ITSORIGIN CULTURE-AND MANUFACTURE ■# ' ’ V '; Vltlv' . J •• • • '. .}.-}■■■.; •. \ "/ ' *vj4 Wto 4 ' & 1 ; V.* x -JEMaSfc lipMWsfi'f •!' •■•>’J;*? M >’’■*'1$ti£ h&k i - < win. mm%m f . $ ■ • v' "' * 11» xrt ■ V-;V ' • - '\ * Swfe * 1 ;-JVt i ?-■- •', «. >. ..\f? •*: •<••?a^'K• * f7? ■ - sifl. . . ■*» • - - - ' , ^ | • * j£ ■ Its Origin, Culture, and Manufacture ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN AT THE CORTICELLI SILK MILLS, AND BY COLORED PLATES REPRODUCED FROM ORIGINAL JAPANESE PHO¬ TOGRAPHS ESPECIALLY COLORED BY HAND PRICE 50 CENTS ns , IGSO ssa 1311 Copyrighted, 1911, by THE CORTICELLI SILK MILLS FLORENCE, MASSACHUSETTS All Rights Reserved. Branch of the Mulberry Tree—Showing Berries. Publishers’ Note A growing demand from teachers and others for a reliable and concise book of information on silk culture has prompted the preparation of this little pamphlet. No more gratifying reception was ever accorded a text-book than has been given this little work on the origin, culture, and manufacture of silk. Since the first edition published in 1895, the sale of the book has been truly remarkable. It is distinctly an educational work, embracing as it does the most interesting facts gathered from the ex¬ perience of years of scientific and practical study devoted to the rearing of this wonderful insect. We may be par¬ doned for thinking that perhaps no other concern is better qualified to undertake the publication of such a work, since for over seventy years the products of the Corticelli Silk Mills have been the recognized standard of the silk thread world. In presenting this revised and enlarged edition it is our desire to thank the thousands of teachers in the best and largest schools, academies, and colleges throughout the country for their many kind words of appreciation, and to assure them we are always ready to assist in securing the specimens necessary for a proper presentation to their pupils of this most interesting subject. See pages 45 and 46. The fine half-tone engravings were made from photo¬ graphs of the Corticelli Silkworms taken from life. We believe them to be the most truthful reproductions of silk¬ worm life in existence. The entire contents of this book¬ let, including all the photographs, are protected by copyright, and must not be copied or reproduced. CORTICELLI SILK MILLS. 5 Silkworms just Hatched. The Discovery and Introduction of Silk The history of silk starts with Hoang-Ti, the third Emperor of China, who charged his wife and queen, Si- Ling-Chi, to examine the silkworms and test the practica¬ bility of using the thread from the cocoons. In her zeal she collected large numbers of the worms, fed them her¬ self, and discovered how to reel the silk and to make it into garments. This was about 1700 B. C., and for her discovery she was deified, so the Chinese records say, and ever since has been known as the “Goddess of Silkworms.” The wild silkworms or allied species were found in Southern or Eastern Asia, inhabiting the jungles of India, Pegu, Siam, and Cochin China; but the cocoons were used only for carding and spinning, very much as spun silk is now produced. Meanwhile the Chinese kept their method of obtaining the silk a profound secret for nearly two thousand years. They gave the silk to the Persians, who for one thousand years, without knowing how or from what it was made, carried it to the Western Nations. Aristotle was the first European to learn the true origin of the wrought silk brought to him from Persia on the return from that country of Alexander’s victorious army. He described the silkworm as a “horned insect, passing through several transformations, which produced ‘bom- bykia,’ ” as he called the silk. However, for five hundred years after this time the common theory of the origin of silk, among the Greeks and Romans, was quite different, since they had confounded the production of silk with that of cotton. In Aristotle’s time Pamphile and her associates in the Island of Cos (the modern Zea in the ASgean Sea) had imported raw silk from Persia, and unraveling it had woven a silken gauze, which from its transparency was called “woven wind.” Soon the Roman ladies followed 7 her example, substituting for silk fine threads of linen or cotton for the weft or filling, and before long it became in great demand. The Roman emperors arrayed themselves in costly silken garments, and soon laws were passed re¬ stricting its use to the nobility and to women. The Emperor Aurelian is said to have refused his empress a silken robe on the ground of its great costliness. In the sixth century A. D., all the raw silk was still being imported from China, by way of Persia, when the Emperor Justinian, having engaged in war with Persia, found his supply of raw silk cut off and the manufacturers in great distress. No one, on pain of death, was allowed to export the silkworm eggs from China, but Justinian bribed two Nestorian monks to return to that country, and in 555 they came back bringing with them a quantity of silkworm eggs concealed in the hollow of their pilgrims’ staves. The industry now spread rapidly over Greece and Syria, into Spain in 711, into Sicily and Naples in the twelfth century, reaching Italy in the sixteenth and France in the seventeenth century. For centuries the finest and richest silks were woven only for the church, the nobility, and the most wealthy knights; Persia, China, and the countries to the far East producing magnificent hand embroidered specimens, the results of years of patient labor. Silk culture in America started in 1622, when James I. sent silkworm eggs, mulberry trees, and printed instruc¬ tions to Virginia, but the attempt was not successful. In 1735 eight pounds of silk were exported from Georgia, and seven hundred pounds in 1758, and over ten thousand pounds (seventy-five thousand dollars’ worth) in 1759. Connecticut began to rear silkworms in 1760, and for eighty-four years this state led all others in the amount of silk produced. Soon after 1769 Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts became inter¬ ested in the industry, but during the Revolution it was given up, and was not revived until 1826, when a most determined effort was made to place silk growing on a 8 paying basis. For ten years all went well; several states offered premiums and bounties, silk societies were formed, and new machinery was invented and put into operation. But soon a disturbing element was introduced; a great ef¬ fort was made to supplant the white mul¬ berry (Moms alba), on the leaves of which the worms had been fed, by the so-called Chinese mul¬ berry, the Mo¬ rns multicau- lis, on account of the supe¬ rior qualities claimed for it. A sudden in¬ fatuation seiz¬ ed the people, s p e c u lation began, and prices advanc¬ ed far beyond their real value. Corticelli Silkworms— Six and Ten Days Old. Since 1830 Florence, Mass., had been identified with the silk cul¬ ture movement, and the whole surrounding country soon caught the fever, and as the excitement increased acies of mulberry cuttings and trees were planted. Then in 1839 came the crash. The bubble had burst, bringing ruin to thousands of persons, and mulberry twigs which had been worth nearly their weight in gold could not be 9 sold for ten cents a hundred. A severe winter killed most of the trees, giving the industry a final blow. The company at Florence gave up silk growing for a few years, but the manufacture of Corticelli Silk, started in 1838,was contin¬ ued, and from that day to this the products of the fa¬ mous Corticelli Silk Mills have always enjoyed an envia¬ ble but well earned reputation for su¬ periority. It is a fact not generally appre¬ ciated that silk is the strongest fiber known to science as well as the only fiber which is proof against decay caused by damp¬ ness. Cotton will soon mildew and rot away, while silk is in its ele¬ ment when wet, and may even be soaked in water without impairing its strength. In these days of keen competition many imitations of silk are sold under various fancy and deceptive names, but no substitute invented by man can replace the wonderful woi k of nature and the Corticelli Silkworm. Gathering Mulberry Leaves. 10 The Silkworm The wonderful insect that makes the silk is the larva of a small moth called Sericaria mori. This moth is classed with the Lepidoptera, or scaly winged insects, family Bombycidse, or spinners. This species of caterpillar is commonly called the Mulberry Silkworm. First reared in China, it is now extensively cultivated in China, Japan, Italy, France, Spain, and other European countries. Owing to the greater value of labor here, the United States cannot compete with these countries in the pro¬ duction of raw silk. The silkworm has become domesticated, since, during the long centuries in which it has been cultivated, it has acquired many useful peculiarities. Man has striven to increase its silk producing power, and in this he has suc¬ ceeded, for, by comparing the cocoon of the silkworm of to-day with its wild relations, the Corticelli cocoon is found to be much larger, even in proportion to the size of the worm that makes it or the moth that issues from it. The moth’s loss of the power of flight and the white color of the species are probably the results of domestication. The silk moth exists in four states—egg, larva, chrys¬ alis, and adult. The egg of the moth is nearly round, slightly flattened, and closely resembles a turnip seed. When first laid it is yellow, soon turning a gray or slate color if impregnated. It has a small spot on one end called the micropyle, and when the worm hatches, which in our climate is about the first of June, it gnaws a hole through this spot. Black in color, scarcely an eighth of an inch in length, covered with long hair, with a shiny nose, and sixteen small legs, the baby worm is born, leaving the shell of the egg white and transparent. Small and tender leaves of the white mulberry (Morus alba ), or osage orange (Maclura aurantiaca ), are fed, the 11 Feeding Mulberry Leaves to Corticelli Silkworms. young worm simply piercing them and sucking the sap. Soon the worm becomes large enough to eat the tender portions between the veins of the leaf. In eating they hold the leaves by the six forward feet, and then cut off semi-circular slices from the leaf’s edge by the sharp upper portion of the mouth. The jaws move side- wise, and several thousand worms eat¬ ing make a noise like falling rain. The C o r tic e11i worms are kept on trays made of mat¬ ting, that are placed on racks for conven¬ ience in handling. The leaves are placed beside the worms, or upon a slatted orper- forated tray placed above them, and those that crawl off are retained, while the weak ones are removed with the old leaves. The worms breathe through spiracles, small holes which look like black spots, one row of nine down each side of the body. They have no eyes, but are quite sensitive to a jar, and if you hit the rack they stop eating and throw their heads to one side. They are velvety, smooth, and cold to the touch, and the flesh is firm, almost hard. The pulsation of the blood may be traced on the back of the worm, running towards the head. The worm has four molting seasons, at each of which it sheds its old skin for a new one, since in the very rapid Silkworms about Eighteen Days Old. 13 Selecting Corticelli Silkworms That are Ready to Spin. growth of the worm the old skin cannot keep pace with the growth of the body. The periods between these different molts are called “ages,” there be¬ ing five, the first extending from the time of hatch¬ ing to the end of the first molt, and the last from the end of the fourth molt to the trans¬ formation of the insect into a chrysalis. The time between the Corticelli silkworm eating. four “molts” will be found to vary, depending upon the species of worm. When the worm molts it ceases eating, grows slightly lighter in color, fastens itself firmly by the ten prolegs, and especially by the last two, to some object, and holding up its head and the fore part of its body remains in a torpid Full Grown Silkworm, Showing Position in Molting. 15 state for near¬ ly two days. For a day or two previous to molting' a dark spot is noticed just above the nose of the worm, from which the head emerges ap¬ parently re- n e w e d. In Silkworm Preparing to Form its Cocoon. molting the old skin breaks at the nose, the head is pushed out, and the worm by wriggling and twisting gradually works the old skin back from segment to segment until entirely cast off. Weak and feeble, it gains strength by resting, and then, freshened, supple, and hungry, goes to work eating again with renewed vigor and apparently determined to make up for lost time. By each successive molt the Cocoon Begun—Silkworm can still be Seen. worm grows lighter, finally becoming a slate or cream white color, and the hair, which was long at first, gradually dis¬ appears. Two days after the third molt. 10 when the worm is fifteen days old, it is three quarters of an inch long, and just after the last molt it is one and a fourth inches long. If its growth seemed rapid before, it is as nothing compared to its growth now. In six days it grows from one and a fourth to two inches in length, and in three days more becomes fully three inches in length. It is an interesting fact that nearly or quite three fourths of the silk the worm spins is made or secreted in these last two or three days. How¬ ever, at all ages and times the worm se- cretes silk with which to protect it¬ self from injury, for when in danger of falling it instantly fastens a silken thread to whatever it may be standing upon. In case of accident, the worm uses this thread, which is strong enough to sustain its weight, as a ladder to go either up or down. In ascending the thread is wound around its forelegs to shorten it. When the worm is young the thread is so fine as to be almost invisible, yet it is always strong enough to sustain the worm. Having attained full growth, the worm is ready to spin its cocoon. It loses its appetite, shrinks nearly an inch in length, grows nearly transparent, often acquiring a pink- COMPEETED CORTICELLI COCOON. 17 Placing the Corticelli Worms that are Ready to Spin on Twigs or Branches. ish hue, becomes restless, seeks a quiet place or corner, and moves its head from side to side in an effort to find objects on which to attach its guy lines within which to Corticelli Cocoons as Spun by Silkworms in a Bundle of Straw. build its cocoon. The silk is elaborated in a semi-fluid condition in two long, convoluted vessels or glands between the prolegs and head, one upon each side of the alimentary canal. As these vessels approach the head they grow 19 Picking Corticelli Cocoons from the Branches more slender, and finally unite within the spinneret, a small double orifice below the mouth, from which the silk issues in a glutinous state and apparently in a single thread. Coeticelli Cocoons from which the Moths have Emerged. The gummy liquid which combines the two strands hard¬ ens immediately on exposure to the air. The worm works incessantly, forcing the silk out by the contraction of its body. The thin, gauze-like network which soon surrounds it gradually thickens, until, twenty- four hours after beginning to spin, the worm is nearly hidden from view. However, the cocoon is not completed for about three days. The cocoon is tough, strong, and compact, composed of a firm, continuous thread, which is, however, not wound in concen¬ tric circles, but irregu¬ larly in short figure eight loops, first in one place and then in an¬ other. The motion o f the worm’s Moths Emerging from Corticelu Cocoons. head when 21 Side View of Chrysalis. starting the cocoon is very rapid, and nine to twelve inches of silk flow from the spinneret in a minute, but later the average would be about half this amount per minute. The silk secretion, on account of its transparency, is sometimes used for snells, the tough, sinew-like cords by which fishhooks are attached to longer lines, and in foreign countries large num¬ bers of worms are annually used for this purpose. When the worm is ready to spin, after being steeped in strong chemicals, the silk glands are taken from its body, and are dexterously drawn out to the desired length. One gland Rottom View Chrysalis. of is usually sufficient for two and sometimes for three fishhooks. The color of the worm’s pro¬ legs before spinning indicates the color the cocoon will be. This varies in different species, and may be a silvery white, cream, yellow, lemon, or green. When the worm has finished spinning, it is one and a quarter inches long. Two days later, by a final molt, its dried-up skin breaks at the nose and is crowded back off the body, revealing the chrysalis, an oval cone one inch in length. It is a light yellow in color, and immediately after molting is soft to the touch. The ten prolegs of the worm have disappeared, the four wings of the future moth are folded over the breast, together with Corticei.li Silk Snells. the six legs and two feelers, Two Silk. Glands Taken from One Corttcei.li Silkworm. 22 <"C • V—- V V'• - Male Corticelli Moth. Female Corticelli Moth. or antennae. It soon turns brown, and the skin hardens into a tough shell. Nature provides the cocoon to pro¬ tect the worm from the ele¬ ments while it is being transformed into a chrys¬ alis, and thence into the moth. With no jaws, and con¬ fined within the narrow space of the cocoon, the moth has some difficulty in escaping. After two or three weeks the shell of the chrysalis bursts, and the moth ejects against the end of the cocoon a strongly alkaline liquid which moistens and dissolves the hard, gummy lining. Pushing aside some of the silken threads and breaking others, with crimped and damp wings the moth emerges; and the exit once effected, the wings soon expand and dry. The escape of the moth, however, breaks so many threads that the cocoons are ruined for reeling, and con¬ sequently, when ten days old, all those not intended for seed are placed in a steam heater to stifle the chrysalis, and the silk may then be reeled at any future time. The moths are cream white in color. They have no mouths, * « . * but do have eyes, which is just '• the reverse of the case of the • . • • worm. From the time it be- B * *** ** gins to spin until the moth • *. . *.'*.’** 'I " dies, the insect takes no nour- * * V- * . ishment. The six forward •.*. * •* *-* legs of the worm become the • * . * * legs of the moth. Soon after mating the eggs are laid. Eocs OF THE Silkworm moth. The male has broader feel- 23 Weighing and Sorting Corticelli Cocoons. ers than the female, is smaller in size, and quite active. The female lays half her eggs, rests a few hours, and then lays the remainder. Her two or three days’ life is spent within a space occupying less than six inches in diameter. One moth lays from three to four hundred eggs, depos¬ iting them over an even surface. In some species a gummy liquid sticks the eggs to the object upon which they are laid. In the large cocoon varieties there are full thirty thousand eggs in a single ounce avoirdupois. It takes from twenty-five hundred to three thousand cocoons A Bale oe Raw Silk and the “Books” it Contains. to make a pound of reeled silk. Do you wonder that, centuries ago, silk was valued at its weight in gold? Growers of silk in the United States, by working early and late every day during the season, which lasts from six to eight weeks, could scarcely average fifteen cents for a day’s labor of ten hours. Silk, once regarded as a luxury, is now considered a necessity, and no one concern has done more to make this possible than the Corticelli Silk Mills. In fact, Corticelli Silk holds the world’s record for superi¬ ority, having won 40 Highest Awards at Expositions held in the United States and abroad. Skeins or "Hanks" of Corticelli Raw Silk, First Sorted as to Color, then Tied and Pressed into Square Bundles Called “Books.” Reeling the Silk from the Cocoons Reeling the silk from the cocoons is not often done in the United States, as most of the raw material which is imported comes reeled all ready for the manufacturer. The cocoons are first assorted, those of the same color being placed by themselves, and those of fine and coarse texture likewise. The outside loose silk is then removed, as this cannot be reeled, after which the cocoons are plunged into warm water to soften the “gum” which sticks the threads together. The operator brushes the cocoons with a small broom, to the straws of which their fibers become attached, and then carefully unwinds the loose silk until each cocoon shows but one thread. These three operations are called “soaking,” “brushing,” and “cleansing.” Into one or two compartments in a basin of warm water below the reel are placed four or more cocoons, according to the size of the thread desired. The threads from the cocoons in each compartment are gathered together and, after passing through two separate perforated agates a few inches above the surface of the water, are brought together and twisted around each other several times, then separated and passed upward over the traverse guide-eyes to the reel. See Colored Plate “Reeling the Silk from Corticelli Cocoons” by foot power. The traverse moves to and fro horizontally, distributing the thread in a broad band over the surface of the reel. The rapid crossing of the thread from side to side of the skein in reeling facili¬ tates handling and unwinding without tangling, the nat¬ ural gum of the silk sticking the threads to each other on the arms of the reel, thus securing the traverse. Silk reeled by hand or foot power is known as “Re-reel” silk, while silk reeled by power machinery is called “Filature.” The fiber of the cocoon is somewhat finer at the begin¬ ning, thickens at the point of forming the more compact 27 lEELING THE SlLK FROM CORTICELLI COCOONS BY FOOT FOWER, CALLED “RE-REEL'’ SlLK. part, and then very gradually diminishes in diameter until it becomes so fine as to be incapable of standing the strain of reeling. This is because the silk from one of the worm’s two glands is exhausted, leaving but one half the original fiber. When one of the threads breaks or the end of one cocoon is reached, the reeler takes a fresh one, and with thumb Drying Corticelli Raw Silk after Soaking it in Water to Soften the Natural Gum. and forefinger as shown by the Colored Plate dexterously twists its end around the running thread, of which from that moment it becomes a constituent part. Imported raw silk comes in skeins of from one to sev¬ eral ounces, packed into bundles called “books,” weigh¬ ing from five to ten pounds. In China and Japan the books are usually sold in bales varying from one hundred to one hundred and sixty pounds. 29 Filature—Reeling the Silk from Corticelli Cocoons by Power Machinery. How Silk is Manufactured The Corticelli raw silk is first assorted, according to the size of the fiber, as fine, medium, and coarse. The skeins are put into canvas bags and then soaked over night in warm soapsuds. This is necessary to soften the natural gum in the silk, which had stuck the threads together on Winding Corticelli Raw Silk. the arms of the reel. Following the soaking, the skeins are straightened out and hung across poles in a steam- heated room, as shown in the accompanying photograph. When the skeins are dry, they are ready for the first process of manufacturing. The room we now step into is filled with “winding frames,” each containing two long 31 rows of “swifts,” from which the silk is wound on to bobbins. The bobbins are large spools about three inches long. The bobbins filled with silk, as wound from the skeins, are next placed on pins of the “doubling frames”; the thread from several bobbins, according to the size of the silk desired, is passed upward through drop wires on to another bobbin. Should one of the threads break, the Combining Several Single Strands of Raw Silk Prepara¬ tory to Spinning. This Process is Called “Doubling.” “drop wire” falls, which action stops the bobbin. By this ingenious device absolute uniformity in the size of Corticelli silk is secured. The “doubling frame” is shown in one of the photographs, and another photograph shows an enlarged view of this frame, giving an idea of the four sections, on each of which are running nine bobbins. The bobbins taken from the “doubling frame” are next placed on a “spinner.” Driven by an endless belt, at the rate of over six thousand turns a minute, the bobbins revolve, the silk from them being drawn upward on to another bobbin. This spins the several strands brought together by the “doubling process” into one thread, the 32 number of turns depending on the kind of Corticelli silk— Filo silk being spun quite slack, and Machine Twist just the reverse. A transferring machine combines two or three of these strands; two for sewing silk and three for machine twist; and the bob¬ bin next goes on to the “twisting ma¬ chine”—a machine that is similar to a “spinner,” but the silk is twisted in the opposite direction from the spinning. To stand before these machines and watch how rapidly and how accurately they do the work assigned them is a revelation. No one realizes how nicely the parts are ad¬ justed. If but one tiny strand breaks that part of the ma¬ chinery is stopped by an automatic de¬ vice which works instantaneously and the operator then repairs the broken fiber. As a result only perfect silk can be made. You see, Corticelli is simply another name for perfection. After twisting, the silk is stretched by an ingenious Enlarged View of “Doubling” Frame Showing Drop Wire Device That Insures the Perfectly Even Size of all Corticelli Silk. t 33 Spinning Corticelli Silk machine called a “water- stretcher.” This smoothes and consolidates the constit¬ uent fibers, giving an even¬ ness to Corticelli silk not to be obtained by any other known process. The bob¬ bins are placed in water and the silk is wound on to the lower of the two copper rolls. From the lower roll it passes upward to the upper roll, which turns faster than the lower one, thereby stretch¬ ing the silk. From the up¬ per roll it passes again on to a bobbin, only to be again reeled off into hanks when it is ready for the dye house. The dyeing process is a very important one, and upon its success depends the permanency of the various colors. The Corticelli dye house is a model, and the results that come from it are the achievement of years of scientific investi¬ gation and experi¬ menting. Vast tubs, tanks, and kettles surround you on every side, and the hissing steam seems to spring from all quarters. The “gum” of the silk is first boiled out by immersion in strong soapsuds for about four Twisting Corticelli Silk. hours. The at- 35 tendants, standing in heavy “clogs” (big shoes with wooden soles two inches thick), turn the silk on the sticks at intervals until the gum is removed. After the silk is dyed it is put into a “steam finisher,” a device looking like a long, narrow box with a cover opening on the side, set upright on top of an iron cylinder. The hanks of silk are placed upon two pins in the steam chest, the cover fastened, and the live steam rushes in around the silk. Cobticelli Water Stretcher. This brightens the silk, giving it the lustrous, glossy appearance noticeable in all Corticelli goods. The silk comes from this machine quite stiff, and the hanks are next placed on the “stringer,” which twists the hank first in one direction and then in the other, as one would wring out water. There is no water in the silk, however, but this action makes the silk smooth and soft. Many of the machines used by this company are of their own inven¬ tion, patented and controlled by them, which, together with the experience of over seventy-three years in silk 36 manufacturing, enables them to produce silk goods of unequaled quality and of exceptional luster and brilliancy. From the large skeins the silk is again wound on to bobbins, and then spooled, balled, coned, braided, or skeined, according to the kind of silk and the use for which it is intended. Rows of girls, seated at the rapidly revolving spindles of the spooling machines, change the big bobbins to 100-yard spools of Reeling Corticelli Silk into Skeins to Send to the Dye House. Corticelli Spool Silk. The accompanying illustration shows a young lady spooling ounce spools of white Corti¬ celli Machine Twist. The balling machine is equally inter¬ esting, as one watches sixteen empty wooden spools trans¬ formed as if by magic, in less than three minutes, into sixteen symmetrical balls of Corticelli Crochet Silk. Then come the labeling and the boxing, and the goods are taken to the stock room, where huge shelves, arranged in tiers, are filled high with silk of every description, from the very finest OOO to the coarsest size, and from the tiny spools of Corticelli Buttonhole Twist to the big ounce spools of Corticelli Machine Twist. From the stock 37 v*. *»r Filature—Rewinding Corticelli Silk from the Small Reels into Large Skeins. room are shipped each day, to the eight wholesale city salesrooms of this company, case after case, packed snugly with neat boxes all filled with spools or skeins of silk, which find their way into the stores of nearly every mer¬ chant in the land. The various uses made of silk are truly wonderful. Some of the ones not generally known are here given. The electrician uses it for insulating wires for the incan¬ descent lamps, for filaments within the same, carbonizing it for this purpose; the surgeon to tie arteries and sew together cuts in the flesh, and to cover silk cloth with gum-tragacanth for adhesive and non-poisonous plasters for wounds and abrasions; the dentist to clean between the teeth and tie the pellicle in filling; the book maker to tie his little fancy booklets and cards; the surveyor to calculate the curve of the earth; and the fisherman to stiffen his rod by Stringing Corticeixi Silk. A View in the Dye House of the Corticelui Stlk Mills. winding or to snell the hook with which he deceives the wary fish. The variety of goods made at the Corticelli Silk Mills is a surprise to almost every one. Corticelli spool silk is of course a familiar object in every household, as few indeed are the workbaskets that do not contain one or more of these 100-yard spools. Besides this, there is Corticelli machine twist, sewing silk, crochet silk, knitting silk, lace silk, filo silk, Persian floss, Roman floss, rope silk, etching silk, twisted em¬ broidery silk, buttonhole twist, dental floss, surgeons’ silk, darning silk, and purse twist. Perhaps one of the most enormous uses to which the product of the Corticelli Mills is put, is that of embroidery and art needlework. It is a truly feminine accomplishment, some¬ times even excelling an artist’s brush in the exquisite work¬ manship displayed. Corticelli embroidery silk ranks first in popular favor for this work, not only on account of its smooth¬ ness and luster, but for its abso¬ lutely fast color. The perfec¬ tion of the multitudinous colors _ ^ . Steam Finisher. and almost indefinable grada¬ tions of hue enables the embroiderer to shade the petals so as to closely imitate the real bloom of the flowers. To meet a growing demand from teachers, students, schools, and museums interested in instructing children how silk is made, this company has prepared a “Silk Cul¬ ture Cabinet.” This is a wonderfully interesting case, substantially made and nicely finished, and shows every 41 Corticelli Silk Mills—The Greatest Silk Thread Works in the World. step in the culture of this wonderful insect. It contains small bottles, hermetically sealed, with the eggs of the moth, and the silkworms in different stages of develop¬ ment, from a few days old to the full grown worm; also the chrysalis, the moth, cocoons, and specimens of reeled and manufactured silk. These cabinets sell for two and a Spooling Corticelli Machine Twist. half dollars apiece, and so great is the demand for them from institutions and schools all over the country, that the company can hardly supply them fast enough. The value of the cabinet is apparent at once to any one interested in education, and many of the largest and best schools in the country have already secured one of them to place in their museums. To accompany the cabinet is a Teachers’ Silk Culture Chart, which is intended to hang on the wall of the schoolroom. This sells for twenty cents. See page 47. Together they make it possible for any teacher to give an object lesson of exceeding interest to all children. 43 The luster of a silk gown is pleasing to the eye, and its fascinating rustle gives warning to the blind of the approach of a lady; but do the ladies thus charmingly attired realize that thousands of lowly silkworms have given up their home tents (cocoons), and necessarily their lives, to supply material for even one such gown? These cocoons, so skillfully constructed by eyeless worms, are the tents in which they go through Nature’s wonderful Teachers’ Silk Culture Cabinet. evolutions, and from which they emerge butterflies or moths—with eyes, but no mouths—to live only a day or two for purposes of reproduction. The quantity of raw silk used each year by the Corticelli Mills can scarcely be comprehended. Figures almost lose their meaning. Briefly and approximately stated, three thousand cocoons will yield one pound of silk fiber about seven hundred and fifty miles in length; and as one thou¬ sand pounds are used daily by the Corticelli Silk Mills in the manufacture of Corticelli silk thread, it follows that the product of three million cocoons is required, yielding an aggregate length of seven hundred and fifty thousand miles of cocoon fiber, to operate the mills one day. About one hundred cocoon fibers are required to make medium thickness sewing silk, hence the daily product of Corticelli Silk Mills is about seven thousand five hundred miles of finished silk thread—enough to girdle the world in three and one-third days. 44 Teachers’ Silk Culture Cabinet The engraving on opposite page gives an accurate idea of the Corticelli Silk Culture Cabinet originated and intro¬ duced by us. It is made of cherry, handsomely finished and varnished, with glass top sealed to prevent dust getting inside. The cabinet measures 5 X 12 inches and contains the following handsomely mounted specimens:— 1 Eggs of the Silkworm Moth. (Sericaria mori.) 2 Silkworm 10 days old. Preserved in Alcohol. 3 Silkworm 20 days old. Preserved in Alcohol. 4 Silkworm 30 days old. Preserved in Alcohol. 5 Chrysalis. Preserved in Alcohol. 6 Cocoon, pierced by escaping moth. 7 Moth, mounted by latest improved process. 8 Cocoon as spun by Silkworm. 9 Cocoon, floss removed, ready for reeling. 10 Skein of Raw Silk ready to manufacture. 11 Spool of Corticelli Spool Silk, size A. The cabinet is of convenient size to be examined by members of the class, and by its use each step in the culture of silk can be easily explained. Suffice it to say that we have sold hundreds of these cabinets to many of the best schools, academies, and colleges of this country and in every case they have given entire satisfaction. l^pCAUTiON: Several imitations of this cabinet, which contain cheap specimens of no scientific value, are offered for sale by unscrupulous dealers. Remember we are the originators and are the only firm making the genuine “Teachers’ Silk Culture Cabinet.” We will consider it a favor if our friends will report to us the names of any agent or dealer offering for sale one of our Teachers’ Cabi¬ nets under a different name. Such infringements will be prosecuted promptly. The price of the Cabinet is $2.50, express charges to be paid by the purchaser. Corticelli Silk Mills, Florence, Mass. 45 Box of Two Corticelli Cocoons For those who want samples in addition to the Teach¬ ers’ Silk Culture Cabinet and Silk Culture Chart we furnish two cocoons spun by genuine Corticelli Silkworms, packed in a neat little box. These boxes make very attractive souvenirs and many scholars are only too glad to buy these to take home. Teachers will please notice that we make a special offer on orders for large lots. Each box contains two cocoons. Price, by mail, postpaid, 1 box, 5 cents; 10 boxes, 40 cents; 25 boxes, 75 cents. We invite correspondence with teachers desiring speci¬ mens for schoolroom use. All questions will be cheerfully answered if a 2-cent stamp is inclosed for reply. We are anxious to help every school to obtain what it needs. Corticelli Silk Mills, Florence, Mass. 46 Teachers’ Silk Culture Chart This chart has over thirty engravings showing the different steps in the culture and manufacture of silk. Printed on heavy coated cardboard with reinforced top and bottom and cord for hanging to schoolroom wall. Price, 20 cents, carefully packed in pasteboard tube for mailing, or will be sent by express, charges to be paid by purchaser, for 12 cents. Address Corticelli Silk Mills, Florence, Mass. 47 TRADE Many attempts have been made to find a substitute for silk, espe¬ cially for sewing purposes. Cotton thread, in imitation of silk, is sold under various names, but vegetable fiber becomes worthless if mildew from dampness gets in its work, whereas silk is in its element when wet, as the following incident proves : In 1874 a silk mill was totally destroyed by the breaking of the reservoir dam, and sewing silk was scattered for miles below, and has been plowed up by farmers fre¬ quently since and found to have its original strength. A tangled mass, weighing several pounds, was found in 1901, having been twenty- seven years in the mud at the bottom of the mill pond. After wash¬ ing and drying, the color (black) was good, its luster fair, and its strength 'U'liiTHpuived. Manufacturers, tailors, dressmakers, and women everywhere should profit by this hint. In fact it is penny wise and pound foolish ” to use poor material in a needle for any pur¬ pose, and the growing popularity of Corticelli Silk indicates increasing wisdom of the people on this subject. Use silk, not cotton, for all your sewing. CORTICELLI SILK MILLS MARK ZEESE'WllKINSON CO. N. V GETTY CENTER LIBRARY CONS TS 1650 S58 1911 BKS c. 1 Corticelll Silk Mill Silk ; its origin, culture, and manufact 3 3125 00180 9330