514 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No, 9 



Simply because it is not reeled like ihe laiter. I 

 make these reniarki=, here, merely lor ihe purpose 

 of recordino; my opinion on this point, Cully be- 

 lieving iliat (lie time will come, when all other 

 reels and machines Ihan I hat ul' Piednioni, or those 

 producing the same refulls, will be at)andoned in 

 this coui:]try, except f<)r domestic use, fiir which 

 the newly invented machines are admirably adapt- 

 ed. The liesl I have examined is Brooks'. 

 They cost about i$40, and can be obtained of the 

 inventor, Adam Brooks, South Scituate, Massa- 

 chusetts. Reels of the Piedmontese construction, 

 can be obtained in Philadelphia, but 1 ain not in 

 possession of the address ol" the per=!on who 

 makes them at this time. They cost ^15 to .^20. 



Preparatioivs for rekli.ao. — A stTiall 

 portable furnace, with some burning charcoal, is 

 very usefiji fur keeping the water hot, and should 

 always be used. On this, place a copper or tin 

 vessel, broad and flat, say six inches deep, 18 

 inches long, and 12 inches wide. Fill the vessel 

 with hot water, not quite boilinc:, and put into the 

 water two or three dozen cocoons, from which all 

 the loose tow has been taken. With a small 

 wisp of broom-straw, stir the cocoons about, oc- 

 casionally raising the wisp to see if the end of a 

 fibre has attached itself to it, and if such is the 

 case, take the fibre in the lelt hand, and proceed 

 again, as before, stirriiig the cocoons with the 

 wisp, and securing the fibres in the left hand, 

 until you have got fil'ieen or twenty ; then attach 

 them to the bar of the reel, and let an attendant 

 turn the reel rapidly. Watch the cocoons care- 

 fully, so that you may observe if they run or un- 

 wind well. If you observe any of them drawn up 

 out of the water, the water is nut hot enouoh ; if 

 the fibres come off the cocoons in burs or clusters, 

 the water is too hot. In the Ibrmer case you rr)ust 

 increase the heat of the water by pouring into the 

 pan some boiling water; in ihe latter case you 

 must cool it, by putting in cold water. The great 

 ditficulty, in reeling, consists in ascertaining the 

 proper degree of heat of the water, required for 

 different parcels of cocoons. Some cocoons re- 

 quire the water to he only ol' blood-heat ; and 

 others of all degrees from blood-heat to near the 

 boiling point. But a little experience will teach 

 the degree of heat re(|uired, so that the recler will 

 know in a moment whether the water is of a pro- 

 per temperature. 



When you have got as many fibres running on 

 Ihe reel as you retiuire, you must still sit at^the 

 pan with the wisp, catching olherfibres ; tor if the 

 reel is turned with the proper rapidity, it will re- 

 quire you to be constantly attaching "new fibres to 

 supply the place of those that have bi'oken, or ex- 

 hausted cocoons. The fibres are re.idily attached 

 to the thread as it is running, by merely throwing 

 the ends of them on the running thread, which 

 innnediately adhere by means of the gum. 



The number of fibres in the thread de- 

 pends upon the purpose for which the silk is intend- 

 ed. For sewing-silk of ordinary quality, about 

 fifty fibres may be reeled together ; and then the 

 threads will require to be doubled, so that from 

 one hundred and fifty to two hundred fibres are 

 contained in an ordinary thread of sewing-silk. 

 For coarse broad goods, the same number may be 

 reeled; but for the finer goods, gauzes, &c., five 

 to ten fibres only, or for the finest, only two fibres 

 are reeled together. 



If the learner has followed the above instruc- 

 tions, he has probably been able to get quite a 

 skein or hank of raw silk on his reel. I am sorry 

 to disappoint bin), but must tell him, it is good for 

 nothing. I was desirous of enablinu him to get 

 the knack of catching the fibres; attaching them 

 to the running thread; of learning the proper tem- 

 perature of the water; and giving hi"m a little ex- 

 perience in nearly vjindingoffu. parcel ofcocoons, 

 that he might become acquainted with the out- 

 lines of the art, and iret the use of his loots. As 

 said before, the silk reeled merely as above, will 

 generally be worthless — it requires more care. 



Ifthe Piedmontese reel be used, two tiireads, of 

 ten to twenty or thirty fibres each, are attached to 

 the reel at the same time, and kept constantly of 

 the same number of fibres. The proper number 

 of fibres is obtained as before directed; brought 

 tocret her, drawn through the hand to clear them 

 of motes and filth, and then drawn nut to see that 

 they run well; then pass ihem through the eye of 

 the plate, pass the two threads three or four times 

 round each other, separate them and pass them 

 through the eyes on the vibrating bar, thence to 

 the bar of the reel ; as soon as they are attached 

 to the latter, let the attendant turn the reel rapidly, 

 and the reeler return to the pan to provide fibres tor 

 those cocoons that become detached or exhausted. 



It will keep the reeler pretty busily employed in 

 catching fibres, and dexterously throwinsr the 

 ends upon the thread as it passes up, 1o keep Ifie 

 proper number ofcocoons running in both threads. 

 Keep a basket ofcocoons by your side, and put in 

 fre>]i ones to supply the place of those already in 

 the basin, from lime to lime, as they are exhaust- 

 ed. Take care that there be not too many in the 

 basin at the same time, nor too Cew ; as in the for- 

 mer case, some of them will l)ecome 1ooh)Ose, and 

 in the latter, the reel must stop till the fresh ones 

 are soaked enouL'h to run freely. Observe the 

 following rules strictly: Whatever be the number 

 of fibres you begin with, keep tliat number steadily 

 in the thread, that it may be uniform and even ; 

 change the water as ofien as it becomes foul, and 

 always use perfectly clear rain or river water, let- 

 ting it stand for a time before use, that the sand, 

 if any be in it, may settle before puttinir it into the 

 pan. Well or sprinir water is generally too hard 

 for the purpose. Avoid all carelessness and sloven- 

 liness — and remember that, care is moivey, in 

 reeling silk. Let it be borne in mind, that Ihe 

 value of silk is increased or diniinished by the 

 manner in which it is reeled, very materially. One 

 reeler will make his day's work in reeling: worth 

 five or six dollars, while another will only be worth 

 two or three dollars, both reeling the same quan- 

 tity of cocoons. Hence the value of care and at- 

 tention. Attention to smat.l, matters, too, is 

 hereof the utmost importance. Indeed, the whole 

 process is but a series of small, very small mat- 

 ters, no one of which can be neglected but at the 

 expense of a material reduction in ihe quality of 

 the silk. For example, if the water he too hot, 

 the thread will he knotty, from the kinks or burs 

 of the fibre that run up; if it be foul, from allowing 

 the shells of the chrysalids to remain in it, the 

 silk will be covered with motes; and if the num- 

 ber of fibres be not constantly kept the same, the 

 thread will be uneven ; all which deteriorate the 

 quality of the silk, and ihereibre reduce materially 

 the profit of the day's labor ; but all which can be 



