218 EEPOET OF -XnE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTUKE. 



ingthis silk cost $1,073, or about 81.67 per pound, making the total 

 cost of the silk about $5.90 per x^ound. 



"This cost was, to go more into detail, divided up in the following 

 manner: 



4.2.". pounds dry cocoons, at $1 per pound $4. 2o0 



Liibor : 



Cooking, brushing, and reeling 039 



Cocoon sorting . - "^1* 



Forewoman -. "-'Tii 



Engmeer .;!(<8 



Total 5.902 



"In discussing these figures it may at once be said that the forewoman 

 and engineer could as well have handled forty basins as the six which 

 they had in charge in their resi)ectivc capacities. We may therefore 

 with justice place the value of their work in the New Orleans filature 

 »t six-fortieths of the amount stated above. This reduction will then 

 bring the corrected cost per i)Ound to : 



Cocoons $4 2.30 



Labor : 



Cooking, brusking, and reeling .93'.) 



Cocoon sorting 0H9 



Forewoman (i^b- of $0.2~G) 042 



Engineer (f„- of $0.3G 8) - .055 



Total - 5.355 



"The difference in the cost of production between the silk reeled in 

 New Orleans and that reeled in Philadelphia is somewhat due to the 

 superior price paid for labor at the Northern station, where the reelers 

 earn 10 cents per hour, while in New Orleans they can be employed for 

 7^ cents." * 



In our last annual report (p. 286) the opinion was expressed that the 

 future of silk culture in America would depend largely on the snccess of 

 the Serrell automatic silk reel. The flatness of the French moucy mar- 

 ket and the slowness of is.sning of Mr. Serrell's ])ateuts have prevented 

 tuus far the setting up of any of these reels in tlie United States. Two 

 of his American patents have now been granted, but, as they are only 

 in relation to details, we are still unable to give an account of his im- 

 provements; but the experiments carried on in France have shown 

 that the following economies may be effected by the use of this machin- 

 ery, as compared with the ordinary French systems, to which class the 

 Philadelphia and New Orleans reels belong. It has been found that, 

 on account of the more equitable handling of the cocoons by automatic 

 machinery, a pound of silk can be produced from 10 per cent, less raw 

 material than when ordinary hand machinery is used. Again, it has been 

 shown that witli the Serrell reel 50 per cent, of the number of employes 

 can produce one-third more silk per day than is commonly produceci 

 with hand machinery. The cause of this economy is as follows: In tiir 



* During the six weeks intervening between Uw preparation of the above estiuutlcs 

 and the proof-reading (.January 16, 18^6), a decided niovenieut lias taken pLaco in tin- 

 market lor reeled silk, prices iVir silks having risen from 15 to 20 per cenf. It was at 

 tirst thought that this advaitce liad a speculative basis, but later advices seem to indi- 

 cate still better ])rieos, with u iirni and active market. Anticip.ating this further ad- 

 vance, American importers and manufacturers have laid in a large stock of reeled 

 silk, the viilne of imi>()rts in December, 18h5, having reached $2,916,490, as against 

 ?!, 120,199 in December, 1884. This increase in value of imports during the past month 

 brings the total for 1885 to $15,157,465, as against $13,777,908 in 1884. 



