Various

“ If this symbolism does not detract from the first object of ornament—viz., to beautify—it is perfectly legitimate and proper. It is impossible to fully appreciate many phases of art, as, for instance, the Egyptian and the early Christian, if we leave out of sight the symbolism which pervades them.
While beauty, or capacity for pleasing the eye, may be very definitely said to be the aim of ornamental art, it is difficult to arrive at a universal standard as to what constitutes beauty. What pleases one person will not always please another. ”

“ Ornament, being entirely subordinate, should not conceal the construction of the object. In architecture it should follow the leading lines of the building, and should emphasize, or at least suggest, the construction. If architectural in character, it should so enter into the construction of the building that it could not be taken away without injuring it.
We must feel that a column, no matter how beautiful, is supporting something. A floor, always a plane surface, must not be tiled or decorated in any way to express relief. ”

“ Second, history, for by the study of the ornament of past ages we will not only become acquainted with the highest developments of which ornamental art is capable, but will moreover broaden our views as to its object and scope, and will stimulate our own imagination and invention, by leading us to the contemplation of the myriad beautiful and protean forms it has assumed, when surrounding conditions, such as religion, climate, temperament, nationality, etc., have been different. ”

“ As it is to be applied and consequently subordinated to something, and does not exist for itself, it would be impossible, except in very rare instances, to introduce in a design a natural object in a realistic manner and not violate some important law of its growth or the conditions of its well-being. For instance, to exactly repeat a certain rose, with all the accidents of its growth, many times in a carpet is not natural. Nature never repeats herself. ”

“ For reasons that I have now pointed out, it is quite clear that a large shuttle or bobbin is by no means an unmixed advantage. Indeed, the very best makers of sewing machines have always striven to keep down the bulk of the shuttle, and in those splendid machines shown here to-night the use of the small shuttles is conspicuous. It may be contended that small bobbins frequently require refilling, which is quite true, but the saving of the thread effected thereby, not to mention that of the machine itself, amply compensates for the use of small shuttles. ”

“ The frictional resistance of screw propellers is always a fruitful source of inefficiency. With a given screw, the loss due to friction may be taken to vary approximately as the square of the speed. This is not to say that the frictional resistance is greater in proportion to the thrust at high than at low speeds. The blades of screws for any speed should be as smooth and clean as possible, but for high speed screws the absolute saving of friction may be considerable with an improvement of the surface. There is no permanent advantage in polishing the blades. ”

“ Gems of rhythmical verse, such as Poe's "Bells," "The Raven," Whistler's "Symphonies in Color," nameless forms in statuary, expressionless save in the mere beauty of their proportions and curves, and, as has been stated, nearly the entire field of instrumental music, are cases in point. In the ornamental and decorative arts, as well as in architecture (from which they are indeed inseparable) , beauty alone, in like manner, should be the principal aim and purpose. ”

“ The operators of to-day are, I think, superior in physical attainments to their sisters of the needle and thread fifty years ago.
Within the past few years a revolution has taken place in the moving of sewing machines. Domestic machines will probably always be driven by foot power, spring, electric, and water motors notwithstanding. But the age of treadles in the great manufacturing trades is a thing of the past. It was not necessary for Parliament to step in and protect the workers, as was frequently suggested by alarmists. The commercial interests of manufacturers themselves were at stake. ”

“ In the 15th century a remarkable revival occurred in literature and the fine arts, showing a decided tendency to return to the old classic ideas of the Greeks and Romans. After an almost complete neglect, which lasted for centuries, artists and men of letters turned their attention to the long neglected relics of pagan civilization as worthy of study for their intrinsic beauty alone. Symbolism was relegated to a minor position, and beauty was once more cultivated for its own sake. ”

“ The present century cannot boast of any great characteristic style in either architecture or ornament. Whether it is only in a course of development, and what will be the results, time only can show. All styles are now in vogue, hence the importance of accurate knowledge on the subject. ”

“ The shuttle is perhaps the most important part of a lock stitch machine. But what is a shuttle? So many devices for performing the functions of the early weaver's shuttle have been introduced of late, that the word shuttle, if it be used at all, must not be accepted as meaning "to shoot." We have vibrating shuttles, which are, strictly speaking, the only surviving representatives of the weaver's shuttle in these new orders of machines; and stationary shuttles, oscillating shuttles, and revolving shuttles, besides the earlier rotating hook, in several new forms, difficult to name. ”

“ Although the ship A has a much greater resistance than B, the screw of the former is much the smaller, both in the blade area and the disk. A's screws, however, in addition to 22 per cent. more revolutions than B, have a much larger slip, and the blades have rather a fuller form at the tips. Compared with the practice in the mercantile marine, the revolutions of these screws are very high, and from the foregoing remarks it may appear that much larger screws would be required for a merchant ship than for a war ship of the same displacement and speed. ”

“ By the kindness of three of the best manufacturers of power sewing machinery, I am enabled to show to you, this evening, the best known systems, arranged just as they are fitted in many large factories, as also a sketch of the arrangements of Wheeler & Wilson's system. We have in the first place a light shafting carrying a band wheel opposite to each machine. By the use of a powerful electromotor, the shafting is caused to rotate at the rate of 400 revolutions per minute by electricity. ”

“ The machine itself is of wonderful ingenuity, and must be examined to be understood.
The stitch making itself is, I believe, quite new, and is also of much interest. A pair of needles, the width of a stitch apart, rise from beneath through the material. One of these is an ordinary machine needle, threaded; the other is a barbed needle. After rising above the surface, the loop of the threaded needle is seized by a "threader," and thrown into the barb of the barbed needle. The needles then descend, and the feed occurs, being the length between stitches. ”

“ To be able to judge of and appreciate the best, and to profit by the labors of those gone before us, at the same time imparting individuality and character to our own design, should be the aim and object of the study of decoration, and it should enter into any scheme of general education and culture.—Journal of Education. ”

“ The questioner generally means a reel placed upon a pin, just as the upper reel is placed. The reply to such a query is, of course, that to produce the lock stitch in that way is impossible—as indeed it is.
But many ingenious machinists have pondered long over the problem, and several clever contrivances have been invented with a view to its solution. It may scarcely be necessary to say that the best manufacturers of sewing machines have conducted experiments with the same object in view, and the result has always been a return to the shuttle, with its steel bobbins. ”

“ While the natural world, including leaves, flowers, animals, etc., is the greatest source of ornament, it is generally the opinion of the best authorities, derived from the study of the best styles and by a consideration of the principles of fitness and propriety which underlie the entire physical and moral world, that natural forms in ornamental and decorative art should not be literally copied or imitated. ”

“ As a general rule, with (revolutions × pitch) a constant, an increase of revolutions and the consequent decrease of pitch allow a diminution of disk and of blade area—other modifying conditions, such as the thrust, slip, number, and pattern of blades, being the same. The screws for E and F are interesting, because, with practically the same speeds and slips, there is a considerable difference in the revolutions. It will be observed that F is a vessel of finer form and a little less displacement than E, and, therefore, has less resistance. ”

“ To know and appreciate the best ornament should be an aim set forth in any scheme of general education. This knowledge and appreciation can be obtained by studying the application of the laws and principles of ornamental art as exemplified in the works of masters, and also by endeavoring to apply these principles in designs of our own creation. ”

“ In fact, the study of ornament is inseparable from that of architecture. It is upon architectural forms that the greatest artists have in all ages expended their greatest efforts and skill, and in a treatise on historic ornament they are decidedly the most interesting and important object of study. ”

“ The ancient fallacy that small slip meant a high screw efficiency was supported by the great authority of the late Professor Rankine. Experience proved that considerable slips and efficient screws were companions. The late Mr. Froude offered an explanation of this general rule in a paper read before this Institution in 1878, and gave a curve of efficiency with varying true slip. In Mr. R E. Froude's paper last year there was a form of this curve, with an arbitrary abscissa scale for the slip, devised to illustrate in one diagram the wide conditions covered by his experiments. ”

“ When machines are moved by the foot, there are many objections to running the whole machine while winding the shuttle reels. We have, therefore, several useful devices for releasing the balance wheel of the machine from the main shaft, while winding. These are to be found both on Wheeler & Wilson's manufacturing machine and upon Singer's highly finished "Family" machine, which also carries a most ingenious automatic reel winder, capable of doing all the work itself, and ceasing to act as soon as the bobbin is filled.
The setting of the needle in a sewing machine was once quite a task. ”

“ The actual speeds of the lock-stitch machines shown here upon the power stand average 1,300; those of the chain stitch machines vary from 1,200 for the sack sewing machine to 4,500 for the small or single chain stitchers. Any of the latest styles of either lock stitch or single thread machines can be run far faster than any known expert operator can possibly guide the work under it.
It is very improbable that such speeds will ever be exceeded. The limit has no doubt been reached. Very high speed is generally a delusion, and either results in indifferent work, or actually retards its progress. ”

“ Speed of Power Sewing Machines.—The fastest practicable speed of a machine worked by the foot appears to be 1,000 stitches per minute. Most operators can guide the work at a much higher rate, especially in tailoring or on long seams. The average speed upon such work is 1,200 stitches per minute; but many lock-stitch machines are run at 1,500 and 1,800 per minute, and even at much higher rates. There is always a limit to be imposed upon speed by the guiding powers of hand and eye; it is this limit, and not the capability of the machine, that confines the rate of driving. ”

“ Machines driven by power could do 25 per cent. more work than those moved by foot. The operators, relieved of the treadling, maintained a much better working condition; and altogether the introduction of power driving, once well tested, became a necessity. Power sewing machinery was speedily devised and introduced by several of the first manufacturers, controllers of the speed of the machines followed, and two or three splendid systems of stitching by steam power were soon widely known. ”

“ We are inclined to think that the power has been overstated, and we have it on good authority that she has more than once attained a speed of 15 knots. Let us assume, however, that her speed is to be 13 knots, or about fifteen miles an hour. Assuming the power required to vary as the cube of the speed, if 6,000 horsepower gave 14 knots, then about 4,800 would give 13 knots—say 5,000 horse power. Now, good compound engines of this power ought not to burn more than 2 lb. per horse per hour, or say 4.5 tons per hour, or 108 tons a day. ”

“ Every effort is now made to reduce, as much as possible, not only the extent of movement of the parts in high speed machines, but the weight of the parts themselves. Indeed, so far has this been carried that, in some of the Wheeler & Wilson machines now shown, the needle bars consist really of steel tubes. Small moving parts are made as light as possible, but rigidity is secured by the free use of strengthening ribs. ”

“ In the construction of sewing machines to be run in factories by power at their utmost speed, such a system is of the greatest importance. An effective system of compensation has been eagerly sought by the best machine makers ever since the introduction of fast speed sewing. ”

“ When the needle begins to rise, the shuttle commences to oscillate, through the loop, the motions so coinciding that the long beak, c, merely detains the loop until the eye of the needle has ascended above the cloth; then, and then only, does the envelopment of the shuttle commence, and the thread required for it flows downward through the puncture. The envelopment is completed before the needle has attained its highest point, and the consequent loose thread is immediately pulled up by a lever, called a positive take-up, before the needle begins to descend for a fresh stitch. ”

“ Cylindrical needle bars, when combined with an effective system of brushing, have proved themselves superior to every other form of slide for lock stitch machines. But their introduction is by no means a thing of yesterday. They were used freely in sewing machines as far back as 1860, but were never very successful until united with the lubricating brush. Some makers go a step further, and elaborate the system by the introduction of steel brushes, easily renewable. ”