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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 9, Issue 7 (October 1, 1934)

[section]

“During the eighteenth century Britain became the workshop of the world.”

AT the beginning of the eighteenth century Britain's “manufactures” were negligible. A little linen was made, chiefly in Scotland and the North of Ireland; wool was converted into cloth in many cottages throughout the country; no true cottons were made, as the cotton yarn spun by British cotton-spinners was not strong enough for use as warp. The hand-wheel and hand-loom held pride of place in many a humble home.

About the middle of the century, men who had been striving for years to improve the mechanism for spinning and weaving attained success. The inventions of Hargreaves, Arkwright and Crompton led to the production of an abundance of cotton-yarn strong enough for use as warp, Cartwright made the first power-loom, and soon the hand-loom was being abandoned. A new method of bleaching by chlorine speeded up the process of manufacture, as also did the use of a revolving cylinder instead of a small hand-block for colour printing. So Britain's gigantic cotton industry began.