This section is from the "A Complete Dictionary of Dry Goods" book, by George S. Cole. Also available from Amazon: A complete dictionary of dry goods and history of silk, cotton, linen, wool and other fibrous substances,: Including a full explanation of the modern processes ... together with various useful tables.
Beetling Machine. A machine for "finishing" linen or cotton cloth by hammering it; for this purpose heavy wooden blocks are used, which are raised in succession and permitted to fall by their own weight. Sometimes called "mangling-machine." The object is to render the surface of the cloth of an even and uniform thickness.
 
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