Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/299

Rh passes through two sacs containing a gummy substance, which, gradually hardening, causes the filaments to adhere to each other and makes the wall of the cocoon practically impervious to air. Left to itself, the silkworm becomes transformed in five or six days into a pupa, or chrysalis, and in a further five or six days into a moth. When the moth is ready to emerge it ejects upon the wall of the cocoon a fluid which acts as a solvent on the gummy substance holding the filaments of silk together, and then gradually makes its way out, pushing the filaments aside without breaking a single one. The moths, male and female, are unable to fly, their bodies being out of all proportion to the size of their wings. They can walk but slowly, and they are nearly blind. For commercial purposes, the development is not allowed to proceed beyond the chrysalis stage, except in the case of a small percentage of the finest cocoons, which are kept for supplying the next season's crop of eggs. The reason for this is that the "pierced" cocoons, from which the moths have made their exits, are worth comparatively little, as the silk cannot be unwound from them. In Europe the development is stopped by killing the chrysalides, either by baking the cocoons or by drying them in hot air. The baking method is employed in China in the case of cocoons sold to the steam filatures, so that the cocoons may be kept for longer periods, and more time devoted to sorting them; but the Chinese, having no knowledge of this drying process, are obliged to reel their cocoons at once, and the killing of the chrysalides is only incidental to the reeling process, in which boiling water is used.

Silkworms are liable to several diseases, and in Europe great care is exercised to secure the utmost cleanliness at every stage of rearing. The most dreaded scourge is that known as calcino, which does not manifest itself until the second period of the silkworm's existence. The disease is due to a bacillus, and is so rapid in its effects that a whole crop may be completely destroyed in two days. In China, where less care is taken, a very large percentage of silkworms are lost through various diseases. No microscopic examination is made of the moths, and the only semblance to any form of elimination of weaklings are the practices of exposing the eggs to frost, and of allowing only those silkworms to survive which show themselves to be the most vigorous by being the first to wake out of each successive sleep.

The silk products of China may be classed roughly as raw white, raw yellow, wild silk, and piece goods. The range of the silkworm is from Lat. 22° N. to beyond Lat. 40° N,, the very finest qualities of white silk being derived from the provinces of Kiangsu and Chekiang, which lie between Lat. 27° and 35° N. Yellow silk comes almost entirely from Shantung and Szechwan, while wild silk is obtained from Shantung, Chihli, and Manchuria. Piece goods come from all the silk farming districts, and Shantung pongees are drawn chiefly from the neighbourhood of Chefoo.

The value of silk exports in 1864, the year in which detailed trade reports were first issued by the Statistical Department of the Imperial Maritime Customs, was, in round figures, Tls. 12,000,000. In 1874 the value had increased to Tls. 26,000,000; in 1894, to Tls. 42,500,000; and in 1904 to Tls. 78,000,000. It must, however, be borne in mind that the tael in 1864 was worth 6s. 8d., whereas in 1874, 1894. and 1904 it fell in value to 6s. 4d., 3s. 2d., and 2s. 10d. respectively. The quantity and value of all silk products exported during the years 1903-7 inclusive may be tabulated as above.

RAW WHITE SILK.

Raw white silk, the tsatlee silk of the European market, is produced by hand-reeling at the Chinese silkworm farms. The custom for centuries has been for each farmer to reel his own cocoons, his whole family taking part in the industry. The process is of the most primitive kind. Little care is taken to ensure cleanliness, and the product is so uneven in reeling that it does not fetch nearly so high a price as the product of the steam filatures—the difference being often as much as Tls. 300 or Tls. 400 per picul. The silk is brought into the market by collectors, hundreds of whom are engaged in this work. The raw silk is made up into hanks of nine pounds, and exported in bales of one picul each. When it reaches its destination, in Europe or elsewhere, it is passed through a "throwing" mill, in which three or four threads are combined. The product, known as "thrown" silk, is boiled to remove the residue of the gum, and is then ready for the loom. The best white silk comes from the districts surrounding Shanghai, which contribute by far the largest

1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907.

Piculs. Value. Piculs. Value. Piculs. Value. Piculs. Value. Piculs. Value.

Raw White

Steam Filature

Yellow

Wild

Cocoons

Waste

Refuse Cocoons

Piece Goods

Shantung Pongees

Products, unclassed

19,341 43,979 .375 22,128 19.430 79.882 16,879 14.708 ,499 Taels. ,603,374 ,284,941 ,649.601 ,673,434 ,704,268 .016,637 ,503 ,096,173 ,688,737 ,170,035 .238 47.287 10.374 33,527 11,015 66,893 .719 14,187 ,487 Taels. ,581,790 28,526,115 .357,323 9,861,668 ,685 ,014,202 .519 .600,800 ,162,568 ,742 ,270 .347 10,718 ,584 14,207 87,167 20,806 12,390 ,337 Taels. ,524,010 ,395.999 3,866,402 8,639,062 1,344,286 4,288,525 .818 8,897,627 1,041,123 ,211 ,224 45,821 ,886 .555 11,608 .224 16,970 1. 755 3,742 Taels. ,485,481 29,614,449 3,214,873 6,372,970 1,089,872 3,208,162 450,254 8,474.750 1,279,104 1,105,610 ,556 50,296 13,465 23,896 14,263 107,859 ,104 ,653 5,843 Taels. ,804,464 ,047.350 ,746.366 .292,933 1.300,072 5,439,771 ,999 ,602,514 .323,638 ,927 ,221 ,289,703 .727 ,255,412 ,826 ,394,063 ,785 ,295,525 ,935 ,084,034

proportion of the value exported. Among other contributing Customs districts are contributing Customs districts are Shasi, Hankow, Chinkiang, Hangchow, Lappa, and Wuchow. The following table shows the principal Customs districts from which the raw white silk is exported and the chief places to which it is taken:—

Original Export from principal Customs Districts. 1905. 1906. 1907.

Taels. Taels. Taels,

Shanghai 11,283,931 14,859,895 15,370,172

Canton 885,917 568,040 852,938

Chief Countries to which Exported.

Taels. Taels. Taels.

Hongkong 1,144.530 761,208 1,091,569

Great Britain 186,032 186,225 442,771

France 3,757,286 6,011,658 7,294,691

Italy 3,115,539 3,409,071 2,688,203

U.S.A. (including Hawaii) 3,968,136 5,262,881 5,282,138