Mapsand Diagrams of the World's Commerce 



The World's Commodities.-lO. Silk and Leather 



S[LK.— The chief variety of the silkworm in cultivation is the 

 Bombyx Mori • Jap™, China and Italy, which produce three-fourths 

 of the world's silk, raising this kind extensively. In S. China India 

 and elsewhere m Asia, other (mostly wild) varieties exist, including 

 Bomhyx icctor, Antherf^a myliita (tussore) and Anihercea yamamai 

 (Japanese sdk). The wild silkworm is found in many parts of Central 

 and S America, Africa and Asia, but the S. American and African 

 silks do not enter into commerce. The Far East contributes about 

 three-hfths and W. Europe one-fourth of the world^s supply of raw 

 silk, the remamder coming fr(^m the Levant and Central Asia The 

 diagrams giving the present production show that silk is for the 

 most j>i\rt produced in countries possessing cheap labour. This 

 IS an essential ccmdition, since over i,ooo cocoons go to the pound (in 

 poor samples double that number), and the pound is only worth from 

 one shilling to one shilling and sixpence. Artificial silk, manufactured 

 from wood pulp, and mercerised cotton, extremely hke silk in appear- 

 ance, are beginning to compete with the natural product. Silk is one 

 of the chief exports of .Inpan, china, and Italy, In Japan it is culti- 

 vated unnersally, in China chiefly in the S,E. provinces, and in Italy 



inthenorth,principaIlyinLombardy,butalsoinPiedm<HitandVenetia 

 while the manufacturing industry centres at Como. The softening of 



the cocoons in warm water and spinning of the fibre are performed 

 k.cally, but the spun silk is '' conditioned/' i.e,, dried at a temperature 

 of 68-84^ F., weighed, and tested principally at European centres the 

 chief of which are Milan (which has displaced Lyons, Shanghai'and 

 Canton as the principal silk mart of the world). Lyons Zurich St 

 Etienne, Elberfeld, Turin, Basle, and Crefeld. France is the chief silk 

 manufacturing country, the annual output of Lyons being valued at 

 £16 000,000, and that of St. Etienne at £3,350,000. The particular 

 quality of silk made in Japan is a peasant industry, and is produced 



nowhere else. It is extraordinary cheap and very thin in texture The 

 silk mdustry of the United Kingdom has greatly declined since the 

 opening of the Sue^ Canal, as the raw silk from the East now goes 

 direct to the French and Italian ports, but it is still carried on at 

 Macclesfield and Congleton, Manchester, London, Nottingham 

 Leicester, Derby, Yorkshire, Nonvich, Coventry, Leek, Sherborne' 

 trome, Glasgow and Dublin, the last named being noted for poplins 

 made from a mixture of silk and wool. More '' waste " silk tiian raw 

 spun silk IS now imported into Great Britain, and is used in the 

 manufacture of velvets, sewing silks, braid, etc. 



The LBATHi^R of commerce is obtained chiefly from the hides 

 of the principal domesticated animals— the ox, sheep, horse pig and 

 goat, but leathers can be made from all animals, and useful kinds are 

 obtained from the white whale (porpoise hide), the manatee, dugone 

 crocodile, and alligator. As most countries export hides and skins 

 111 some quantity, a map showing its distribution is unnecessary, 

 though reference can be made to the map showing meat supplies 

 (page 10), which gives the distribution of the chief hide-producing 

 animals. Argentina, the United States, India, Germany, and France 

 furnish the chief supplies of leather. Germany is the greatest leather 

 manufacturing country, a speciahty being coloured leathers. France 

 noted for her glove and patent leathers, comes second, and then the 

 United States and Great Britain. Russia leather, the prod^ict ot 

 the Russian industry, is tanned with birch bark, to which it owes its 

 peculiar odour, and Morocco leather is made from goatskin— the 

 surface being roughened with a stamp. Some 50 or 60 tanning 

 agents are now m use, including compounds of the metal chromium 

 displacmg generally the .use of oak bark in tanning, though this 

 tannage is still used in Bermondsey, and partly accounts for the 

 fine quahty of English leathers. 



WORLDS PRODUCTION OF RAW SILK 



(m lbs.) 



1 Western Europe 



2 Levant S Central Asia 



3 Far East 



ALL COUNTRIES 

 ^0,810,000. 



AU3TRLA- 

 HUNGAHY 

 763.000. 



CAUCASUS 

 63^000 



OTHfR 

 COUMRfE^ 



1353^00 



CHINA 



JAPAN 

 10,^30,000. 



ITALY 

 9350,000 



TURKEY 

 IN A5LA 



251-1,000. 



FRANCE PtHSlAS, 



1,39 OA DO 



liJRhEaTAp< 



CHIEF FOREIGN AND COLONIAL EXPORTS 

 OF HIDES, SKINS AND LEATHER 



a Hides £ Skins 

 b Leather 



I Far East 



£ Europe it Other 



IMPORTS OF RAW SILK 

 UNITED KINGDOM 

 ( in lbs.) 



INTO 



TUflKEY omiH 



IH tUqOPE COUhlRIES 



70*78. 



64&4. 



ALL SOURCES 

 1,16 0.265. 



CHINA 

 S3t>.7ie. 



FRANCE 

 237,049, 



iNDfA 

 24 6,183. 



ITALY 

 13.242. 



JAPAN 

 ?BJ23. 



„ GERMANY 

 *1'»,572.00o. 



^^8.372,000. 



^^6250.000. 



FRANCE 

 Xe,s 44.000 



aE*,IOB,OQO 

 l>11;73e.OOO, 



AUSTRALIA 

 Jt l,52E,000. 

 atl.l 24.000. 



bil39a,ooo. 



INDIA UNITED 5TATES ARGENTINA 



S6£0|,DOO. iLBSZe.OOO, iL^^OBSiQQ. 



fl*'V.479D00 aa43e,000. 



b.£2,022pOD. hiS^SjJOO, 



BELGIUM 

 e.3jZ 1,00 0. 



atf 237:^000. 

 bl 744.000. 



HOLLAND 

 je2fl3Z.000 



BRJTISH IMPORTS OF M IDEs , SKINS AND LEATHER 



a Hides i Skin& b Leather 



NEW ZHALAND 

 £4J3^04, 



ARGENTINA 

 A344,7H, 



OTHER SBIilSH 



POSSESSIONS 



l&»e,iia. 



,606,000. 

 b!LGZ4,O0O. 



UNITED STATES 

 i.3,e65,0|3. 



al 142,052. 

 b£3,522.9fl|. 



OTHER FOREIGN 

 CDUKTrntS 



INDIA 

 £2704,072, 



al 74-5,360, 



bS l,95S,7ll. 



FRANCE 

 £1,04-^83 



a I 764.137 

 bST79.B4e. 



HOLLAND 

 1730.233. 



3£l4-Z.S0B. 

 bS&37,77 5. 



AUSTRALIA 

 ^GGO,OBI. 



a i 343,417. 

 bi33].G34. 



CAPtilNATAL 

 *ieO,404. 



GERTVIANY 

 £4-10^69. 



19 



