Thread. A twisted filament of a fibrous substance, as cotton, flax silk or wool, spun out to considerable length. In a specific sense thread is a minute cord consisting of two or more yarns firmly united together by twisting. Thread is used in some species of weaving, but its principle use is for sewing. The word was used formerly to signify linen, as distinguished from sewing silk and sewing cotton, as is seen in the phrases thread-lace and thread-glove, but this distinction is not at present maintained. Thread is technically a compound cord of more than one strand; single strands are known as yarn. Hence we have the six cord thread ordinarily sold, and other varieties known and made for various manufacturers. The first sewing thread ever made of cotton was produced at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 1794. Prior to this time linen had been the material used for making thread, and in the early days a spinning wheel for its manufacture was as common in every household as the modern sewing machine at the present time. Each family in the early days spun their own thread from flax of their own raising. The idea of using cotton is said to have been suggested by the wife of Samuel Slater. Samuel Slater is generally regarded as the father of cotton manufacturing in this country, and the man to whom the world is indebted for the discovery of cotton thread. In 1794, while spinning a quantity of Sea Island cotton, the beauty and evenness of the yarn attracted the attention of Mrs. Slater. The question arose, if this is doubled and twisted, why will it not make good sewing thread ? The experiment was made, and, in order to be fully satisfied of the result, a sheet was made with one-half linen thread and the other half of cotton. It was immediately put into use, and the first thread that gave way was the linen. From this period Slater commenced the manufacture of cotton thread and it soon spread to England, France, Scotland and other European countries, where it is generally supposed to be of English origin. This erroneous supposition was produced and strengthened from the fact that with the invention of the spinning jenny and other improved machinery for the spinning of cotton and other fibers, the early development of the industry was most extensive in Europe. The manufacture of sewing thread was one of the first branches of industry to which the new spinning machinery was applied. These machines were all patented and for many years exclusively owned in England and Scotland, hence the thread makers of those countries secured advantages which required in America not only heavy protective import duties but fifty long years of manufacturing experience to overcome. Spool cotton thread for more than the first half of the present century was imported from Paisley, Scotland, but during the past thirty years, influenced by new tariff duties, a great stimulus has been given to the business here, resulting in the erection of several magnificent mills which are supplied with the most improved and perfect machinery that modern science can construct; and by importing skilled labor to spin the yarn and spool it we have succeeded in making the best spool thread in the world and at relatively the lowest price. While spool cotton is now made of a higher order and superior quality than ever, it is a notable fact that it has been selling at steadily declining prices since 1860.

Nominally, the jobbing price for first-class six-cord spool thread is 45c per dozen, of 200 yards to the spool; but for large purchases from first hands there is a trade discount which reduces the price to about 38.7 cents net cash per dozen spools. The six-cord thread now made is far superior in every way to that which was formerly sold. The fiber in the yarn is much finer, and hence the yarn is smoother and stronger, and in most of the leading makes nothing but Sea Island cotton is used. But few people including even those who use the thread, have any conception what Sea Island cotton is worth [See Cotton], for it is never sold or quoted at the Cotton Exchanges. The small crop that is grown of this variety in this country is bought always as soon as raised by the spool-thread manufacturers of Europe and the United States, and they work up the entire annual product into thread. In the manufacture of thread the first step that is taken with the raw cotton is to subject it to the " picker " process, by which the cotton from several bales is mixed, to secure uniformity. During this operation much waste, in the form of dust, dirt and short fibers, is separated from the good cotton by the picker. Next the cotton is wound on a machine, in sheets or laps, into a roll. Then comes the carding, by which these sheets are combed out into long, parallel fibers, and drawn into a single fluffy sliver. Then comes the fast "roving " process, which consists in winding and twisting these threads into minute strands or cords, numbered from 1 to 300. [See Spinning] Two of the cords thus produced are wound together on a spindle, and then twisted from that spindle to another, and then three threads of two cords each are twisted together, forming a six-cord thread. Each particular number of thread has its own twist - that is, the number of turns it gets to the inch. The six-cord thread, is at last taken from the bobbins, and reeled into a skein, in which form it is bleached or dyed. From the skeins the thread is wound back on little white birch spools, and is ready for the market. The machine that regulates the last winding measures the number of yards on each spool, and the paper labels which decorate the ends are cut and pasted on by machinery with great rapidity. Not many persons understand clearly why thread is numbered 8, 10, 12, 16, etc., up to 200, although the reason is very simple : When cotton yarn first began to be made 840 yards of it weighed one pound. This was called No. 1, and if a pound contained twice this number of yards it was called No. 2, and so on. This system of numbering, or "sizing," has been continued by all cotton spinners down to the present time.