The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-03-08
THE SILK INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED
STATES.

the same length oil time, and nearly every
one will admit that few things have aided
the growth OF the country itself SO much
as the skill with which machinery has been
adapted to the wants Of a widely scattered
people. The cooperation of the brains OF
our inventors with the energy of our PEG.
pie has enabled us to compete with other
countries in nearly every thing to which
machinery has been applied. This has be.
come so marked characteristic as 10 bs
recognized abroad as well As at home, and
ii is every day becoming more and more
evident that if we would maintain the ex.
cellent position which we have won among
the most skllful and highly civilized Ia
tions, We must continue to excel them in
that art of adapting means to desired ends
which has been taught us by our necessi,
ties, as otherwise the denser populations of
other countries will give them an advant-
age in the arts of manufacture Every
effort, therefore, which improves our me
chanical processes is of some consequence,
and when it is of 4 kind to affect favora.
bly, great manufacture, or to make the
introduction of another staple industry
profitable il becomes a matter of national
concern. Such an improvement has re-
Gently been made in the Keeling of silk as
would seem to come fairly under the head
of an important addition to the nation S
capital of mechanical resource.
The prnturrinp and Of p;ll-
which has become one of the great staple
industries of the world, is in peculiar con-
dition in this country, and although it has
made great progress during the past TWEEN
" five years, it has been IN spite of a very
serious difficulty. Il is believed that this
difficulty is now, through the progress of
invention, quite removed, and that the
nted States may in the future excel as
much in the production of silk as they do
now III ;iat Of cotton. To give a clear
idea Of what has been needed. and Is now
made possible in the silk industry of the
United States 1t will he best 10 divide the
industry. for descriptive purposes, into
three parts, rs is done practically i'll the
trade, viz: First, the culture, meaning
the growing OF the worm, and the other
work required up to the Time that the CO.
coon is secured; second, the Eitdure. ur reel
ing. meaning the work OF drawing the fila.
mcuts from the cocoons and combining
them into the skeins of thread which are
technically known "r raw silk and
third. the manufacture, which is subdi
divcd into the operations of throwing"
&" cleaning =. doubling stretching"
'.rw isrinr. 'dyeing and finishing and
many others.
AS tn the culture. It has always been IN
HssIf 'Wcressfai III this country, and in many
sections the product is finer and better than
has ever been obtained from any other couu-
Try. Nevertheless silk culture has hsrer
5,ra ,roftatse. because for reasons that
vii, b. vApiained. it has always been found
IA be imrract:cablc tn carry the work
thrsugh the second stage the reciing. in
tins country, aud therefore that has been
no kct f"r the cocoons when grown.
Ii market car i.,, had at fair prices for
cocoons, the culture Of silk will soon he.
come of vast importance t" the country,
and afford an income to many thousands of
people. especially in California and the
South
The g-cliu. l. the only process III silk
king III which but little progress has
been made for hundreds of years IN all
the other steps improved methods and ma
chiuery nave enormously lesSened labor and
diminished cost. This may be Judged from
the fac; that such silk fabrics as are nov
worth abou, twelve dollars i pound were
frg merry worth their weight in gold. ana
that, too. at i time when gold was worth
more in proportion to labor than NON.
Tie progress of invention IN silk machiu-
cry has been inccsSant. but with the cxcep.
ton nf some triiing details it has left the
ancient Iroi untouched. In fact. the work
of feeling is 80 delicate that until recently
the inventor was without he means Of ac-
comrlishing the result; dr>ifed automatic
working-aud - the Keeling Of silk Is still
done almost Is slowly and ilbnriously as it
wa> thousand years ago. The reels are
finer. m"Ic neatly built, and more nicely
flushed. but in principle they are the same
now r. then.
The operation at leeliug l. as follows:
The greler puts = number of cocoons into
hos water, aud brushes them with 4 brush
made "f liue twics until the ends Of the
filamcuts of i number of cocnuns are found
The ilameEts IL several c0coouS are then
united, and - they adhere they form
thread which IS wound upon a reel. the
cocuuus IA the mean time giving "f each
its filamsnt. aud tuning aud moving about
on The surface OF the warm water. Now,
uniformity Of size aud strength being the
first requisite Of the thread, the tccler is
obliged to watch II with extreme care and
- run the reel very slowly, lest iiiameut
break, ami \ defective thread 10 wound
upon the reel before she can prevent it,
Nhsn y Is stated that these ilaments are
SO fine that 1t would take over five hundred
miles OF a single one to weigh 4 pound. il
will al once he seen that the labor of watch.
ing them must be immense. ~ fact, a
lirst-ratc reser can reel only from one aud
4 half to six pounds Il rect, accordln. 10
quality. Such an amount Of labor TO ac-
complish so little can, of course, only he
used in places where labor is very cheap,
and silk :Oeing as paying work upon the
ordinary reels IL simply out Of the ques-
tion in the country. The condition of af-
fairs in regard 70 silk culture in this conn.
try is in effect precisely the same as that of
the cotton crop before the invention of the
gin; the crop can be raised woli enough,
but the requires too much labor To prepare
ii luI market. Practically, therefore, un.
I'll be;,rr machinery Tot rso.iug - intro
duccd, she United States can not raise silk
10 advantage. But with automatic reel.
ing machinery, silk can BE- produced here
quite As we'll As any where else.
Tic manufacture Of raw silk into fab
rics has bee an important business IN