RAW-SILK. 



203 



quality of the silk. The Board appear, for the (L ) 

 above reasons, to have justly decided in favour of Boa^dofVrade, 

 the pottery ghyes as compared with those of 27Sept. 1832. 

 Captain Somerville, who has the merit, however, 

 of having first pointed out to Government the 

 method of economising fuel^ which is common to 

 both. 



5. With respect to Mr. Becher's quadruple 

 ghyes, the same economy of fuel appears to be pro- 

 duced in them as in Captain Somerville's and Mr. 

 C. Shakespear's stoves, by making one fire suffice 

 for the basin of four spinners ; and the Board have 

 but done justice to Mr. Becher, in pointing out the 

 great merit possessed by this plan, in consequence 

 of its enabling the Government to have at least 

 twice the same work produced within the same 

 dimension of filature. But the objections pointed 

 out in the inferior quality of the silk produced and 

 in the less quantity yielded from the same cocoons, 

 and the longer time taken in executing the work 

 (in consequence of the use of double reels occa- 

 sioning a stoppage in both skeins when one thread 

 breaks or gets twisted), are justly deemed by the 

 Board insuperable ; and when added to the fact, 

 that the erection of the quadruple basins, owing to 

 their being of copper, is considerably more expen- 

 sive than the pottery ghyes, the reasons for pre- 

 ferring the latter as the model ghye for general 

 use, are quite conclusive. The reel of Captain 

 Somerville appears to be the best, and that also 



should 



