the conductor. This conductor, made mostly
of tin and V-shaped, is shown clearly on the left of the machine in
Fig. 14. Immediately the thin film or sheet of fibres enters the
conductor, it is caused as a body gradually to contract in width and,
of course, to increase in thickness, and is simultaneously guided and
delivered to the delivery rollers, and from these to the sliver can,
distinctly seen immediately below the delivery rollers. The sliver is
seen emerging from the above rollers and entering the sliver can.

The fibres in this machine are thus combed, split and drawn forward
relatively to each other, in addition to being arranged more or less
parallel to each other. The technical term "draft" is used to
indicate the operation of causing the fibres to slip on each other,
and in future we shall speak about this attenuation or drawing out
of the fibres by this special term "draft."

It will be evident that, since the sliver is delivered into the can
at the rate of about 50 yards per minute, this constant flow will
soon provide a sufficient length of sliver to fill a sliver can,
although the latter may hold approximately 20 lbs. The machine must,
of course, deliver its quota to enable succeeding machines to be
kept in practically constant work. As a matter of fact, the machines
are arranged in what are termed "systems," so that this desirable
condition of a constant and sufficient feed to all may be
satisfactorily fulfilled.

The driving or pulley side of the breaker card is very similar to
that shown in Fig. 15 which, however, actually represents the pulley
side of one type of finisher card as made by Messrs. Douglas Fraser &
Sons, Ltd., Arbroath. All finisher cards are fed by slivers which
have been made as explained in connection with the breaker card, but
there are two distinct methods of feeding the slivers, or rather of
arranging the slivers at the feed side. In both cases, however, the
full width of the card is fed by slivers laid side by side, with,
however, a thin guide plate between each pair, and one at each
extreme end.

One very common method of feeding is to place 10 or 12 full sliver
cans--which have been prepared at the breaker card--on the floor and
to the right of the machine illustrated in Fig. 15. The sliver from
each can is then placed into the corresponding sliver guide, and
thus the full width of the machine is occupied. The slivers are
guided by the sliver guides on to an endless cloth