The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-08-20

.cious. A thread of it, of any given diam
ctcr, is twice as strong as thread Of hemp
of the same thickness, and three times us
strong rs similar one of flax. The threads,
rs spun by the worm, curious to say, are all
twins, owing to the twin orifcc in the nose
of the insect through which they are
projected they arc laid PARALLEL to each
other and glued together, and cnvelopcd by
a glossy vafuisl,, constituting about twenty
five per cent. of their weight. Each pair
of threads in fine silks has diameter of
about a thousandll part ofan inch These
pairs arc too delicate to use, however, rs
they come from the cocoon. In raw silk,
rs it Is called, several Of these pairs arc
slightly twisted aud agglutinated to form a
single thread; and several Of these arc
united to make such thread rs is employ
cd in weaving. Thousands Of worms labor
for whole season TO furnish the material
for an ordinary silk dress. The butterfly
beauty who sails along public promenade
little thinks how many real butterflies have
had TO do with her fouEcel and rrinrcd
foulard.
The silk-worm, in fact, has four mctamor-
phoscs. There is first the egg, then the
caterpillar next the cocoon, and finally the
moth. The caterpillar state continues about
four weeks. The cocoon is formed in three
or four days, but the insect, passing into
the chrysalis state, lies muddled for some
twenty days longer, when it energies but
terny. In this last state it remains but a
short period, its whole existence rarely ex-
cceding two months. When the worm is
to be used for its silk, the cocoon is put in
hot oven, Or enveloped in steam, or ex-
posed to the sunshine, in order to kill the
insect; for if the animal should live to cat
its way out, the threads at one end of the
cocoon will be cut, and the cocoon become
worthless. An ounce Of eggs yields about
cighty-eight pounds Of cocoons. Each
cocoon gives from seven hundred aud fifty
to eleven hundred and fifty feet of silk. y
hundred pounds of cocoons is estimated to
average eight pounds Of reeled raw silk
The worms necessary to produce this weight
of cocoons devour, when ut their maximum
appetite, about two hundred and fifty pounds
of mulberry leaves daily. The more food
they consume the more silk they will yield
1t would be a nice exercise in arithmetic fol
every fair damo to calculate how many
mulberry leaves went to the making Of her
best silk dress.
With tue ancient Romans silk was q
costly luxury, for it could only be had from
India, whence it was brought overland by
tedious caravans. 1t was not till the sixth
century Of the. Christian era that two monks
brought some silk-worm eggs from China
to Constantinople. The EmpcrorJ ustiniar
encouraged this new branch of industry
and silk factories soon sprung up at Athens
Thebes, and Corinth. Five hundred years
elapsed, however, before tho silk culture
spread to Italy. The Moors carried it into
Spain, whereit become floursling brancl,
of manufacture and commerce, at a period
when most all Western Europe was still
plunged i'll barbarism. 1t WAS not till A.
d. 1864, or subsequent to the discovery OF
America, that the silk culture was estab.
lished in France. Silk growing has often
been attempted in England, but as the
climate is unfavorable, the experiment has
always failed. In the United Skates the
culture ofsilk is comparatively in its infancy
though tie day will como when it will be
an important element Of national wealth
Lombardy at present yields the largest
quantity Of silk Of any country in Europe
India, the original home Of tho silk worm
still exports annually immense quantities,
not only Of raw silk, but Of the manuf,ctur.
ell article also. The ladies say that for
summer wear the India silks are the cheap.
est and most Observation-Disclosures San.