Super Chief

Chapter 184: Mule machine

The grain and grain seeds have been carried by the tribesmen for most of the day. For this reason, the old Muko and his family have been spinning for several days, and with a large number of tribesmen, they have built several large warehouses, otherwise there would be no place for these grains. Placement.

In addition to food and seeds, Major Hank also brought a lot of cotton cloth and cotton to the tribe.

I don’t think too much of cotton is a stone bear. After all, clothes made of cotton are better than clothes made of animal skins. Although cotton clothes are not as good as animal skin clothes in terms of warmth, but the area around the Great Smoky Mountains is only two months cold during the year, and the weather temperature is still very good at other times.

Especially in the summer, when there is no cotton clothes or animal skin clothes, most of the tribe can only be the upper hand. Even women in the tribe can only use leaves to hide their shame.

This is not the life Shixiong wants, so cotton cloth is indispensable. At the very least, people in the spring and autumn can wear a shirt, cotton pants, and a vest in the summer, which is a hundred times better than the shameless man or the tree leaves.

As for cotton, it is even more indispensable. Although it shows that cotton is also planted in the tribe in Nian, it is really not too much. With cotton and cotton cloth, at least mattresses and quilts are indispensable, and cotton clothes worn in winter are much more comfortable than animal skin clothes.

We must know that the animal skin clothes worn by the Indians of this era were simply tanned. The Indians of this age don't know how to tanning fur with tanning, let alone other methods of tanning fur.

At this time, the Indians used smoke to tan the fur, and after the smoke was finished, it was tanned with plant ash. The method of tanning the fur was extremely poor.

The animal skin clothes tanned by this method will not be able to be worn on the ship for up to two years. One is that this kind of animal skin clothes will give off an irresistible smell, and the other is that this kind of animal skin clothes will start to rot. ......

Fortunately, there is no shortage of wild animals in the New World of North America in this era, so even a coat of animal skins can only be worn for two years at most, because it doesn’t matter, the big deal is that when the clothes can’t be worn, go out to fight a few wild animals and peel off the skins and continue tanning. That's it.

Fortunately, the weather had already begun to get cold when the Shixiong Soul entered this world. If the temperature were a little higher, Shixiong thought he couldn't wear such stinky animal skin clothes.

Therefore, it is imperative to promote cotton clothes in the tribe!

Seeing these cotton cloths and cotton, Shi Xiong suddenly remembered something, he turned his head and said to Major Hank: "William, do you know how to weave?"

This question is very strange. Major Hank, who is in his 30s, rarely scratched his scalp and smiled bitterly: "I don't understand!"

He seemed to feel that this answer was a bit shameless, and he continued to explain: "On the old continent, weaving and weaving were all done by women. Men didn’t do this, and they didn’t know much about it. Master Guardian, why do you want to Ask this question?"

Shi Xiong looked at the tribesmen carrying cotton happily, and did not directly answer Major Hank’s question, but instead asked, “William, is the efficiency of spinning in the Old World now very low?”

Hank nodded. Although he doesn't understand textiles, eating and dressing are things that people can't live without, so he knows some textiles.

"That's right, the spinning efficiency in the Old World is not very high, especially in spinning."

Shi Xiong said quietly: "If I know a spinning method, the spinning efficiency can be increased by dozens or even hundreds of times than the current spinning efficiency, and the weaving efficiency can be increased forty times than the current spinning efficiency, then you feel that it is in the old Is there a future for development on the mainland?"

"Of course there is a future! My God! Master Guardian, what you said is true?" Major Hank asked with an incredulous expression.

He can't be shocked, even if he doesn't understand weaving technology, he also knows how much cotton is in demand in the Old Continent.

Not to mention that Major Hank brought so many cotton cloths to Shi Xiong, but in fact, the Old Continent is extremely short of cotton cloth, and the cause of this situation has a lot to do with Zhu Chongba and Braid Soldier.

After the founding father of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Chongba, expelled the Tartars and restored our Han people, he began to vigorously develop the domestic economy.

The cotton textile industry in the early Ming Dynasty was very popular, especially in Songjiang and Suzhou, where it was the leader of the cotton textile industry. Later, Emperor Yongle ascended the throne and ordered the three treasures **** Zheng He to lead a huge fleet of seven voyages to the West. Not only did he bring a large amount of exquisite porcelain, silk and tea to the West, he also brought cotton cloth to the West.

In the 14th century, except for the great nobles, most Europeans wore clothes made of linen or wool. As a result, the influx of cotton made Europeans immediately like this comfortable and soft fabric.

At that time Europeans imported a large amount of cotton cloth from the East, and this situation lasted for hundreds of years.

But as the braided soldiers entered the barrier and replaced Daming in the world, a serious seclusion policy followed. All of China's things are difficult to deliver to the West.

This is fine. Without the support of China's cotton cloth, the Europeans were caught blind all at once. At that time Europeans even had to go back to the time when they wore linen or wool clothes.

However, Europeans did not wait to die. Many Europeans began technological innovation in textiles. Soon, advanced textile machinery such as Jenny spinning machines and hydro looms were developed. Europe quickly solved the shortage of cotton fabrics. .

However, in this era, even the Jenny machine, which represented the beginning of the first industrial revolution, has just been invented less than a year ago, and James Hargreaves, the British who invented the Jenny machine, has not yet obtained it. The patent of Jenny machine, Hargreaves is still unlucky enough to be squeezed out by all the people in the textile industry in his hometown. Even his home and the Jenny machine at home have been destroyed by those angry textile practitioners. The couple can only be on the streets of Nottingham.

It was not until 1768 that Hargreaves obtained the patent for the Jenny machine.

The reason why the Jenny machine is hailed as "the beginning of the first industrial revolution" is that with the emergence of the Jenny machine, the future hydraulic looms and reel spinning machines will appear, the first time starting with the textile industry. The Industrial Revolution started vigorously.

And now is the beginning of 1765. It is estimated that at this time the Hargreaves were still wandering on the streets of Nottingham, and the patent for the Jenny machine did not fall into Hargreaves's hands.

So Shi Xiong suddenly had an idea to get this kind of patent over.

But to be honest, Shi Xiong has no idea about the Jenny machine, which is also inefficient. What he wants to make is a more advanced "mule machine"...

The so-called mule machine is also called the Muir machine, and the real scientific name is "spindle spinning machine".

"To weave, spin first" is a well-known thing. Whether it is wool or cotton, if you want to woven into fabrics that can be used for clothing, you must first spin wool or cotton fibers into yarn, that is, thin threads, and then use these thin threads to woven into fabrics horizontally and vertically.

Therefore, spinning is an indispensable prerequisite for weaving.

At this time in 1765, except for Hargreaves, who had just developed a new spinning machine named after his daughter, everyone else was using the most primitive spinning machine. Even the Jenny machine that Hargreaves has just researched has not yet been patented, and it is just in a "baby" state.

When Hargreaves returned home in the evening one day last year, he accidentally kicked the spinning machine used by his wife. Just as he was about to lift the spinning machine, he saw that the spinning machine was kicked down. It is still spinning, but the original horizontal spindle has become upright. Inspired by this, Hargreaves invented a Jenny machine with eight spindles in a spinning wheel, and named the machine "Jenny machine" after his daughter.

And just when the Hargreaves and his wife were excited about the Jenny machine, which was eight times more efficient, in a manor on the outskirts of Bolton, Lancashire, there was an eleven-year-old named Samuel. El Crompton’s little boy was pointing to a mule in the manor and asked curiously the gardener grandfather in the manor.

"Grandpa, is this guy pulling the plow plowing a horse or a donkey?"

The little boy didn't know this animal that looked like a horse or a donkey, so he wanted to figure it out.

The little boy lost his father when he was young. He lived with his mother in this manor since he was a child, relying on his mother's meager income from washing and cooking in the manor to survive. This kind of hard life has honed the little boy, and he has been very smart since he was a child. Although he has become a bit Burmese introvert because of his living environment, his desire for knowledge is very strong.

It is precisely because of this that after seeing the mule just introduced from the manor, the little Clone Puton curiously asked the familiar gardener grandfather.

Grandpa Gardener: "Samuel, this is not a horse or a mule, but a hybrid breed. Well, to be precise, this is a horse mule, also called a mule. Its mother is a horse. Dad is a donkey."

"Then it can work?" In the mind of a child of this age, whether an animal can work is directly linked to the quality of the animal.

"Of course, this kind of mule is stronger than a horse and a donkey. It is more powerful and can work for a long time without getting sick. It is the best helper for the servants of the manor."

The answer from Grandpa Gardener made the mule, a capable and hard-working animal, deeply imprinted in the mind of little Clone Prudence.

Later, Klopton grew up, and he worked as a worker in a spinning mill opened by a big boss in the county.

Speaking of the big boss of this spinning mill, the clever little Klopton still admires him very much.

This boss is also a celebrity in the local area, but in the past, the person named Richard Ackright was not the boss, and he was far less famous than he is now. He used to be just the boss of a barbershop in Bolton, thinking Others get a haircut to survive.

Acklett worked as a watchmaker when he was young, and later as a hairdresser, and engaged in the work of making wigs. He made a lot of money by mixing pigments and dyeing his hair. However, after Hargreaves obtained the patent for the Jenny machine in 1768, the Jenny machine, which was eight times more efficient than the previous single-spindle spinning machine, became popular in the UK and was forced to wander on the street. The Reeves also made a fortune.

Arkright immediately became interested in this new spinning machine, and that year was 1769.

Although the efficiency of the Jenny machine at that time was eight times higher than that of the original single-spindle spinning machine, it still relied on hand crank as its power. So when Acklett saw that the women in the spinning mill were still struggling to spin the Jenny by hand, he was surprised to ask the women: "Look at all the cows, horses and donkeys outside, and you are so laborious. Spin the spinning machine by hand, so why don’t you use these animals to drive the spinning machine?"

This "stupid" question was immediately ridiculed by everyone.

The ridiculed Aklet not only did not become discouraged, but inspired his fighting spirit. Immediately after returning home, he closed his barber shop and started to develop a new type of spinning machine using the funds he had previously accumulated.

Arkright found a helper, found the spinning machine information, and began to study with great concentration. After only a few months, he developed a new spinning machine that uses animal power as a power source. This year is still 1769. .

However, Arkwright later discovered that using animal power as power is far inferior to using water as power. Because rivers are crisscrossed everywhere in the UK, and water resources are abundant, Arkwright immediately started to modify the animal-powered spinning machine. In the same year, the first hydraulic spinning machine in history was developed.

However, the volume of this kind of water spinning machine is too large, and because of the power, this kind of water spinning machine must be set up by the river, so this kind of water spinning machine is not suitable for ordinary household use at all. Spinners are also not very suitable.

Therefore, in 1771, Arkwright, who obtained the patent of the hydro-spinning machine, decided to open his own spinning mill in Bolton.

The efficiency of the water spinning machine is many times higher than that of the Jenny machine, especially the water spinning machine is powered by water conservancy, so the efficiency is higher.

In just a few years, Arkright made a fortune.

However, the so-called things must be reversed.

Acryt’s spinning with extremely efficient water spinning machines will inevitably lead to unemployment and even bankruptcy of many handicraftsmen. On a certain day in 1776, many unemployed and bankrupt handicraftsmen joined forces and broke into Arkwright’s factory. They smashed the water spinning machine and almost killed Ackwright.

Later, someone accused Akeley of plagiarizing others' achievements. Akeley lost the lawsuit. His water spinning machine patent was cancelled, but his factory was finally retained, and the water spinning machine was widely used throughout the spinning field.

Clompton, who works in the Arkright plant, operates this hydro-spinning machine. UU reading www.uukanshu. com

And Crompton, who has been operating water spinning machines for a long time, knows all about the advantages and disadvantages of water spinning machines and Jenny machines. After Arkwright’s factory was smashed, Crompton began to think about one thing.

In Crompton's view, the yarn spun by Jenny is fine but not strong, and the yarn spun by the hydro-spun machine is strong but uneven. The advantages and disadvantages of both are so obvious. But what if we combine the advantages of the two? It's like a mule I saw when I was a kid...

So Crompton started to study this new type of spinning machine at home. He used the Jenny machine as his mother and the water spinning machine as his father. It took him three years to develop the world's first spinning spindle in 1779. Worsted machine.

This kind of spinning machine, which can drive four hundred spindles on a single machine, is not only more efficient than a water spinning machine, but the most important thing is that the yarn released by this spinning machine is strong and even.

This spinning machine, which combines the advantages of the Jenny machine and the water spinning machine, was named "Mule Machine" by Samuel Crompton.

Coincidentally, the English of Samuel is "samuel", while the English of mule is "mule". The pronunciation of the two is very similar, so this machine is transliterated as "Mule machine".