ON MULBERRY TREES AND SILK. 91 



never seen a reel run until I used one myself, with the 

 assistance of my mother, who is seventy-four years old 

 this month. I began to feed July 19, and wound up in 

 about seven weeks. The worms have done very well — 

 very few dead worms. I fed with white mulberry, with 

 branches — my trees were cut close to the ground last 

 spring — some of the shoots have grown over seven feet 

 the past season. I fed in an out-house well ventilated, 

 and in addition I use large fans. The silk worm is a 

 robust little animal, all he wants is pure air and plenty 

 of good fodder. 



Yours, &c., 



D. M. DUMMER. 



P. S. I think I shall have six pounds raw silk. The 

 silk is from eight to eighty fibre. 



Georgetown, Sept. 24, 1844. 



SOPHIA ORD WAY'S STATEMENT. 



7^0 the Committee on Manufactured Silk: 



Gentlemen, — I present for your inspection two spe- 

 cimens of silk, manufactured from the sulphur worm, fed 

 on the white Italian mulberry. Method of manufactur- 

 ing the smaller parcel : 



The cocoons are put into a basin and boiling water 

 poured on them. They are then set over a furnace of 

 coal and the fibres collected by dipping a small corn 

 broom among them. The cocoons are reeled on a clock 

 reel, then placed on a swift and spun on a common wool 

 wheel ; spooled from the spindle and twisted from the 

 spool, one spool being set back of another. The co- 

 coons of the larger parcel were put in water over a fur- 

 nace, in the same manner as the smaller. The thread 

 passed through a ring in a wood fixture, standing at the 

 side of the basin and spun directly, without reeling. 

 When desirous to keep the thread of an uniform size 

 place a ball of silk (wound from cocoons too far spent 

 to be spun alone,) with the cocoons in the basin. — 

 Spooled and twisted as the first, only kept wet while 

 twisting. 



