Notwithstanding the care taken in reeling the •silk from the cocoons, and forming several threads into one, it is not ready for the weaver, but has to undergo the processes called collectively throwing. In this country, this is a special trade, the silk throwster usually conducting it in large mills with extensive machinery, where the above processes are all carried on generally try steam-power. The silk reaches the throwster in hanks as imported. These are put into clean soap and water, and carefully washed, ties having been placed at intervals, to prevent the silk entangling. After being dried by hanging in the drying-room, they are placed on large skeleton reels called swifts, so adjusted that they will hold the hanks tightly. In a swift, the spokes are in pairs. They are made of thin pieces of lancewood, and each pair are rather nearer together at the axle than at the circumference, where they are connected together by a small band of cord. These bands are so tied that they will slip down easily to admit of the hanks being placed; then, by pushing the cords upward, the hank can be stretched to its fullest extent. This is neces sary to rompensate for the varying lengths of the hanks received from different countries.
When tire swifts are set in motion, the silk is carried from the hanks to bobbins. upon which it is wound for the convenience of further operations. The bobbins arc then taken from the winding to the cleaning machine, when they ire placed on fixed spindles, so that they will turn with the slightest pull; rise thread is passed through a small apparatus attached to the machine. whlch is bi the cleaner, and consists essentially of two polished smooth-edged blades or Metal, attached to a part of the frame of the machine. Tie-v are held together by a screw, and are slightly opened or closed by screw, so that the thread can be put between them down to a small orifice, and then, by lightening the screw, preventing its return, after passin7 through this small hole, w!iich is the gauge of the thread, and Which removes any irregularities or adherent dirt. The silk next over a glass or metal rod, and then through another small hole, much larger than that of the cleaner, and usually made of glass, on to the bobbin, upon which it is wound by the action of the machine. The next process is twisting the cleaned thread, by which it becomes better adopted fur beim* combined With other threads. Doubling is the next process, and this consists in running off a number of bob bins of tiebrted silk on to one bobbin of a larger size, which is put into lire throwing machine, when the ends of the doubled silk are passed through a smooth hole on to a large reel, which rewinds it into banks, but twisting the threads into a fine cord as it goes from the bobbins to the reel. This operation of throwing derives its name from the
baxou thrawan, to whirl or twist. After this the banks have to be again wound on reels and bobbins for the weaver, the former for the warp, and the latter for the weft. For many purposes, only some of these operations are required. Thus for common and light fabrics, such as Persian gauze, etc., only the two first are needed—viz., the winding and cleaning, and the material is called aumb-singles. If it has been wound, cleaned, and thrown, it is called thrown-singles, and is used for weaving common broad stuffs, or Plain silks and ribbons. If wound, cleaned, doubled, and thrown, it is called tram, and IS used for the richest silks and velvets, but only for the weft or shoot; and if wound, cleaned, spun, doubled, and thrown, it is called organzine, and is used for the warps of flue fabrics.
Before winding the cocoons, a flossy portion has to be removed; and after all has been wound off, another portion remains, like a compact bag; these are collected and sold under the name of waste-silk, and to these are added the fragments of broken threads, which accumulate in considerable quantities during the reeling and throwing operations. Formerly, very little use was made of waste-silk; not a little of it was employed by engi neers and others for mere cleaning purposes; although as early as 1071, a proposition was made by a manufacturer named Ettinonn Blood to make it available by carding it with teasels or rowing-cards. He took out a patent for this invention, but apparently did not bring it into use. Another patent was taken out by Mr. Lister of Bradford which has done wonders; now the waste is all spun into yarn, thereby greatly economiz the use of silk, as the quantity of silk-waste always greatly exceeds the amount of good silk ieeled of. The processes employed in the production of silk-yarn from the waste differ little from those for spinning other materials. See SPINNING.
The silk iattuutactures of Britain are chiefly located in Spitaltields, London, at Mac clesfield and Cougieton in Cheshire, at Derby. and in Glasgow. The dyeing of silk is done chiefly in the neighborhood of Loudon, at Nottingham, and- at MancLester; and considerable quantities of silk goods are sent from India to be printed with patterns in Loudon and other parts of England. These goods are chiefly -the coral' and bandana pocket-handkerchiefs, and Indian waist and turban scarfs.