SILK 193 



and the life-history of the moth is also 

 well known. But a portion of manufactured 

 silk is here shown to illustrate the coarse 

 workmanship which the workman considers 

 fine. The amplification is only a fraction of 

 that which some of the objects described in 

 other chapters have undergone. If it had 

 been magnified on the same scale as any of 

 the diatoms, it would have appeared as coarse 

 as a door-mat. Search where we may among 

 the finest art treasures, the costliest minia- 

 tures on ivory, the finest linen, or anything 

 else that displays man's highest skill and 

 most artistic taste, and all will appear rough 

 and uneven under the microscope. This 

 portion of silk (Fig. 65) was, in the first 

 instance, photographed through the micro- 

 scope and amplified to 50 diameters ; the 

 focal distance was 50 inches ; and the 

 objective used was the 1-inch. The object 

 being opaque reflected light was required ; 

 hence the exposure (15 minutes) was long. 



The piece of silk selected was not coarse 

 as compared with other silks. This contrast 



13 



