66 SILKWORMS. 



merely consists of a sort of wheel something like the paddle wheel 

 of a steamboat. It may easily be made for oneself. First, take 

 two flat pieces of wood about eight inches long, and a quarter of 

 an inch wide, and fasten them upon one another in such a way 

 that they cross at their middle points, and are at right angles. 

 Then make another similar cross. A piece of stout, strong wire, 

 about six inches long may now be run through the centres of the 

 two crosses, which are to be firmly fastened to it, in such a way 

 that they remain parallel to one another, and about three inches 

 apart. They will thus form the spokes of a double wheel. Next, 

 make four small, flat, smooth pieces of wood of similar breadth to 

 the spokes, but only about half as long, and fasten each of these 

 across, from the end of a spoke of one cross to the corresponding 

 one of the other, and the wheel is then complete. A good way 

 of fastening the cross pieces to the spokes is to taper the ends of 

 the latter to a cylindrical form, and then insert them into holes 

 made near the ends of the cross pieces. One of the latter should 

 be fastened in such a way that it can, when required, be slipped 

 farther down the spoke. The wheel will now need two supports 

 on which to turn ; these may be two upright pieces of wood, each 

 with a perforation near the top, and fastened to a board in such a 

 way that the axle of the wheel may be run through the perfora- 

 tions. Then a handle may be attached to one end, and the 

 whole is in working order. 



The end of the thread of the cocoon is now fastened to one of 

 the cross pieces of the wheel, and the latter is turned, when the 

 thread will be wound off the cocoon, which still remains in the 

 warm water, on to the wheel. The basin must not be placed too 

 near the reeling machine, or the silk as wound will be too wet and 

 the threads will stick together. The cocoon should be guided by the 

 unoccupied hand of the reeler, in such a way that the thread does 

 not always occupy the same position on the wheel, but is shifted 

 backwards and forwards from one side to the other. This is to 

 prevent the different coils of thread from adhering, as they might 

 do if they were always wound in the same line. When no more 

 silk can be obtained from one cocoon, another of the same colour 

 may be begun in the same way, and thus several reeled before 

 removing the silk, in order to obtain a larger skein. When the 

 reeling is finished the movable cross piece may be slipped a little 

 way down its spoke, when the coil of silk will, of course, become 

 slack, and may be taken off the wheel after the latter has been 

 removed from its supports. The ring of silk thus obtained may 

 be drawn out into a loop and tied in a knot in the middle, in the 

 same way as a skein of thread. As a saving of time, several 



