Jan. 1, 1865.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 



THE BILK INDUSTRY OF BALE. 267 



great improvement over this mode has been practised for several years 

 by many morocco-dressers. It consists in smearing the fleshy side of the 

 skin with milk of lime, containing some orpiment or sulphuret of ar- 

 senic. As the orpiment is a poisonous substance, a suitable and 

 innocuous substitute for it has been a desirable object. This has been 

 obtained by a mixture of three parts of polysulphuret of sodium, ten 

 parts of slaked lime, and ten parts of starch. The easy removal of the 

 wool (the same effect is produced on kid and calf-skins) has been found 

 to be due to sulphuret of calcium. The mixture is made up into a 

 paste, and applied to the fleshy side of the skins, and after being sub- 

 jected to its action over-night, in a morocco factory, they are fit for 

 pulling. After this they are placed in a weak solution of vitriol, to 

 remove the lime. Our morocco manufacturers will find this mode to be 

 a great improvement over the old methods of treating sheep-skins for 

 the removal of the wool. 



PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF THE SILK INDUSTRY OF 

 BALE. 



BY MB. BURNLEY, 

 HER MAJESTY'S SECRETARY OP LEGATION. 



In the course of a visit during the past summer to Bale and Zurich, for 

 the purpose of getting some information from the manufacturers them- 

 selves relative to the prospects of the trade, I made the acquaintance of 

 Professor Eankelin, of the University of Bale, who was good enough to 

 confide to me some manuscript notes relative to the silk industry of his 

 canton, which contain a good deal of matter, both present and historical, 

 of considerable interest. From these notes I have extracted what seemed 

 to me useful to record, adding thereto some short remarks relative 

 to the educational establishments bearing more particularly upon the 

 manufacturing classes, and the unions and societies which have any con- 

 nection with the subject. It can hardly be denied that great efforts are 

 made in all the cantons to raise the young Swiss to a certain standard, 

 fitting them to follow the peculiar path they may have chosen, and no 

 canton possesses so many various incitements for a young man to im- 

 prove himself, no matter what his social position may be, as Bale. 

 Swiss political life presents but few attractions to the wealthier classes ; 

 the consequence is that by far the greater number devote themselves to 

 manufacturing industry, which renders a more grateful and remunerative 

 return. 



Professor Kinkelin observes that silk ribbons were in former times 



