O F S I L K. 255 



be very inconflderable with refpecl botli to 

 the time and labour which it will fave in 

 the reeling, and with refpe^l to the advan- 

 tage and value which the filk will receive 

 from it; for which reafon, I do the more 

 earneftly recommend it as a work which is 

 both eafy and of great importance. 



CHAP. VII. 



How to reel the filk from the pods, 



'T^HE kind of water in which the lilk- 

 -■■ pods are reel'd is of confiderable im- 

 portance, water which is called hard ; fuch 

 as that of fprings and wells, is by no 

 means to be ufed, for it will not diflblve 

 the gumminefs of the pods, fo that they 

 will wind off with difhculty, and their 

 threads be liable to break often. Choofe 

 therefore the . foftefb vv'ater from flow run- 

 ning rivers, or ponds, and which has been 

 longcil expofed to the air. This water 

 being put in the cauldron of the furnace 

 before defcribed, let it be made jufl: to fim- 

 mer, or come to boiling, and then, with a 

 2 ikim- 



