The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1891-04-21
SPIDERS WEB CLOTH.
An Bnglishman Who Has Put HIS Capital
Into an Odd Business.

Into an Odd Business.
The fact that the Senate was engaged
in the discussion of the wool schedule
In the tariff bill brought number Of
wooden manufacturers to Washington in
order to look after interests A Post
representative asked one OF these gen.
tlemen regarding new methods en-
ployed by textile manufacturers, and he
stated that there had recently been
brought forward by German chemist
q method for rendering fabrics proof
against the ravages of decay for an in
definite period, which was attracting
considerable attention. With this pro-
: cess it is said that no matter how deli
cate the texture or color of the fabric
may be its long life is assured.
This gentleman stated that the in
ventor took his ideas from the
fact that he learned that the won
derful state of preservation exhib-
tied by the headbands of Egyptian
mummies was due to their having been
impregnatd with kind of resin. Act
ing upon this information the chemist
made experiments with the substance
OdIh, dllO uc lOuuO
that the green tar left over after the oil
used in tanning has been extracted from
the white bark of the birch tree yields
|. substance neither acid nor alkaloid.
This in solution with alcohol forms a
liquid with the power of resisting, after
once becoming dry, even the action of
alcohol itself, and 1t is claimed pos
sesses the property of making textile
fabrics apparently imperishable as far
as decay is concerned And great
point claimed for it is that it readily
unites with the most delicate as well as
brilliant colorS.
Perhaps the most novel idea in the
textile line is that of an Englishman
named Stillbers, who, it is said, has
actually made cloth of spiders webs
which has been employed for purposes
OF surgery. A gentleman travelling
through the country, who recently
stopped in Washington, stated that this
man Stillbers has gone quite extensive
~ into this spider-weh cloth making.
The spiders are oh aimed from tropic-
al countries, mostly from Africa and
South America and are very large. A
peculiar feature Of the business is that
the spiders spin the best web when
they are intoxicated To accomplish
this liquid composed OF chloroform,
ether, and fusel oil is allowed slowly to
evaporate in the room where the spiders
are housed, and they are thus kept con-
stantly in mild state of intoxlcation.
The temperature of the atmosphere is
maintained at sixty degrees Fahrenheit
These little creatures, which are usual
iy so heartily despised. are placed in
octagonal cases, and are fed daily on
smaller insects of various kinds In
one room there are some 5000 of these
cases The spiders lay their eggs and
about the latter spin cocoons. These
cocoons are gathered, and are prepared
for weaving by some such chemical and
snechan cal processes as are undergone
Fby the cocoon of the silkworm. The
process of the weaving itself is close
iv-guarded secret Each cocoon is said
to yield twenty-five to one hundred
yards of thread. The texture of the
woven mater al resembles somewhat Or
binary silk. and after it is bleached it
becomes brilliant and smooth Wash
ington Post