SILK MANUFACTURE. 



SILVER. 



574 



different shuttles with threads of various quality, &c. The pile 



which constitutes 



of short pieces of silk 



conceal the interlacing of the warp and woof. 



i the peculiarity of velvet is produced by the insertion 

 silk thread, which cover the surface so entirely as to 

 The process of weaving 



velvet is slow, and it is paid for at several times the rate of plain silks. 

 There are several sorts of goods in which silk is employed with 

 woollen materials, such as poplins and bombazines. The Chinese make 

 a species of washing silk, called at Canton ponge, which becomes 



Fig 5. Silk Spinning by hand. 



more soft as it is longer used. Their crapes have never yet been 

 perfectly imitated; and they particularly excel in the production of 

 damasks and flowered satins. 



. S VW- Trade. The making of ribbons and small articles in silk long 

 preceded in England that of broad silk. The trade was principally in 

 the hands of women ; and, like a sickly plant of foreign growth, it 

 appears to have constantly demanded props and support. Repeated 

 statutes and orders were made, discouraging the use of silk goods from 

 abroad. An act passed in the reign of Edward IV. contained a sort 

 of apology, which, if good for anything, made the prohibition 

 unnecessary. The act state* that not only were the artificers, men 

 and women " greatly impoverished, hindered of their worldly increase 

 and daily living, by these ware* and chaffres being brought in fully 

 wrought and ready for sale by strangers, the king's enemies, and other," 

 but that " the greatest part in substance wag deceitful, and nothing 

 wrth in regard of any man's occupation and profit." The law against 

 the importation of ribbons, Ac. was renewed at successive intervals 

 until the 19 Henry VII., when it wag made perpetual. Foreign 

 ribbons notwithstanding still made their way over. The silk-throwsters 

 were incorporated by a charter obtained 5 Charles I., about ten years 

 after the establishment of the broad-silk manufacture in the reign of 

 James I. : the silk-weavers were already included in the great 

 company of weavers. Towards the end of the reign of Charles II., the 

 silk manufacture, which had hitherto been almost confined to London, 

 wag carried into several other large towns of the kingdom by the 

 French Protestants, who took refuge in this country, to the number, 

 it it said, of 70,000, after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 

 1685 ; and amongst the rest to Coventry. The ribbon trade, of which 

 Coventry has since become the chief seat in England, was introduced 

 early in the last century by Mr. Bird, assisted probably by some of the 

 French emigrants : the number of French terras still used in the 

 manufacture proven that its origin was, in part at least, foreign. 

 After the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, French and Italian manufactured 

 silks were admitted under considerable duties ; but in 1765 the ribbon 

 and other silk manufacturers procured the re-establisimient of the 

 prohibitory system, which was thenceforward maintained for sixty 

 years, enforced by heavy penalties. With the increase of population 

 and the greater demand for luxuries, the home market increased ; but 

 an export trade, principally to America, gradually decayed, in con- 

 sequence perhaps of the heavy duties on raw and thrown silk. During 

 the period of restriction, ribbon-weaving seems to have degenerated in 

 this country as regards the superior branches. In 1824 the govern- 

 ment determined to try the effect of an approach to free trade upon 

 the silk manufacture. As a preliminary step, the duties on raw silk 

 were reduced from 4d. per Ib. to 'id., and afterwards to \d. ; and on 

 thrown, from 14*. Sd. to 7. 6d., and afterwards to 3*. 6d., !>., and 

 1*. 6d., according to quality ; with a drawback to the amount of the 

 duty allowed on any manufactures of silk exported, whether they were 

 or were not made of the foreign thrown silk which had paid the duty. 

 Two years were allowed after the lowering of these duties to prepare 

 fur the admission of foreign manufactured silk at a duty of 30 per cent. 

 But thu step was strongly opposed by the ribbon manufacturers of 

 try, who were unanimous in demanding a total prohibition of 

 foreign ribbons ; they succeeded in procuring, in 1832, the appoint- 

 ment of a committee of the House of Commons to inquire into the 

 state of the silk trade. Nothing short of this (they said) could enable 

 them to make ribbons at all. This inquiry led to no alteration in the 

 system which the government had adopted ; and subsequent remon- 

 strances made by the same parties had a similar result. 



Without tracing in detail the progress of the trade and the altera- 

 tion! in the duties, it will suffice to give a few figures relating to the 

 last few years. Sir Robert I'eel wholly removed the import duty on 

 raw silk in 1845 ; and since that year every irt of the trade has 

 extended. The raw silk imported between 1844 and 1860, varied from 

 4,133,0(10 llw. (in 1844) to 12,078,000 Ibs. (in 1857). But the last-named 

 year wag an exceptional one, in regard to the largeness of the import ; 

 the import for the lant seven years has averaged about 8,000,000 Ibs. 



per annum. The above is raw silk, in the hank. The thrown, silk, 

 ready for the weaver, is imported in much smaller quantity, varying 

 from 300,000 Ibs. to 1,000,000 Ibs. per annum. Manufactured silk goods 

 imported are entered by the Ib. or by the piece, according to their 

 character that is, European goods by the Ib., and India goods by 

 the piece. About 300,000 Ibs. of broad silks and 400,000 Ibs. of 

 ribbons, from the continent, together with half a million pieces of 

 India goods (Bandanas, Corahs, Choppas, Tussire cloths, Romals, and 

 Taffetas) have been about the average quantities within the last few 

 years. Omitting all years but 1859, we will give the exact figures for 

 that date : 



The ejcport of course do not comprise any raw silk. Of thrown silk, 

 in the various forms of thread and yarn, the quantity exported from 

 1844 to 1860, varied from about 200,000 Ibs. (in 1848) to 1,400,000 Ibs. 

 (in 1856). Of woven silk goods the quantity varied from 600,000 Ibs. 

 (in 1848) to 3,000,000jlbs. (in 1856). Taking one particular year (1858) 

 as a fair average for seven recent years, we find that the computed 

 real value of all the silkandsilks imported was about 8,000,OOOA ; and that 

 the declared value of the silk and silks exported was about 2,000,000?. 

 Raw silk is imported duty free ; manufactured goods pay an import 

 duty, which in 1858 amounted to about 900,000;. By the new 

 commercial treaty with France, England has given up about 300,0002. 

 a year, that having been the produce of duties laid on French silk and 



Without going into details, it may suffice to state that the quantity 

 of silk imported in 1860, whether raw, waste, or thrown, was less than 

 in 1859; but greater in reference to manufactured silk. The export 

 of silk goods woven in England was smaller in 1860 than in 1859 ; but 

 of silk-thread and yarn, it was higher. 



Mr. VVinkworth, a Spitalfields manufacturer, estimated in 1857 that 

 50 millions sterling are sunk in the United Kingdom in the silk 

 manufacture, and that 1,000,000 persons are supported by it. For 

 the number of mills, see FACTORIES. 



SILVER (Ag., from the Latin argentum). This metal has been 

 known from the earliest times, frequent mention being made of it in 

 the writings of Moses. Occurring naturally in the metallic state, 

 though not so frequently as to render it common, and being easily 

 worked, it must, no doubt, have been one of the first discovered metals. 

 The alchemists and astrologers supposed it to have some mysterious 

 connection with the moon, gave it the sign J , and called it Diana or 

 Luna. They also seem to have been acquainted with chloride of 

 silver (horn-silver) and nitrate of silver (lunar caustic). 



Next to the free metal itself, the sulphide is the most important ore 

 of silver. It is usually associated with sulphide of lead ; indeed galena 

 lead-ore nearly always contains silver, which is separated as described 

 under LEAD, MANUFACTURE OF. The ore is roasted to expel sulphur, 

 smelted with charcoal, and the argentiferous lead submitted to 

 !inn [ASSAYING], by which the lead, becoming oxidised, is partly 

 volatilised, partly raked off the surface, and partly sinks into the cupel, 

 leaving pure silver hi the liquid state. 



Another process for the extraction of silver from its ores is termed 

 amalgamation, from the fact that the metal, after the ore has been 

 roasted and the silver reduced by scrap iron, is dissolved out by mer- 

 cury ; the separated amalgam is afterwards submitted to distillation, 

 when the mercury volatilises and the silver is left behind. [AMALGAM.] 

 The processes, of which the final step is amalgamation, are many ; the 



