Only one system of sizing in addition to those referred to requires description, and that is ball sizing, the process following ball warping, described in the previous chapter. The warps are uncoiled from the ball, and run into a large vat of size, at the bottom of which the warp remains some time, passing over and under some eight or ten rollers until thoroughly soaked. The superfluous size is expelled by passing the warp between rollers, when it is removed to another machine for drying purposes. This has 12 cylinders 2 feet in diameter, and of considerable width, heated by steam. Between these cylinders the warp is flattened and dried, after which it is again balled and placed in a cloth for a short time to become “mellowed;” even yet it has one process to undergo--beaming. Here the warp is taken, the ends sundered out and run over a frame to the weaver’s beam. The reader will readily see that the extra processes of balling after warping, and beaming after sizing, as well as two machines required _for_ sizing, are sufficient to explain the fact that ball systems are dying out, and not only for this reason, but also because of the uncertainty as to what extent goods can be weighted, the percentages being very irregular. The warps are often streaky also, but the thread preserves a rounder and stronger formation than at the slasher frame. LOOMING AND DRAWING. [Illustration: FIG. 18.] [Illustration: FIG. 19.] [Illustration: FIG. 20.] The weaver’s beam, as made at the sizing frame, contains from 500 to 1000 yards of warp, according to the counts of yarn and number of ends. It is not yet ready for the loom, as the healds and reed have to be attached. If new healds and reed are used each end must be drawn through an eye of one of the healds and through a dent in the reed. In this case the operation is performed by a drawer-in, who, with hooks at one side of the gears, draws the ends through, which are presented to him by a reacher at the opposite side. In case of healds having been used before with similar draft, counts per inch, etc., a loomer or twister-in is required, who, with an adroit twirl, pieces each end on the new beam to a corresponding one which has been left in the heald from an old beam. These men are remunerated for plain work at so much per 1000 ends, the drawer having more for the same number of ends. The order in which the ends are drawn through the healds is most important, although for plain and simple fancy work one system is generally adopted; for fancier cloths the difference of draft is great, and regulates to a great extent the kind of figure produced on the cloth. These healds and reed are required in the loom, being of great importance with regard to the proper interlacing and guidance of the ends. The healds, sometimes called heddles or gears, are of cotton or worsted, and are used in making the shed for the passage of the shuttle. The usual form is a loop, tied through which is a second