98 FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF 



a few moments; the moisture being then drained otf by means of bh^tting 

 jjaper and the eggs scraped off by means of a paper knife. They are then 

 washed in soft water, thoroughly dried and put away for keeping. All eggs 

 which swim on the surface are considered bad, and discarded. The Japan- 

 ese egg-producers sell their eggs on cards or cartoons made of some kind of 

 coarse silk. The cards are placed in wooden frames, the rims of which are 

 varnished, so that the moths — disliking the varnish — are made to confine 

 their eggs upon the cards, which are consequently covered in a very regular 

 and uniform manner. 



REELING. 



If the mere rearing of the worm — the jiroduction of the cocoons — is 

 simple; the reeling of the silk is by no means so, as the greatest skill is re- 

 quired to accomplish the work properly, and the value of a hank of silk 

 depends as much upon the skill of the reeler as u])on the quality of the orig- 

 inal thread. In the best cocoons the silk will measure upwards of a thou- 

 sand feet in length, and though it appears single, it is in reality composed of 

 two threads which are glued together and covered, as they issue from the 

 spinneret of the mouth, with a glossy varnish which enables the worm to 

 fasten the silk where it wills^ and which is soluble in warm water. 



It is not ra^' purpose to give a detailed description of a reeling estab- 

 lishment, though I made it a point to visit a number of the best around Ly-' 

 ons, when there last summer. Those who contemplate erecting such an 

 establishment in this country will not rely on written description, but will 

 go to headquarters to get their machinery, which is manufactured by Bur- 

 det & Cie., Eue Desiree 17, Lyons, France. There is also a little work by 

 M. Turgon, which gives a description of the establishment of M. Louis 

 Blanchon, of Livron. My object is merely to state the facts and principles 

 which should govern the unwinding and reeling, for the benefit of those 

 who may wish to use single basins and mills workedby hand. In the great 

 reeling districts of France everything is brought to such perfection in the 

 filatures or reeling establishments, hj the aid of steam, that the hand mills 

 have there almost gone out of use. But most of the silk is unwound by 

 hand joower in china; and excellent silk may be made by dextrous manage- 

 ment with a good hand mill. 



Raw silk is classified into organzine, tram and floss. Organzine is con- 

 siderably twisted and is the choicest. Tram is made from inferior cocoons 

 and is but slightly twisted. Floss is made of the loose silk carded and spun 

 like cotton or wool. 



The thread of silk as it unwinds from the cocoon is valueless for manu- 

 facturing i^urjioses, several of them combined going to make the staple of 

 commerce. 



The persons employed in unwinding silk are mostly women, one stand, 

 ing or sitting^ before each basin, of which she has entire charge. The basin 

 is made of copper, and in the large establishments the water in each basin 

 is heated by steam at the control of the operator. The cocoons are plunged 

 into the water when it is near the boiling point and moved about so that the 



