REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 233 
on the reel that they will not stick or glaze, ¢.g it is termed. These ob- 
jects are attained by the twisting and the ‘o-and-fro lateral movement 
of the reel, as also by properly regulating the distance between reel and 
basin. The uniformity of the thread depe‘ads on the skill of the operator, 
who must supply a new thread as soon “s one begins to give out. This 
is called nourishing the silk, and is d.one by dexterously casting, with 
the thumb, the new thread upon the combined strand, to which it imme- 
diately adheres. In this she must vse much judgment, for the silk of a 
cocoon gradually gets lighter and finer as it approaches the end, and the 
uniformity of strand does not entirely depend on the uniformity in num- 
ber of the individual threads forming it. Whenever the silk rises in 
locks the temperature of the water is known to be too hot, and when it 
unwinds with difficulty the temperature is, on the contrary, too low. 
The operator is supplied with a skimmer with which to remove all chrys- 
alides and refuse silk; alsy, with a basin of cold water in which to cool 
her fingers, which are being constantly dipped in the hot basin. This 
constitutes the whole operation of unwinding, but before the skeins, as 
they come from the recl, are ready for the manufacturer they must un- 
dergo still further manipulation. The staple is first passed through a 
cleanser, consisting of a clasp lined with cloth, which catches any loose 
sik or other matter that may beadhering toit. It is then further cleansed 
and purged by being passed through four similar cleansers (purgewrs), 
then twisted about 500 times to the yard, then doubled and again twisted 
about 400 times to the yard. It is finally run on to reels about 14 feet 
in diameter, and taken off and twisted in a peculiar knot or hank. 
Through all these operations the oscillating to-and-fro lateral motion is 
kept up, so as to produce the diagonal crossing of the strands, and it 
will be readily understood that each staple is, in the end, composed of 
ten or more of the simple threads first spun by the worm. 
“The loose or flock silk, together with all which, from one cause or 
another, cannot be reeled, is soaked in water for three days, boiled for 
one-half hour in clear lye, washed in rain-water, and when dry, carded, 
and spun, it makes an inferior floss silk.” 
In order to better illustrate these principles, we have introduced figures 
of three reels. Pl. I, Fig. 4, is the old Piedmontese reel, which for many 
years held its supremacy, and which has been the foundation of numer- 
ous improved reels. It is formed of four bars or arms, and is usually 
about a yard in circumference. One of these bars is. provided with 
hinges so that it may fold inwards towards the center when it becomes 
necessary to slacken the silk in order to carefully remove it from the 
reel. The lateral movements so necessary in order that the consecutive 
circles shall not stick together is gained in rather a clumsy manner by 
means of cogs. The strands, after being twisted several times at ¢, in 
order to round and smooth the threads by friction, are passed over the 
guides b b, which are inserted in the traversing bar a. To this bar the 
lateral movement is imparted by a pin connected with the outer circum- 
ference of the cog-wheel d. This is connected at e with the cog revolv- 
ing with the shaft of the reel. f represents a charcoal-furnace under 
the copper basin g. The cross-bar hk, to which are attached the glass 
eyes through which the threads from the cocoons first pass, is usually 
widened into a shelf, upon which to place the broom and the cold water 
for the reeler’s fingers. 
Pl. I, Fig. 5, and Pl. II, Fig. 1, represent, respectively, a plane view, 
seen from above, and a longitudinal vertical section of an old French 
reel, differing somewhat from the Piedmontese, and the principles of 
which are employed in all the improved reeling establishments of to-day. 
