Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-07-26
SILK INDUSTRY
Croft Building on East Clay
 Street a Busy Place.

People who pass by the four story block No 46 East Clay street, known as the Croft, never would think that the building covers about 100000 silk worms, some sleeping, others de- vouring mulberry leaves, and the balance spinning silk f1bers as fast as they can turn 1t out. The build ing belongs to Baron J. Torkomian, the real estate and insurance man, who with Captain D. E. Fitzpatrick have taken up the offer of the United States government regarding the raising of silk worms with view to promoting the silk business in this country. The government furnishes the eggs and such information as is necessary to manage the business gratis and to the right parties 1t will supply trees and land to plant them in. Aside from what the govern ment does there is considerable ex- pense incident to making the experi- ments, and all this is being met by MT Torkomian and Mir Fitzpatrick. They have employed the services of Dr V. K. Osigian, one of the best known entomologists in Europe, and under his direction they have been very successful in raising the cater pillars, if such the silk worms might rightfully be termed, and getting them to turn out a number of CO., coons, which are quite curiosity to people not familiar with that sort of thing In countries where the silk worm abounds the natives leave them on the trees and take their chances in getting what they can from them, and although considerably more than half their number die before they reach maturity, yet so long as they cost nothing, anything the people gets from this Is almost clear profit.
 The most trouble experienced in handling them here is the difficulty in securing a sufficient number of mulberry trees from which to pluck foliage to feed them with. The man agement has been all over Waterbury and nearby towns and located quite few such trees, but unfortunately the owners were not always willing to have them stripped. So far, how ever, none of the worms have died for want of food. and Mir Torkomian hopes to be able to provide for every one of them until all have passed through the spinning stage, after which they are killed by turning on little steam.
 The worms sleep seven hours and then wake up with ravenous appe- tite and keep eating for forty-eight hours, when they take another snooze. and so on for seventeen days, when they look around for a suitable place to do their spinning, and for this purpose number of punches of ferns. fir dale and such like are placed here and there among the mulberry leaves. One of them will spin cocoon. which contains about HOO yards of very fine silk thread, and when 1t gets through with that job unless 1t is killed 1t starts to grow wings and fits around like a butterfly. During the days while they work and sleep as silk worms they change color every time they sleep. They are just like the ordi- nary caterpillars one often sees going about on eight or ten feet with the exception that the skin is per- fectly smooth, and instead of crawl ing about in all directions they stay in the leaves all the time, and when supplied with food need no other att tention. except to keep the tempera- ture right and see that no tobacco or smoke gets into the rooms. One room accommodates several thou sand. The first lot Is on the ground. Over these on temporary structure about the height of table another army of the tireless workers operate, and above this another lot. When their food is exhausted they are treated to fresh supply on per- forated paper placed directly over the myriads of squirmers. As soon as they scent the new leaves they crawl through the holes in the paper and onto the fodder which they de- vour very rapidly. When a few thou sand of them start chewing at the same time one would think he was listening to rain pelting down upon a tin roof.
 Men with teams are securing the town for mulberry leaves, and as things are nearing a famine at the Croft, Mr Torkomlan hopes that any body who knows where there arc some mulberry trees will report to 46 East Clay street.
 Yesterday Mayor W. E. Thoms, Judge Robert A. Lowe and several other prominent citizens visited the Croft and spent an hour or so taking in the sights.