The Portland daily press., 1864-11-09
Wednesday Morning, Nov. Q. 1854.
The silk ManIufaOtnr.e.E

o. The discovery Of the uses to which the CO.
coon OF the silk-wQrm might be applied un-
doubtediy originated with the Chinese.
Twentysseven hundredyears before Christ, as
their written records declare, an empress of
that nation was the first to unrayel the hlmy
thread, and to weave it into . web OF shining
cloth. Whether this be true or not, it is q
welI-attested fact that when the existence of
the silken fabric of China became known in
other countries, the manufacture was no lon
ger in its infancy, or imperfectlye executed,
but had already attained an excellence which
could only, be the result of long and success
full practice. Such, indeed, was its .impor-
'tance,s that the people and their country, In
ancient writings, were named Seres, and
.Serica, from the Chinese word Sc or Ser,
which signifies silk.fs bra decuagol ea1 hi a3afe
In luxurious Rome SO beautiful a fabric was
sure to be appreciated, though only the richer
citizens could wear 1t, by reass n Of the ex-
pense. The heavier goods were here raVeled
and rewOVen into thinner fabrics for summer
use. Men were forbidden 10 wear it, though
mixed material, called sub sericun, was in
use by both sexes. Its cost and the difficulty
of obtaining it were SO great, that In the sec
ond century Marcus Antonius sent embassa-
dors to China with a view OF establishing
commercial relations with that, people. In
6 this he was unsuccessful. The immense cost
of these fabrics may be estimated by the fact
{ that the possession of silken garment is
Z mentioned as one of the wanton pr0digalities
OF the Emperor Heliogabalus. while Aurelian
refused a stlken dress to bis empress on the
ground that It would cost its weight in gold.
The extreme discovery In india and, China is
testified by the fact that all the ancient Ian
guages of that region have names for Silk
worm" and wrought silks" while among the
classes of the ancient Hindoos are those nam
ed silk worm feeders" and "reelers Of silk.r
The growth Of silk In China for four thou
sand years has been next in Importance to
that of rice. Certain ceremonies in regard to
both were prescribed In the book of rites, by
Confucius, over two thousand years ago, and
invested with religious authority, The em-
press annually goes through the initiat0ry~
process Of gathering leaves for the food
of the young silk-Worm, while the emperor
holds the ploW, at the annual ceremony Of
was deifed for encouraging the cultivation OF
the mulberry, and queen for improvements
In the art of weaving silk. Yet 1t was not ill
the middle Of the sixth century that II haearna
known in Coustaptinope ana eastern Europe
that silk was the product of = worm, Some
eggs of the worm were then brought thither
by two Persian monks who had been mission-
aries in China, and had observed the various
processes Of rearing the silk-worm and pre-
pairing the silk. 4sff .-si,-.s, 5.s, II
These eggs, which were conveyed In the
hollow Of 4 cane, At the proper season were
hatched and fed upon the leaves of the null
berry tree. The Alonks Continued to spperin-
tend at ,Constantinople all the processes of
rearing the insects and manufacturing the
silk. And from this small commencement the
myriads oftsilk-worms have sprung which fur
pished the material for one Of the most i'm
portant and constantly -eniarging OF modern
manufacturer q iaa4s9 p 'sEiins9 sai set
yearly all the countries Of Southern Eu-
cope proved favorable Tor the culture of the
silk worm, and the manufacture and traffic In
its productions spread with great rspidity -
But it was not until 1480 that the manufac-
sure was Introduced INTO France, which soon
supplied not only It's own demand, but that Of
foreign countries. One hundred years later,
during SONS Of the vars that at that period
ldesolatea the low c9Hntrtes, many MahHfap
turers and dealers in SILK were forced TO fly
from their homes, and took refuge in England
rene wing there the business to which they
had been bred, and giving a strong impulse TO
Its manufacture, The soil and climate of En-
& gland are not apparently we'll adapted to the
cultivation of the mulberry nor the rearing of
the silk worm, but for the last three hundred
years the manufacture Of Imported raw silk
has been very extensive in that country g
Z The following is q list Of the articles manu-
factured OF silk In America at the present time !:
: Tram and 0rganzine, sewing silks and machine
twists, embroidery and purse silks, trimmings,
cords and tassels, ffInges and gimps, ladies'
har-nets, ck-ties, beltingss npho olstery goods,
gauzes, fonlards, sarsenets, heavy dress and
mantilla silks, yelvets and plushes, military
sashes, carriage triEmings and mixed goods 10
great variety. The duty on thrown silk isthir-
ty-tige per cent, with ten ercent added on all
that comes from beyond the Cape Of Good
Hope This inplqdes most that comes to this
countFy-Italian silks being little imported
and China, Japan and Bengal furnishing near
ly all that Is manufactured here. Raw silk,
which has not been thrown, 10 free.i ~
The present tariff, with the high price Of
gold and rates of exchange, affords protection
: 70 the silk manufacture IN this country; and
even should change come in these Eeapeets,
the business once established, as It is fast be-
coming. viii bid defiance to foreign competi-
tiOn. The annual consumption OF silk manu-
fact4red goods in this country, for many years
past, has been very large, and constantly on
the increase, During the twenty years preyi-
ens to 1890 the imports Of silk amounted to
S3T0,000,Q00, equal TO 9ne=third of all the dry
goods imported. The revenue, during the
twenty years previous to 1860, on silk goods,
amounted tc $90,OO0,0O0. The wealth to be
gained from SO large manufacture would add
immensely to the resources ofour nation. In
1850 the annual production of manufactured
silk in this country was estimated at $1,000,
DO0. 1t must have greatly increased by this
time. nas 70 fsis ~ 'i! saes1.E " "a s9l9eg ~
No better sewing-silk than the American is
made in the world. A few years since the
Italian had the preference in this market, but
is now entirely driven from i. As the result
OF various improvements and Of experience,
our native manufacture may be said to have
reached perfection. Paterson, New Jersey, Is
the principal seat of the sewing-silk manufac-
ture, There are numerous large factories
there, each sustained by q capital of from fifty
to one hundred thousand dollars Newark, N.
Jersey, has also a large trade In sewing-silk,
and large quantities are made In the New Eng
land states ana in Philadelphia. - -
Most of the labor in sewing-silk mills ia
done by women and girls. The hours are
usually from quarter before seven to quar-
ter past six, and they close at three o'clock
on Saturday. The average wages of the fe-
male operatives Is from five to eight dollars
week. Children Of ten or twelve years earn
from two and half to three dollars per week
for some of the least Important processes.-
Some girls work by the peace at winding, and
if skilitul, a little exceed the regular wages.
The overseers of the different departments
earn eight dollars. Spooling is mostly piece.
work. Dyers earn ten or twelve dollars per
week. AT most Of the mills tram and organ
zine are made to supply the trimming-m
and weavers. They also make Supple"
which is raw silk or tram, dyed in the gum,
and used by weavers for heavy illings.0
Trimming makers use very large quantities
of tram and floss silk. Out of these materi-
ais, with wooden shapes covered with the
silk sewing-silk, jet and steel beads, an end
less variety of DG8ag1neuferfe goods are made.