The result was a gentler, more controlled stretching of the roving which made it possible to spin extremely fine counts of thread on a machine for the first time.
At first, Crompton used his machine to spin thread for himself. But he quickly realised that he
could make more money from spinning than from weaving, and he found a ready market for his fine thread. He was soon producing counts of 80, a thread so fine that just one pound of it would have stretched the 36 miles from Manchester to Liverpool and part way back again.
But Crompton was unable to patent his invention, and instead made it generally available, with manu-facturers contributing to a subscription fund.
In the end, he received just £60 (today, about $120), for a machine that would revolutionise the textile industry. It was just enough to build him a Mule to replace the one he had given away.
Thre mule soon became the dominant spinning machine, ousting the Jenny and theHe was no businessman and wasted the money on failed ventures, with the help of his family. He was existing on an annuity of just £63 a year when he died in 1827.
