The last of the drawing processes is the so-called roving box, which, in most cases is a cone-drawing process. There is a difference here between French spinning and English spinning. According to the French system, which is employed in this country only for very soft fine yarns, no twist is given to the sliver until the actual spinning begins; and the spinning is then usually done on mules, which in this country are rarely used in the manufacture of worsted yarn. We shall discuss these machines when we come to woolens. According to the most common procedure in this country, the roving box not only draws, but imparts a certain amount of twist to the yarn. This is done by winding the yarn from horizontal spools on to vertical spindles. These spindles are set on long frames, similar to spinning frames, one frame containing about 200 spindles. The yarn is guided on the bobbin by an arm, known as the flyer, which draws the bobbin around after it. [Sidenote: _Spinning_] There is very little difference between this last drawing operation and the actual spinning which immediately succeeds it. In both cases the yarn is unwound from horizontal spools placed at the top of the frame through the inevitable two rollers going at different speeds, and guided on to the revolving spindle. Since the spindle revolves vertically the yarn is twisted. The amount of twist is regulated, as is also the amount of tension, and these two factors, together with the quality of the material, determine the quality of the yarn. Worsted yarn is graded according to the number of counts, which, as we have seen, is the number of hanks of 560 yards that make a pound avoirdupois. [Illustration: _Drawing_] [Sidenote: _Flyer_] [Sidenote: _Cap_] [Sidenote: _Ring_] Roughly speaking, there are three modern methods of spinning, namely, the flyer, cap, and ring frames. All of them are derived from Arkwright’s original water throstle, and, if we want to go further back, from the old-fashioned spinning wheel. The chief difference between the three types lies in the method of driving the spindle and guiding the yarn on to the bobbin. The flyer arm we have described briefly above. In the cap system, the bobbin is moved up and down in a fixed metal cap, something like the front end of a two-inch shell-casing, and this method of guiding the yarn has the advantage that, because of its lower vibration, the spindles may be driven faster. It also causes considerably more friction on the yarn. For worsted spinning it is probably the most commonly employed. Ring spinning, the most frequently used for cotton, and described briefly on page 28, is very similar (to the layman) except that the spindle revolves in a metal sleeve, and that the yarn is guided by a metal ring with a traveller, instead of by the end of the cap. [Illustration: _Reducing_] [Sidenote: _Twisting_]