Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1913-06-28
'vANITYS BIG TOLL
Is Fed by Great Destruction Of
Life.
Silk for Millions Of Wearers That 2oo,-
ooo,ooo,ooo Worms Die 20 Provide
They Live Only TO Work.
interesting Data.


Women who deck themselves out In
silks, and men, too, for silk enters into
their ties and socks and other gar
ments that some can afford to buy. as
well as into most OF the things worn
by femininity, concern themselves
with the awful destruction OF lift
that is necessary to permit their
vanity TO have sway. About 10000
100000 worms are killed every year
to make silk for use OF the hosiery and
underwear manufacturers OF the uni
ted-States alone In the manufacture OF
their products. This statement was
made by H. r. Hofer, manufacturer
OF Paterson, N. j., In an address at q
recent convention OF the National AS
ISOLATION OF Hosiery and Underwear
Manufacturers, held in Philadelphia.
Mr.. Hofer presented figures to
show that the manufacturers consume
around 100000 pounds of silk annual
ly, and that 1t requires 5000 cocoons
to make a pound. In other words.
5000 worms give up their lives to
produce each pound of the raw ma
terial. He gave the number OF the
worms that must die to give to the
world all the silk that is produced In
a year as about 100000, 900, 900.
The silk worm. without a sex, is
a mere being destined to perform
functions OF most unselfish manner"
said Mr.. Hofer In his most interest
ing address. This worm knows moth
ing but duties and obligations. 1t
dnnq rb ralo ho
other creature in existence. because
from it's first day of life until it's last
1t is working uninterruptedly without
sleep or rest of any sort.
True enough, Its work might by
human beings be considered to be an
enyiable occupation, since 1t consists
OF eating and nothing else. In the six
weeks Of life this little creature. eats
all that is necessary to enable its
growing to more than a thousand
times its original size.
AT the first hour of life the total
weight of these 100000, 600, 900
amounts to about 100000 pounds, and
after about six weeks this lot OF lit
tie creatures will have done away with
about 10000, 00O. 900 pounds of mulber-
ry leaves furnished by about 10000
mulberry trees.
The growing of the worm Is so fast
that 1t has to develop new and more
elastic skin every week for the period
Of five weeks. The time for the she'd
ding of one skin to the shedding OF the
next is considered or called one stage
of life, and In the last stage the worm
ha, LOT
transformed the same into a uniform
solution Of silky constituencies as 1t
deems sufficient to enable 1t to build
net OF a house around itself, In which
1t expects to remain unprotected from
the attacks of enemies while laying
dormant during it's Transformation
from worm to butterfly. In that
dormant state of chrysalis. when
imagining to be safe from all outside
enemies, within the artistically- built
house, the cocoon. 1t is mercilessly
murdered by men, wilfully destroyed
to satisfy the growing sense OF vanity
of men, or, rather, women.
''Of course, the killing is necessary
IL we are to derive the full benefit
from the cocoon, because IL we allow
the chrysalis inside the cocoon to de-
velop into a butterfly, the latter will
pierce the cocoon and destroy the
thread at so many places that 1t would
render the unwinding of the fine silk
hlaments an impossibility. A very
small proportion of all these millions
of silk worms are enjoying the privi-
lege to grow to maturity, the butter
fly, the female one of which upon ma
turity and all within few hours time,
lays from to 600 eggs, which will
make up new generation year af-
terward.
The time required for the transfer
nation from the fullgrown worm into
q butterfly varies somewhat and is In
tiuenced by climatic conditions. but on
an average it does not take longer
than three weeks Therefore. the
wholesale killing must be affected
within these three weeks. In lots OF
hundreds OF thousands are the cocoons
thrown into an especially constructed
oven and therein baked at a certain
rate of heat until all life is extin-
There was much more in Mr. Ho-
fer's address that was particularly In
to the men interested In the
of hosiery and underwear
who heard him.