The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-06-01
4 Successful Silk Club.

4 Successful Silk Club.
"The Boys Silk Culture Association
of America" has a large room over a
corner store in Philadelphia. You
might suppose it to be a large COM
pany. But it has only five members.
When we called at their office we
were fortunate enough to SCI the pres
ident of the ASSOCIATION himself, a
bright-looking boy of about fourteen
years, who explained everything very
politely.
The center of the room was occu-
pied by a large stand of about five
tiers of trays, made of light wooden
frames, with a network of Irvine on
each.
Here lay sheets of paper covered
with the little grayish eggs, not as big
as a pin-head. On some the eggs were
Matched, and the little brown worms
were already feeding on the finely
chopped leaves.
This is a very late brool," ex-
planned the young silk-culturist. "It
is a lot of eggs we sent to Paris for,
because we had more orders for eggs
than we could fill, and they were de-
layed."
Then he showed us his jars of
cocoons, looking like fresh peanuts,
and the twists of reeled silk, softer,
finer and more shining than the most
beautiful golden hair, and a piece of
satin, with the initials "B. S. G.. A."
embroidered ON it in silk of "our own
make"
1t was interesting to watch the cater
pillars feeding. In the last stage they
are smooth and whitish, and two or
three inches long. We fancied we
could actually hear them chewing, they
ate so greedily.
"Do they eve sleep?" we asked.
81 never saw them at it. And, by
the way the leaves disappear during
the night, 1 don't think they take
much time for sleep even then"
Here a worm in the center of the
tray stood up or its tail and waved its
head from side to side.
"What does that mean?" we asked.
els he tired of eating at last?'
Eyes; he is really to spin now" and
the boy carefully dropped the worm
into a paper core, where it at once
began to spin its delicate threads and
fasten them on the paper. "Some peo-
pie let them spin on twigs," he added,
but we like the cones better. We
male them in the evenings last win
ter"
AT n side of the room stood the
reel which the boys had invented and
made themselves.
"You won't find a reel like that
anywhere ell, e." said the president.
with pardonable pride. when 1
planned that L had never seen a silk
reel"
Then he showed us the very first
silk they had reeled, and a specimen of
the later reelings, which an expert had
pronounced equal to the best.
The boys had also experimental
with chemicals, and lad dyed some of
their silk in bright colors.
In the corner stood what looked like
an old spinning-wheel.
THAT'S a twisting machine" he ex-
planned. "a gentleman who visited
our place gave it to us to twist our
silk on"
"Why, really, you do everything
here but weave" we could not help re.
marking.
Yes said he, land we axe not
going to stop till we learn weaving
too"
"How long have you been interested
in silkworms?" we next asked.
about three years." he replied.
"Do you find your interest in your
silkworms interferes with your
studies? ?" we asked.
Il never let it," was his reply
When I'm in school, / attend to my
lessons; an when l am here, l atten.
to my silkworms. | al ways keep then
separate. We give the worm
enough leaves in the morning to keel
them busy till we get back
Who could help almlring such {
spirit st. Nicholas.