1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Tow

TOW, the term given in textile manufacture to the short fibres formed during the processes of scotching and hackling, and also to the yarns which are made from these fibres. A special machine termed a carding engine or a tow card is used to form these fibres into a sliver, this sliver then passes to the drawing frames, and thereafter follows the same process as line yarns in flax spinning.