266 
Silk raising. 
placed on a clean paper or muslin, and laid 
carefully away in a dark place. She soon 
after lays her eggs and dies. The directions 
for the preservation of the eggs have been 
given before on page 206 of our paper. 
Reeling. —This is the next process to be 
accomplished, and is an operation that should 
always be done, when possible, on the pre¬ 
mises where the worms are raised. The 
reasons are, that it is easily performed where 
a moderate share of intelligence, care, and 
perseverance are used ; there is a great deal 
Fig. 
of profit in it; and the cocoons are liable to 
injury when moved to a distance. The com¬ 
mon reel in use is the Piedmontese, which 
is, perhaps, as simple a plan as can be adopt¬ 
ed. Some modifications of this have been 
made in other machines in general use. At an 
extensive manufactory in Ohio, the circum¬ 
ference of the reel is invariably 4 feet, which 
prevents tangling; and it is considered by 
them to be indispensably necessary to limit 
the reel to this size. We here give the 
latest French improvements for this purpose, 
16. 
The mechanism of the filature, as lately 
improved in France, is very ingenious. Figs. 
16 and 17, exhibit it in plan and longitudi¬ 
nal view, a is an oblong copper basin con¬ 
taining water heated by a stove or by steam. 
It is usually divided by transverse partitions 
into several compartments, containing 20 co¬ 
coons, of which there five in one group, as 
shown in the figure, b , b , are wires with 
hooks or eyelets at their ends, through which 
the filaments run, apart, and are kept from 
ravelling, c, c, the points where the fila¬ 
ments cross and rub each other, on purpose 
to clean their surfaces. </, is a spiral groove, 
working upon a pin point, to give the tra¬ 
verse motion alternately to right and left, 
whereby the thread is spread evenly over the 
surface of the reel e. /, /, are the pulleys, 
which by means of cords, transmit the rota¬ 
tory movement of the cylinder c/, to the reel 
e. g, is a friction lever or timber, for light¬ 
ening or slackening the endless cord, in the 
act of starting or stopping the winding ope¬ 
ration. Every apartment of a large filature 
contains usually a series of such reels as the 
above, all driven by one prime mover ; each 
of which, however, may by means of the 
tumbling lever, be stopped at pleasure. The 
reeler is careful to move any slight adhesion, 
by the application of a brush in the progress 
of her work. 
W~ u 
The whole expenses amount to from 6 to 
7 livres upon every ten pounds of cocoons; 
which is about 50 cts. per pound of raw silk. 
The cheapest and simplest machines are 
best adapted for general use. The direc¬ 
tions for reeling we add from Mr. Whitmarsh: 
“ The water for reeling must be soft and free 
from sand or dirt. The degree of heat must 
be graduated by the state of the cocoons ; 
no definite rule for it can be given. As a 
general rule, the water should not boil, but 
be kept nearly at the boiling point. If the 
water is too hot, the silk will come off in 
burrs, and it must be cooled ; if too cold the 
cocoons fly up to the guide wires. 
Press the cocoons gently under the water 
with a bunch of twigs or broom corn; the 
ends will adhere to it. After collecting a 
sufficient number, pull off the coarse silk 
till it runs clear. When another thread is 
collected in the same way, cross them eight 
or ten times, before going to the reel. You 
will then pass the threads through the guide 
wires to the reel, attaching them in two 
places for two skeins. Turn the reel steadily 
and rapidly. Join the ends constantly as 
some run out or break. Keep the water 
clean by taking out the skins with a skim¬ 
mer. The water must be changed twice a 
day. The silk should be left on the reel to 
dry rapidly. 
