Text of James Mitchell's 1792 English patent for making cables, hawsers and shroud-laid ropes by subdividing the cylindrical twists into many smaller 'selvagee' twists so that all yarns bear load more evenly. It explains the flaw Mitchell saw in conventional rope construction, the procedure for turning and uniting the subdivided twists, and the resulting strand counts for cable-laid and hawser-laid cordage. A plate with four figures illustrates the parallel-stretched twists, the finished cable, and marled and hand selvagees.

A humorous 1893 magazine essay on the visitors and atmosphere of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. J. A. Mitchell comments on the crowds, American attitudes toward art, architecture and machinery, newlyweds, rolling-chair attendants, and the high prices of Chicago hotels and food. It is illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings by the author and Charles Howard Johnson, and has no textile or weaving content.