The year 1733 is a most important date in the development of the loom for in that year John Kay, a practical loommaker of Lancashire, England, invented the flying shuttle and thus did more for the loom than any man whom we can distinguish by name. To appreciate the great service of Kay we must recall how the shuttle was operated before his time. You remember it was thrown through the shed by one of the weaver's hands and caught and returned by the other hand. Sometimes it was caught and returned by a boy. This was at best a slow process and unless the weaver had an assistant to return the shuttle only narrow pieces could be woven. The common width of cloth, three-fourths of a yard, had its origin in necessity. The weaver's arms were not long enough to weave a wider piece. "The essence of Kay's invention was that the shuttle was thrown from side to side by a mechanical device instead of being passed from hand to hand. One hand only was required for the shuttle while the other was left free to beat up the cloth (with the batten) after each throw, and the shuttle would fly across wide cloth as well as narrow." You will be able to understand Kay's invention by studying Figure 10 which shows how the flying shuttle worked. _G_ is a groove (shuttle-race) on which the shuttle runs as it crosses through the shed leaving its thread behind it. _I_ and _I_ are boxes which the shuttle (Fig. 11) enters at the end of the journey. In each box is a driver _K_ sliding freely on the polished rod _F_. The weaver with his right hand pulls the handle _H_ and _K_ drives the shuttle to the opposite side. With his left hand he works the reed, with his feet he works the heddle. [Illustration: FIG. 11.--A MODERN SHUTTLE.]