Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1852-05-20
/ G,br s'oai5'5 5rirna.
Il Silk.
(Gadaucd.l

lRe tilreau lhey SPIN around lhem- |
selves is formed Of a juice from their
own bowels; something like the web |
Of a spider. In about a week they
lave finished their spinning, each |
Having enclosed itself in a case,
which, though formed Of SINGLE
threads, looks lik e tissue paper; it isl
Of an egg shape, and is called a CO.
coon. When the silk-worm has done
its part thus, it changes into chry-
sails, or aurelia; like the changed re-
mains of our oWp caterpillars, which
we often find adhering to the walls
Of houses in the country. 1t seems
dead, and has no motion, unless you
press it In few days, it will hatch
from this state, gnaw its way
through tie cocoon, and come out a
complete moth. In that stateit will
do nothing, nay it has nothing to az
but lay its eggs, for another genera
Ition of silk-worlns. The substance
which forms the silky thread is in the
stomach, in Two compartments; and
when it spins, ii sends out thread
from each of the Sc; which it Joins to-
gcther by gunnmy matter, Ny The
! help Of two hooks in its mouth. |
have said that the moth will make
Its way out Of the cocoon in a few
days after it ce;I ses to spin. II this
be suffered, the silk viii be spoiled;
for the hole made by the insect would
divide the string of silk into 50 MANY
short pieces, and render it unfit ior
general use. Some of them, the
largest and best, may be suffered to
do so, in order to have supply Of
eggs for breeding in the next season
Those cocoons, Of which the. silk is
to be used, must be put into toler-
ably hot oven, in baskets, in order
to kill the moth inside. This will
take an hours baking to make sure
Of it. You viii find a coarse kind
| Of web about the outside Of the Co
coon, Which must be carefully 7sepa-
i rated, as it is Of Little use. The co.
coons are thrown into water, as hot
as the hand is able to bear, an(
whisked about; which viii loosen th(
ends of the thread. Then, eight o
these ends are twisted several times
: pretty firmly together, to unite then
into one; and this thread IS draw
! through d hole in a plate Of iron
2 and is fastened to the reel, which, il
/. turning, draws forth the substance
t of The eight cocoops- Care must b
taken if any one Of them breall; t
7 Join it again; OF to supply lis plac'
with another, if expended. Mor'
E than eight cocoons are sometime
! wound together into one thread; eigh
: suffice for ribbons; yelvets requir
e fourteen; it is difficult to unite NOR,
!, than thirty. The length Of til.
G thread varies much in different co
l coons; some Of them will measur
e twelve hundred ellis in length, but il
i, common they have not more thai
e five OF six hundred. The refuse ant
coarser parts Of these cocoons ar
/ carded and spun, and become usefu
: for many purposes; it is called 10.
, SIX, and is made into stocking, O.
used for covering hats, We have
now obtained d thread, but two 0
these at least are usually twisted to
I dether. to make a thread cit for weaY
f ing. This is t4roan silt, OF organ
} yiRc, which forms the ra,p, or length
wise thread of the broad silk. THAI
which crosses it is called the tram, o.
wB of, and is more loosely twisted
The great trade in silk Consists Q
2 RAJ W silk, just at it is reeled from TIL
, cdeoons. Much comes from Persi;
! and Asia Minor; the centre Of whicl
til de is Smyrna. Much comes iron
, Sicily, and the provinces Of Italy
| I'd Lyon, which is the grand mar
l fob silk, and the grand manuladtory
g for silk stufs, although itis littl,
now to what it was once. Yet bro
I cades, and silk goods Of exquisite
D manufacture, still issue from thei
> looms. Also much raw silk come
to us from China. The manuElctur,
Of silk has become an object Of con
; siderable attention in this country
and tie time will doubtless arriy,
> when we shall be able to obtain eX
: cellent silk without sending for it t
| Europe and to Asia. The term bro