Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-05-20
n .


Such is life. There is NOT ,,
bone in the little felIow.s hod,.
knows his business ana inst ot,an1, ~
IL without regard to what b;s na;e,t,
bOrs say. a.
ne is not found loafing on the s,ra.t
corners with long Havana in his
mouth or in the ladies' circle com
mcnting upon the shortcomings Of bu-
manlty in general, and the new min
ister's wife in particular.
There is a purpose in its life ana Il
carries it out to the end.
He never goes into insolvency n,
leaves on the first train for Canad,
The transformation We have iur+
described is the same for al tba
species of silk producers. with this ex-
ception. that some species are dorbIo
brooded, producing two generations .
year.
The larva eats about its own weight
o1 leaEes every day; we can thus form
some idea of the amount of raw ma
| terial this tiny manufactures con-
sumes in its short period of existence
Allowing FOR disease and death the
average amount of silk produced from
| one ounce of eggs is about 100 pounds
of cOc0onS.
We have shown the different stages
| of the l2rva, or silk worm, we will now
! trace the silk fibre through its MANN
factured stages.
If the cocoonS are wanted for reelino
they are subjected to heat of about
SS degrees soon after the worms have
completed their spinning. in order to
kill the pupae; if this is not done the
| silk fibre is weakened.
When the silk is needed the cocoons
are placed in Il tank of water. kent at
about 50 degrees; this dssolves the
| guminy secretion which holds the fibre
together; they are then whipped to
start the ends OF the fibre.
Five or more of these are taken to-
| Sether and attached to reel, which.
| i'll revolving, winds oft the silk into
| skeins
The first silk reoled is called "FIoss
SILK and is of poor quality. princi-
pally used i'll the manufacturing of
| cheap goods
The most of the reelcd silk is manu-
factured into machine twist: the silk
| IS wound from the skein upon Spools
| or Snindtes; these are placed in Il ma
chine and reeled off and twisted; they
are then doubled and twisted again
and reeled into skcins ready for the
Gye-house.
After beng colored these slleins are
wound upon spools. which completes
the process, and they are ready for the
consumer.
In the manufacture of dress goods.
ribbons, satincts and the like, there
are two classes Of goods. one made
is called "spun silk
Spun silk is obtAined by boiling old
cncoons. from which the moth has
hatched, until the gum is dissolved:
they are then carded and run through
Il series of machines similar to those
| used in the manufacture of cotton
cloth. coming out as Il yarn ready for
the dye-house.
The process Of colOring is one of the
"triclls Of the trade" as the dyer can
add from 100 to 800 per cent. in
weight. by using heavy dyes; this is
| the reason why some silks wear poor
ly. but looll nicely at first.
There are several ways to detect
this deception; the thread is rough
| tastes bitter and will break easily: if
a piece is burned it will leave Il yell
low. smouldering ash.
We have all grades Of silk. from the
delicate 'wovcn wind" to that which
will stand alone.
We have shown some of the history
Of the silk worm. and of the many
valuable products derived from its toll.
This vile worm. trodden under foot
by man and despised by the fair sex.
holds place in the front ranks among
the imports Of the L. s.