is carried forward towards the doffing roller, the pins of which are back-set, and the fibre is removed from the cylinder by the doffer, from which it passes between the drawing and pressing rollers into the conductor, and finally between the delivery and pressing rollers into the sliver can. It may be mentioned that more or less breaking takes place between each pair of rollers, the pins of which are opposed, and that combing and drawing out obtains between those rollers with pins pointing in the same direction. The ratio of the surface speeds of the drawing roller and the feed roller is termed the draft:-- surface speed of drawing roller ------------------------------- = draft. surface speed of feed roller In this machine the draft is usually about thirteen. [Illustration: FIG. 5.--Improved Batching Gear.] The sliver from the can of the breaker card may be wound into balls, or it may be taken direct to the finisher card. In the latter method from eight to fifteen cans are placed behind the feed rollers, and all the slivers from these cans are united before they emerge from the machine. The main difference between a breaker card and a finisher card is that the latter is fitted with finer pins, that it contains two doffing rollers, and that it usually possesses a greater number of pairs of workers and strippers--a full circular finisher card having four sets. After the fibre has been thoroughly carded by the above machines, the cans containing the sliver from the finisher card are taken to the first drawing frame. A very common method is to let four slivers run into one sliver at the first drawing, then two slivers from the first drawing are run into one sliver at the second drawing frame. There are several types of drawing frames, e.g. push-bar or slide, rotary, spiral, ring, open-link or chain, the spiral being generally used for the second drawing. All, however, perform the same function, viz., combing out the fibres and thus laying them parallel, and in addition drawing out the sliver. The designation of the machine indicates the particular method in which the gill pins are moved. These pins are much finer than those of the breaker and finisher cards, consequently the fibres are more thoroughly separated. The draft in the first drawing varies from three to five, while that in the second drawing is usually five to seven. It is easy to see that a certain amount of draft, or drawing out of the sliver, is necessary, otherwise the various doublings would cause the sliver to emerge thicker and thicker from each machine. The doublings play a very important part in the appearance of the ultimate rove and yarn, for the chief reason for doubling threads or slivers is to minimize irregularities of thickness and of colour in the material. In an ordinary case, the total doublings in jute from the breaker card to the end of the second