cate operation. They toucn the end ot
the finger to the points of the abdomens
of the prisoners, and withdrawing it gent
ly pull out the filaments and carry the
twelve or twenty-four to a "crochet,"
where they are united and through which
they are drawn and at the same time
twisted into one and . wound on a spool.
The apparatus, which at once makes the
drawing, twisting and winding of the
thrf ad, is of very ingenious devising and
gives excellent results.
The spiders submit to tho winding-out
process without resistance, in fact seem
rather to enjoy it. As they are emptied
they are replaced by others. After thi?
operation the "convalescents" are placed
in a "park" constructed for thitf purpose
with bamboo poles planted in the ground
and joined by a kind of trellis-work,
where after some days of reposo, those
who do not fall prey to their stronger
neighbors are ready to undergo another
operation. Tho. thread thus obtained is
very clean and pure and can be woven
without the least difficulty. .
As stated before a single Halabe spider
properly handled and under favorable
WHY SHOULD NOT CALIFORNIA RAISE THE SILK-PRODUCING SPIDER?
THE SUNDAY CALL.
Tn the first place the spielers are brought
In by Malagach women, from the gardens
and the country around in light baskets
just when they are ripe for the winding
process, which should be at once proceed
ed with, as they should be kept together
and shut up as short a time as possible
on account of thpir bad habit of devour
ing each other. By delay there is risk of
finding only a. last survivor of a promis
ing lot of full and ripe female Halabes.
As it is desirable to unite several fila
ments and twist them on themselves into
a.single thread of a given size the spiders
are arranged for the winding out in
groups, generally twelve or twenty-four.
It is very important not to wound or mu-
tilate them during the operation, as when
carefully handled each one can support In
the course of a single month four or live
winding out operations. representing
about <r)00 yards of filament, before dying.
The little animals are placed in a frame
holding a number of little adjustable clips
or stacks, which press down between the
abdomen and corselet, holding them firmly
but not too tightly. The abdomen . pro
trudes on the side, on which the drawing
and twisting apparatus is placed.
The young Malagach »,'lrls have hands
very light and well suited for this deli-
AMONG the thousand ar.d one novel
nnd interesting things which will
attract the attention of visitors to
the Paris Exhibition will be the
working and products of a nrv»- industry,
¦which may ultimately find large lodg
ment, if nut Its chief center, in Southern
California. As the Per?'.3:i monks, return-
Ing from Cathay fourteen hundred years
npn brought 1-ack in their hollow bamboo
canos the rilkworm eggs from which was
started the industry that buiit up and en
riched many sections of Turkey, Greece,
Italy ar.d France, so may so^ne Califor
nia^ visiting Paris and the exposition for
pleasure and such profit as may be Inci
dentally had bring back with him a stock
of Ualabc oggs and lay the foundation of
an industry for which a large part of. Cal
ifornia :s most admirably adapted and
•which may r.ri:'? to );<r far more wealth
than her rich mines, her immense wheat
fields or her vast orchard?.
The Halabe silk may mean much to Cal
ifornia. The ucly spiiier known in its na
tive clime by that name may in the
course of j:o great number of years make
California the mistress of one of the great
nnd most, remunerative Industries of tho
vorid. A French economic writer Bays
that Tananarivo threatens to dethrone
J-yons as the mistress of the- silk trade of
the world. Some California city, San
Francisco, L,cs Angeles or may be one
vet to ppring up, may outrival both of
ihpm. It may not be too much to say
that not many decades hence bales of
Ilalahe Filk may be going from our ports
¦with the Texas cotton to old China itself,
where for COOO years or more the cocoon
Bl'.k Industry has fiouriFhed.
The Halabe, as it Is called by the Mala
pachs. Is but little known outside of
Madagascar, except to those naturalists
•who have made a special study of the
FPrtcigcni (silk-producing) arachT.ids. To
them It is known as thee Nephila Slada
frascarensis. They flourish by th*> millions
In the Imerina. district of Madagascar.
In which tho capital, Tananarivo, Is sit
uated. But reproduction In captivity.
however. Is very difficult, because the fe-
Tnale, who produces the thread. Is of
Fuch f.erc« and cannibalistic disposition
that the mala can only approach her with
the greatest precautions, and after being
assured of her willingness and docility,
*vcn then half the time she kills and eats
him before the Interview Is ended. The
•weaker members of her own sex are also
her frequent prey.
Therefore the Halabcs are found In
frreat. numbers or.ly In those places where
they are assured of abundant nourifh
snent, without the necessity of devouring
each other. Euch as tho great groves of
mango trees Rnd the royal gardens In the
Environs of Tananarivo. Under these un
favorable conditions it is almost impossible
to hope for an unlimited artificial produc
tion, as In the case of the silk moth, and
it is necessary to confine the operations
to collecting the living spiders in those
favored localities where they swarm in
myriads In their natural and wild state,
and rmpty them of their much desired
product as near their habitat as possible,
so rs to make the most of what they can
give.
The si:k cf the Halabes Is of a marvelous
color. A thread of "gold could not be more
brilliant, nor of a purer yellow. It has a
tenuity, an elasticity and a tenacity much
superior to* the silk from the cocoon,
which permits its being worked into stuff
«'f wonderful firmness and exquisite plia
bility, st the same time of a solidity un-.
rivaled. The merit cf the discovery of
taking tho silk from the living spider be
longs to a French Catholic missionary in
Madagascar, Father Cambone. Following
the example of tho Malagachs, he at first
collected a large number of the webs that
covered the gardens of the mission where
he was stationed and carded and spun
them. The thread produced, however, was
by necessity of the case of mich irregu
larity that he determined to find some
other method of utilizing the immense
quantity of splendid material that was
everywhere going to waste as far as hu
man purposes were concerned. •»
He finally hit upon the idea of drawing
the thread directly from the spider, whom
he shut up and held securely in a small
match box provided with an aperture
through which the point of the abdomen
projected and from which he wound out
the thread. The method he employed is
the one used to-day, but the mechanical
arrangements for holding the insect and
ruling in and twisting the thread have
been much improved upon by M. Nogue,
the director of the technical school at
Tananarive In this institution establish
ed by General Galliani, In the palace of
the former Queen, there has been for
pome time In operation a model school
for teaching the young Malagach women
the process of taking the thread without
injury to the Bp'.f'-r and weaving it into
cloth.
A correspondent' of *Lo~ Monde Illustre
visited the school some time since, and
sent the following description, Illustrated
by photographs (which are here repro
duced) of the different phases of the cu
rious operation:
more than one-half la obtainable as reeled
•Ilk, the remainder, consisting of surface
floss or hard gummy husk or "knub."
The net reelable material from one co
coon runs from SCO to CO yards, and even
this Is of very variable thickness. whil»
en the other hand the Halabe silk is
drawn out into one long continuous fila
ment, as uniform in size and strength as
a drawing of steel wire. Tho material
being uniform and the operation of draw
ing it out beir-p: continuous tho filament
Is homogeneous throughout its length.
Hence the greatly superior appearance of
the material woven from the Halabo silk
over that woven from the eoroon product.
The tenacity and increasing strength of
the Halabe thread is likewise far superior
to that of the cocoon, so tho cloth woven
from the former not only presents a much
more uniform surface appearance, but
possesses far greater lasting powers than
the latter. The cost up to the point of
winding en the spool, where there Is a
supply of spiders at hand. Is much less
than that of the cocoon silk.
It would perhaps be as difficult to Ray
when spider thread cloth was first made
as to say when paper was first made.
The beginning of the use of papyrus, from
which the latter material takes its name,
can be well fixed in the chronology ot
Egypt, whence it was Introduced Into
Europe, but the Chinese como forward
with well substantiated claims of discov
ery antedating the other by centuries. So
too In the cas^ of spider-thread cloth. In
Europe Reaumur in 1710 first tried the ex
periment of drawing the thread from tho
living spider and weaving it into cloth. Ha
had. however, only the small and rather
unfruitful silk-producing spiders of South
ern Europe to experiment with, and when
he found from what he had obt lined that
!t would require some 700.000 of the llttla
animals to produce one pound of silk h»
dropped the economic side of his Investi
gations altogether and only finished his
work for the sake of the curiosity. H»
succeeded in getting thread enough, to
weave a piece of wonderful cloth, not
larger than a gentleman's handkerchief.
Other experiments with spider web cloth.
in Europe and elsewhere, have been suc
cessful In no greater measure. Not so la
Madagascar, howevejr.
Though until Father Cambone took th*
matter in hand only the already woven
webs were used, spider web cloth had
been produced by the natives since— how
long no one can say. Now, though but in
Its first birth, as it were, the industry
promises to the French eye to assume
proportions that will make the valleys of
Imerlna rival those of the Rhone for
wealth of product. The French colonial
section of the exposition standing on tho
Trocadero contains something of what can.
be shown in the way of Halabe thread and
cloth, as well as the whole process of col
lecting and bringing in the spiders, tha
winding out, spinning and all, besides
numerous forms of finished work, such a3
curtains, bed hangings, wraps, laces,
handkerchief?, etc. and this Is only the
result of a short season of experimenting.
as it were, on the part of the authorities
to show what may be done. It falls for
the first time under the groat commercial
eye of the world. Capital will see its pos
sibilities, and In her hands a wonderful
industry will <:cmand a large place in tha
next exposition, a decade hence.
While the Halabe has been noticed la
various parts of the Island of Madagascar,
which stretches from 12 degrees to 28 de
grees south of the equator, with a breadth
of some 300 miles, it has been found
In greater numbers in the upland
district of Imerina. near the central part,
than anywhere else. There they swarm
In millions, and in the capital city. Tan
anarive the exploitation of the industry
has been had.
This region is between 3000 and 5000 feet
above the level of the sea, with a tem
perature ranging from 70 to S6 degrees.
The range of habitat of the Halabe.
covers nearly 2000 feet of altitude. Quita
large."
California has vast sections of country
as well adapted to the growth and hand
ling of the Halabe as Its own Island home.
"Why should she not have a part or win
the lead in the development of an Indus
try which promises such remumerativu
returns? Great numbers of the spider*
have been brought from Tananarivo to
Paris and specially arranged gardens
have been prepared for their keeping and
sustenance. Files and small insects are
their food, and It la safe to say that they
will not starve in Paris during the expo
sition. A few of them can readily be
brought over to California during the
summer, and as they are quit© prolific
these few will serve as a.start. like tho
ladybug Imported from Australia to kill
the moth pest of the orange tree, they
will take care of their own propagation;
and In the vast flower land of this State.
teeming with every form of insect life. It
is sure that one» established here the
Halabe will not starve.
10
conditions can undergo four or nve opera
tions of winding out in a. month's time,
yielding some 4500 yards of filament. This
is a far greater return than is hs.d from
the silk worm. Common cocoons inclos
ing chrysalises weigh each from sixteen
to fifty grains. One-seventh of this
weight is pure cocoon and ef that not