formation of the calf and the small of the leg of the stocking. This, however, is attended with great diffi culty and delay when several stockings are made at one time in the ordinary machines, as each thread has to be thrown separately, by hand; and it is particularly to obviate this inconvenience that this improved apparatus or mechanical thread carrier is adapted.

"Fig. 1, Plate III., is a front elevation of this improved mechanism, supposed to be attached to a stocking frame, the latter of which is but partially shown in the figure. Fig. 2, is a horizontal view of the same; and fig. 3, is a transverse elevation, taken partly in section : A, A, A, A, A, are parts of the framing of the ordinary machine; B, B, B, the bearded needles, fixed in the frame in three sets, for the purpose of making three distinct stockings, or other pieces of work; c, c, c, are the sinkers, mounted on the sinker bar D, D. The carriage, with the jack bar, is shown at E, E, E, and the presser bar at F, F, affixed to the arms G, G. These are all parts of the ordinary stocking frame, which is so well understood by workmen, and also its manner of operating to produce the fabric, that it will be unnecessary for me to show more of its construction or to describe its evolutions, as they form no part of my invention.

66

Fig. 4, represents one of my improved thread car-riers, detached from the machine, drawn on a larger scale. So many of these thread carriers as there are to be stockings, or distinct breadths of work produced in one machine, are to be applied, as at a, a, a, by attachment to a horizontal sliding rod b, b. These thread carriers are guided in their longitudinal movements by a fixed horizontal rod c, c, parallel to the former, upon which they slide to and fro, both rods being mounted in a rocking frame d, d, the form and position of which will be

seen in figs. 1, and 3. This rocking frame is supported by jointed arms e, e, moving upon studs, fixed in the side standards of the new framework f, f, and is connected by lateral links g, g, to the carriage E, so that, as the carriage, with the jacks, moves outward by the ordinary evolutions of the machinery, the frame d, is made to vibrate, for the purpose of withdrawing the thread carriers a, from the sinkers c, when the sinkers advance to bring the loops to the ends of the bearded needles.

"The rod b, with the thread carriers, is moved to and fro by means of another sliding rod h, h, mounted on the top rail i, i. This last mentioned rod, having an arm k, affixed to it, which, as the rod h, slides along, comes in contact with the side of a bent arm 7, extending upwards from the lower sliding rod b. These parts I call the driving apparatus. This driving apparatus is put in motion by means of cords, attached to the ends of the sliding rod h, which cords pass over guide pulleys m, m, m, m; and are connected at their reverse ends to the slur wheel н, below; the slur wheel being actuated by the treadles under the machine, in the ordinary way.

"It will now be perceived that, if threads, from suspended bobbins, are brought down and passed through the respective thread carriers a, as shown at j, in fig. 3, that by the action of the treadles upon the slur wheel, the cords will be made to draw the sliding rod h, along the top rail i, and cause the rod b, to conduct the thread carriers a, with the threads, over the upper surfaces of the bearded needles.

"This being understood, it is now necessary to show by what means the travers of each thread carrier is limited to the extent of the work, that is, made to conduct the thread over the required number of needles,

and no further, according to the regulated breadth of the work.

0, 0.

"To the upper part of the rod h, two small pieces or fingers n, n, are firmly fixed by screws; which fingers, as the rod h, slides along, are intended to act alternately upon one of the apparatus, which I call the depressors These depressors each consist of a straight bar at top, supported by vertical pins set in the under side of the bar, and passed through sockets p, p, fixed to the stationary rail i. The bar o, is kept in its elevated position, as seen toward the left hand in fig. 1, by slight springs acting under it, but is depressed as shown toward the right hand in the said figure, by the finger n, passing over it. It will be observed that the outer end of each bar o, is bent downward, forming a small inclined plane at q. This inclined plane enables the finger n, as it moves along, to mount up to the top surface of the bar o, and by so doing, to depress the bar o, as shown toward the right hand of fig. 1. At the ends of the bars o, o, pendant arms r, r, are affixed, the lower parts of which act upon brackets s, s, connected to the rocking frame d, d. Hence, as the finger n, slides along the bar o, it depresses that bar, and causes it, by means of the arms r, r, depressing the brackets s, s, to move the rocking frame into the position shown at fig. 3, and thereby raise the thread carriers a, a, a, above the bearded needles B. The progress of the bar h, sliding along the rail i, as before described, causes the thread carriers a, a, a, to bring the threads over the upper parts of the series of bearded needles; and when the finger n, has passed to the end of the slider plate on the bar o, it slips off the bar, and allows the depressor immediately to rise, which releases the rocking frame d; when the bent arm 7, falls from the driver, and the

thread carriers drop down between the needles, thus limiting the extent or breadth to which the work is to be produced upon the needles. In order to prevent the bar, with the thread carriers, from accidentally passing on too far by the momentum when the machinery is in rapid action, stops are placed at t, t, upon the rocking frame, which are formed by sliding bolts adjustable to the required breadth of the work; and these are held fast in their positions, each by a spring lever n, a tooth in the end of which falls into a rack on the upper side of the stop bolt. And, further, there is another safety stop or catch 1, jointed on the end of the bar b, its longer end bearing upon the fixed rod 2, attached to the framing i; the lower end of this catch has a tooth or ratchet, which takes into the teeth or notches on the piece 3, attached to the rocking frame d; this catch keeps the bar b, from rebounding after it has passed across the frame, the tooth of the catch slipping into the notches.

"On the return of the sliding bar h, the other finger n, acts in a similar way upon the left hand depressor, raising the thread guides a, as before, and carrying them to the required extent over the needles, and then letting them fall as described in the former instance.

"In order to produce the narrowings, that is, to reduce the width of the work, the length of the slider plate on the upper surface of the bar o, must be made capable of contraction. This I effect by sliding it in a groove in the upper side of the bar o, as shown at v, v, in fig. 2. Having slidden the plate v, to the extent corresponding with the intended width of the work, I make the slide fast in that situatien by a spring lever w, which has a tooth or catch dropping into one of the notches of the rack on the edge of the bar o; and when I wish to narrow the work, I slide the plate v, with its catch

lever, one or more notches backward, in order that the finger n, may escape from the bar earlier, and drop the thread carrier one or more needles short of the preceding course. I will here observe, that in order to allow the fingers n, to slide under the bars o, on their return, each inclined plane q, is formed by a small jointed flap, which rises as the finger passes under it.

"Having, by a succession of operations, produced certain lengths of work, say the lengths of the legs of stockings down to the ankles, it will then be necessary to separate the continuation of each of these pieces of work into distinct portions, with selvages, for the formation of the insteps and the two parts of the heels. This I effect by the introduction of two additional hori. zontal sliding rods b 1, and b 2, each having thread carriers a 1, and a 2, affixed to them; and these I mount in the machine, and act upon them in the way before described in reference to the sliding rod b, in figs. 1, 2, and 3.

"Fig. 5, represents a horizontal view of the top part of the rocking frame, with the first described sliding rod b, and its thread carriers a, a, a, mounted thereon, and also the additional sliding rods b 1, and b 2, with their thread carriers a 1, a 1, a 1, and a 2, a 2, a 2, connected to the rocking frame by hooked bearings x, x, x, and guide pins y, y, see fig. 1, the rod b 2, being confined in its situation by a clasp lever fixed at the left end of the rod. In this case, a T-head or transverse piece is fixed on the end of the driver k, as shown, by dots, in fig. 2, for the purpose of striking against the bent arm 7, as the rod h, moves along the bar i; and there are adjustable sliding stop bolts u 1, and u 2, for regulating the extent of action of these additional rods b 1, and b 2.

"These additional parts of the apparatus being at