Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1852-04-15
THURSDAY, APRIL Is, 1852.

with alum Tor ITS mOrdant i his rs a brll-
liant blue Indigo, of course Yes, sui
plate of indigo, with tarlarc acid. Here
are two yellows how is thail One is
much better than the other moreover, 1t
makes better green moreover 1t wears
UNNECESSARILY better But what is it D.
The inferior one is the old fashioned tuner
ic, with tartaric acid Aud the improved
yellow 20 we perceive. 1t is a secret
of the establishment, aud we are not to ask
questions about 1t. But among all these
men employed here, are there none accessi-
bic to a bride from rival in the art .
There sno saying for the men cannot be
tempted. They do not know, any more
than ourselves, what this mysterious yellow
is. Why does 1t not supercede the old
fashioned tumeric 1t will, no doubt and
it is gaining rapidly upon il bn, il takes
time to establish Improvements The i'm
proyement in green's, however, is fast rec
ommendlng the new yellow. This deep
amber is fine color We find 1t Is called
California, which has modern sound in It,
Thus Napoleon blue quo; Louis Napoleon's)
is rich color. 1t gives a good deal of
trouble There is actually precipitation
Of metal, of tin, upon every fibre, to make it
receive the dye and then it has to be wash
ed ; aud then dipped again, before II can
take darker shade aud afterwards wash
ed again over and over, tl, it is dark
enough when it is finally soused ia water
which has fuler's earth in it, to make it
soft enough for working aud wear. What
is doing with that dirty white bundle II
IS silk of thoroughly bad color. Whether
it is the fault of the worm, or OF the worms
food, or what, there is no saying is the
manufacturers affair He sent il here 1t
is now to be sulphured, aud dipped ia very
fam, shade ofindigo, curdled over with soap.
This will improve 1t, but not make il equal
to purer white silk. Next. the banks
have to be squeezed ia the Archlmedean
press, and then hung up ia that large, not
drying room.
One serious matter remains uuintelhriblc
90 as Plaid ribbons-that is, all SORTS OF
checked rlbbou,-have been ia fashion 50
long now, that we have had time to specu-
late (Which we have often done) on how
they can possibly be made About the COL
ors Of the warp (the long way Of the RIB
bon) we are clear enough. But how, IN the
welt do the colors duly return, SO as 10
make the stripes, and therefore, the checks,
recur at equal distances. We are now
shown how this was done formerly, aud how
Is il done now Formerly. the hanks were
tied very tightly, at equal distances, and the
alternate spaces closely wrapped round with
paper, or wound round with pack thread
ThlstooK up great deal oftme. We were
shown much better plan. shallow box
is made, 80 as TO hold Within it the halves Of
q IF 81
cuuousy twisted so as to alternate with the
other halves when the hanks are shaken
back IN their right position ier winding -
One half being within the box, aud the 9th
er hanging out, the lid IS bolied down sotighi
tia, Che die cannot creep into the box aud
the out hanging siK IS dipped. So much
can be done at once, that the saving of time
istery great, aud judging by the prodigIo
array of plaid ribbons that we saw ia The
looms afterwards, the value of the invention
isnoirlhs The name OF tins novelty Is the
Coudlng Box
We see a bundle of cotton What has
cotton 10 do hetel II is from Nottingham
very line aud well twisted. 1t is pretty
punk, aud 1t costs one shilling and sxpence
TO dye But what is 1t for l--Ah that is
the question 1t is 10 mix III with silk, to
make cheap ribbon. Another pinch OF
devils dust.
There Is a calendering process employed
in the final preparation of the dried silk, by
which, we believe, its gloss is improved ;
but II was not m operation At the time OF
our visit. We saw, aud watched with great
curiosity, a still later process-more pretty
to witness than easy to achleve-ihe max
inc up of the hanks This is actually the
most difficult thing the men have to learn ia
the whole business. OF course, therefore
II is no matter for description. The twist,
the insertion of the arm, the Jerk, The
drawing of the mysterious knot, may be
looked at for hours and days, without the
spectator having the least idea how the
thing is done We went from workman to
workman-from him who was making up
the blue, to him who was making up the
, red-we saw one of the proprietors make
up several hanks at the speed of twenty IN
four minutes and half, and we are No
more likely TO be able TO do it than if We
had never entered a dye-house Peeplng
, Tom might spy for it very long before he
) would be much the wiser; when done the
effect is beautiful. The snaky coils Of the
7 poii0i4tu SIN tiiNN pl AAb A'5t4t AioN i'N6
I ments of mirrors.
! Another mysterious process Is the mark
ing of the silk which belongs 10 each man
} uiacturer. The hanks aud bundles are
; tied with cotton string; and this string Is
/ knotied with knots at this end, at that end
5 IN the middle, in ties at the sides, with
knots numbering from one to fifteen, TWEEN
/ ~. or whatever number NAV be necessary
= aud the manufacturers particular system o
knots is posted in the books with his name
: the quantity of silk sent in, the dye requlr
, ed, aud all other particulars.
!, We were amused to find that there is
# particular twist aud particular dye for thu
y fringe OF brown parasols. 1t IS desired tina
5 there should be a claret tint on this iflng'
3 when seen against the light; and here, ac
It cordingly, we find the clarel tint. The sill
e is somewhat dull from being hard twisted
d it is to be made more lustrous by stretch
r ing, and we accompany II to the stretching
d machine. There 1t is suspended on bar
IS rel aud movable pin by mans weigh
- applied TO a wheel, the PIN is drawn down
= the hank stretches aud comes out two o
4" more inches longer than it went in, an
g looking perceplIbly brighter. A hank G
& bad silk snaps under this strain; twls
e that will stand il is improved by il.
al