Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1898-01-20
INITIATING The SILK WORM.
A Revolution shortly to Come In an
Important Trade.

| Important Trade.
| Scientists have just astonished the
world by a scheme SO simple that, as in
the case of most important discoveries,
one wonders why it has been so long
| coming. 1t is nothing less than the
| deposition of our small benefactor, the
| silk worm, in favor OF a machine which
viii do his work. Silk, as every body
knows, is the product of the mulberry
leaf. chewed by the worm, and stepped
| in 4 gummy liquid, which so softens
and transmutes it that it enables it to
be drawn out and spun into the shin
ing threads which are so like babies
| nair. and which form the basis of our
| Smartest frockS. An ingenious savant
has analysed the secretion produced
| by the silkworm and has concocted
n fluid containing the same chemical
ingredients, which will, he contends.
if the leaves be pounded and soaked
IN it, enable manufacturers to turn out
the raw silk in enormous quantities,
and at one-fourth the cost of the pres
ent output.
| Even in Elizabeth's time silk stock
ings commanded a long price. 1t is
recorded of James-then king of Scot
| lantl-that the possession of n pair was
his great ambition. particularly on the
occasion when the ambassador of Eng
| land was to be received. The canny
James. who was also hard up" remem-
| bcred betimes that the earl of Mar
owned "a pair of silken hose;" where
| upon he begged the loan of them. The
| earl does not seem to- have been very
anxious to oblige-perhaps he doubted
| the safe return of his property; certain
| it is that the king had to descend to
| entreaty, and to the pathetic plea:
''Ye wad not sure hae your king had to
descend to entreaty," and so deeply did
this possibility Cypress the royal mind
that when James succeeded to the
| throne OF England one of his first acts
was 10 make an attempt to establish
the silk industry here. He brought over
from France thousands of mulberry
| trees-of which many still remain
and he established a garden and
nursery for silkworms on the site now
occupied by buckingham palace, under
the care of Lord Aston.
Since his day extensive ventures have
been started in England. Ireland and
| America. though France. of course. still
| enjoys the chief trade. How large this
is may be gathered from the facts that
| Japan alone has sometimes exported
Sc, 600. coo worth of silkwormS' eggs to
San Francisco (Which city is by no
means the largest purchaser), and tina:
| the eggs command about 25 shillings
per ounce, each ounce meaning about
10000. But the health of the insects
even when they have been Matched and
carefully grown to maturity-is pre-
carious and greatly Influenced by eli
matte changes; their Education" rs
their rearing is called in the trade, is
2 slow and anxious process. requiring
n high temperature, and an amount OF
| feeding which every schoolboy who has
kept a few of the creatures will read
lily comprehend. For these reasons il
will be easily seen why silk is bound
to become cheaper if produced indie
| pendently of the insect. This result
| will have yet another beneficial eff
feet upon our sex, for women are large
| " engaged upon the more delicate
processes of the manufacture-such as
''reeling," example which their
small hands and dizziness especially fit
them; therefore, great increase in
the output of silk, which is sure to fol-
| low upon a reduction in price. will
mean the enlargement of this healthful
and suitable field of female industry
1-St. Louis Republic.