70 THE SILK INDUSTRY IN WESSEX. 



skeins from Italy, Bengal, China, and Asia Minor, to a 

 considerable extent through the agency of the East India 

 Company, which held periodical sales of the raw material. 

 The ballots, or bales, of silk were then sent to a throwing mill ; 

 in a few cases the weaver " threw " his own silk, but the more 

 general custom was to employ a throwster, who received a 

 sum varying from 2s. to 5s. for each pound weight, according 

 to the quality of the raw threads and the purpose for which 

 they were to be used. 



The term " throwing " is probably derived from the 

 swinging or tossing which the threads undergo when on the 

 machines ( Ure's Dictionary of Arts), the object of the series 

 of operations being to double and twist the raw silk into 

 more substantial fibres. The initial process consisted of 

 winding the skeins on to bobbins by a mechanism then known 

 as an " engine." Cleaning followed, being effected by parsing 

 the thread through a slit small enough to hold any nibs or 

 lumps. Doubling was the next operation, by which the 

 threads on two, or three, bobbins were wound together in 

 contact on one bobbin. In the case of the best silk, the 

 threads were then twisted into a compound strand called 

 " organzine," which was used for the warp in weaving. An 

 inferior quality was thrown into " tram " and twisted in one 

 direction only ; this was used for the weft. A third variety 

 was thrown into "singles," viz., one twisted thread. The 

 throwing or twisting was done by a machine known as a 

 " mill," an improved form of which had been introduced at 

 Derby in 1719 by Sir Thomas Lombe. His patent rights 

 were acquired by the State in 1732, when the apparatus 

 became available for all and was probably used by the Dorset 

 throwsters. 



The raw silk which was thus prepared at Sherborne for the 

 weavers had been chiefly obtained from Fossambrone, Reggio, 

 Pesaro, and Friuli in Italy, and from China. Smaller 

 quantities came from Bengal, from Brutia and Antioch, and 

 from Murcia in Spain. Occasional bales were obtained from 

 Ghilan or Sherbaffe in Persia, Legee, Radnegore, and 



