Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 November 1898 — Silk from Shellfish. [ARTICLE]

Silk from Shellfish.

That silk may be produced from certain mussels or shells is a fact known, but only recently renewed attention was called to the matter by the receipt by the Berlin Royal Musetim of a pair of golden-brown silk gloves, made of byssus silk. This silk is obtained from the small silky tufts protruding from the byssus shell, which they use for holding fast to t]ie ground rock under water. This fibre is silky and changes In color from greenish yellow to dark brown. The single threads are from two to three inches long, and after being cleaned and dried they are spun Into yarn. Byssus silk woven into material is still a great curiosity, for the supply of material is so scarce that Industrial development of the manufacture is out of the question. Only In certain small settlements on the coast of Sicily there Is some effort to work with this material, the shell used being the so-called Pinna. Fishermen tear the shells with nets from the rocks, and, after cutting the tufts, return them into basins of shallow water; the tuft will grow again within a year. It takes between 3,000 and 4,000 shells to obtain a pound of fibre.