|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 11
In southern countries the reproduction of silkworms is a vast industry
to which great attention is given, and which receives important and
regular aid from the government. It is, however, quite distinct from
the manufacturing industry with which at present we have to do. The
cocoons to be used for reeling, i.e., all but those which are
reserved for reproduction, are in the first place "stifled," that is
to say, they are put into a steam or other oven and the insect is
killed. The cocoons are then ready for reeling, but those not to be
used at once are allowed to dry. In this process, which is carried on
for about two months, they lose about two-thirds of their weight,
representing the water in the fresh chrysalis. The standard and dried
cocoons form the raw material of the reeling mills, or filatures, as
they are called on the Continent. Each filature endeavors as far as
possible to collect, stifle, and dry the cocoons in its own
neighborhood; but dried cocoons, nevertheless, give rise to an
important commerce, having its center at Marseilles. The appearance of
the cocoon is probably well known to most of our readers. Industrially
considered, the cocoon may be divided into three parts: (1) The floss,
which consists of the remains of the filaments used for supporting the
cocoon on the twigs of the brush among which it was built and the
outside layer of the cocoon, together with such ends and parts of the
thread forming the main part of the shell as have become broken in
detaching and handling the cocoon; (2) the shell of the cocoon, which
is formed, as has been described, of a long continuous filament, which
it is the object of the reeler to unwind and to form up into threads
of raw silk; and (3) the dried body of the chrysalis.
We shall first describe the usual practice of reeling, which is as
follows: The cocoons are put into a basin of boiling water, on the
surface of which they float. They are stirred about so as to be as
uniformly acted upon as possible. The hot water softens the gum, and
allows the floss to become partially detached. This process is called
"cooking" the cocoons. When the cocoons are sufficiently cooked, they
are subjected to a process called "beating," or brushing, the object
of which is to remove the floss.
As heretofore carried on, this brushing is a most rudimentary and
wasteful operation. It consists of passing a brush of heather or broom
twigs over the floating cocoons in such manner that the ends of the
brush come in contact with the softened cocoons, catch the floss, and
drag it off. In practice it happens that the brush catches the sound
filaments on the surface of the cocoon as well as the floss, and, as a
consequence, the sound filament is broken, dragged off, and wasted. In
treating some kinds of cocoons as much as a third of the silk is
wasted in this manner, and even in the best reeling, as at present
practiced, there is an excessive loss from this cause. At the present
low price of cocoons this waste is not as important as it was some
time ago, when cocoons were much dearer; but even at present it
amounts to between fifteen and twenty millions of francs per annum in
the silk districts of France and Italy alone. In France the cooking
and brushing are usually done by the same women who reel, and in the
same basins. In Italy the brushing is usually done by girls, and often
with the aid of mechanically rotated brushes, an apparatus which is of
doubtful utility, as, in imitating the movement of hand brushing, the
same waste is occasioned.
After the cocoons are brushed they are, in the ordinary process,
cleaned by hand, which is another tedious and wasteful operation
performed by the reeler, and concerning which we shall have more to
say further on. Whatever may be the preparatory operations, they
result in furnishing the reeler with a quantity of cocoons, each
having its floss removed, and the end of the filament ready to be
unwound. Each reeler is provided with a basin containing water, which
may be heated either by a furnace or by steam, and a reel, upon which
the silk is wound when put in motion by hand or by power. In civilized
countries heating by steam and the use of motive power is nearly
universal. The reeler is ordinarily seated before the reel and the
basin. The reeler begins operations by assembling the cocoons in the
basin, and attaching all the ends to a peg at its side. She then
introduces the ends of the filaments from several cocoons into small
dies of agate or porcelain, which are held over the basin by a
support.
The ends so brought in contact stick together, owing to the adhesive
substance they naturally contain, and form a thread. To wring out the
water which is brought up with the ends, and further consolidate the
thread, it is so arranged as to twist round either itself or another
similar thread during its passage from the basin to the reel. This
process is called "croisure," and is facilitated by guides or small
pulleys. Having made the croisure, which consists of about two hundred
turns, the operator attaches the end of a thread to the reel,
previously passing it through a guide fixed in a bar, which moves
backward and forward, so as to distribute the thread on the reel,
forming a hank about three inches wide.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|