150 [Senate 



The heat of the water may be raised to near tae boiling point, (it 

 should never be allowed to boil,) when two or three handsful of 

 cocoons may be thrown into one of the largest apartments of the basin, 

 which must be gently pressed under the water for a few minutes, with 

 a little brush made of broom corn, with the ends shortened. The heat 

 of the water will soon soften the gum of the silk, and thereby loosen 

 the ends of the filaments. The reeler should then gently stir the cocoons 

 with the brush, until the loose fibres adhere to it ; they are then sepa- 

 rated from the brush, holding the filaments in the left hand, while the 

 cocoons are carefully combed down between the fingers of the right 

 hand, as they are raised out of the water ; this is continued until the 

 floss, or false ends, are all drawn off, and the fine silk begins to appear ; 

 the fibres are then broken off and laid across something rough, over 

 the size of the basin. The floss is then cleaned from the brush and laid 

 aside as refuse silk ; and the operation continues until the most of the 

 ends are thus collected. 



If the silk is designed for sewing, about twenty fibres should com- 

 pose a thread ; if intended for other fabrics, from eight to twelve fibres 

 should be reeled together. The cocoons composing the threads are 

 taken up in a small tin skimmer, made for the purpose, and passed from 

 the large apartment to those directly under the guides ; as the ends 

 become broken, they are passed back into the spare apartment^ where 

 they are again collected to be returned to the reel. 



The requisite number of fibres thus collected, for two threads are 

 passed, each, through the lower guides ; they are then wound around 

 each other, fifteen or twenty times, and each carried through the two 

 guides in the traverse bar, and then attached to the arms of the reel. 

 The turning should now be commenced, with a slow and steady motion, 

 until the threads run freely. While the reel is turning, the person 

 attending the cocoons must continually be adding fresh ends, as they may 

 be required^ not waiting until the number she began with is reduced, 

 because the internal fibres are much finer than those composing the 

 external layers. In adding new ends, the reeler must attach them by 

 gently pressing them, with a little turn, between the thumb and finger, 

 to the threads as they are running. As the silk is reeled off, the chry- 

 salides should be taken out of the basin, with the skimmer, otherwise 

 they will obscure and thicken the water, and injure the color and lustre 



