34 



either the East or West — that of printing. It had struck 

 me that fabrics made of Tusser silk, either of native or 

 home manufacture, would be susceptible of much enrich- 

 ment if they could be printed upon. After many fruitless 

 attempts, at a considerable outlay, I at last succeeded, and 

 since that time I have had the satisfaction of applying and 

 fixing a much wider range of colours. 



Thinking that designs of an Eastern type were naturally 

 the most applicable to cloths of this wild silk, I obtained, 

 by the courtesy of Dr. Forbes Watson, the loan of a large 

 series of wood-printing blocks, of native design and work- 

 manship, from the old India Museum. I have used these 

 for many of the printed illustrations in the collection, and 

 have consistently adhered to the use of Indian colours. 

 The designs on these blocks are exceedingly interesting, 

 as will be seen in Plate LV. In England the finer 

 details would be of copper, but in these they are of the 

 hardest wood, and the details of the pattern most skilfully 

 cut. 



Since the results of my developments were exhibited at 

 the Paris Exhibition of 1 878, Tusser silks have been largely 

 printed and worn both in France and England. Printed 

 pompadours on Tusser have since been very fashionable. 

 These printed silks can be successfully used for wall 

 damasks, curtains, furniture coverings, hangings, and 

 women's and girls' dresses with excellent effect ; and I 

 would call the attention of upholsterers and broad-silk 

 manufacturers to the specimens in the collection in the 

 India section. The silk fabrics made of Tusser are very 

 strong, most durable, and possess much lustre. I have 

 pointed out at p. 68 the superior strength of Tusser to 

 ordinary silk, it being between three and . four times 

 greater than that of Bombyx wiori. 



There will be found in the collection a series of patterns, 

 No. 87, which, by the kindness of Messrs. Clayton, Mars- 

 dens, Holden, & Co., who prepared them, I am enabled 

 to exhibit, showing to what uses the waste of Tusser silk 

 and the cocoons pierced by the exit of the moth can be put 

 by spinning in the same way as threads of cotton and wool 

 are manufactured. It commences with samples of pierced 

 cocoons which could not be wound, and waste silk from 

 ordinary Tusser manufacture, followed by samples showing 

 the various processes the silk undergoes before it is made 

 into thread or cord for weaving or for sewing purposes. 

 This series of patterns will be found described in order in 

 the catalogue at the end of this manual. 



