r with a quantity of cocoons, each
having its floss removed, and the end of the filament ready to be
unwound. Each reeler is provided with a basin containing water, which
may be heated either by a furnace or by steam, and a reel, upon which
the silk is wound when put in motion by hand or by power. In civilized
countries heating by steam and the use of motive power is nearly
universal. The reeler is ordinarily seated before the reel and the
basin. The reeler begins operations by assembling the cocoons in the
basin, and attaching all the ends to a peg at its side. She then
introduces the ends of the filaments from several cocoons into small
dies of agate or porcelain, which are held over the basin by a
support.

The ends so brought in contact stick together, owing to the adhesive
substance they naturally contain, and form a thread. To wring out the
water which is brought up with the ends, and further consolidate the
thread, it is so arranged as to twist round either itself or another
similar thread during its passage from the basin to the reel. This
process is called "croisure," and is facilitated by guides or small
pulleys. Having made the croisure, which consists of about two hundred
turns, the operator attaches the end of a thread to the reel,
previously passing it through a guide fixed in a bar, which moves
backward and forward, so as to distribute the thread on the reel,
forming a hank about three inches wide.

The reel is now put into movement, and winds the thread formed by the
union of the filaments. It is at this moment that the real
difficulties of the reeler begin. She has now to maintain the size and
regularity of the thread as nearly as possible by adding new filaments
at the proper moment. The operation of adding an end of a filament
consists of throwing it in a peculiar manner on the other filaments
already being reeled, so that it sticks to them, and is carried up
with them. We may mention here that this process of silk reeling can
be seen in operation at the Manchester exhibition.

It is only after a long apprenticeship that a reeler succeeds in
throwing the end properly. The thread produced by the several
filaments is itself so fine that its size cannot readily be judged by
the eye, and the speed with which it is being wound renders this even
more difficult. But, in order to have an idea of the size, the reeler
watches the cocoons as they unwind, counts them, and, on the
hypothesis that the filament