the woof is placed on a spindle or axis. As this shuttle is thrown with one hand in at one side of the warp, and received with the other hand at the other side, it is obvious, that when the web is of a breadth too great for a man to reach from one side of it to the other, two workmen must be employed and much time lost. To remedy this inconvenience, a new shuttle has, in this country, been lately brought into very general use, and called the flying shuttle, because it flies through the warp with wonderful rapidity on two steel rollers RR (fig. 3.) This shuttle is not thrown with the hand, but moved backwards and forwards by a very simple piece of machinery, of which fig. 4 will give the reader a sufficiently accurate conception. To each end of the batten or lay L is fastened a kind of open box B, b, with the bottom or horizontal side exactly on a level with the threads of the warp of the intended web. In each of these boxes is a vertical piece of wood D, d, of considerable thickness, called a driver. This driver is moved easily on an iron spindle or axis from one end of the box to the other by means of a slender rope CCCC, and a handle H is seen in the figure. When the weaver is to begin his work, he lays the shuttle on its rollers in the box B with the iron tip T (fig. 3,) touching, or almost touching, the driver D (fig. 4.) Then moving the handle H, with a sudden jerk, towards the box b, the driver D forces the shuttle with a rapid motion thro' the warp till it strikes d, which is impelled by the stroke to the further end of the box b. The two drivers D and d have now changed their positions in their respective boxes; so that the driver which was at the front of its box before, is now at the farther end of it, and vice versa. Then by a sudden jerk of the hand towards B the shuttle is driven back till it strikes D; and thus is the work continued without the weaver having occasion ever to stretch his arms from one margin of the web to the other. That the shuttle may not, by the steadiness of the workman's The security of commerce depending, in a good measure, on the jute nets of weights, which are usually of lead, iron, or brass, most nations have taken care to prevent the falsification thereof, by stamping or marking them by proper officers, after being adjusted by some original standard. Thus, in England, the standard of weights is kept in the exchequer by a particular officer, called the clerk of the market.
Weights may be distinguished into ancient and modern.
I. Ancient Weights.
1. Those of the ancient Jews, reduced to the English troy weight, will stand as in the following table:
| Shekel | lb. oz. dwt. gr. | |--------|-----------------| | 60 | Maneh | | 3000 | Talent |
2. Roman weights, reduced to English troy weight, will stand as in the following table:
| Lentes | oz. dwt. gr. | |--------|--------------| | 4 | Siliqua | | 12 | Obolus | | 24 | Scriptulum | | 72 | Drachma | | 96 | Sextula | | 144 | Sicilicus | | 192 | Duella | | 576 | Uncia | | 6912 | Libra |
The Roman ounce is the English avoirdupois ounce, which they divided into 7 denarii, as well as 8 drachmas.
II. Modern Weights.
1. English Weight.—Mr Renardion, in a paper published in the Philosophical Transactions, has proved, that at first there was but one weight in England, and that this was the avoirdupois. Troy weight was introduced in the time of Henry VII; at present, both the troy and avoirdupois weights are used in England. Troy weight seems to have derived its name from Troyes, a town in France, where a celebrated fair was kept. It is used for weighing gold, silver, jewels, silk, and all liquors. The avoirdupois is used for weighing other things. The troy pound in Scotland, which by statute is to be the same as the French pound, is commonly supposed equal to 15 ounces and three quarters troy English weight, or 7560 grains. But by a mean of the standards kept by the dean-of-guild of Edinburgh, it weighs 7599.75 or 7600 grains.
**Table of Avoirdupois Weight.**
| Drams | An ounce. | |-------|-----------| | 16 | |
| 256 | A pound. | |-------|-----------| | 16 | |
| 7168 | A quarter.| |-------|-----------| | 448 | |
| 28672 | A hundred.| |-------|-----------| | 1792 | |
| 57344 | A ton. | |-------|-----------| | 35840 | |
The avoirdupois pound is equal to 7004 troy grains, the avoirdupois ounce to 437.75 grains; and it follows of consequence, that the troy pound is to the avoirdupois pound as 88 to 107 nearly; for as 88 to 107, so is 5760 to 7003.630; that the Troy ounce is to the avoirdupois ounce as 80 to 73 nearly; for as 80 to 73, so is 480 to 438.
An avoirdupois pound is equal to 1 lb. 2 oz. 11 dwt. 20 gr. Troy; a Troy ounce is equal to 10 z. 1.55 dr. avoirdupois; an avoirdupois dram contain 27.34375 grains; 175 Troy pounds are equal to 144 avoirdupois pounds.
The moneyers have a peculiar subdivision of the grain troy: thus,
- Grain - Mite - Droit - Periot
into
- 20 Mites. - 24 Droits. - 20 Periots. - 24 Blanks.
The English weights are used in the United Provinces of America.
**French Weights.**—Different weights were formerly used in most of the different provinces of France: we believe that they have lately undergone several alterations; a project of this kind is given in the article Revolution of France. Be that as it may, a knowledge of the ancient weights of that country is of importance on account of the books in which they are used. The Paris pound contains 16 ounces, and is divided two ways.
| Grains. | Penny-weight. | |---------|---------------| | 24 | |
| 72 | Gros. | |---------|---------------| | 3 | |
| 576 | Ounce. | |---------|---------------| | 24 | |
| 4608 | Marc. | |---------|---------------| | 192 | |
| 9216 | Pound. | |---------|---------------| | 384 | |
The weights of the first division are used to weigh gold, silver, and the richer commodities; and the weights of the second division for commodities of less value.
The Paris 2 marc, or pound weight, is equal to 7560 grains troy, and the Paris ounce equal to 472.5 grains troy.
- lb. oz. dwt. gr. - The Paris pound = 1 3 15 0 troy - The Paris ounce = 0 0 19 16 5 troy.
A grain troy = 1.2186507 of a Paris grain.
But the pound was not the same throughout France. At Lyons, e.g., the city pound was only 14 ounces; so that 100 Lyons pounds made only 86 Paris pounds. But beside the city pound, they had another at Lyons for silk containing 15 ounces. At Thououlouse, and throughout the Upper Languedoc, the pound was 13 ounces and a half of Paris weight. At Marteilles, and throughout Provence, the pound was 13½ ounces of Paris weight. At Rouen, beside the common Paris pound and marc, they had the weight of the vicomte; which was 16 ounces, a half; and five-sixths of the Paris weight. The weights enumerated under the two articles of English and French weights are the same that are used throughout the greatest part of Europe; only under somewhat different names, divisions, and proportions.
French weights are used in all the French American settlements.
**Dutch Weights.**—The weight used in Amsterdam and all over Holland is called Troy weight, and is exactly the same with that used at Brussels. The Dutch weights are as follows:
| Deuskens. | Troyken. | |-----------|----------| | 2 | |
| 4 | Vierling.| |-----------|----------| | 2 | |
| 16 | As. | |-----------|----------| | 8 | |
| 512 | Angle. | |-----------|----------| | 256 | |
| 1240 | Ounce. | |-----------|----------| | 5120 | |
| 3192 | Marc. | |-----------|----------| | 4006 | |
The marc is equal, according to M. Tillet, to 4620 French grains.
The Amsterdam pound used in commerce is divided into 16 ounces, 32 loots, or 128 drachms. This pound contains 2 marcs troy, and ought therefore to weigh only 10240 ar; but it weighs 10280; so that it is a little heavier than the Troy pound of Amsterdam: 256 lb. of commerce are equal to 257 lb. Troy of Holland. Two different pounds are used by apothecaries; the one containing 2 marcs, the other only 1½. The first is called arjenic pound weight;