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7/3/2009
Friday morning
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| Although silk is produced by some insects, centipedes, and millipedes, and a similar substance is produced by mites, pseudoscorpions, and some crustaceans (ostracods and amphipods), only the spiders are true silk specialists. Spider silks that have been studied are proteins called fibroin, which has chemical characteristics similar to those of... |
| Production of silk involves (1) the care of the domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori) from the egg stage through completion of the cocoon and (2) the production of mulberry trees that provide leaves upon which the worms feed. The silkworm caterpillar builds its cocoon by producing and surrounding itself with a long, continuous fibre... |
| World silk production in 1996 was estimated at 81,098 metric tons. China was the leading producer, with 58,000 metric tons, followed by India (12,384), Japan (2,579), and Brazil (2,270). In China the 1997 spring cocoon crop was 20% lower than the 1996 tonnage, which was 40% less than that for 1995. The quality, however, was good. |
| Reeling is the process of unwinding raw silk filament from the cocoon directly onto a holder. When several filament strands, either raw silk or man-made, are combined and twisted together, producing yarn of a specified thickness, the process is called throwing. |
| In 1996 worldwide demand for silk declined, and prices eased slightly. As a result, there was a 40% reduction in the spring crop of high-quality cocoons in China. Because the stock of silk was already small, industry observers feared that only a slight upturn in demand would cause it to disappear and thus lead to a rapid increase in prices. |
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