Silk gland

“ If silk is employed for the entire fabric, much of it is lost by intersecting on the back, only a tithe of the material being visible on the face. There is no real advantage in having silk on the back of the texture, and fuller effectiveness and greater comfort and weight are attained by bringing a heavier material on to the back, preferably a woollen thread with the silk showing on the face only. The back woollen thread by its bulk gives greater proportional weight and at the same time pushes the silk yarn prominently on to the surface and enables it to exhibit its full lustre. ”

“ Silk, we have seen, loses about one-fourth of its weight in scouring. To obviate that loss it has long been the practice to dye some dark silks “in the gum,” the dye combining in these cases with the gum or gelatinous coating, and such silks are known as “souples.” Both in the gum and in the boiled-off state silk has the peculiar property of imbibing certain metallic salts largely and combining very firmly with them, the fibre remaining to external appearance undiminished in strength and lustre, but much added to in size and weight. ”

“ It has been well observed by Pullein, a writer on this subject, that “there is scarcely anything among the various wonders which the animal creation affords, more admirable than the variety of changes which the silk-worm undergoes;” but the curious texture of that silken covering with which it surrounds itself when it arrives at the perfection of its animal life, vastly surpasses what is made by other animals of this class. ”

“ Or if silk were preferred, the silks of past centuries were at once thick, firm, soft and pure, quite free from the dress or artificial thickening, by whose aid a silk nowadays tries to look rich when it is not. The oatmeal cloth, diagonal cloth, cotton-backed satin, velveteen and plush, so much used now, are very inferior materials as grounds for needlework to the hand-loom linens and silks on which so large a part of the old embroidery remaining to us was worked. ”

“ But how was it that this yellow silk—which was quite dry and firm, though elastic, as reeled from the spider, or as spun by her in the formation of her cocoons—was nevertheless, when used for the concentric circles of the web, so viscid as to follow the point of a pin, stretching in so doing many times its length? A satisfactory explanation of this has never yet been offered, nor can be until the minute anatomy of the spinning organs is better understood, and the evolution of the silk more carefully observed [Pg 140] at every stage, and under all conditions. ”

“ After colour in draperies come texture and quality, and these need hardly be discussed in the case of silken fabrics, because silk fibre has inherent qualities of tenacity of tint and flexibility of substance. Pure silk, that is silk unstiffened with gums, no matter how thickly and heavily it is woven, is soft and yielding and will fall into folds without sharp angles. This quality of softness is in its very substance. Even a single unwoven thread of silk will drop gracefully into loops, where a cotton or linen or even a woollen thread will show stiffness. ”

“ Silk is characterised by its fibres appearing perfectly smooth and cylindrical, without depressions, even under a magnifying power of 160. Its fibres (even when dyed) acquire a permanent straw-yellow colour when steeped in nitric acid of the sp. gr. 1·20 to 1·30. The fibres of white or light-coloured silk are similarly stained by a solution of picric acid. A thread of silk, when inflamed, shrivels and burns with difficulty, evolves a peculiar odour, and leaves a bulky charcoal. By these properties silk is distinguished from cotton and linen. ”

“ First, unravel a few threads of the suspected fabric, place them in the mouth and masticate them vigorously. Artificial silk readily softens under this operation and breaks up into minute particles, and when pulled between the fingers shows no thread, but merely a mass of cellulose or pulp. Natural silk, no matter how thoroughly masticated, will retain its fibrous strength. The artificial silk offers no resistance to the teeth, which readily go through it; whereas natural silk resists the action of the teeth. ”

“ Even persons show the results of proper nourishment. It is just so with silkworms. Cultivation tells. And not only does good care result in larger caterpillars and finer cocoons, but also in more silk. So the number of cocoons necessary to total a pound of raw silk vary. We cannot compute that, except roughly. But we do estimate that broadly speaking it takes about an acre of full grown mulberry trees to produce forty pounds of raw silk."
"How interesting!" exclaimed Pierre. "I never thought of measuring silk in mulberry trees."
"Not precisely in trees, but in their leaves," corrected Henri. ”

“ Augusti and De Wette in their German translation make it signify “a silken veil.” Others give different interpretations. The only ground, on which silk of any kind is supposed to be meant, is that in the Alexandrine or Septuagint version משי is translated τρίχαπτον, and τρίχαπτον is explained by Hesychius to mean “the silken web fitted to be placed over the hair of the head” (τὸ βομβύκινον ὕφασμα ὑπὲρ τῶν τριχῶν τῆς κεφαλῆς ἁπτόμενον) , and that other ancient Greek lexicographers also suppose a silken garment to be meant. ”

“ Silk weavers mostly work in attics, where they can have the best light to distinguish shades of colors, and where the silk, which moisture would damage, can be kept perfectly dry. In Spitalfields, the silk manufacture is mostly carried on by the workmen at their homes, their families assisting. Each child has his own branch, and the wife hers. It is the same case in the making of lace, artificial flowers, embroidery, straw braiding, &c. The strength of silk is greater than that of cotton, flax, or wool. ”

“ Now, whereas Silk may be dyed or ting’d into all kind of colours without boiling or dipping into hot liquors, I ghess the reason to be two-fold: First, because the filaments, or small cylinders of Silk, are abundantly smaller and finer, and so have a much less depth to be penetrated then most kind of hairs; and next, because the substance or matter of Silk, is much more like a Glew then the substance of Hair is. ”

“ From the first to the sixth centuries, poets and historians continually speak of silk, [249] praising its beauty or blaming it as extravagance or luxury; but according to Yates, all the information we collect from these sources requires to be tested as to accuracy, and is often erroneous.
I have spoken of the first silk-weaving in Cos, 300 B.C. The first arrival of the silkworm in Europe was in the sixth century, 900 years later. Cosmas Indicopleustes and another monk brought eggs from China in the hollow staves they carried in their hands. ”

“ It must be as pure as we can get it, both chemically and in color. And even then the high temperature necessary to bring the silk off the cocoons will cause any sandy sediment there may be in it to rise to the surface and cut the filament as we reel it off. ”

“ In repeating these experiments I find that the best form of silk is that which the Coventry dyers technically call ‘boiled silk,’ i.e. raw silk boiled in potash to remove its resinous varnish. In this state the aniline dyes attach themselves to the fibre very readily and firmly. ”

“ The product is not more inflammable than natural silk.
Artificial Ageing Of Silk Fabrics.—To give silk goods the appearance of age, exposure to the sun is the simplest way, but as this requires time it cannot always be employed. A quicker method consists in preparing a dirty-greenish liquor of weak soap water, with addition of a little blacking and gamboge solution. Wash the silk fabric in this liquor and dry as usual, without rinsing in clean water, and calender.
Bleaching Silk.—The Lyons process of bleaching skeins of silk is to draw them rapidly through a sort of aqua regia bath. ”

“ Like other silken textiles, satin seems to have been, in some few instances, interwoven with flat gold thread, so as to make it a tissue: for example, Lincoln had of the gift of one of its bishops, eighteen copes of red tinsel sattin with orphreys of gold. [131]
Though not often, yet sometimes do we read of a silken stuff called, cadas, carda, carduus, and used for inferior purposes. The outside silk on the cocoon is of a poor quality compared with the inner filaments, from which it is kept quite apart in reeling, and set aside for other uses ”

“ They live indifferently on all sorts of leaves, particularly on those of the ash, the oak, and the fagara, and spin a greyish and rarely white silk. The coarse cloth manufactured from it is called Kien-tcheou, will bear washing, and on that account persons of quality do not disdain to wear clothes of it. With this silk also the strings of musical instruments are made, because it is stronger and more sonorous. ”

“ Home-made silks are the staple—silks in checks of pink and white, of yellow and orange, of indigo and dark red. Some are embroidered in silk, in silver, or in gold; some are plain. All are thick and rich, none are glazed, and none are gaudy. ”

“ Artificial Silk from Silk. On account of the low value of the artificial and the high value of genuine silk, there is a tendency to offer the artificial instead of the pure article. Test: When artificial silk is boiled in 4 per cent potassium hydrate solution it produces a yellow solution, while pure silk gives a colorless solution. ”

“ From the above it will be seen that the hair to be woven is placed in the brushes which lie upon the table; the roots allowed to project a little, and convenient to the workman’s hand. The three “strings” as they are sometimes called, are in reality silk, one skein of weaving-silk being wound round each groove of the weaving-peg. The silk can be had either fine, medium, or coarse, according to the taste or requirement of the user. ”

“ Silk plush and the coarser varieties of buff colored fabrics are made of this silk. While manufacturers do not favor the wild silk, the coarse uneven weave and softness make it a favorite with artists and it is being used for interior decoration as well as for clothing. ”

“ TO TAKE STAINS FROM SILK
Mix 2 ozs. or essence of lemon and 1 oz. of oil of turpentine together in a phial. Grease and other spots in silks are to be rubbed gently with a linen rag dipped in this mixture.
TO RENOVATE SILK
Sponge faded silks with warm water and soap; then rub them with a dry cloth on a flat board; afterwards iron them on the inside with a smoothing iron. Old black silks may be improved by sponging with spirits. In this case, the ironing may be done on the right side, thin paper being spread over to prevent glazing. ”

“ Generally speaking there are two large classes into which silk goods may be divided, those in which the threads are colored before weaving and called yarn-dyed goods, and those dyed or printed after weaving and called piece-dyed or printed goods. In dyeing yarns, the silk is first ungummed and cleaned by boiling in soap and water, then washed in cold water. If the thread is to be weighted, as is frequently done, tin salts, iron, or other heavy material is deposited on the fiber. If carried far, this is injurious, making the silk tender and weak. Sometimes there is more weighting than silk. ”

“ In a solution of acetate of lead, each dipping will weight the silk about 8 per cent, and these may be repeated as often as it is wished. In this case the weighting is generally done on the undyed, boiled-off silk, although it may be done on the dyed silk if the color is such as will stand the acid.
Mixed Silk Fabrics. Until lately silk was invariably dyed in the state of yarn. When the silk was to be woven into mixed fabrics, such as satin, gloria, etc., it was impossible to dye both fibers exactly the same shade. ”

“ It is never, even at best, thoroughly dry, for it has the faculty of absorbing and holding moisture. Some time you'll learn more about how they have to allow for the moisture in silk when they weigh and ship it. Raw silk will often take up as much as thirty per cent. of its weight in moisture without any one suspecting it. Therefore, in order to be fair to the buyer who purchases his material by weight, they have in all great silk centres what they call silk-conditioning houses, where they test the goods to find out how much water is in it. ”

“ The silk fiber is the most perfect as well as the most beautiful of all fibers. It is nearly faultless, fine and continuous, often measuring from 1000 to 4000 feet long, without a scale, joint, or a blemish, though not of the same diameter or fineness throughout its entire length, as it becomes finer as the interior of the cocoon is approached. Silk differs from all other vegetable or animal fibers by being devoid of all cellular structure. ”

“ First the silk reeled from the cocoons must be wound; then cleaned of all gum; picked—which means that the uneven lumps must be removed; doubled, to make the thread stronger; twisted, to make it still firmer; rewound; and finally reeled all over again into silken yarn. Then it is ready to be put into any form desired, in accordance with orders received from the weaving companies. Sometimes it is made into what we call singles, one thread being given a twist to make it stronger. ”

“ The silk fiber is all in one piece, and about one thousand feet long. There is always a portion of the cocoon which is too tangled to be wound, and it is made into what is called spun silk. Spun silk is carded like wool. ”

“ Many ladies who embroider frequently complain that wash silk does not work smoothly, that the silk snarls or ravels, making a bad-looking piece of work, without saying anything about trying one's patience.
"Now, what makes my silk snarl?" is heard only too often. They frequently assign the cause of the trouble to the silk, when, in reality it is the fault of the needle they are using. ”