A bobbin is a reel or other similar contrivance for holding thread. It is often a cylindrical piece of wood or plastic with a head, on which thread is wound for making lace; or a spool with a head at one or both ends, intended to have thread or yarn wound on it, and used in spinning machinery (when it is slipped on a spindle and revolves therewith) and in sewing-machines (applied within the shuttle). Research Bobbin
Factory Acts are acts passed for the regulation of factories and similar establishments. In the 18th and 19th century it was considered that women and children were not qualified fully to protect themselves against the strain of competition, and asa result the British legislature passed a series of acts to regulate the conditions of their employment in factories.
The immediate occasion of the first act passed to regulate factory employment in England was the outbreak of an epidemic disease which committed great havoc among the younger persons employed in factories in the district round Manchester at the beginning of the 19th century.
An act was passed in 1802, The Health and Morals of Apprentices Act, in which provision was made for the regular cleansing and ventilation of mills and factories, and also for limiting the hours of work to twelve daily and forbade night work for children, and made provisions for their proper accommodation.
In 1819 an act followed after Robert Owen, an important factory-owner in Scotland, demonstrated that it was possible to improve factory conditions and make profits at the same time, and later campaigned for State reform. This Act prescribed an hour and a half for meals in the course of a working day, and prohibited children under nine years of age being employed in factorywork at all.
Early Factory Acts were not enforced, and as such were impotent. In 1833 the first truly effective Factory Act was passed. This act applied to all textile factories, and stated that no child under the age of nine was to work in a mill; children under the age of 13 were restricted to working no more than nine hours in a day and children between the ages of 13 and 18 were restricted to working no more than 12 hours in a day. The vital feature of this Act was that it was successfully enforced by full-time inspectors, whose job was to see that it was obeyed in the factories.
Various acts were passed up to 1878, when a general factory and Workshop Act was passed, consolidating the previous series of statutes. Another general act was passed in 1901 and since then numerous regulations and acts have been introduced.
The original acts contained general provisions regarding drainage, sanitary conveniences, overcrowding, ventilation, fencing of dangerous machinery, etc. Addressing what we would now term health and safety.
Factories are distinguished from workshops as making use of, originally, steam or other mechanical power. In the 19th century British textile factories the hours of labour for women and young persons (the latter between 14 and 18 years of age) were restricted to 10, but only 6.5 on Saturday and 56 in the week. In 19th century British non-textile factories and workshops the hours permitted were 10.5 per day and 60 per week at most. Children (of 11 to 14 years) were still employed, but not allowed to be employed more than 6.5 hours on any one day. Provision was made for a certain number of annual holidays. Special provisions for particular kinds of factories were made by separate acts, and under these the employment of females and young persons was regulated in bleaching and dyeing works, lace-factories, manufactories of earthenware, Lucifer matches, percussion caps, cartridges, blast-furnaces, copper-mills, forges, foundries, manufactories of machinery, metal, India-rubber, gutta-percha, paper, glass, tobacco, letterpress printing, bookbinding, etc. The factory act of 1895 included laundries. Certain exceptions in regard to working overtime were provided for; thus women could sometimes work 14 hours a day. Before the start of the 20th century there was no direct interference in any of the factory acts with the labour of adult male persons but it was recognised that indirectly the position of the male-labourer was also affected by legislation of this sort, causing some consternation among the factory owners.
The factory acts were among the first employment laws formalised to protect workers, and while they originally sought to protect primarily women and children, during the 20th century they evolved into more general employment laws offering regulation and some protection to all employees, with the employment of children being stopped all together and later men being treated equally with women, an employee being considered a person irrespective of sex. Research Factory Acts
Guipure is a form of lace with no meshbackground, with the patterns tied with brides or large stitches. The term originally applied to silk-whipped cord or wire used in lace-making. Research Guipure
In western cultures wedding anniversaries are traditionally associated with the giving of gifts made of materials which vary depending upon the number of years the couple has been married. Similarly, wedding anniversaries are also known by the material, so the 25th wedding anniversary is popularly known as the 'silver wedding anniversary' after the material associated with it. While there are variations to the list, a general one follows: 1st Paper 2nd Cotton 3rd Leather 4th Fruit 5th Wood 6th Sugar 7th Copper 8th Bronze 9th Pottery 10th Tin 11th Steel 12th Silk 13th Lace 14th Ivory 15th Crystal 20th China 25th Silver 30th Pearl 35th Coral 40th Ruby 45th Sapphire 50th Gold 55th Emerald 60th Diamond 70th Platinum Research Wedding Anniversaries
Flax or linseed is a popular name of plants of the genusLinum, family Linaceae of which there are roughly 100 species. They are herbs or small shrubs with narrow leaves and yellow, blue or white flowers arranged in variously formed cymes. They occur in warm and temperate regions over the world. The cultivated species is Linum usitatissimum. The fibre which is used for making thread, and cloth called linen, cambric, lawn, lace, etc, consists of the woody bundles of the slender stalks. The fine fibres may be so separated as to be spun-into threads as fine as silk. A most useful oil is expressed from the seeds, and the residue, called linseed-cake, is one of the most fattening kinds of food for cattle. When the plant is ripe it is pulled up by the roots, tied together in little bundles, and usually left upright on the field until it becomes dry, when the seeds are separated, either by beating on a cloth or by passing the stems through an iron comb. The process of removing the seeds is called rippling. The stalks are then retted or rotted in water to free the flaxen fibre from the woody core or boon of the stem. Two operations are necessary to separate the fibres from the woody part of the stem. Traditionally the flax was first broken by means of a wooden handle and grooved board, or by revolving grooved rollers, and then the boon or woody part was entirely separated from the fibre by a broad flat wooden blade called a scutching blade, or later by a machine in which a number of knives' attached to the arms of a vertical wheel hit the flax in the direction of its length. The flax was next heckled, or combed with a sort of iron comb, and was then ready for spinning. Research Flax
The Lace Border (Scpula ornata) is a moth of the family Geometridae with a wing span of between 18 and 25 mm found in temperate Europe and Asia flying from May to September in two or three generations. Research Lace Border
The monitor is any of various lizards of the family Varanidae, found in Africa, South Asia, and Australasia.
Monitors are generally large and carnivorous, with well-developed legs and claws and a long powerful tail that can be swung in defence. Monitors include the Komodo dragon, the largest of all lizards, and also the slimmer Salvador's monitor (Varanus salvadorii), which may reach 2.5m. Several other monitors, such as the Lace monitor (Varanus varius), the perentie Varanus giganteus of Australia, and the Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) of Africa, are up to two metres long. Research Monitor
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Bobbin
