The trade of the Calico Printer may be said to be one of the most important in this country, since we export such immense quantities of cotton prints to our various colonies, as well as to other countries in the world, that this business forms a very considerable part of British commerce. Calicoes, muslins, &c. intended for printing must first have the fibres removed from their surface by the operation of the singeing machine; which consists of a half-cylinder of iron or copper laid horizontally, and kept at a bright heat by a range of gas-flames or a furnace; over this half-cylinder the length of cloth is drawn with a steady motion till the down or fibre is singed off. [Illustration: Bowking Kiers.] The next process is that of bleaching, because the whiter the cotton cloth becomes, the more light it will reflect from the surface, and the more brilliant the colour of the dyes will appear. The principal chemical substance used for bleaching cotton is chloride of lime, which is known as bleaching powder; but there are several processes employed in its application, as well as various methods which are adopted by different manufacturers to increase its effects by mechanical contrivances, the application of heat, or otherwise. [Illustration: Dash Wheel.] The first operation of bleaching, however, and that which immediately follows singeing, is boiling the cloth in an alkaline bath consisting of a solution of soda. For this purpose a _bowking apparatus_ is used. This machine (_see cut_) is, in fact, a large cauldron, with a flat false bottom to protect the cloth from being scorched by the fire beneath. Through the centre of this false bottom a vertical pipe rises from near the real bottom to a height above the top of the cauldron, and carries a conical cap like an umbrella above its open end at top. When the liquid in the cauldron begins to boil thoroughly the steam forces a constant stream of liquid up the pipe, which stream is scattered by forcing against the umbrella-shaped cap, and so falls with some force back on to the cotton in the cauldron. When this process has continued long enough, the liquor is allowed to cool, and the cotton is taken to be rinsed at the _dash wheel_, where it is subjected to the free action of water, or to a rinsing machine, so constructed that the web travels on rollers, and is thoroughly washed during its course. [Illustration: Wringing Machine.]