80 REELING SILK* 



left open. These bags are filled with hanks of silk, 

 laid in lengthwise and sewed up with strong thread. 

 These "bags are put into a bath, or suds, prepared in 

 the same mariner, and with the same proportions as 

 the former, and boiled for fifteen or twenty minutes. 

 When the suds begin to boil over it must be checked 

 by throwing in a little cold water. While it is boil- 

 ing it must be stirred often to bring up to the surface 

 such bags as are at the bottom of the kettle, or it will 

 be liable to be burned. It will also produce more 

 uniformity in boiling. This operation, it will be re- 

 membere*d, is to be performed when the silk is to be 

 left white. 



Silk intended for dyeing is boiled in the same man- 

 ner, with this difference the silk is continued boiling 

 three or four hours, and the kettle occasionally filled 

 up with water. For common colors twenty, instead 

 of thirty pounds of soap are used in making the suds; 

 but if intended to be dyed blue, iron grey, or other 

 colors, thirty pounds is used. 



After the silk is supposed to be thoroughly boiled, 

 the bags are carefully taken out of the kettle, opened, 

 and the silk examined. If any part remains unboiled, 

 it must be put in and boiled again. This is ascer- 

 tained by the yellow and a certain kind of slime on 

 such parts as have not been boiled. 



A more simple method of ungumming silk, has 

 long been practised in Connecticut, and it will doubt- 

 less answer every purpose, provided measures are 

 taken to prevent its becoming entangled. This 

 method is to merely boil the silk in water saturated 

 with a small quantity of soft soap ; or the ley of com- 

 mon wood ashes. 



