Report by CONSUL PEIXOTTO, of Lyons.
In my dispatch, No. 140, dated September 1, 1880, I referred to the fact
that new machinery for reeling silk had been invented, which, in my
opinion, was destined to be of great importance, and to make this
industry extremely valuable and profitable in our country. I beg now
to submit some additional observations upon this subject, and for the
purpose of being definite, to entitle them
THE FUTURE OF SILK CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES.
Silk reeling is at present accomplished by the use of appliances which
differ only in detail from those in use many centuries ago, and which
can scarcely be called machines, being rather of the nature of apparatus
depending entirely upon the skill and knowledge of the operative for the
results produced. In fact, even the most perfect of French and Italian
reels bear about the same relation to automatic machinery that an
old-fashioned spinning wheel does to our modern spinning machines.
Since the date of my previous dispatch upon this subject, the new
reeling machine of Mr. E. W. Serrell, jr., of New York (who still
continues in Lyons), has been undergoing improvement and development,
and it is with the hope of facilitating the introduction and culture of
silk, and of enabling our people to adopt the best means to that end,
and to avoid errors which have been disastrous in the past and are
likely to be extremely expensive in the near future, that I now
communicate with the department, which is equally interested in securing
new sources of industry and wealth for our people at home as for the
promotion and extension of their commerce abroad.
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