of first softening the gum of the cocoons and then attacking the floss
with the points of a brush, Mr. Serrell places the cocoons in a
receptacle full of boiling water, in which by various means violent
reciprocating or vortex currents are produced. The result is that by
the action of the water itself and the rubbing of the cocoons one
against the other the floss is removed, carrying with it the end of
the continuous filament without unduly softening the cocoon or
exposing any of the more delicate filament to the rough action of the
brush, as has hitherto been the case. The advantages of this process
will be readily understood. In brushing after the ordinary manner, the
point of the brush is almost sure to come into contact with and to
break some of the filament forming the body of the cocoon. When this
occurs, and the cocoon is sent to be reeled, it naturally becomes
detached when the unwinding reaches the point at which the break
exists. It then has to be sent back, and the end of the filament
detached by brushing over again, when several layers of filament are
inevitably caught by the brush and wasted, and very probably some
other part of the filament is cut. This accounts for the enormous
waste which occurs in silk reeling, and to which we have referred. Its
importance will be appreciated when it is remembered that every pound
of fiber thus dragged off by the brush represents a net loss of about
19s. at the present low prices.

The mechanical details by which Mr. Serrell carries out this process
vary somewhat according to the nature of the different cocoons to be
treated. In one type of machine the water is caused to surge in and
out of a metal vessel with perforated sides; in another a vertical
brush is rapidly raised and lowered, agitating the water in a basin,
without, however, actually touching the cocoons. After a certain
number of strokes the brush is automatically raised, when the ends of