184 TEXTILE FIBRES. 



termed Sea Silk. Certain marine mollusks, common on the coasts of 

 Calabria and Sicily, attach themselves to rocks by means of stout threads. 

 This material is combed and then treated with the juice of the lemon. 

 Three parts of the material gives about one part of a lucid fibre of golden 

 lustre, and from 3 to 8 centimetres long, It is of great strength, and 

 bears a resemblance to real silk. It is made into articles such as gloves- 

 and purses. 



Wood Pulp Silk. The wood pulp silk industry has been brought to 

 the front within the last four or five years. With the aid of a cotton 

 warp the wood pulp silk has been woven into fabrics. The yarn from 



Fig. 118. Wood pulp silk fibre fabrics. 



this vegetable silk is specially prepared by some chemical method, and 

 iii appearance it has a rich glossy and silky lustre. 



Fig. 117 is an illustration of the silk wound upon pirns ready for 

 the shuttle. The two dark pirns were filled with layers of scarlet silk, 

 and the rest with silk of a rich peach colour. The loose silk shown in 

 the middle was of various colours and lustre. The portion of fabric 

 shown is made of a cotton warp dyed and interlaced with the silk weft. 

 It has a good appearance, but the strength of the weft might be much 

 improved. If this were done, it is just possible that the wood pulp silk 

 industry might have a good future before it. Its manufacture as a fibre is 

 secured and reserved by patent rights. 



Fig. 118 shows a piece of the wood pulp silk fabric somewhat 



