The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1898-02-19
INITIATING THE SILK WORM.
A Revolution shortly to Come I'm an
Importnut Trade.

A Revelation shortly to Come I'm an
Importnnt Trade.
Scientists awe just astonished the
world by Il scheme so simple that, as in
the ease of most important discoveries,
one wonders why il has been so long
n coming. 1t is nothing less than the
deposition OF our small benefactor, the
silk worm, in favor OF a machine which
will do his work. Six, as everybody
knows, is the product Of the mulberry
leaf. chewed by the worm, and stepped
in a gummy liquid, which so sofiens
and transmutes it that il enables IL to
be drawn out and spun into The shin
ing threads which are 90 like babies
hair, and which form the basis of our
smartest frocks. An ingenious avant
has analysed the secretion produced
by the silkwcrm and has ~coLcocted
a fluid containing the same chemical
ingredients, which will, he contends,
if the leaves be pounded and soaked
in 1t, enable manufacturers to turn out
the raw sill; in enormous quantities.,
and at one-fourth the cost of the pres
ent output
Even in Elizabeth's time silk stock
ings commanded q long price. 1t is
recorded of Jarnes-tten king of Scot
lapd-that the possession of a 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-
bered 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-pcrhaps he doubted
the safe return of his property; certain
it Is that the king had to descend to
entreaty, and to the pathetic plea:
eye 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 TO make an attempt to establish
the silk industry here. He brought over
from France thousands of mulberry
treesAof 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
$4,000, 900 worth of silkwormS' eggs to
San Francisco (Which city is by nc
means the largest p~urchaser), and that
the eggs command about 25 shillings
per ounce, each ounce meaning about
10000. But the health of the insects
ever when they have been Matched and
carefully grown to maturity-is pre-
carious and greatly Influenced by eli
matte changes; their "education." as
their rearing is called in the trade, is
n slow and anxious process, requiring
a 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 1t
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
ly engaged upon the more delicate
processes of the mauufacture-such as
"reeling," for example-for which their
small hands and deftness especially fit
them; therefore, a great increase In
the output OF silk, which Is sure to fol-
low upon a reduction in price, will
mean the enlargement Of this healthtul
and suitable field of female industry.
st. Louis Republic.