The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-05-19
Silk.

:. s saousand years ago this article was mann
"a Me ~ ny the Chinese. From this peo
"a .he;r rne sn looms Of Tyre and Persia receive,
which costiv ., me raw material, from
woven WEven Tor the nobility Of Europe and As;a
Ro nen nrsg imported among the Creeks an;
-notoa;i' 'ney supposed it to be q down
necaI;an Obtained from the bark of
4 Opinion for s Ca. ana they entertained this
auction At one time it furnished a fart;Is
" ofehe lor che exercise of the poetic oen;ns
" tIeir satirlsts and poets. in conseenanoa
unos .ue prodigal extravaganza it entaiIed
!. ~ oPou Sne wealthy classes, and, with view
was passed hog tn this pro rodigslity, decree
ing the use of silk, as an article Of annara,
" ladies. Some idea may be formed IF tb1s
Pesuniary value attached to this article o
Pom y. .ne excessive extravaganza of the
- .fo .l iadles, when it is known that one
cy. recuperated his Impoverished fnaggca.
WI Wasa LIN the proceeds arising from the sale Of
.ne SIX belonging to the wardrobe If hi.
eonsort. In the reign of Justinian' Who
amaii a during the sixth century. a
we're ; ptan5ney or the eggs of the silkworm
a ah every facility afforded by this rnler for
eneIr successful propagation and the mann
lacIare OF silk fabrics. The Italian cities
VI faiermo, Venice, Florence. etc. ware
,nSo I h IN this industry by the Grecians.
Romans e osea tnelr knowledge from the
.ion.' ana soon became famous for the
e'1eance ana beauty of their products.
1t was not until about the ciosa of the az
1Sentn century that silk was imported into
n nlanee, and this enterprising and Ingenious
c roupre were not tardy in appreciating its
eign countries was promptly emnioved a.
nIgnay remunerative prices, and the GOV.
einment warmly cherished and fostere6 the
eneeIPrise; So successful were the factories
te ;. IN France that England ceased
f ~ iimpors her silk fabrics from China and
Italy, and received her supplies exclnsivai1
rom France. But the British Govern,
menu, ever watchful of their own interests
anu percelVlng the immense drain the I'M,
poltation OF this costly article entaiIed
.pon Sle resources of the country, resolved
rIisn manufactures within her own
s serllt9ry. Every encouragement was af-
I &c for the propagation and rearing Of
sne snkWorms, but the experiment resulted
unlortunately, owing, it is said, to the dis
ao of soil and climate. Great sue
oess, however, attended their efforts in
49, ns oeautlfui fabrics, their mechanics 4
oelng refugee workmen from France. who I
orougnt with them many skilful appliances
ana improvements. In CONSEQUENCES of de-.
ecIiVe or unsuitable machinery. the great G
oostacie with which tho English factories
iaa 70 contend was their inability to pre-
h;s i snn SIZE threads for the looms. But
ne duplicity of an ingenious mechanic Al
81 introducing himself to the Italian all n
manufacturers as an ordinary workman ha a
acquired all the informa.. a,
i is .a Necessary tor his purpose and with
England, and at once established q Ioras L
anuiactory for spinning silk. Such was
ne zeal and ingenuity with which the En%'
sh prosecuted this Industry that. in a vary
rleI PERIOD after the erection of their mills, >,
&c .s siihs maze IN England took precedence -
'tuaIiy sold at higher price in the Italian
arkets than their own productions.
IL tne reign OF James the first, the atten IL
on VI Tue colonies of this country was di-
cted oy the home government to raising 6
20 20 s ni With view of stimulating
70 colonlsts to bestow extraordinary at.
ntion upon the production of silk not
ny were prodigal bounties freely offered W,
industry aud success, but heavy nenaI- WI
IS imposed to neglect and failures. The
however, never resulted in a
)narch. 81 VI 'nis Ia,
In our day this industry is pros ecnted az oS
th great energy. Our first efforts were
voted to the manufacture of sewipp-siIk San
d sueh has been the success ATTENDING o IS
sm, Ihat the article we manufacture takes n G
ecedence of that of every other conntrv Us
all the markets of the world. In Pater, Ave
}, N. j., there are sixteen fourisbino r..
tories, running $4,000 spindles, employ. N''
$500 wo ndn zen, whose wages annually How
,regate 500, 900, while the capital in.
ted amounts to So 100000. Ben
philadelphia has twenty factories, with Ave
. employees. In New York CITY there
about eight thousand persons engaged Asn
me manufacture of trimmings, ribbons An,
oress goods, employing capital of Co
SOC, 600. There are also a number of ~
lller factories in other localities of the nj
te, competing successfully with foreign A'A
lufacturers. In several of the towns
and Connecticut there Ct
flourishing mills, employing a large u
,ber- of workmen, and producing braids
ons, upholstery goods, etc., which
pare favorably with importations from
+ coun tries.
he imports of raw silk into this country
low estimated to be worth bout Sc, 600. VIII.
while the manufactured silk fabrics are
ed at $40, O0O, 900. -'' AK
lS we'll authenticated Ro.a