92 



Messieurs, 



It is within the recollection of the Chamber that, 

 in the month of January 1879, the Indian Government 

 sent to the Chamber, at Air. N. Rondot's request, two 

 cases of Eria and Mooga cocoons, with the request that 

 they might be experimented upon in France. These cases 

 contained smothered and bitten cocoons. The Chamber 

 has only received during the last few days the reports 

 drawn up by the manufacturers to whom we have sub- 

 mitted the cocoons. 



The spinning cocoons have been divided in two lots, 

 and confided to two manufacturers. The yield, after 

 immersion, varied between 8 and 9 kilogrammes, that is to 

 say, that 8 or 9 kilogrammes of cocoons were necessary 

 to obtain a kilogramme of silk, whilst 4 to 4£ kilogrammes 

 of Bombyx clu murier (Bonibyx mori) are sufficient. This 

 small proportion is due to this circumstance, that the 

 outside shell of the cocoon has to be removed before the 

 good silk is reached, and the quantity of silk to be reeled 

 is diminished by so much. 



The expense of spinning would be about 10 francs per 

 kilogramme. 



The raw silk appears to be very light ; therefore the loss 

 in scouring would not be considerable. 



A most careful sorting (" triage rigoureux ") of the cocoons 

 is the first condition to be fulfilled in order to facilitate 

 the spinning, which would require special care. This is 

 a point on which the two manufacturers to whom we 

 have confided the cocoons rightly insist, and upon which 

 it seems to us the attention of the Indian Government 

 must be particularly called. 



The same observation was made to us by Messieurs Franck 

 pere et fils and Martelin, who have consented to make 

 experiments on the lot of bitten cocoons. 



In order to give a chance of success to the importation 

 of these cocoons, they say in their report : — 



" The first condition would be to insist on a most careful 

 sorting, by the shippers, of the light and dark cocoons. 

 The latter should be rejected ; we consider them useless on 

 account of their colour. The strongest scouring is not 

 sufficient to bleach them enough for the consumers of 

 schappes (waste silk thread) to use regularly the thread 

 thus obtained. 



" On the other hand, there is no objection to the regular 

 use of the li^ht cocoons. 



