Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-13
SILK MADE FROM WOOD PULP.
What tho Mechanical Rival OF the
SILK Worm Is Expected to Accomplish.

What Is to become of the silk wormf
Will IL be driven out of business, being
no longer worth the mulberry leaves on
which It feeds? This seems not unlikely
to happen II the artificial substitute, al
ready much advertised. Is all that Is claim
ed. BY the use of simple machinery a web
closely resembling that of the insect IS
spun from base and ignoble materials.
The spinning IL done by false worm OF
glass, the threads produced being wound
In a counterfeit cocoon. This chemically
prepared fiber, while beautiful and suitable
for fabrics. Is manufactured at so cheap a
rate that before long even poor mems
wives perhaps, will be able to afford SILK
dresses Thus far the process has hardly
got beyond the laboratory stage, but COM
panies have been formed and large capital
Subscribed for the establishment or plants
for making the silk. which will be on the
market before long.
From Wood Pulp.
The silk Is made from wood pulp. to
which certain chemicals are added To be-
gin with. the pulp Is dried in an oven.
Then It is plunged into mixture of nitrate
and sulphurio acids, after which 1t is wash
ed IN water and dried In alcohol. Then 1t
Is dissolved In ether and alcohol, the result
being collodlon. The coilodion, which is
sticky and glue-lilSe, Is passed through a
glass tube that Is provided with 900 cocks.
The spouts of the cocks are of glass, and
each one Is pierced by a small hole or the
diameter of the thread of cocoon as 1t Is
spun by the insect.
The spinner opens the cock and the col
Iodion Issues in threads of extreme delica-
cy They are so fine that six OF them are
necessary to make a thread OF the proper
thickness for weaving. As yet, however,
the threads are soft and Sticky; they ere
not silk yet, but merely collodion. But TO
make them dry and hard Is very simple
matter When the threads come out OF the
cocks they pass through water, which takes
I'D the ether and alcohol from the coilodion.
The latter Is by this means transformed
into an elastic thread. as brilliant and
nearly as strong as ordinary silk.
That Is the whole business. The thread
now has only to be wound and IS ready
for weaving. 1t can be made of an Infinite
length But there Is one more detail that
should not be forgotten. What promised
to be a fatal objection to this artificial
FIBER was that 1t was extremely infamma-
BILE. 1t would not be pleasant for lady
in ball gown to be exposed to the risk
of going of like a match by accidental
ignition. This danger is obvlated by plung-
ing the spun thread into ammonia, which
'repders It as slow of combustion as any
other material employed In fabrics.
It Is expected that the counterfeit silk
will be employed largely for q mixture
and wool. In most of the fabrics thus far
produced the warp Is OF the true article
and the welt of the imitation.
In conclusion. II should be stated that.
while in France manufacturers interested
In the silk industry regard this new inven-
ton with favor. conservative men engaged
In the same business in England have tx
pressed the opinion that the artificial silk
has no value II will soon be demonstrated
which view of the matter Is correct.