CHOICE AND PREPARATION OF GUT. 79 



avoided. No fair means will take out the white glare 

 from a batch of pearly gut. Boiling dye will effect 

 the purpose, but the strength and sterling usefulness 

 of the stuff will have so deteriorated as to render it 

 practically worthless. The opaque silkworm gut is 

 naturally found to be inferior in point of strength ; 

 four lengths of the transparent and clear variety are 

 found to be equal to five of the white and brighter 

 kind of similar thickness. Spanish gut is superior to 

 that of either India or China. The most disreputable 

 is the Sicilian. This is found to be flat and tender, 

 as also so white and opaque as to be of little utility. 

 The Indian variety is especially noted for its excessive 

 length. This exceeds, usually, all its compeers. The 

 colour is yellow, even when prepared and uncoated 

 No dyeing v/ill permanently alter the shade. As 

 regards strength, it ranks below the Spanish and 

 China gut. Good round and sound gut should stand 

 a strain of from 2^ to 5 Ibs., according to the thick- 

 ness, without parting. Before joinings are made the 

 ends should be moistened between the lips, so as to 

 admit of its bedding down, and to avoid splittings ; 

 otherwise, dry old gut will " spilch," and break at the 

 knots when forming. 



When gut is imported, it is coated with a thin, 

 brittle, yellow skin, which is easily removed. This is 

 its raw or unbleached state. We may here observe 

 that often too much doctoring is practised in baking, 

 boiling, bleaching, and unbarking the raw substance 

 A large class are prejudiced in favour of what they 

 term a beautiful white tint. This taste, unfortunately, 



