M O N O GRA‘

P

ON TH !

SILK FABRICS OF B ENGA

N. G MUKERJI , M.A.,AND

OF THE BENGAL PROVINCIAL CIVIL SERVICE, AUTHOR OF TH E HANDBOOK OF SERICULTURE

AND HANDBOOK OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE .

CALCUTTA

PRINTED AT THE BENGAL SECRETARIAT PRESS.

[Price-Indz’

an, R8. 5 ; English, 78 . 6d.]

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

INTRODUCT ION .

PART I.

THE MULBERRY AND THE MULBERRY SILK-WORMS .Cmnnn I.

—Locaht1es where 311k 1 8 producedI I — Mulberry andmu lberry-growers

II I — Cocoon-rearing and cocoon-rearers

IV.— B ockne ofthe cocoon-renung industry and efforts at jmprovement

PART II .

SILK YARNS .

CHAPTER V.—Matk§ and Khamrnspinning

VI.-Sl lk-sp|nning, filature system

VIL— Unwinchng and throwstmg

PART III.

THE SILK-WEAVING INDUSTRY.

CHAPTER V1 1 1 .—8 11k-weavers

IX .-l k fabrics

X.— D18posal of 811k fabrics

XL—The na tIve loomIndu stry—Its industrial posxtionXII— Statmt lcal tables

PART IV.

SILK-WEAVING AND DYEING.

CHAPTER XIII .— Bleach1ngXIV.

— Dyeing and printlngXV.

— Processes preparatory to weavingXVI.

-WeavingXVII— Special processes ofweav mg

PART V.

INFERIORSILKS.CHAPTBB XVIII — The tasar sflk Indu stry

XIX.— The end: Indu stry

LIST OFILLUSTRATIONS.

Fs onri srmcn.

FIG. 1. Chandraki or spinning met

2. Matkci-spinning .

3 The single-gkcii ofMurshidabad4. Native reeling machine ofRajshahi (shownpart by part)5. Native reeling machine ofMaldah6A. Unwmdmg or Pkirdn

6B . Ldtcii

7. w sting ofraw silk (C. Tciku r and D. Tkhdk shownseparately)8. The Del

9. The d i id

Warpingl l . Chef/vi and Hu lki used forwarping

1 2. Diagramaticrepresenta tionofwarping13. The improved loom used IntheRaj shahi Sericultural School.1 4. Arrangement of reed and healds1 5. The B ogra silk-loom

16. Charging ofspools1 7. Ma

'

ku or shu ttle1 8. The Maldah loom19. TheMurshidabad loom20. The Kdtdni

21 . Siz ing ofcloth

22. Nuksha loomofMurshidabad (Balucliar) .

22a . Nakskd loomofMurshidabad (more complicated)23. Ts ssr-weav mg inthe Sonthal Pargana s24. Implements for teaser-weaving inthe Sonthal Parganas25. The teaser-weaving loomof the Sonthal Parganas26. Weavmg and charging ofspools

27 Tasar-reel mg andWeaving appliances ofJajput (Cu ttack) (Bengal type )28 Tassr-weaving appliances ofKhurda (Purl) (Orl ssa type)

Endi spinning appliances

30. Endi weaving loomAl so 16 sheets ofcoloured plates illustrating silk dyeing and silk fabrics.

INTRODUCTION.

THIS Monograph has beenprepared according to the directions containedin the Revenue Department Circular No . 10

,dated the 29th November 1 898,

which requ ires that the Monograph“should g ive a complete review of all

branches ofthe silk Industry.

” All the o ther branches, however, have beentreated here only as subsidiary to those of silk weaving and silk-fabrics, tha tthe ma incharacter ofthe Monograph may be ma intained.

2. The silk-weaving industry of Bengal is of greater magnitude thaneventhe manufactu re ofraw silk, which forms the main staple of Eu ropeanexport . From the Vedic times silk fabrics have beenenjoined to Hindus foru se onceremonial occasions. One ofthe verses oftheRig Veda."is referred toby o rthodox pandits as enjoining the use of silk cloths for the marriageceremony, and, as a matter offact, Hindus all over Indi a use silk cloths forevery religious ceremony, and those who canafford it, regard it as incumbentonthem to wear it daily at the time ofworship . Foreignsilks and silks containing anadmixture ofother fibres are prohibited for such ceremonial pu rposes

,

though as articles ofluxu ry, foreign silks were in use even inancient times.The u se of unmixed silk is prohibited among Muhammadans, specially ofthestronger sex , but they, as also the Parsis, use a good deal of cheap s

ilk onceremonial occasions, in imitation of the Hindus. The silk-manufacturingindustry has thu s a peculiar vitality ofits own

,which isnot shared by the co

tton

manu facturing indu stry, and the general notion that silk and cottonweavingindustries ofIndia have equally suffered and have suffered for the same reasons,

is not correct. The recent decline inthe silk-weaving industry is chiefly inthedirection of foreign export. Europeancountries no longer depend onIndiancalicos and silks. But the manufacture of those fabrics which are requ iredfor native u se continues as vigorou sly as ever, and the Census figu res for1 901 show tha t the silk weaving industry of B engal has had a remarkabledevelopment du ring the last decade. The costliest silks

, embroidered withgold and silver threads, are not manu factured inB engal, but chiefly inBenares.The raw material used, however, in the Benares looms

, is largely importedfrom Bengal, and as the Benares embroidered silks are extensively used bythe higher andmiddle classes of Bengal, the silk industry of B enares isintimately connected with that ofBengal. The same may be sa id of the silkweaving industry (based onEuropeanprinciples) ofBombay

, though the rawmaterial inu se InBombay 1s largely derived from China also.

indigenous sills fabrics on certain occasions,however coarse o

fabrics may be, and it is for this reasonthat there is asilk fabrics, specially ofthe cheaper kinds.

3. The informationfor this Monograph has beenderived from the following sou rces

( 1 ) The district reports or monographs based mainly on the personalobservations of officers

, usually of the grades of CovenantedAssistant Collectors andUncovenanted De

preparing these district monographs ,

Kshoumé basané basana-magnI-madhiyatam bride 1 3 to worship the fire decked in silken

(2) The BengalAdministra tionReports for 1896 to(3) The Census Reports ior 1891 and 1901 .

(4) The Report ofthe Bengal Chamber ofCommerce for 1901 .

(5) The Annual Statement of the Director-General of Statistics for1 902.

(6) Some account ofsilk inIndia, by I . Geoghegan.

(7) S ilk inIndia , by L . Liotard.

(8) Dr.

‘Watt’s Dictionary ofEconomicProducts.

(9) My ownpersonal observa tions, which have beenmainly recorded inthe Hand-book of Sericulture which has been published byGovernment.

The subject will be dealt w ith in five parts. The first part will refer tothe first raw ma terial, viz .

,the mulberry and the silk-worm; the second part

will deal with silk ya rns ; the third part, with commercial and industrial ques.tions the fourth part, with weaving proper ; and the fifth part

, with the Tasarand Endi or Erz

'

silk industries. All the parts, however, will be treated fromthe point ofview ofthe silk fabrics.

M O N O G RAP H

ON THE

SILKFABRICS OE BENGAL.

PART I.

THEMULBERRYAND THEMULBERRY SILK-WORMS.

CHAPTERI.

LOCALITIES WHERE smx IS PRODUCED.

WITH the exception of the Chit tagong Division, all other divisions of

Bengal have reported the existence of the silkChi ttagong Division weaving industry. Inthe Presidency Divisionthe

industry is reported to be a t present confinedto Mu rshidabad . Inthis district mulberry-g rowing

and cocoonrearing are particula rly common inthe flames of Burwa , Burwan,Gowas and Raghuna thganj , while silk-weaving is carried onma inly W ithinthe ju risdictions of the {faunas of Sujaganj, Doulatba z ar, Bhagawangola ,Gowa s, Manullaba z ar, Asanpu r, and Mirz apu r. The town of Mirz apu r produces the most superior silk fabrics in the whole ofBengal. Among otherimportant silk-weaving centres may be mentioned Balucha r, Islampur, Kada i,Sa idabad, B eldanga , and Ha riharpa ra . Berhampu r and Jeaganj a re the twochief centres of silk trade where the wealthy merchants reside During thelast decade the indu stry continued to decay inthe department ofcocoon-rea ringand also intha t of corals-weaving . The Censu s figures for 1901 showpersons as being dependent on this industry inMurshidabad, againstwhich wa s the number according to the Censu s Report for 1891 . Studyingthe Censu s figu res in detail, however, one would be struck with the rapidstrides the silk-weaving industry of Murshidabad, as a whole, ha s madewithinthe las t decade, though this improvement has gone on parz

'

passu withthe decline in the cocoon-rea ring industry. Nadia and Jessore were at

one time recogniz ed as silk-producing districts. Mulberry-growing and cocoonrea ring still prevail in the northern part of the district of Nadia . InKhulna there has never been any silk-rea ring , though an experiment ona small scale, conducted for three yea rs from 189 1 to 1894, was sufficientto demonstra te the possibility of growing the mulberry and the mulberrysilk-worms exactly in the same way as it is done inthe northern. districts .

It rema ins to be seen if local enterprise will prompt the u tiliz a tion of

the mulberry trees which were planted a t this time and which are onlyjust ready for rearing silk-worms. The presence ofabout 100 large mu lberrytrees withintwo or three miles ofthe Sada r sta tionought to be a sufficient inducement for some poor man

,acquainted with the art of rearing silk-worms

and making thread, to take up . the indu stry, if facilities are put by loca l

bodies in the way of such a man to do so . T he Cha irman of the DistrictBoa rd ofKhu lna , having la tely addressed the Wii ter of this Monograph onthis subject, the ma tter may be mentioned here incase it shou ld lead to

any practical result in the fu ture . Asimilar experiment wa s conducted from1892-95 in the Magu ra subdivision of Jessore

,but this has g iven rise to

no loca l enterprise. In the 21-Parganas the cocoon-rearing indu stry still

Presidency Division.

B

( 2 )

lu rks.

in some villages in the neighbourhood of Dattapukur. It may be

also mentioned here tha t a t Ultadanga , nea r Calcu tta , an enterprising Muhammadan gentleman has set up a silk-weaving mill on Eu ropean principles

,

which is sa id to be in a flourishing condition. But as this is not , strictlyspeaking , an indigenous industry, nothing further need be said about thisenterprise.

2 . Inthe BurdwanDivision, silk-weaving is reported to be ca rried oninall the districts . The following interesting history

Burdw‘m Dlvmm'

of the silk industr in the district of Hooghlyhas been fu rnished by Babu Sukumar Ha dar, Subdivisional Officer of

Jahanabad“Local traditionpoints to the existence ofanimportant silk industry inthe Jshanabad

subdivisionas far back as the seventh century. It would appear from old records thatat a time not long after the transfer of the Dewani of B engal to the East India Com any,the Company had a factory at Khirpai (now inthe Midnapore district), the place whio was

the head-quarters of this subdivision at the time of its formation in 1845. It is difficultto ascertain the precise date of the establishment of the factory, but it was certainly inex istence in1795, and probably existed prior to 1765, the da te ofthe cessionofthe Dewani tothe Com y (cide Mr. Toynbee’

s sketch of the administrationof the Hooghly district, paragraph 91 It would appear that the Com any, until the winding-up of their commercialaffairs, held the absolu te monopoly of the s

'

industry inthis district.Proofs arenot wanting that the industry was ina flourishing conditionbefore it was

takeninhand by the East India Company. Dewanganj , on the right bank of the riverDwarkeswar, was the centre of animportant silk industry, which still survives, though ina

s tate of decadence. Inthose early times the trade was almost exclusively aninland one,

and was chiefly inthe hands ofB unniahs from Upper India . Camels were the only meansof transport ; and traces ofanelevated highway u sed by the caravans of these merchantsare still inexistence. The character and extent of the trade at this time cannot be ascertained with any accuracy, but there is reasonto believe that the trade was an important one.

Under the East India Company the trade was a river-borne one. Mr. C. Touchet,the Commercial Resident ofRadhanaga r, writing in1795, states that Ghatal onthe SilyeinMidnapore was the port of Khirpai, Chandrakona , and Dewan anj. It would appearthat during the rains whenthe river Dwarkeswar was navigable, t e silk goods were sentdownthe river (which from the oint of confluence with the Srlye near Ghatal assumes thename of Rupnarain) in boats rom Dewanganj. During the dry seasonthe goods weredespatched by pack-bullocks to Ghatal, a distance of eight miles . There was at this timegreat activity ininland as well as inriver-borne trade. Inconsequence, however, of themonopoly acquired and jealously guarded by the Company, the old direct inland trade withUpper India was seriously paralysed and, perhaps, temporarily extinguished.

For the subsequent history of the industry under the Company, Icannot do betterthanreproduce the following account fromMr. Toynbee’

s sketchThe cloth factories inthe Hooghly district were

gradually abolished, and the buildings

and sites were sold offbetween 1830 and 1836. he silk filatures in the Midnaporedistrict appear to have beenkept onfor some t ime longer. The commercial concerns oftheCompany were gradually wound-up by the B oard of Salt, Cus toms and Opium

, and the postof Resident appears to have been abolished about 1 830. The cause of this collapse was thecompetition of the Manchester cotton goods which the Collector says could be sold at

less Manhalf the price of the cloths made at the Company’

s factories . The native clothindustry still struggles oninthis district, but it cannot survive for many more years, andmost ofthe weavers have already takento other pursu its and become absorbed inthe generalpopulation. Paragraph

After t e winding-up of the East India Company’s commercial concerns, the silk

factories were takenup by Messrs . Robert Watson and C ompany. A art of the industrywhich still survives continues to be inthe hands oftha t Company inthe

Iilldidnapore district.

The history of 811k in Jahanabad is the history of anefl‘

ete industry. Dewanganj ,the only place where it survives to any appreciable extent, is noticed by Hunter inhisb

’

tatzs iz'

calAccount of Benga l only inconnectionwith brass work.

“In the District Census Report, 1891 , the Magistrate (Mr. H . G. Cooke,c s.) thus

briefly not ices the silk industry zSomementionmay bemade ofthe traces of former Europeanenterprise inindigo and

silk. These industries have absolutely disappeared, bu t it is not an uncommonthing tocome across traces of considerable factories and filatures now inruins . Therewas at one time a very flouri shing silk trade in Jahanabad and its neighbourhood, but sincethe importationofEuropeangoods, this industry only exists inname. The decline of thistrade dates so far back that it scarcely affected the density of the popula tion in the twoprevious decennial periods (Paragraphs 1 1 and

Themanufacture ofsilk textures is at present confined to B ali, Dewanganj, Kalagachia,Radhabullabpur’ in thana Goghat, andKi shorepur inthana Khanakul, inthe subdivis ionDewanganj being the chief centre.

Silk filatures are at resent confined to Gheso, Raghunathpur, Ghoshpur, Thakurani.chak,Kegnair, Dhangari,Choradaha, Jagatpur and Henosundarpur, all inthana Khanakul.

The thread is utilised inthemanufacture of fabrics at Ghatal and places outside the limi tsofthis subdivision. The number of spinners is returned by the police to be 860, which Iconsider to be anoverestimate.

“ The silk weavers of B ali, Dewangan'

, &c., neithermanufacture their ownthread norbuy from these spinners. They buy their thread from dealers inMidnapore.”

The sta tement that the silk industry ofMidna ore is still in the handsofMessrs. Robert Wa tson Co . is not correct, as t e only European Com

pany tha t is a t present working silk, intha t district is that ofMessrs. Lou is

,

ayen Co., the French Company.

3. The Hooghly report does not mention the fact of silk printingoncorahs obta ined from the di strict ofMurshidabad being ca rried on on a

fa irly ex tens ive scale at Serarnpur, where some silk-weaving also is still done.

The census figures would also lead one to infer tha t the silk-weaving industryofHooghly was ina more flou rishing conditionin1901 thanin189 1 .

4. Inthe Burdwandistrict the silk industry is carried on in the SadarKatwa andKalna subdivisions

, but not inthe B anigan'

subdivision.5. The industry is carried oninthe following viilages

Ia Satgachia thana inthe Sadat subdivision

AtMemari By abou t 50 families.At Radhakantapur 34

At Tantigantar 8

InGclsi thanaAt KhanaAt Jaikrishnapur

InSahebganjAt JagdabadAt Panchku la

173 families.

6. InKalna subdivisionno weaving is ca rried on, but cocoons are reared

to a certain extent, and a good dea l ofTasar yarn is also manu factu red.

Cocoons are ra ised at Serampu r, Kaknail and Khaiduttpara . Spinning is

carried on a t the above-mentioned villages , and also a t Sa tni, Sigubagh,

Hamedpur, C achee, Pa thangram, Khanpur, Hat T are , Nakdaha , and Hapania .

Employment is given t0‘

about people, mostly engaged in cultiva tion,

who eke ou t their ag ricultu re by raising cocoons and by spinning the thread.

By caste they are chiefly Satgopes, Chandals, Gandhabanias or Mussalmans ;the only exceptionto the rule is one Babu Gou r MohanBhattacharjee, M.A.

,

Head-Master ofthe Pa tuli Entrance School, who has beentrying to revive themu lberry silk-rea ring indu stry of these villages in correspondence wi th the

wri ter ofthisMonograph . The silk industry wa s originally introduced into thissubdivisionfromMurshidabad on the failu re ofthe cotton industry ; the creditof this being due to one Radhikananda Rai, ofAmdanga , a servant of one of

the Nawab Na z ims ofBengal.7 . Inthe Katwa subdivision Tasar alone is grown, and a description of

the Tasar silk indu stry ofKatwa will be found in its proper place (Part V ).According to the C ensus figures of 1901 , the silk-weaving industry of Burdwanhas undergone a cons iderable decline withinthe la st decade.

8. Inthe district of Midnapore mulberry cocoon-rearin is ca rried on inGhatal and T amluk subdivisions , chiefly within the j urisdiction of Ghata l,Da spore and Garhbeta Mamas . The village of Chandrakona , in Ghata l subdivision, is almost as important a centre for silk-weaving as Mirz apu r andBaluchar in the district ofMu rshidaba d and Shibdanga in the dis trict of

Maldah. The products ofthe na tive reel from all parts ofMidnapore, and evenfrom parts ofHowrah , are utiliz ed inthe looms ofChandrakona and the neighb ou ring villages. The Census figures show that the silk industry of this district is declining very fast.

9 . InHowrah, the silk-rea ring industr is ofminor importance. It iscarried onby abou t 600 persons altogether, w 0 are mostly Kaibartas, Bagdis

B 2

( 4 )

and low-class Muhammadans, living inthe ju risdictionofthe different i tems of

the Uluba ria subdivision, viz ., Uluba ria , B agnan,Amta , Jaga tballabpu r, Sanka

rail and Shyampu r. T hey carry oncocoon-rearing and silk-spinning ona verysmall scale , and they

'

also follow o ther agricultu ral pu rsuits T he mu lberr yis g

rown chiefly onboth sides of the Damuda r and the Kana nadi,and it is

only in the ju risdictionof the thana Jaga tballabpu r that cocoon-rearing and

spinning are ca rried ononany considerable scale.

10. InBirbhum,the cocoon-rearing and spinning industries preva il in the

Rampurhat thana , the silk factory of Ganu tia belong ing to the B engal

Company being the centre of these indu stries ; whi le the principal villageswheremulberry silk-weaving is carried onare Baswa , B ishnupur and Margram,

a lso within the ju risdictionof the Rampurhat thana . The silk-weaving indu stry of Birbhum is of less magnitude and importance than' the silk~spinningindu stry, bu t the

“ B aswa-B ishnupu r silks ”enj oy more than a mere local

repu te.

‘

lfthe Census figu res for 1901 can be depended upon, the silk indu stry of B irbhum is declining very fast.

1 1 . The silk-weaving industry of Bankura is of grea ter importance thanthe cocoon-rearing and sp inning industries, and the Census figu res show tha tthe industry ha s made considerable progress in this di strict during the la s tdecade Only a por tionofthe raw ma terial u sed inthe looms of the Vishnu

pur subdivisionis produced locally, the balance being imported from Midna

pore . Silk-worms are reared and silk spun in the following villages : Dhanda ,Punishole , Kesavpur, Chinganu , Tilaghagri , Simlapal, Pakhu rduba , Pa thardobaand Barakhulia . The Government sericultu ral experiments conducted in thevillages near Garhbeta a ttracted the attention of the cocoon-rearers of

B ankura , who are ea ger to profit by the introduction of Pasteur’

s systemin the ir midst . T hey come to fetch seed from tho se cocoon-rearers of

Garhbeta who are following this system wi th profit, and they h0pe by-and-byeto have a seed-rearing establishment at Punishole . The silk-worm epidemicshave been the principal cau se of the great contraction of the silk industryw ithin a very few years both in Midnapore and in Bankura

,and a s both

districts still conta inlarge numbers of people who depended at one time on

sericultu re bu t who have now taken to‘

o ther pursu its, the re suscitation of the

silk indu stry inthese two districts, if taken in hand within a few years, isnot su ch a difficult matter to accomplish .

12. InRa jshahi, mulberry cultivation, cocoon-rearing , silk-spinning , andsilk-weaving , are still rega rded a s indu stries of

very considerable importance. T o feed the Eu ropeansilk factories cocoons are now imported from the neighbouring districtof Maldah , as the local produce is found insufficient for loca l demands. The

va riou s sericultu ral indu stries inthis district are carried on chiefly within the'

urisdiction of Chargha t, Pu thiya , B agmara , Panchupu r and Fana r fl mnas.llVithin the ju risdiction of Godaga ri , B oalia , Lalpu r and Nattor tlzana s

,the

indu stries are of less importance. Inthe rema ining five ibanes ofthe district,

sericulture is not carried on. The system of taking cocoons and yarns to hails

preva ils inthe district of Raj shahi, Maldah and B ogra . In’

Bagmara thanathere a re fifteen of these (nits

,ofwhich the principa l are those of T aherpu r

,

Ekdala and Mohanganj . InPanchupu r thana there is Suktigachi 1s and inT enore Maine the 11d are at Kesu r, Jahanabad , Ra igha ti and Dhorsa . In

B oalia thana there are five halts : T ala imari, B inodpur , Parila , Godagari andKha rkhari. The [nit system of buying and selling cocoons and ya rns doesnot appear to exist inCharghat , Lalpu r and Puthiya . European factories donot make u se of the hails inobta ining supplies ofcocoons but depend in thisma tter on their agents or p s i/cars; the cocoons not bought by the filature

p a z'

lcars going to [nits for sale to na tive filatures. Weavers sometimes go inqu est ofya rns to the spinning centres or villages instead of to the Izdts . The

chief centre of spinning and weaving in this district is Mirganj in thana

Cha rghat. The principal village of this centre, where the best ma t/rd silksa re woven, is Dakra. Mirganj ma lkds or Dakrama lt és are well known evenin the Calcu tta ma rket. The principal trade centre for yarns and fabricsproduced in this district is a portion of the sadar station (Rampur Boalia) ,knownas Resampati.

Rajshahi D ivi sion.

( 5 )

13. InBogra ,mulberry is grownonly inthe westernpo rtionofthe districtina few villages su rrounding the sadar station. The mu lberry bu sh is consideredunsu itable for the portionof the district east ofthe Karotoya , knownas Pali ,while the westerntract, called Barind, is considered su itable. Barindis a partofthe ancient province of Barendra

,which included the district ofRa jshahi .

T his tract is distingu ished by the reddish and sticky appea rance and the hardness ofthe soil. The tract knownas Pali is alluvial

,consisting ofloose , sandy

soil, which is considered specia lly adaptedfor the castor oil plant. Hence therea ring of Endi or Err? silk-worms (the Attacus Rz

’

cz’

m) is carried onchiefly inthe Pali tract, while mulberry silk-rea ring is confined to a

portionofthe Barind.

Mulberry silk-rearing was in a flourishing condi tion w en there were someEu ropeanfactories in this district. The last of these, viz .

, the one a tNowdapara , abou t 3 miles away from Bogra townon the western bank ofthe Karotoya , ceased working abou t 30 years ago . It is said

,there had beena Eu ropean

factory at Kharna and another at Sajapu r long before this time. At presentthe decayed indus try ofBogra depends entirely ontheneighbou ring district ofRa jshahi , where cocoons and yarns produced in Bogra are sold

,mostly at the

Mt a t Tahirpur.14. InMaldah, cocoon-rea ring and silk-Spinning are carried onmore or

less extensively throughou t the district ; while silkweaving is ca rried on at Shibganj , 24 miles from

the sadar station,at Shahpur near Bholaha t, where there is a silk factory

belong ing to the French Company, at Sajapur nea r the ru ins ofGou r, and at

oldMaldah, which is 4 miles from the sada r sta tion. The silk industry of

Maldah has slowly but steadily improved du ring the la st decade, and the

Census figu res show persons as being dependent on this indu stry in1901 against in189 1 , but the development, a s inthe ca se ofMurshidabad, Ra jshahi and Birbhum has beenma inly inthe depa rtment ofweaving .

15. Mulberry silk-rea ring is a very important industry in the districts of

Murshidabad, Rajshahi andMaldah. Inthe districts ofMidnapore and Birbhum,

it is also anindustry ofsome consequence. InBankura the silk-weaving indu strystill holds its own, though cocoon-rea ring has dwindled downinto insignificance .

Inthe districts ofNadia , Howrah and Bogra , cocoon-rea ring is carried ononlyina few villages, while inthe districts ofHooghly, B urdwanand 24oParganasonly a vestige ofthe indus try is left.

16. Rangpu r, Dinajpur, Purnea and Bhagalpu r were recognised in theeighteenth centu ry among the mulberry silk-producing districts of Benga l.Pa tna produced better silks thanMurshidabad inthe middle ofthe seventeenthcentury } Inthose days Santipore also ranked with Maldah and Cossimba z ar assilk-weaving centres.1

’

Bhagalpur Dinsiou.

CHAPTER II.

MULBERRY AND MULBERRY-GROWERS .

No reliance canbe placed onthe figu res furnished by the different districtsa s to the acreage under mulberry in Bengal. The Ag ricu ltu ral Sta tis tics of

the Lower Provinces of Bengal and the Seasonand Crop Reports of Bengalpublished by the Department of Land Records and Agriculture do not takesepara te cogni z ance ofthis crop . The most recent figures that I could lay myhands onare those fu rnished by a Note on the Ou tturn of the Rabi C rops 111Bengal for 1895

-96. prepared by the Department ofLand Records andAgricultu re. These put side by side with the figures obta ined from the Census Report

”

Veda Mr. C . R. Wilson’

s brochure , entitled “ Reports and Letters concermng the Company’

s

Affairs inBeng al, 1 661 to 1685 “ There are better Tafiati es made at Pattana thanCa sumbaz ar. whi chare sold

dfrom9 to 10 as . the long yard, butno great quantiti es, but if followed a good quantiti e might be

procure

1' Vida Geoghegan

’

s Silk inIndia" The trade oftheEa st India Company in Indi ansilk was,however, inconsiderable ti ll about the middle ofthe last century. At that time the cultivationofthe domesticated kinds of Silk-worms seems to have prevai led invery much the same regi ons of Bengal proper as at

the present It was to be found inthe di stricts ofRangpur, Dinajpur, Purnea (these two includingwhat 1

;nowgidah) , Rajshahi, Murshidabad., Birbhum, and parts of Hooghly, Midnapore and Howrah”

(page para .

the Cosaimbaz ar, Maldah and Santipore factories, silk goods were manufactured (page 14,

para.

( 6 )

of 1891 relating to the number ofmulberry-growers and cocoon-rearers give theresults tabula ted here

Di srmor.

Acres. Acres.

18. Allowing fou r individuals per family the above table gi ves 6 acres of

mulberry a s the average possessionofeach fami ly ofmulberry-grower andcocoonrearer. This is far too excessive anestimate. T o the above table mus t be addeda few hundred acres ofmulberry for the districts of Bogra , Nadia , Howrah ,B urdwan and 24-Parganas . T he census figures for 189 1 and also for 1901for si lk-worm-rearers and cocoon-ga therers for these and probably otherdistricts are too low, and the actual number of mulberry-growers and cocoonrea rers must be over (aide T ables Aand B in Pa rt III) . Someof these are accu stomed to call themse lves cultivators and many ofthemare mainl cu ltiva tors, though they grow mulberry or rear cocoons also .

T his wou d account for there be ing mo re mulberry land than the censusfigu res for mulberry-growers and cocoon-rea rers would warrant one to

expect. The estima tes g iveninthe above table ofmulberry land inMaldah,

Midnapore and Mu rshidabad are, however , far too high , acres ofland shown against Maldah wou ld produce maunds ofmulberryleaf per annum, ra is ing maunds of cocoons . The district reportor monograph on silk fabrics, dated the 1 st May 1899, estima tes the annu alproduce of cocoons inMaldah at maunds only— a quantity whichwou ld go to produce about maunds ofsilk. This is a good approxima tion,and it agrees with my ownestimate. The produce ofnative spinning establishments is abou t maunds per annum (aide page 215 of Hand-bookof Sericulture) , and of the Eu ropean filatures about maunds . Thefigu res of export of raw silk from Maldah in T able P (Pa rt III) afford noreliable gu ide as to the productionofsilk inthe Eu ropeanfilatures ofMaldah

,

a s most of it is sent through the Sardah factory (Ra jshahi) to Calcu tta . Afewthou sand maunds of Maldah cocoons also find their way to Rajshahi andB irbhum,

which would make perhaps another 400maunds ofsilk. This totalof maunds ofraw silk could be produced out of acres ofmu lheBut, a s a ma tter offact, the silk-worm e idemics and the fly

-pa rasitemake £iha third of the cocoon crops successfu and the crop of cocoons actuallyob ta ined is probably derived from three times as much mulberry land as wouldbe requ ired if there were no failures . Fifteen thousand to twenty thou sandacres ofmulberr is perhaps a closer ap rox imation than acres forMaldah. This also gives anacre per in ividual or 2 acres per family as the

average possessionofmulberry land , which is a fai rer estimate than6 acres perfamily. For Mu rshidabad , the district monogra ph considers bzyka s(abou t acres) as too high an estima te , and l have no hesitat ionindiscarding the figu res gi veninthe above table acres) and adoptingacres as a closer approxima tion for this district. Ten tho u sand acres forMidnapore also is nea rer the ma rk than eighteenthou sand acres . So

, whilesome additionwould have to be made to the above tables onaccount ofthosesilk districts for which no retu rns for the mulberry crop have beenfurnishedand also onaccount ofsomemulberry-growers and cocoon-rearers being re a rdeda s cultivators or persons belonging to other professions or trades

, a considerabledeductionmust be made on account of exaggerated estimates for Maldah,

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 8 )

eveninthe district ofMaldah (where the highest rents are pa id), which are”

rented at 6 anna s to 8 annas per bigka, 11a , Rs 1-2 to Rs. l-lOper acreper annum. But inthe principal j oars or cocoon-rea ring centres, the rent issometimes a s high as 8 8. 12 orRs. 1 5 per bigka or aboutRs. 40 per acre perannum. The average purcha se value ofmulberry land is abou tRs . 100 per acrebu t I have knownanacre ofmulberry fetching as much as Rs. 300. Each acreproduces abou t 300maunds ofmulberry leaf per annum

,inclusive .of stalks ,

which are cut with the leaves and givento silk-worms. If themulberry-growerrealiz es anaverage price ofRe. 1 permaund for his crop , and spends as muchas Rs. 150 per acre in cultivation, &c.

, even then he can secu re a clea rprofit of Rs. 150 per acre per annum. T his is considered a fa ir estima teof profit in the silk districts for mulberry-growing as distingu ished fromcocoon-rearing .

21 . As a rule, mulberry is cut four times a yea r. InBogra and inpartsofRajshahi

,leaves are stripped from the stalks twice and the stalks with leaves

out twice . InMidnapore the bushes are allowed to grow insiz e for two or

three yea rs and leaves only are stripped .

22. Two kinds ofmulberry are recogniz ed inthe silk districts, the ltaj lz'

or

bara tunt, andphetz’

or ch/zota tunt. B otanically there is no difference betweenthe two and they all come under Moms a lba

,va riety Indica . The former has

whole (ova te-lanceola te) leaves and the latter spht palma te) leaves . Theleaves of the former are also thicker and slightly rougher . The difference isentirely due to the difference of so il. S tony soils

,such as occur inpa rts of

B irbhum andMidnapore, produce the whole-leaved va riety. Stiffcla has alsoa tendency to make a palmate-leaved stock to be converted into the anceolatetype. Sandy soils produce palmate and lighter colou red leaves. The p itchva riety is better su ited for rearing the chhotapalu variety of silk-worms

, andthe Icaj h

'

variety for the barapa lu variety. The m'

start'

variety is rearedindifferently onboth varieties .

23. Adeta iled descriptionofthe Bengal system ofmulher cultivationisgiveninPa rt I, Chapter II, of the Hand-book ofSericu ltu re

,an the subject of

the present Monograph does not admit ofthe reproductionofthat chapter here .

24 . Before concluding this chapter, however, it shou ld be noted tha t various kinds ofmulberry are found wild throughou t the Himalayas at ana ltitude ofbetween500 to feet above the levelofthe sea , and tha t there are referencesinold Sanskrit litera ture to sericultu re having beenca rried oninancient times

by certa in mountain tribes , among whom Paundrakas are specially mentionedinthe Institu tes ofMann. The recogniz ed silk worm-rearing castes of Bengalstill call themselves Pundas, and the probably came originally from the hillyregions of the Himalayas, where t e mulberry grows wild . The westernortionof the Himalayas, fromKashmir to Kumayun, the clima te ofwhich isliess damp than that of the eastern portion, is still to be regarded as mo rena turally su ited for sericulture than any other part of India . In a paperpublished by Government some years ago on The Genesis of the Silk-worm

,

”

I endeavoured to show tha t the sericu ltu ral industry of India is traceable notto China but to the Himalayancountry ; tha t it travelled not from north-eastto south-west but from no rth-weSt to sou th-east. Perhaps one more fact ,cu lled from ecclesias tical history, will vividly bring into prominence theimportance attached to the silk-weaving industry in the north-westerncornerof India in the first century of our era . The first IndianBishop (Agaeu s)from whom “

a ll Persia,Assyri a , Armenia and Media , the regions about

B abylon, 1 q and Gala , to the borders ofIndia , and as far as Gog andMagog( the countr north of the Caucasus ), received the priesthood was a Weaverof silk clot ing .

”— (The SyrianChu rches and Gospels by E theridge, p,

CHAPTER III.

COCOON-REARING AND cocoon-am as s .

The varieties ofmulberry silk-worms reared inBengal are : ( 1) the Nz'

stan'

or Madrasz’

(B ombyx arrest) , which is suitable for the wa rm and ra iny seasons,

(2) the Okhota-pa lu or deg/ti (B ombyx.fortuna tus), su itable for the cold season

,

(3) the B arapa lu (B ombyx tex tor), which is an annual va riety, ofwhich the egg

stage continues for 10 months instead of8 to 16 days as inthe case ofthe

( 9 )

t otc-pa lu and the Nistarz'

, and (4) the Oheena-pa lu (Bombyx which

is reared‘

chiefly in the T amluk subdivision of Midnapore. T he B ara-pa lu

is rea red inthe Sprung (February andMarch) in parts of Mu rshidabad (near

Jangipu r and Kandr), m Bi rbhum, and in Midnapore. The Midnapore B am

pa lu produces 1nd1fferently whi te, g reeni sh, salmon-colou red and brightyellow cocoons The B ara-pa lu cocoons of Mu rshidabad and B irbhum are a

select class ofbeautiful white cocoons, which ield the yarnwhich is inhighdemand among the best weavers. What is ca led alka li (white) silk is madeou t of thread spunfrom whi te B alm-paw cocoons. T here is another class ofpolyvoltine dlmlz

'

cocoons in.

Midnapore, ca lled ba lu (evidently corruption of

the colour ofwhich rs somewhat greeni sh andnot silvery white as is thecolour ofB rim-pals silk. These bulu cocoons were orig inally selected out of

Nis imand Cheena varieties, light-colou red cocoons oftenoccu rring among theseSpecies. T he B are

-pawsilk goes almost entirely to feed the na tive looms, and

there is neither supply nor demand for thrs in the Eu ropean factories at the

present time.

It is cu rious how this superiorstaple has come to be neglected

by Europeantraders, whi le 1t

o

was thrs that chiefly a ttracted the early tradersfrom Eu rope. The three krnds ofNatrve reeled silk mentioned inMr. C . R .

Wilson’s little brochure, entitled Reports and Letters concerning the Company

’s

Affairs in Bengal, 1 66 1-1 685, are pa tter, puttany, and dollem

’

a . Putter la evi

dently derived from Sanskri t pa tta (Sllk), and yellow cocoons and silks are

still called pa t insome pa rts ofBengal and Assam. Acommon saying amongcocoon-rearers is “ La te pa te chalh

'

sk din, i.a., it takes forty days for yellow

cocoons to form from the time ofthe moth’s piercing the seed cocoons to the

time ofthe new cocoons being formed. Puttany’a s explained inMr.Wilson’

s

brochu re, wa s a term applied to fine reeled silk. Dollerz’

a mu st be what is now

ca lled Dhah'

silk or B ara-pa lu silk. The very first reference preserved for us

of transactions in silk by the East India Company refers also to Dlza lz'

silk.

Geogheganalludes to this inthe following lines

Thus under da te 18th and 19th November 1 679, he (the Chief of the factory at FortSt. George) writes White silk bought at Serpore and tannae (thani Pl silk examined ; to bepacked with coarse silk ropes, which maybe sold inEngland at good profit

”

(page2, para .

25. La ter onthe B alm-pa ls silk was la rgely exported by the‘

East India

Company from the Cossimba z ar circle. T he first kind,”says Geoghegan,

“ was the large or annual worm (B ,

.

tex tor), yi elding its ea rly supply in

March, its silk being of a high qu ali ty. Thi s worm pr ominated in the

Cossimba z ar circle , where it yielded the greater part of the March crop of

silk, bu t was found also in Huripal, J

‘

ungypore, Radnagore, and Sona

mukhi. The JungyporeResident m 1819 complains ofthe cultivation ofthis

wormhaving become extremely precari ous and uncertain, and attributes this

to degeneracy inthe stock ”(page 15,

26. For quantity or proporti onof 8 11k, the Okhota-pa lu (B . fortuna tus)ranks next to the B ara pa lu, though the fibre ofNz

’

starz’

is so fter and finer. The

Nistarz'

(B . crcesi) is oftener rea red thanthe other varieties, but the cocoonsyield a smaller proportion of silk. The respective qu alities of the threeprincipal kinds ofBengal cocoons for textile pu rposes may be best ascertainedfrom the following figu res 1

B ara Chhota

(1) Average length offibre ina cocooninmetres 270 215

(2) Weight ofunreelable portionineach cocooninmille

grammes 0

20 1 6

(3) Weight of reelable silk in each cocoon in mille

grammes 60 45 36

(4) Proportionofreelable silk inthe fresh cocoonper cent. 8 7} 6

(5) Diameter offibre (base) inmillemetres 1 61} 20g, 20

(6) Average weight of test skeins of fibre (base) 476metres long, indeniers 25 2 1g

(7) Tenacity offibre (base) ingrammes 6s 6g 4

(8) Percentage ofelasticity ofbase 16 12i 12

(9 ) Percentage ofloss inWeight due to“ boiling off 24 30 25

27. The above figures are most convincing with regard to the high intrinsic

meri t ofthe B erra-pa incocoonand silk as compa red with the o ther two ordina ry

See also paragraph 85 ofGeoghegan’

s Silk inIndia . The chaaaa ort es t ers ofthe silk-wormWind OE

the cocoons inearthenba sins (Wi th the ard ofcoming

as fuel instead ofwood) uponthe common Bengal

nutta l u or reels made ofbamboo, the thread so reel being called pu tnay.

( 10 )

varieties. Picked B are-pa incocoons may yield a s much as 14 per cent . of silk;bu t the average actu ally obta ined specially inMidnapore , where the annualwormsare more largely reared than,

anywhere else , is much smaller , abou t 7 per cent.InMidnapore, the Uht a-pa lu or deshz

'

, Nistari orMadra si and Gh ana, cocoons

are small,and they ieldmuch sma ller proportions ofsilk thanthey do in the

northerndistricts. he yield of silk obta ined from the other three va rietiesofcocoons inMidnapore are

Chhota-palu 5t to 6} per cent.5 to 6i

Cheena 5} to 6k

28. Usually three or fou r crops ofcocoons are reared du ring the yea r out ofeight that are po ssible, vi z ., three ofM

'

starz’

and one of t ota-p a lu . There are

exceptions to this rule, e g ., inBogra the C’lzhota-pa lu is the principal crop andinMidnapore the Nista rz

'

. It is not ordinarily feasible to take a ll the eight cropsthough the polyvoltine silk-worms , Nistarz

’

, Clzbota-pa lu and Okeena, breed eight

times inthe yea r. The pa rasiticfly (Trycolyga B ombycis) wouldmake silk-rearingimpossible if all the crops were taken in the same locality. The practicetherefore prevails ofsilk-worms being reared during one band and mu lberrybeing a ttende d to during the next, when in some distant j oars (silk-rea ringcentres) silk~worms would be rea red . The seed is thus perpetually kept upone band inone four and another band in another

,and cocoon-rea rers ofone

j oar go to a distant four for seed , and they walk sometimes 60 or 80 milesbefore they light upongood seed. T here are

, however, some recognised seedrea ring j aars, where, at particular seasons

,cocoon-rearers resor t to

,inpreference

to others. T hus,there are the Bachra and Bhattamati j aars inMurshidabad

,

the B aralpar four inRa jshahi, the Khanna j oar inBogra , Dhantala Ganipu r

j oar inMalda , and B arh four inB irbhum, where thousands ofcocoon-rea rerscan be seen go ing to in quest of good seed. Exchange of seed is also

recognised as beneficial to the hea lth of silk-worms. InMalda , Ra jshahi andB ogra , the practice prevails ,

of going to [nits for seed. But it is consideredsa fer to go to the proper j oar and buy seed , a fter seeing the worms ripeningina faultless manner. InMurshidabad, the principal cocoon-rearing bands, or

seasons, are Aghrani (Novembe r), Chaitra (March), and Srabani (July) ;whilethe three principal bands inMalda are Ka rtika (October ), Baishakhy (May )and Bhadruria (August). In parts of Ra j shahi , the Maghi (January) band isofthe first importance, as at the end of this band cocoon-rearers from Murshidebed, &c., come to Ra jshahi forNistari sunch (seed-cocoons) ; while theAshwine(September) band, for Chhoto-palus, is ofconsiderable importance for parts of

B irbhum and for Bogra , whence Uhlzoto-pa lu seed for the early Novemberband is takento other districts . From June to September two crops are usuallytakeninsuccession: one ofwhich is more important thanthe o ther. The paras itio fly does the second crop a great deal ofharm,

but the growth ofmulberryat this time ofthe yea r being very vigorou s it pays taking a second crop .

29. The following estima te of production of cocoons in the differentdistricts is somewhat conjectura l, but is based onthe suppositions (1 ) tha t anaverage ofeight maunds of cocoons are ra ised per family of cocoon-rea rers, or

two maunds per individual per annum; and (2) tha t the census figures forcocoon-rea rers are somewhat low, persons belong ing to other professions

, but

do ing cocoon-rea ring a lso,not being generally included inthe censu s figures

for cocoon-rea rersDrsrarcr comm.

0"

TotalOr, roughly speaking

( 1 1 )

30. The above quantity would produce about maunds of raw-silk(filature-reeled and Khamra ), of which abou t to m

launds are u sed

inthe count looms . Besides raw-silk, however, inferior silks Team, and Endi)and a great

l

dyeal of waste,’— altogether not less than maunds ofBenga lsilk, are u sed in India for weaving purposes . The averages du ring the la stdecade have been somewhat higher, and the estimate is ra ther too cau tiousthanliberal.

31 . Cocoon-rearing is done in almost the same way all over Bengal, thevariations inmethods and appliances being insigni ficant. Mud-walled housesare the best for rea ring worms, but those who cannot afford such houses do therea ring inmat-walled houses . The seed cocoons are placed, thinly spread out

,

onda la s, or fl at bamboo trays , which insome districts are circula r and inotherssquare or oblong . In eight or nine days inthe hot wea ther

,and in15 or 1 6

days inthe cold weather, the moths come ou t, and they remain pa ired for thegreater part of the day : tha t is, until they are separated inthe afternoon.

Unless they are ac arated the males do not allow the females to lay eggs

uninterruptedly . he males are known from their smaller siz e and theirconstant fluttering of wings. After being separated, the males are thrownaway and the females left to lay eggs onthe da la. Inthe case ofthe B ara-p alu,the female moths are t ransferred to a piece ofrag , and they deposit their eggsthere. Pieces ofrag with eggs adhering to them by means of a natu ral guma re folded up and kept inside a handi

,or earthenvessel, the mou th ofwhich

is closed by means ofanea rthen cover and sealed with mud. If the mothscut ou t of the B ara-pa lu cocoons for three or fou r days successively

,three or

fou r pieces ofrag with eggs are obta ined. The vessel inwhich they are keptis of sufficient siz e to prevent asphyxiationofthe eggs. It is kept su spendedfrom the roof ina cool part of the hou se. The moths finish depositing the

eggs in abou t 24 hours, and on the 3rd or 4th day the female moths are

thrown away. In the case ofthe polyvoltine silk-worms (Nistari, Okhota-palu ,and Cfieena-pa lu), the eggs are left on the da las on which they are la id

,and

a llowed to hatch there, the ha tching taking place inei ht to nine days inthehottest weather, and in1 6 or 18 days inthe coldest. Tie B are-pa in eggs do

not hatch till next spring , the eggs rema ining in the kandi from the end of

March to the end ofJanu ary, i.e., whenthe weather begins to get warm. The

fixed day for opening the handi is the Srzpanclzami, or Saraswa ti Puj a day. The

hatching ofB ara palu eggs does not take place so evenly and completely as

that of the polyvoltine silk-worm eggs. It goes onfor 8, 10, or 12 days, andthe cocoons afterwards go on forming for a simila r period. T his is a grea tdisadvantage, and whenthere is any epidemic among the worms ripening first,the late worms fall a comple te victim to it. After the worms have hatchedou t, the same system ofrearing is followed inthe case ofevery kind ofmulberrysilk-worm. T ender leaves of mu lberry are cut up very fine and sprinkledover the newly-ha tched worms. Three or fou r hou rs afterwards the worms a re

removed to another da le with the help of a little brush made with grass or

fea thers. The worms with the refu se leaves are thenmade into a neat fl at

circle or ulid/d (disc) of uniform depth of about 715 th of an inch

,and fresh

leaf,

finely cu t up, is sprinkled over this chef/ti. Feeding is done a t 5 or 6 A.M.,

1 0 A.M.,3 P.M. and 8 or 9 RM. Sometimes, specially inthe wet season, only

three feeds are given. Inthe dry seasonfive feeds are sometimes g ivenintheearly stages ofthe worms . Regu la rity of feeding is regarded as very essential. The refuse leaf is cleaned once in fou r or five days , i.e., a day beforeand a day after each mou lting period. The moulting period lasts each timefrom 20 hours inthe hot weatherto 48 hou rs inthe coldest weather, when the

worms are left withou t food and untouched. Feeding is recommenced whenthe worms are well out of the moult. The special art inrearing silk-wormscons ists instopping feeding at the right time and recommencing fe eding at

the right time . One often sees an old and ex erienced womenbeing ca lledin at these critical periods to judge whether f

j

eeding should be stopped or

whether feeding should be recommenced . Womendo most of the work inconnectionwith the rea ring-hou se, while menlook after the mu lberry, cut andbring it home for the silk-worms

,and assist the women at feeding and clean

ing. After thefourth moult the worms become very voraciou s , but the regula rthree or four feeds are adhered to. and it is not considered right to g ive extrafeeds at this las t stage. Three to nine days intervene betweenmoult to mo ult

( 12 )

according as the seasonis warm or cold,and the last stage before the worms

make their cocoons lasts from five to twelve days according to the season.

B arn-pains eat for four or five days more and Okkota-pa lua two days more thanthe Nistaris, and the Nistaris two da s more thanthe Okeena-pa Zus, before the

ycommence making cocoons. So, a together

.

from the trme the worms hatcou t of the eggs to the time they beg inmaking coccous, the s tari srlk-wormshave constant care bestowed onthem for 20 days in the hottest weather and

55 days inthe coldest weather ; the Uhhota-p a lus 22 days inthe hottest weatherand 57 day s in the coldest weather ; and the Chem -

pa late for 18 days in thehottest weather and 53 days inthe coldest wea ther, and the B ara-pa luc (whichare reared on] once a year in the spring) for 30 days. When ready forspinning the s

'

-worms cease eating , look about restlessly, sprt out si lk.fibrs

and appear translucent. T hey are then picked and placed on clzandralcies,

— cal!ed also talias, ckdmhes or jingds (Fig.

Fig . I— Ohandra ki or Sp inning mat.32. The spinning ofcocoons bn these bamboo screens is finished intwo

days in the hot weather and fou r days inthe cold. The screens are put out inthe morning sun

,and inthe cold weather fire is ke t in the room at night to

hasten Spinning . The most insidiou s and general)

of all the silk-worm epi

demies, v iz .,Pebrine, requi res to develop for 30 days before it proves fatal

to the silk-worm. So when the seed is badly disea sed the worms die off

simultaneou sly in the cold weather, sometime after all the care has beenbestowed on the worms . Inthe case ofthe B ara-pa lu the death fromPebrine

(whendiseased seed is u sed) taking place inva riably onthe very day of ripening ,the event appears most weird and ghastly ; and hence there is a strong objectiononsuperstitious ground aga inst rearing the B are-pa le. Eveninthe case of

( 1 3 )

the other silk-worms the phenomena connected with the epidemics are a t timess o unexpected -and inexplicable to the cultivator tha t he a ttributes them to

superna tu ral agencies. The silk-worm rearer feels he 18 surrounded a t all times

by devo tas and hobgoblins , and he is a most superstitiou s and usually a mos tunreasonable person to deal with . At one time, I remember , in connectionw ith the experiments with which Iwas entrusted, a belief spread among a

number of villagers in Malda tha t the microscope cau sed cholera . I tracedthe orig in of this belief to a Malda boy who had been learning to u se the

miscroscope having died of cholera . Another cocoon-rearer whom I tra inedin connection with these experiments lost two wives insuccession

,and he was

shunned for a long time a s a manwho wa s under a cu rse for u sing sulphu rfor fumiga ting his rea ring-hou se and appliances. B urning of sulphur .is

considered an act of desecra tion by the Pandas ofMalda , who believe thissubstance to be some kind of u terine discharge of the goddess Bhagabati.Cocoon-rearers have been fast g iving up their superstitions since they havecome to recognise the benefit of these experiments. T hey see that all thosetra ined menwho ignore the old superstitiou s rules, get nevertheless very goodcrops . T hese old rules , which are observed during rea ring , consist in

,not

shaving , not giving clothes to the wa sherman,not ea ting curries in

, which oil,turmeric and chillies have been used, not anointing the body with oil

,not

wearing shoes, keeping strangers out, preventing owls from flying over therearing-hou se, absta ining from conjugal association, giving wrong informationabout the progress of the worms,

! &c.

33. T he heredita ry silk-worm-rearing caste of Bengal is known as the

Punda ca ste, who live mainly inMa lda , but who are also found inpa rts ofMur

shidabad and Ra j shahi . They are the best, the most intelligent, and the mostprosperou s ofall cocoon-rea rers. Other ca stes have also takento cocoon-rea ring ,and Muhammadans , though very slovenly in their work, form the largestproportion of cocoon-rearers inalmost all the districts

,specially inRa jshahi

,

B ogra and Midnapore. Cocoon-rea rers are sometimes called tante'

as, tuntz'

a

ka ibarta s, tuntr'

a-clza skas, taut being the Bengali word for mulberry, and Iraz'

bartas

and alia s/ms being a genericname for cultiva tors. The totalnumber ofcocoonrea rers inBengal (including those who add cocoon-rea ring to other professions )is abou t All the lower castes among Hindus rear silk-worms,and it is only the highest castes, viz .

,B rahmans and Kayasthas that consider

it derogatory to rea r cocoons . Cocoon-rea rers are considered higher up in the

social ladder than most cultivato rs , and, as a rule, they employ labou rers of.

o ther professions for ploughing , digging and other works, which are recognised

a s menial. They are not,however, a t the present time more prosperous than

o ther cultivators, and their somewha t superior statu s implies past prosperityra ther than present afiluence. T hey are perhaps heavier indebt thanothercultiva tors, and their struggle for life is made more poignant on account of

their being still recognised as belonging to the middle ra ther thanthe lowerclasses ofsociety. Acocoon-rearer, burdened as he is with deb ts , us ually wearsshoes or slippers, and whenhe goes ou t takes a clzaa’dar to cover his body.

T he cocoon-rea rer, inspite of the silk-worm epidemics, actually handles mo recoinat times thanthe ordina ry cultiva tor ever g ets the opportunity of doing .

The average quantity of silk-worms reared by a family of cocoon-rea rers isthree gimme

,or 48 trays, each tray being about 5 feet indiameter. If two out

of hi s fou r cocooncrops a re a decided success,he may succeed in selling them

both for seed. Every cocoon-rea rer ha s this chance, and many get the chancea doz en times during their life . T hree gizaras of silk-worms tu rning out

successful, yield an average quantity of from 100 to 150 Italians of cocoonsaccording to the season, the larger quantity inthe cold weather when wormsare kept thicker on da la s . Each Italian of good cocoons selling forseed may fetch Rs . 2 , and the two successful crops inthe yea r may bring to

the s cocoon-rea rer as much ready money as Rs. 400 to Rs . 600,the produce of

on] 2 acres ofmulberry. If he and the members of his family work in the

mu berry field and in the rea ring-hou se, a s they nearly always do,his ou t

goings are very little.

’

Bu t , . as a rule, the cocoon-rearer sells his 100 [Ca /161728

The followmg wrong informati oncontained in the Di strict Monograph fromBankura was probablysuppli ed by a cocoon-rearer, whenhe had cocoons inhis hou se z— The Tut z as of thi s di strict generallypurchase cocoons for reproducti onfrom men of easterndi stricts such as Decca and Pabna . Advancesare g ivento these menfor supply ing the cocoons at the proper seasons of the year.

"No cocoon-rearing

i s done inDacca or Pabna .

“

Jhe supersti ti onthat ly ing i s beneficial for a trade occurs also among thosecastes of Calcu tta who deal indyes and pa ints.

( 14 )

forRs. 50, and he gets altogether abou t 100Italians out ofhis fou r crops, expecting each time to get as much , and probably buying two or three loads of extramulberry each t ime and spending Rs. 10 orRs. 15 onmulberry alone, and therest inpaying rent and keeping himself and his family in that state of semirespectability to which he is born. He finds it impossible to get onwithou tincu rring debt or taking to some other calling cons idered less respectable. The

cocoon-rea rer, all over Bengal, is inthis struggling condition and he has beenso for twenty or thirty years pa st. Aray of light has dawned onhim inrecent ears

, and there is a genera l feeling among his fellow caste men tha tbetter days are againinstore for them.

34. I t is needless to enter here into a descriptionofthe variou s silk-wormdiseases and pests

, as they have been fully described inthe Handbook of

Sericulture recently published by Government.

CHAPTER IV.

DECLINE OF THE COCOON-BEARING INDUSTRY AND EFFORTS AT IMPROVEMENT.

T here have beenups and downs inthe cocoon-rearing industry of Benga lfrom the days ofthe East India Compan that is, the earliest days fromwhichwe have a continuous record of this in ustry . Epidemics among silk-wo rmsare not a new thing inBengal,nor are efforts at improvement in the directionofavoiding epidemics ofrecent growth . Mr.Atkinson, Resident ofJungypore,writing in1 796, mentions a

'

bout the degeneracy ofthe B erra-pale silk-worm (seeGeoghegan

’s

“ SomeAccount ofSilk inIndia ,” page In1 819 the JungyporeResident again

“compla ins ofthe cultivation of this worm having become ex

tremely preca rious and uncerta inand attributes this to degeneracy inthe stock ”

(page“According to Mr Atkinsonthe desi ’ wormhad also degenera ted

”

(page In inthe evidence takenbefore the Select Committee of theHouse ofLords

,the degeneracy ofthe silk-worms was distinctly asserted.

The preponderance of au thority, sums up Mr. Geoghegan, is certainly in favourof the view that the B engal species"have degenerated but the subject does not seem to havebeenvery carefu lly investigated , and Mr. Tumbull of Ghattal maintains that the fact ofdegeneracy has yet to be proved. Most of those engaged insilk manufacture assume thispomt and confine themselves to discussing the remedies. These are vari ous. It seemsgenerally admitted that the attempts to introduce exotic breeds have not of late yearssucceeded . It would also appear that though there has sometimes been a large mortalityamong silk-worms, no epiz oic, such as the Muscardz

’

ne and the Pebrme, which have devasta tedFrance and Italy, has as yet appeared inIndia . Mr. Gallois, ofMidnapore, appears to thinkthe cause of degeneracy may be in the mulberry being too long cultivated in one spot.Mr. Perrin, of B erhampore, on the other hand , extols the nat ive mulberry cultivationas

careful and judicious. Mr. Marshall urges an attempt to improve the stock by offeringpriz es for the best method of selection. Most authorities agree that the natives stint theworms, andMr.Atkinsonlong ago saw the difficulty of dealing With this tendency on theirpart. Mr. Malcolm

, of Ramnagar, inthe Kandi subdivisionofMurshidabad, maintains thatthe worm has beeninjured by being forced into too rapid reproductionof itself; that whereas20 or 25 years ago there were but four breeds or “ bunds in the year, there are now fromsix to eight. It may be the wormhas been

‘forced in this direction, but I do not find thatthe b

ggd

fa re anywhere givenas less thanfive, evenso long as 50 years ago.

”

(Geoghegan,page

36. Fromthe very earliest days,therefore, ofEuropeandealings inBengal

silk,the chief difficulty has beenthe degeneracy

’of the silk-worms

,tha t is

,

their proneness to die offfrom diseases. If the cocooncrop had beenas certaina s the ju te , or the suga r-cane, or the rice crep, trade inBengal silk would nothave had ‘

those ups and downs and tha t continuous depression in the foreigntrade during recent years. Cocoon-rearing is much more profitable than anyo ther agricultural indu stry, provided the crop canbe assu red. The remedi essuggested according to Mr. Geoghegan

’s summary just qu oted are

( 1) Introductionofthe superior Europeanor Chinese cocoons (Bombyxmori).Arresting the silkworm epidemics.Improvement inthe system ofmulberry cultiva tion.

Better andmore liberal trea tment ofthe worms.(5) T aking fewer bunds or crops.

37. All these important questions have beenfu llydiscussed inthe Hand

book ofSericulture,and it is unnecessa ry dealing with hemhere. Anhistorical

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 16 )

whole stock and compelling them to indent onBengal for a fresh supply.

(aide Geogheghan, p.

"In Cuttack, sericu lture has beenca rried ou t ananexper iment since 1877 a t Government expense, under the supervisionoftheExecu tive Engineer of the Mahanadi Division.

”(Liota rd

’s Memorandum on

Silk inIndia , p , The reference here is no doubt to the ex periments ofMr. J: Cleghorn of the PublicWorks Department . Mr. Cle gho rn

'

s

experiments were not altogethe r fru itless . He published his studies of the

life-history ofthe pa ra sitic fly, and brought to light . the grea t destructioncau sed by it. He produced some valuable races of bea u tifu lly whitecocoons, both annual and polyvoltine . He also cla imed to have discovered a.

simple means of avoiding or des troying the fly'

pes t. But as he could not beinduced to part with his secret for less thana lakh of rupees, nothing is knownw ith rega rd to his method of ceping with one of the chief enemies ofsericu l .tu re inB engal. The fine races ofcoco ons he was rearing inconjunctionwiththe Secre tary of the Agri-Horticu ltu ral Society were not givenou t to the worldeither, and Mr. Cleghorn

’s researches and experiments have

,therefore, left little

ofpractical valu e behind .

42. Next may be mentioned the experiments of Messrs. Keighley ,BlechyndenandAnderson, a t Gha tal and at Alipore . These were based onthesupposition tha t M. Pasteu r’

s system of selectionof healthy ‘seed

,

’which

involved the u se ofvery high power microscopes, wa s not practicable inBenga lwhere the pea santry, who had the management ofsilk-worms, was much lessintelligent thanthe Italianor the French pea santry.

43. S ide by side with these experiments conducted by Messrs . Cleghorn,Keighley and others between1886 to 1892

, Government ini tia ted experimentswith the ob ject of introducing M. Pa steu r’

s system among the B engal cocoonrearers . T hese experiments were initia ted by Sir Edwa rd Buck

,Revenue

Secretary to the Government of India , at the instance of Sir Thomas Wa rdle,

Presideii t ofthe S ilkAssociationofGreat B rita inand Ireland. Apreliminarystudy of the conditions preva iling in Bengal from December 1886 to

March 1888, conducted by Mr. J.Wood-Ma son, Superintendent of the IndianMuseum,

and the writer of this Monograph , left tno doubt tha t i t was theEu ropean ep idemics, Muscardzine and Pebrz

'

ne, (which were being successfully

dealt with inFrance and Italy), that ha d beendoing their work ofdestructionamong the B engal silk worms also . The writer of this Monog raph was thereupondeputed to study the practicalmethods by which these silk-worm epidemicswere being dealt with inEurope . The experiments were renewed by Government inAugu st 1890 ona more solid founda ti on thanhad hitherto beenpossible

,owing to the uncerta inty tha t had preva iled onmany points .

I t wasdemonstra ted tha t the peasantry ofBenga l were able to ca rry ou t M. Pasteur’

s

system successfu lly and profitably. Not.

only,were the principa l silk-worm

epidemics, Pcbrz'

ne and Muscardz’

ne, dealt Wi th inconnectionwith these ex periments, but all the diseases and pests of the silk-worm and the mu lberry plantwere stu died and remedies capable ofeasy a dapta tionby the Bengal pea santry,devised. It may be specially mentioned tha t methods of avo id ing Grasserze(which occu rs inanepidemic form among Bengal silk-worms, butnot among thes ilk-worms inEu rope) , and also the fly

-pest, were discovered by the writer ofthis Monograph inconnectionwith these experiments. The cocoon-rea rerswho were taught these methods no longe r consider the cocooncrop uncerta inand precarious, and yea r after year they are now getting full cropswhich theyhadnever done before. As early as 24thAugust 1892, Mr. C . W. Ma rsha ll

,

Manager of the Bengal Silk Company, communicated to Government, throughMessrs. Lyall, Marshall and Company, his appreciation ofthe resu lts oftheseexperiments . He wrote : I believe Mr.Mukerji has succeeded inhis work

,

and now rea rs seed which canbe depended on.

” Inhis letter No . I44SA.,

da ted the loth September 1896, Mr. P. C . Lyon, Directo r of theAgriculturalDepartment of Bengal, reporting on the conduct of these experiments toGovernment, g ives pretty fully, not only his ownviews, but also the views ofthe principal Europeansilk factors rega rding the va lue of these experiments.The following extract from this report may be found interesting

Whils Government interference does not seem to be called for to assist the trade insupplying themanufacturers of silk with the particular S ilk referred to by Mr. Wardle

, or tomaintaini ts quality, there appears to beno room for doubt that the operations, hitherto underthe

‘

superintendence of Mr. Mukerji, have had considerable effect in eradicating disease

( 1 7 )

among silk-worms, indiffusing healthy seed over the silk districts, and inthus improving theoutturn and consequently the profits of silk-worm rearers. That such results will tend toopulariz e the silk industry among cultivators, and to revive it to a great extent inthedi stricts inwhich it has falleninto di srepu te, is more thanprobable.

“ On this subject I have consulted Mr. R .A. Lyall, ofL all, Marshall and Company,

themost important firm inthe silk-trade inCalcu tta, and he hasheenkind enough to obtainforme the Opinions ofhis agents and correspondents inthe silk districts , as to the value oftheworkdoneby Mr. Mukerji andhis assistants. This questionhas beenvery frequently di scussedbefore, and Government has already on its files correspondence showing that Mr. Mukerji’

s

opinions have oftenbeenseverely criticised by experts in India, and that his work has notalways beenapproved by them. Onthe other hand. Government is also aware thatmuch ofthe criticismhas beendirected to minor details, and that inmain principles there has notbeenmuch difference betweenMr. Mukerji and those who have opposed him.

“Aa tbe result ofmy present enquiries I may quote the followmg views, which havebeenex reseed On the above subject .

H . 0 . Fraser, Manager of8. Silk ConcerninBerhampur, writesI believe tha t there is a fu ture for the seed-rearing nurseries, such as that established

atKagachira inMalda by Dandadhar Das.“ ‘The advisability Of Government aid inthis direction is doubtful, and I am not

prepared to speak authoritatively, but my private Opinionis that, with a little encouragement,many others might be induced to follow Dandadhar

’s example, whenit is ‘proved to them

that there ismoney init , as there undoubtedly is.The seed cocoons (not eggs) supplied by this man, have a good reputation, and if only

a fewmore menwere induced to go infor the same thing , trained properly and assisted at

the first go-Ofl'

with microscopes, &c., I feel sure that the cocoon-rearers would take to itgradually, as they said clearly that profit accrues.

’

Mr. T. G. Rice, Manager ofthe B engal Silk Company’s filature at Gonatea, writes

I am of Opinion that the nurseries Mr. Mukerji has established in the differentdistricts will eventually prove of great benefit.

‘ The Ka achira nursery inMalda has now pretty firmly established its reputation, and

the rearers in alda are eager to get this seed, and, infact, are beginning to take it fromnurseries inother districts as well, inpreference to the ordinary seed. This is a very hopeful sign, it will be a great point gained, and may gradually lead to the rearers adopting thescientificmethods of rearing.

I think thesenurseries should be increased and encouraged as much as possible. Thedanger is that, before the rearers come to have confidence inthe seed— this will be a matter oftime— the men incharge of the nurseries may get disheartened, andmay get careless withthe rearing, and one or two failures of seed taken from them would ruinall that hasbeengained.

’

Mr. J. Fraser-Forbes, Manager for the same Company at Sarda , Rajshahi, writesMr. Mukerji seems to be more successful inMalda thananywhere else, the rearers

round abou t here are very conservative, and wont be convinced that there canbe any good inanything new. I think if his methods were carefully carried out ona large scale, some goodmight result, but anything that involves extra care, or expense, is not likely to quickly findfavour with B engal is .

’

“Mr. Lyall himself, after pointing out to me that the above gentlemenare practical menonthe s ot who thoroughly understand their business, wr ites

Eromwhat I saw,whenworking the Rearing house at Alipore with Messrs. J. A.

Andersonand J. C . Hodgson, Iam strongly of Opinionthat it willnot be possible to get thesilk-worm rearers as a class to adopt the methods of the Silk Committee, as described inthepamphlet I gave you They are too wedded to their ancient ways, and will not givethemup.

“All that is needed is carefully-selected seed, good mulberry, careful and frequent feeding,p

lenty ofventilation, and extreme care as to cleanliness— all very simple, but involving a

lot 0 care, attentionand time.

l i it is admitted that we cannot get the rearers to adopt ourmethod, the next questionis what else canbe done

"Like Mr. Fraser and Mr. Rice, I think a system ofnurseries, scattered over the silkdistricts, would gradually effect improvement inthe seed. One man, you will observe, hasestablished a nursery inMalda , and I am told he is making it pay. Once th is is knownandrecognised, others will follow his example. I believe this manis one ofMr Mukerj i ’

s pup ils.InEuro 9

, silk-worm rearing is a large and profitab‘e industry of itself, and there is no

reasonw y it should not become so here. if the people would take it up in the right way.

I do not refer to the rearers as stated above. Ido not think they ever wrll, but mensuch as

the manDandadhar Das , referred to inMr.Fraser’

s letter,might. Howmenare to be got to

take it up is a matter for careful cons1deration.

’

“ I also enclose copy ofa communication received by Mr. Mukerj i from Mr FraserForbes, and enclosure, onthe subject of the work done inthe Noadapara nursery (Rajshahi) .

I ambound to add that none of gentlemenconsulted think that it would be worthwhileto place Mr .Mukerji onspecial du ty againto carry out these Operations.

We have, therefore, to consider whether it i s worthwhile for Government to persevereinits efforts to stamp out silk-worm diseases , by inducing the people to rear healthy-seed, andwhether the hues onwhich we are at present proceeding are the right ones.

( 18 )

The conservatismOf the silk-worm rearers is, ofcourse, no new thing. The same spiritis encountered throughou t India by all who promote agricu ltural improvements of any kind .

And the practical lesson, which is taught by it everywhere, is the same as that indica ted byMr. Lyall. It is useless to ask them to joinwith us inexperimenting. However certaintheresults may be, they will only appreciate the work when the solid results appear. We mus tnot appeal to their intellects , bu t direct to their pockets.

“And it is on this ground that I would now propose to Government tomaintainthework which is inprogress, and to sanctiona small yearly expenditure for the extensionOfnurseries and the practical instruction of silk—worm rearers inthe various j ean. However,Opinions ma differ as to the value ofMr. Mukerji’s personal work ; he may, at least, claimto have esta lished three facts fairly clearly

(1) that the seed produced under his instruction is a great improvement ontheordinary native seed ;

(2) that the cu ltivators are beginning to apprecia te this and are buying increasingqualities ofthis seed and

(3) that his pupils inindependent charge of privatenurseries, originally started byhim, aremaking the business pay.

And as a deductionfrom these facts, I think we may reasonably hope that, if weproceeded quietly andpreseveringly to Open out nurseries in each!of the more importantyears (or silk-wormseed centres) to trainmenineach, and then leave those men incharge,we shall probably do a great deal to revive anindustry which was once a source ofconsiderable profit to Bengal, but has nearly di ed out inrecent years.

It seems clear that if our Operations are to be confined to a more demonstrationand pioneer movement intwo or three isolated places, we shall never have a real chance ofsuccess. It is only by plodding steadily on, and by gradually persuading the people, ineachsilk centre ofthe practical value ofthe knowledge we have acqu ired, that we can do anygood. If we stop now,

the spread of knowledge will cease abruptly as the man whomwehave trained will do their best to keep the monopoly ofseed-rearing intheir own hands, andwill haveno inducement to instruct others .

The cost ofthe operations that I would propose will not exceed Rs. per annum,

and they canbe supervised by one ofthe Assistant Directors of Land Records. They willtake their place, infuture, among the ordinary experimental operations ofthis Department,and their special character will disappear.

“Inmaking these recommendations I have not beenunmindful ofthe lengthy correspondence that has passed onthe subject ofthese Operations during the past two years, bu thope that the determintiontha t was thenexpressed , to put anend to the heavy ex penditurewe were annu ally incurring on silk ex periments, will not apply to the comparatively modest.proposals which are nowmade.

44. As appendix to this report Ofthe Director ofAg riculture is publisheda, letter, dated the 4thAu gust 1896, from Mr. F . A. M. Dixon

,silk factor of

Matiha r, addressed to Mr. J. Fraser-Forbes, General Manager ofthe BengalS ilk Company. Thi s letter may be fully quoted here

In,reply to your’

s,Of 23rd ultimo, I have to sta te that I went out to the Noadapara

nursery onthe 26th July last, and againyesterday. Onthe first visit, Isaw the worms beforethey had 8 un, and was very much takenWi th all I saw, and the cleanway inwhich everything waskept. Onmaking enquiries from theman in whose house the worms are beingreared, he toldme that since he had takento B abu N. G.Mukerj i ’

s system Of rearing he hadnot lost a single band, and tha t although one lot had a very bad attack of muscradz

'

m, the

B abu in charge had cured all the worms attacked, in a shor t time, by the u se ofsulphur.He spoke very highly ofthis new way Of getting rid Of this disease, and said that, had i t notbeenfor the sul hur, he would have had to throw all his worms away. He also said thatgrea t benefit hadbeenderived from the use ofsulphate ofcopper for disinfecting the house inwhich the wormswere reared. Yesterday I saw the cocoons, and they were a very nice lot ofdesi ones. He told me that he had sold more than half of the It maunds he had rearedfor seed, and was sure he would get rid Of the remainder, as menwere coming from longdistances.now that they were beginning to know abou t the seed. one manhaving takenasmuch asRs. 10 worth. He is selling the seed at 12 pane for the rupee. As I have said above,I' was greatly takenwith all I saw

, and the only drawback is that a more central place wasnot chosen. This place is quite out of the way , and nowhere near any Of the bigcentres where cocoons are reared For instance, it is over 25 miles away from Tahirpore,andmore from the people living north of that place. It is too. far for people to come andsee wha t is bein done, and returnhome the same day . The B abu incharge told me that theTahirporeRa

'

aIi ad promi sed to erect a place for seed-rearing at Tahirpore this comingOctober, and strongly advise the Offer be takenup, and a place started there as soonas possible, Another might with advantage be bu ilt at Doorgapore, and one also a . li ttleto the north Of' Madari

gunge I am sure that great benefits would be derived from the

rearing sheds, and special y to the north, where, as you know, the rearers are a very ignorantset, and take very little pains with their worms. I feel sure that had Mr. Mukerj icommenced Operations to the north ofthis at first, instead ofgoing to the B erhampore side(where they knowmore or less what they are abou t) , rearers would not have thrownuprearing cocoons to thenorth inthe way they have done.

Inconclusion, Iwould strongly rercommend these rearing sheds being started to thenorth as soonas possible, so that the ignorant raiyats can see how things should be done.

I am su re they would take to the new systemat once, and be sure of good crops Of bettercocoons.”

45. Onthe transfer of the writer of thi s Monograph to Sibpu r .as Agricultural Lectu rer , the silkmerchants of B engal formed themselves into a Committee in1 898 to carry out the system thus initia ted by Government with thehelp of the men tra ined by him

, and the expenditure of the departmental

grant ofRs . has been since entrusted to this Committee . The systemis slow, bu t it is the only sure and sa tisfactory way of introducing scientificmethods of sericultu re inBengal, and the Committee mus t be prepared to

work away with perseverance and confidence, starting seed-nu rseries in one

j oar after another, helping tra ined cocoon-rea rers (bu tnot outsiders) to establishthesevnu rseries, until all thefoamhave been sup lied with centres of instruotion and of supply Of hea lthy seed. There is anger inhelping non rOfes

sioual or non-caste men to establish these gra inages, as this has the egect Ofexciting the jealous Oppositionof professional cocoon

-rearers, who , instead of

deriving benefit from such establi shments, do their best to boycot them and tobring discredit onthe seed i ssued from them. Everything should be done wi tha view to grafting thenewmethods onto the existing systemand never to excitethe jealou sy or the oppositionof the cocoon-rearing cu ltiva tors

,who are only

too ready to believe that the ultimate object ofa Committee of silk factorsis to take away from their hands the lucrative trade of seed-rearing, and tomake them (the rearers) dependent on the qmz

‘

nages owned by the Committeefor good seed . The Opera tions of the S ilk Committee are at present confinedto the districts ofMurshidabad, Birbhum, Malda and Bogra. Inthe district ofRa jshahi a distinct movement among Na tive z aminflars

, initia ted by the la teMr. N. K. Bose, Collector ofthe district, resu lted ina sericultu ral school beingestablished . Abou t Rs. were contribu ted by the z amindars

, and theDistrict Boa rd ofRa

'

shahi and the Agricultu ral Department of Bengal haveliberally subsidised t e institu tion. The whole ofthe Hand-book ofSericultureinBengali is taught inthis school, and students do all the work with their ownhands , from the planting ofmulberr to the weaving ofsilk cloths. The schoolhas now worked for two years, an it shows continued progress. T hirty-sixpupils, most ofwhom are actually connected with one or other branch of the

sericu ltu ral profession, were in training in this school in 1899 the numberinthe previou s year having been 1 5. The following extract from the reportofthe Secreta r of the school, forwarded with the District Monograph fromRa jshahi, will e found interesting :

“ The proposed school, at the suggestionofMr. B ose, who took an abiding interest inits welfare, was made over to the District B oard ofRajshahi, and a Committee, consisting of

its Chairman and Vice-Chairman, the ChairmanOf the Rampur B oalia Municipality, thePrincipal ofthe Ra j shahi College, and some of the leading donors and supporters, with anHonorary Secretary, was formed to start and manage the school, according to the schemeprepared at their request by Professor N. G. Mukerji, M.A who then held the office Of theAssistant Director Of Land Re cords andAgriculture to the Government ofB engal.

The foundation-stone was laid by Mr. B ose on Jubilee-day, amidst great publicrejoicing , ona piece ofland measuring abou t 3 bighas, 2 cottahs, 15 chitaks, the proprietoryright ofwhich was made over to the school by Raj a Promoda NathRoy ofDighapa tiya

’

, andthe Government Of B engal, inits Department Of Land Record andAgriculture, having placedthe services ofBabu Sitanath Guha , a , trained sericu ltural overseer; at ' the disposal oftheschool, onconditionofpaying onlyRs . 15 a month towards his salary, the institutionwasstarted fromJauuary 1 898, with the help of the District B oard promising to payRs.a year, and the leading z amindars ofthe district came forward to support themovement withdonations amounting toRs . part ofwhich was pa id downincash.

With a view to introduce the scientificknowledge and encourage the students who wouldbe likely to profit by it, the Committee resolved to charge no tuition-fees, but to support thestudents With scholarships and help themwith priz es to start seed nurseries inthe d istrict .The District Board of Ra jshahi sanctioned eight scholarships ofRs. 8 each a mouth, theB erhampore S ilk Committee sanctioned three scholarships ofRs; 6 each a month, and B abu»

Rabindra Nath‘

Tagore granted four scholarships ofRs 5 eacha month. At the suggestionofMr. P. C . Lyon, Director ofLand Records andAgriculture to the Government of Bengalwho has evinced a great interest onthewelfare ofthis school— the Houqrary Secretary starteda Priz e Fund to which Mr. Lyoncontribu ted Rs. 25, Mr. FraserfFoi-bes, Manager of

'

the’

Bengal Silk Company at Sardah ,Rs. 50, and the’ Rampur B oalia Municipality!Rs. with”

the Object ofenabling two of the best‘

studeuts of the school to start’seed nurseries inthe'district. As the Priz e Fund fell short ofthe requirementsu the District Beard 'Of

' Rajshahi

0 2

( 20 )

and the Department ofLand Records and Agriculture were pleased to make a grant ofRs . 1 60 andRs. 50, respectively, at the suggestionofthe Honorar Secretary.

“ The tra ining under the scheme, prepared by Professer M erj i , consisted, inthe firstyear, intheoretical and practical lessons inthe cultivationofmulberry-rearing and reeling ofthe Bengal andAssam silk-cocoons, and manufacture ofcou i se s ilk pieces from the thread ofpierced cocoons loca lly knowna s mutka . As this scheme requ ired two complete years to finishthe sericultural training , the attentionof the Committee wa s drawnto it, and a modifiedscheme was adopted to divide the school into two independ ent departments 1 ) Sericulture],and (2) Weaving, and to complete the training in either, in the course ofone year only,leaving it Optional with the students a t the end of the year to leave the school or jointheother department. The Sericultural Department under this modified scheme imparts inoneyear sound theoretical and practical training in the cultivation ofmu lberry-rearing, ofIndian. and foreignsilk-cocoons and inthe reeling ofsilk threads ;while theWeaving Depart.ment, during the same period, imparts practical lessons inbleaching, dyeing, and weaving ofvariou s silk stuffs

“Altogether 15 students (Hindus and Muhammadans) j owed the school as regularstudents during the first year of i ts existence. They were examined twice dun

gthe year

, andat the final examinationheld inJanuary last by Professor Mukerj i and the onorary Secre.

tary, 13 students passed the test : 1 1 being placed inthe first, and two in the second division.

The first two students— Ekramuddinand Ebadulla ha ve beenawarded a priz e ofRs . 175each for sta i ting seed nurseries inthe interior of the district. Four students have obtainedemployment under the Berhampore Silk Committee onRs . 15 a month each ; and two studentshave beenemployed onRs. 8 a month each by B abu Rabindra Nath Tagore for introducingthe rearing of the Assam silk-cocoons in his z amindari inthe district of Nadia . B esidesthese regular students, several casual students and vi s itors interested inthe industry

, bothliterate and illiterate, received instructionat the school as well as through correspondence .

Afew associates in different parts of India also received casual help from the school forintroducing the indu stry intheir locali ties.

Pandit Sital Prosed Upadhaya, in the employ of the Hon’

ble Raja Rampal Singh,after a course of training at this school for three months, returne d home and started anursery at Fort Kalakanker, inthe district ofPartab arh Oudh , where he is successfu llyrearing the Assam silk-cocoons. Mr. 0 . Lloyd, uperintendent of the Ox ford MissionIndu strial School at B aliganj in Calcutta , who came to this school with a Native Christianupil for a short time, i s deing u sefu l work, and rearing Assam silk-worms inCa lcu tta .

hlr. Lawrence, in the employ of B abu Rabindra Nath TagOi e, is rearing, successfullv,Assam silk-worms at S ilaidaha , in Nadia , and the Honorary Secretary- being invi tedto visit his nursery and advi se generally Uponstarting a rearing establishment on a largescale— testified to his success and skill. Mr. R . S Josh '

, Superintendent of the Government Experimental Farm at Nagpu r, in the Central Provinces, Mr. Pink of Dehra Dun

,

and Mr. Eusafali of Hamii pur, North-Weste inPrcvmces, received wri tten instructions,

and are rearing the Assam silk-cocoons at their respective stations . Seed was suppliedto these places from the school in the beginning, and arrangements have beenmade toencourage anexchange ofseed betweenthem and the school.”

46. One point of somewhat general interest I may notice here inconnectionwith the progress ofthis school du ring these two years, v iz .

,the prominent

place occupied by Muhammadan pupils inthis school. Ingoing through theannual examina tionpapers ofthe pupils

,I was struck with the capability of the

Muhammadanpupils intaking inevery detail ofthe work. The Hindu pupilswrote neater hands , their composition and style of writing were better, butthe Muhammadan pupils showed grea ter familiaritv with the subject, thoughtheir compositionand spelling were abominable . With the march oftechnica leduca tion, the Muhammadans of Bengal are likely

to show a keener appreciationofthe benefits ofeducationthanthey have one in the past. Inconnectionwith the working ofthis school, it may be also mentioned, there is somedanger ina dmitting non-professional or non-caste menas

dpu

pils, and helping

these with microscopes, &c.,to sta rt g ra inages in the mi st of professional

cocoon-rearers. Inreviving an existing indu stry, it is a bad policy creatinga new guild or cra ft, and putting it virtually ina positionofantagonism to theexisting caste or craft. Educa tional qualifica tions shou ld not be g iven prominence to in the admission ofpupils into this school, but rather ca ste or professional qualifica tions.

47 . As the net result of the sericultural experiments conducted for tenyears by the writer of this Monog raph may be mentioned, besides the establishment ofa Silk Committee and of the Sericultu ral School of Ra jshahi

, thesuccessful working offifteenseed-rea ring sta tions by professional cocoon-rearersthemselves, withou t any subsidy or help from Government

,except at the outset,

whenthey were taught the new methods and givenmicroscopes and a few otherappliances free of cha rge. These nurseries are sca ttered all over Bengal, sevenofthembeing inMalda , two inB irbhum,

three inMu rshidabad, two inRajshahi,

( 21 )

and one inMidnapore . The owners ofthe nurseries are ca rrying onthe workwith profit to themselves and benefit to their fellow-cocoon-rearers , and theirmethods ofwork are being extensively imitated by their relations and fellow-castemen. T hese tra ined cocoon-rearers have a sixteen-anus. crop every time now

,

and some of them take as many as eight crops in the yea r. Five or sixyears ago they were poor and struggling cultivators, but now they are men of

considerable substance, who are looked upon with jealous eyes by moneylenders and z amindari officials.

48. As a fu rther result of these experiments may be pointed out therevival or initiation ofthe silk industry inBa roda , Kashmir,Mysore, Gurdas

pur (inthe Punjab), and Kalakankar (inOudh), where men instructed by thewriter of this Monograph have been employed in carrying onsericulturalenterprise onthe most approved principles. I will conclude this chapter byquoting an extract from a letter, dated 4th April 1901 , addressed to me byMr. J. Pa rtridge ofYelelauka (Bangalore), who has been having successfulcrops of cocoons every time since he has adopted the method ofwork recommended by me

I am meeting With success each crop. I havenow ontheir fourthmoult 60 trays andcannot see a faulty worm. I have to thank you and only you for the good luck attendingmy endeavours. Ifollow

your instructions fully, and so far as disinfections are concerned,

1 freely use the sulphate 0 copper after each crop There istherefore no possibility ofthings goin wrong, whenonce you have free fromSericulture is a splendid Opening , and amglad I started it.

”

PART II:

SIllKYARNS

CHAPTER V.

MA‘TKKaNfi‘ KHAMRmsPiNNiNG.

The cocoons, after they are» finished spinning , are takendownfromthe

ckandi akiea and‘

either (il ) ! taken to ' the’nearest lzdi‘ fcr sa le, or (2) killed'

hyex posure inthin

‘ layers' to the sunandreserved

‘

j ot‘sale until

‘

p'

a z'

lrars or agents ofEuropeanfila

’

tures‘

co'

ni e round,‘

or (3) steamed’

inaBasket covered»up with clothunder which a pot

‘

oi water i s kept boi ling , arid reeled off into silk, or ( t) if

they were formed ina very healthy manner, they are bought up for seed bytravelling rea rers gorng abou t in quest of seed, from village to village and

sometimes from fear to fear. Insome districts, e.g .,Malda

,Bogra , B irbhum

and parts of Rajshahi, sp inning of silk i s done by cocoon-rea rers themselves,

and they are more or less independent of the local cocoon-ma rket for the time .

If they get a good price they sell off thei r cocoons, or else they convert theminto silk.

50, Ma lkd — Thenthere are the pierced cocoons, which accumulateinevery cocoon-rearer

’s hou se a fter his seeding is done, that is, after the mo ths

have cut out of the cocoons and laid egg s. These empty cocoons cannot be

reeled off into silk inthe same manner a s whole cocoons w ith dead chrysalidsinside them can be reeled off. Whether a rea ring succeeds or fa ils

,there are

always the few seed-cocoons. Each cocoon~rearer makes, on an average , fou r

a ttempts every year to rear cocoons, and each time he uses anaverage quantityofone kahan of. seed-cocoons. ManyMalda andMurshidabad rearers u seas much as five or six kahans ofseed each time

,but the ma jorit

yu se only half

a kahanofseed for a crop ; and I take the average to be one ka anper crop or

four kahans per annum. If there are cocoon-rearers inBengal, orfamilies rearing cocoons, 100,000

' kahans of empty cocoons accumulateeach year. T hese Weigh abou t seers, the grea ter portionofwhich isspuninto a coa rse thread and u ti li z ed for weav mg ma t/rd cloth . Ma i/tri-spinningand ma tkd-weaving g ive occupa tion to the poorest ofwomen and the least

a rtistic among the weavers. The ma t/t it cloths , however, tha t are made inRajshahi are not so coarse as Mu rshidabad or Malda ma t/fair, and a better cla ssof weavers are employed in tha t district in ma t/tci-weaving . The empty

cocoons are kneaded with a little clay, or with a paste made by pounding pea sw ith water. T hey are left soaked inthis thin pas te for a little while, and thenthey are taken up one by one with the left hand, while a strand of fibres isdrawnout of it Wi th the thumb and index finger of the right. hand and a ttached

to a spindle variou sly called teko,ze

’

lria,ialtur

,‘j a

’

mta,or j rimfci/cur. The fibres

are kept twisting w ith the revolu tronofthe spindle. When the portion drawnout has beenthu s twisted into a single and firm thread, it is collected at the baseofthe spindle, and another strand offibres drawnou t ofthe cocoonand twisted

as before. Whenone cocoonis finished, another is takenup, and the fibresfrom this are joined onto the fibres ofthe previou s cocoon, and the opera tioniscontinued until abou t 400 cocoons are spuninone day . Womendoing theworkduring their leisure time at home, do the spinning ofabout 400 cocoons per day,not at one sitting but as they get time . It takes six or seven hours’

continuouswork spinning 400 cocoons inthi s manner. Whenthe day

’s spinning is done,

the thread is takenout ofthe spindle and gathered onto a ldtciz or ndtciz’

which is

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

24

cocoon-rearing , or silk-spinning , according as the principal occupationof thepersonis agricu ltu re , or mulberry

-growing . or cocoon-rea ring , or silk-spinning .

The same may be said of silk-weavers. T hey may be principally cul tivators,

or they may depend entirely onweaving , or they may retu rn themselves a scotton-weavers, though they u se the same looms for weaving silk and cottonfabrics. We canget some idea , however , ofthe number ofindividu als who canentirely depend onmdtkci-spinning if we go back to the considera tion of the

amount ofseed-cocoons u sed inthe country . One hundred thousand individualsdepending upon cocoon-rearing , means about families . Each familyu sing, onthe average , 4 kahans of seedvcocoons per annum, gives u s

kahans as the tota l qu antity of pierced mulberry cocoons ava ilable inB engal.One spinner, if wholly occupied inspinning every day inthe month, would spinabou t 10 kahuna per month, or about 120 kahans per annum. This g ives u s a

smaller number than as the total number of individu als who may dependuponma tkd-spinning . As a matter of

.

fact, however, there are 800 to

ma ttds pinners inthe district of Mu rshi dabad alone,a s I a scerta ined after an

elabora te enqu iry du ring the last famine, when these poores t class Of peoplesuffered most. All the other silk d istricts pu t together wou ld probably haveanother martini-spinners, and I estima te the total number ofma tkd-spinningwomen

‘

inBengal as T here are more ma t te-spinners inMurshidabadand Rajshahi thaninthe o ther districts . It is only for a few days inevery bandthat martini-spinning is done, and womenare never employed all the year roundin. this industry. T his is how womendo the wo rk that could employonly abou t 800 ofthem fully.

52 . Kkamru-spinniny .— Alittle more than half the quantity of mulberry

cocoons ra ised inBengal i s spuninto thread by the country method of reeling .

T his is called Ithamru, [changru or brink silk. B rink is a name ofthe machine bywhich [thangm silk is made. The machine is more commonly known as ghdz

‘

,

which properly means simply the pan inwhich cocoons spin in hot water.Glidis are chiefly worked by Muhammadans, but inMalda and Birbhum silkspinning on the native method is largely done by Hindu s . The processesemployed are mainly the same inevery di strict. InMa lda there are regula rna tive filatures consisting of 40 or 50 girdle. In some of these

,six skeins of

silk are turned ou t at a time oneach reel, while ino thers fou r,and in others

two a s inEuropeanfilatures . Insome aces single grime are the rule (Fig . 3LInRajshahi theWadi is u sually double ig_

.

Fig . 3 .— T he s ing le-glide

'

ofMurshida bad .

( l) The do u b le ghdz’

.

(2 ) The Khe lhaoncard.

(3) T he T ahb il. (4 ) T he B amako”.Fig . 4.— Native reeling machine ofRa jshahi shownpart by

‘

part. .

( 26 )

53. In some places. a s in Mu rshidabad and Ra jshahi , there is more

masonry, wood and iron u sed inthe construction; inothers,as in Bogra and

Midnapore, mud and bamboos are u sed wherever possible (Fi g.

Fig 5 .-Native ree ling machine of Ma lda .

A.— Taphil or tahabil. X.

— Small crank (kneldndr té i )B .

— Janta or_

whcel. wheel (B ).K.

— Khelana. This crank imparts a reciprocaN —Kal. tory motion to the khelané inD.

— Karai. order tha t the thread may beS .-Strap or string. evenly distribu ted on the reel

H .— Ironbooks for conducting thread (A).

to reel. F.-Flue.

54. InFigs. 3 and 5,a well-constructed and a more rudely constructed

single glietz'

are respectively represented in position. InFig . 4, the separate

parts ofa double ynda‘

are represented. Fig . shows the fire-place and thetwo gkdis, [carats or basins (AIandA2) wa rmed by it . At the places marked B 1and B2 two bantz

'

lra ls,are placed [Fig This consists of a block ofWood

to which aniron ortionas represented inthe figu re is fixed. The arc-shapedportionhas two, our or six holes according as two , four or six skeins ofsilk are

reeled offat a time. Through these ho les the fibres from a number of cocoonsinthe. ba sinare passed and carried ona s a sing le thread to the with ], tolzbz

'

l or

reel, which is sepa rately showninFig . At C l and C2, beyond eachset of basin and Ita l

,stand drda or upright posts onwhich ingearing with

wheels (called janta) play the Irkeldmis or gbargiiarz'

s.

55. Fig . shows one circi With its knelcinci onthe top Of. it. Beyond C land C2, &c.

,that is, be ond the two drds ofa double gndi at (D1 and D2 ) stand

two tokbz’

ls, one of whichis sepa ra tely represented inFig . Each gnni'

ha s a Spinner or reeler (Ica tnnz'

) sitting w ith his face towards the fiue and theba sinlooking after the boiling of the cocoons and the reeling of, them; andon the fag side a pcikddr or winder standing and tu rning the handle ofthe

101165] as showninfigure 3. The connectionbetween the circi and the robin! isestablished either by toothed Wheels a s shown infigure 3, .

or by means ofastring passing . .through the groove ofthe wheel (j unta, onthe dra

’

,and another

onthe OESitiQPi drieraxfisyofthe reel as represented in‘

figure, 5.

3

56. The owner"of anative ghdi begins b steaming thecbcoons . Cococ

'

msare killed by expo sing thefnto the sunfor a ew days, or, when1

301sunlight ifi

a vailab le , they are killed in the process of steaming. Whether the chriysa-llids are alive

'

or dead‘

,the cocoons are placed in a basket, and the

,

b’asket is

placed onthe basininwhich water is kept boiling . The Whole is'

éovered With“

a blanket or a thick cloth . After about half-an-hou r the‘

steamed cocoons areready for reeling . T he steaming ma kes the cocoons easierto reel. Steamedcocoons are net exposed to

.

the“

sunnor allowed to get too dry, bii t they canbekept ready for reeling for a week

,ifnecessary, spread ou t ina

,cool r

'

oorh’

.

The steamed cocoons arefeeled by first putting themin‘

the basin_

inboil ingwater

,and’

woi'king ‘ them‘ with a’

brush or bundleof stipks‘

(representéd;in-do that

'

each cocoon gets dipped iii the boilidg’

waterand its’

lend

a ttached to the bru sh'. Whennearly all the en'ds

'

have gotJattached to this

1

brush theyI

are taken‘

up with theleft'hand, and

r

With the ri gh t harijd the clocqoh

'

s'

are'

flightlyshaken, so tha t a

"greater length of the fibi'es

‘

works (iii . A“

few ,

ten'

; or twelve'

,or twenty, according to th

‘

e‘

sio

z

'

e of silk' Wanted,;tha t work offvery ea sily,

»are then'

sepa rated out of the Whole'

lot'

dfcocoons in‘

thebasinhantfth‘

ese‘

a re’divided into two equa l lot

'

s'

of 5, or or 10 pdcoons; the e'

ii‘

d of

which are pa ssed through the‘

two ey'es'

or holes of the'

kd l.'Where there are

.

fou r eyes‘

(a s inFig . or'

40 cocoons are div ided into 4,

equal lots,

and the'

ends oftheseare takenout separately fromthe whole‘

lot onthe'

leIft handof the Spinner, and

‘ passed through the hole'

s'

of kal. T her’

e are'

usually two.

upright wires‘on’the Ita l to keep the two

‘

lots’

of fibres,sep

'

ar

'

atefduring thereeling“ These ‘

also serve to g ive two'

croiséur'

s to the fibres, one be'tweenthe

holes of the 'ltal and the upriglit wires, and the other between these wires and

the r eel. ’ The ’frictibncaused by these croiseurs agglutinate the fib‘

r’eéi together,

and make ”thei r pass onto the reel as two firm and single threads‘. It

‘

should be'

noted,‘howevera tha t crossing the threads before ‘ they

"pass onto

'

thereel is a,

Europeaninnovation“ introduced into Bengal in‘r1770, and it is still rather the

exceptionthanthe rule“

inthe‘ reelin‘

g of ltlzcim’

rmsilk (via/e Fig . 5 As the realis turned by the pct/calm,

the co'

coons in'

front ofthe ka tciniget The

Ira fdm'

se'

e‘

s‘

that any] cocoons tha t get entangled , or that jump up, are

'

instantly'

sepa ra ted ou t, ends ofnew'

cocoons thrown along with the fibres which a'

re

being reeled, as’

the old co'

coons work'

off,and thu s he goes on feeding cocoon

after cocoon while the reeling is go ing on. When’ there is any interruptionor break; tne jolt/safety

“

assi sts:him inre order and union,and the

,

as before. When onelot of cocoons is finished,anotherlot

is subjected as‘

beiore to ' boiling , hea ting w ith the bru sh,and reeling , until the

day’swork is done. There

,are little twisted wires or gu ides

“

(Mel/incrt r) onthe khelami, or piece of bamboo or wood, which moves in an eccentricmanner onthe jgintci. The thread passing through theseWires ontothe reel donot pass s tra ight to

‘ the reeland get ‘

la id onthe"‘

reel ex aétly onthe1 same spo t,

The fro of the kheldnii causes each'

thread to be la id over aWidth‘

of3 or'

4l

inches'

ofthe'

reel. Getting laid onthe reel inthis wide manner,the thread gets drymore ea sily, and whenthere is a break the end is also found

'

out more'

easily{ Int imra-reeling , however, they do not take‘

the tr'ouble offinding ou t th

'

e end when'

there is"a break and pu tting a k‘

no t , a s'

isldone'

inEuropeanfilature, b

’ut-the

‘

unionis ’

effected anyhow'

It is , thorefo'

ré‘

,more.

unvvinding aaskeinof Khdrhru

'

s ilk than'

a skein.oib

filatiireQreeledsilk. Klzdm

'

tii‘ silk‘

,is a l

'

sd'

mtifch'

coarser and uneventhan'

Europeanfilature .

r'

a'

iled silkl.

’

Infil'

atures 4 to 6 cocoons are usually reeled'

oif together to formr

a singlethread, 'While inNa t ive ghdz’

s 8 to 20 cocoon‘

s‘

are used. The cocoonsu sed inEuropeanfila tures

’

are alsomore select ; cheapseasonb ocoonsfi vb i

'

ch do'

not wo rk offeasily) beingT he oridindry

'

price1

of‘K/ziimru '

s ilk is‘ Rs .

’

10 to

( 28 )

half the total qu antity of‘ K/idmru silk produced'

inBengal is bought up bydealers from Bena res, Nagpu r, Karachi ,Mysore, Sholapore , and other partsof India where there is silk-weaving . Only an insignificant quantity of

filature-reeled silk is u sed in Na tive looms . Weavers ofMu rshidabad call

filatu re-reeled silk Latinsilk,

”owing probably to the fact ofits being produced

onthe improved Novi ’ pa tternintroduced by Italian artiz ans in the filatures

of the Hon’ble East India Company . It is for some exceptionally fine fabrics

such as silk muslins, that the weavers u se La tin silk,

’ for which they payRs . 17 to Rs. 20 per seer, instead ofRs. 1 0 orRs . 12.

57 . The K/zcimm silk-spinning industry of Bengal is at present in a veryflou rishing condition. The B ombay plague has, no doubt, put some check onthis indu stry, but it is likely to be only a temporary check. The silk-weavingindustry of other parts of India is also ina flou rishing condition. The quantities of raw-silk imported from foreign countries (Table K) into India haspractically remained the same du ring the last 30 years, While the demand forKhdmru silk

,inthe silk districts of Bengal, specially Malda

,B irbhum

, andRa jshahi

,has gone on increasing . Ofthe two million pounds of fo reignraw

s ilk from China , etc. tha t are used in India,Bengal uses only abou t five

thou sand pounds (aide T able M) , while she exports by coasting steamersonly to the other Indian ports abou t 250

,0001hs . ofraw-silk per annum (aide

T able G ) ; and nearly as much goes by rail to the other Provinces (aideT able Q ). Malda produces abou t ma unds of K/za

’

mru silk ; Murshidabad, abou t 800 maunds ; Ra jshahi, about maunds ; Birbhum, abou t500 maunds ; and Midnapore and the other districts put together, about

maunds,— the total quantity being five to six thousand maunds perannum and the tendene has been upwards du ring the last 8 or 10 yearthough , a s I have a lrea y sa id, the plague ha s somewhat impeded the progressof this branch of the silk Indu stry. InMalda

, Khdmru-reeling prevails inall the fl are

,chiefly in the villages close to English-ba z ar, and inEnglish

ba z a r itself. In Murshidabad, d mm-reeling preva ils chiefly inthe Jangipu rand Kandi subdivisions, and inB irbhum, inall the villages where cocoon-rearingis done. With reg ard to the localities where Klicimru-reeling is done inRa jshahi,the following extracts from the District Monograph will be found interesting

“ Ghaz’

s are found in the same villages as looms and also where there is weaving ,but those who work them are Musalmans. Out of 41 reelers, 21 bear the name ofParamanik, and the rema ining 20 one of the following : Sarkar, Mandel , Mullah, SirdarSaha , Sheikh, or Chaukidar. In Dakra itself there are 1 4 ghaz

‘

a to 12 looms . InDakraand tenneighbouring villages, which together constitute the grea test reeling centre, thereare 1 04 gbafa. All these villages are inthana Gharghat. There are others too for whichfigures are not available inthis thana , such. as B elgharia inB oa lia , such a s Kadirpur

, andinLalpur, such as Kalidaskhali, Kamaldear, and Gargari. In the latter village there arefour or five filatu res, and inone house there are as many as s ix glza zs.

“ From Lalpur and Charghat a great deal of khangra is exported across the riverinto the Murshida bad district, where it is sold at Islampur and Berhampu r. Some goesdirect to Calcu tta , and a large proportioncomes to the silk merchants ofRampur B oalia .

There is a quarter of the town calledResampati , where most ofthese dealers live inlarge brick buildings, and form a small but wealthy community of both Hindu s andMusalmans . There is one baparc

’

,known as MeajanDalal, who buys khangru formost of

the silkmerchants, as it is brought in from the mufass il villages. The chief bu siness ofthese silk merchants is to act as commission agents for up

-country weavers. Hence wefind that the places to which they consign their khangra are chiefly B enares

, Amritsar,Lucknow,

Delhi,Agra , and also B ombay and Calcutta . To these places principally andto a few other towns, the quantity ofsilk thread reeled innative filatures and exported fromRampu r Boalia alone by steamer for the year 1898-99 exceeded maunds . Nofigures are available to show how much khangra finds its way out ofthe district throughother channels ofexport, but from a comparison of the number of villages whose producecomes to B oalia with the remaining villages, containing native silk filatures (noc underEuropeancontrol), it is probable that maunds represent abou t two-thirds of the to talproduce of the district.”

58. What is said here abou t the export ofkhangra or Ichamru silk to o therparts ofIndia applies equ ally to Murshidabad and B irbhum.

59. InBogra“ there are only abou t a doz en skilful labourers Who can

reel silk. Most ofthem belong to the villa ge Ba rbakpur, also called B ara pur,near Nowdapara , Where there was once

'

a silk factory. T hese reelers a re allMuhammadans. Reeling of silk is not the ir only occupation. They live bycultivationand field-work, and silk-reeling takes only a pa rt oftheir time .

”

60. In Bankura all the silk reeled “ is sent to Vishnupur for sale. Theprincipal traders dealing insilk thread at Vishnupu r are Chandra Sekhar Banerj i,Nafor Tanti, Sundar Bakhit, Chand, and Beha ri T anti. They a lsoimport silk from Midnapore district. S ilk thread is sold a tRs. 14 per seer,g enera lly oncredit ofone month .

”

61 . In Midnapore this , as other branches of the silk industry, is ina

declining condition.

62. T his chapter may be brought to a close by the following extract fromthe Handbook of S ericulture (pages 21 6 to

For the last few years the native silk-reeling industry has beensteadily improving .

At times the price ofthis infei ior silk goes up higher than that of the superior raw silkturned out fromEuropeanfactories. This absurdity canbe explained only by the ignoranceofnative silkmerchants regarding the sta te ofthe Europeansilkmarket. The silk-reelingindustry of B engal suffers considerably by the absurd procedure ofnative silkmerchants .

At one seasonwhen the market price inEurope for the superior filature silk ofB engalwasRs. 14 per seer, these native silkmerchants were buying the inferior khamm silk forRs. 1 5-8 per seer. Under such circumstances native silk-reelers beganbuying cocoons at ahigher price thanEuropean silk factors. The latter saw that they could not make anyprofit buying cocoons at Rs. 40 or Rs. 41 permaund. Cocoon-rearers inMalda also madeup their minds not to sell their crops for less thanRs. 40 orRs. 41 permaund. The factorieswere closed for some time. The native silk-reeling went onbriskly for a few days, whilemost of the cocoons remained locked up inthe houses of silkworm-rearers. In a monththe price ofthe khamra silk came down fromRs. 1 5-8 to Rs. 12-8, and only those fewsilkworm-rearers who had succeeded inselling their crop for Rs. 40 or Rs. 4 1 per maundmade a profit . Most of the cocoon-rearers who had kept their crop locked up for twomonths got more heavily involved indebt to the money-lenders , and finally sold their Apriland May crops of cocoons at the low price prevailing during the rain season. Native silkmerchants and silk-reelers should accept as ju st the prices at which uropeanfactors buycocoons or sell their silk, if such disappointments are to be avoided. European silk factorsmake exact calculations as to the price of cocoons they ought to pay after consu lting thestate ofthe Europeanmarket at the time. Native silkmerchants and silk-reelers shouldsimmy follow them in this matter. If they do not, they may make anaccidental profit

,

but they are more likely to lose. Buying cocoons at the same price at which Europeanfactors buy them, native silk-reelers canmake sure of their profit, as , for various reasons,khamra silk is worked cheaper than the filature-reeled silk The yield of k/zamrusilk is larger. (2) Aspinner canturnout three times as much klzamra silk as filature silk.

(3) As six skeins of lrizamm silk are turned out at a time in some parts of Maldainstead of two , the number ofwinders required is also less inthe case of the k/iamra silk.

(4) The establishment charges of a Europeanfactory are considerably larger.63. For the above reasons, the manufactu re ofkhamra silk proves more

profitable to the native reeler thantha t of the filature silk,notwithstanding the

higher price which is or ought to be obtained for the latter. From a maund of

greencocoons 25to 3% seers ofIthamru silk is obta ined, the Ou tturn of filaturereeled silk being about half-a-seer less ineither case. The cost inreeling offamaund of greencocoons into klzamra silk is Rs. 3-8 to Rs. 4. The cost of reeling a maund ofpoor cocoons is the same as that of reeling a maund of goodcocoons, though the produce inthe two cases differs a g reat deal invalue. Tothe Eu ropeanfactor a seer of silk costs abou t Rs. 2 in reeling . Amaund of

g reencocoons yields two to three seers of ‘waste silk ’

as a bye-product to the

native reeler. These two to three seers of waste ’sell forRs . 3 toRs. 3 8. The

cost ofreeling native silk is therefore sometimes defrayed by the sale of thebye

-product, and any excess inthe sale-price of the silk tu rned out above thepurchase

~

price ofcocoons yields a net profit. If a maund ofgreencocoons hasto be bought for Rs. 40, that is, if the cocoons are very su erior, three see rs atleas t ofkhamra silk canbe expected as the produce. B ut t e average price ofsuperior cocoons should be taken as Rs. 30 per maund. The three seers ofkhamra silk canbe sold at Rs. 30 to Rs. 46, according to the fluctuations of themarket. The weft silk, again, canbe sold forRe. 1 to Re. 1-8 more per seer.Native silk-reelers usually pay higher wages to their spinners and windersthanEuropeansilk factors . InMalda the spinner ina na tive reeling establishment gets Rs. 6 Rs. 10

,and the winder; from Rs. 4 to Rs . 6 per month .

Eu ropean factors, however, have to advance money inengaging spinners andWinders. It is for this reason they are able to secure spinners for Rs. 5 to

Rs. 6 a month, and winders forRs. 3 to Rs. 4. The spinner and winder in a

na tive silk~reeling establishment work much harder than in a Eu ropeanfila ture. In the hot seasonthey beginwork at 4 in the morning , and go onuntil 1 P.M. Inthe cold seasonthey work from 6 A.M. to midday, and aga in

( 30 )

from 1-30 P.M. till 4 P.M.

'

InEu ropeanfactories regular work goes ononly foreight hours inthe day. T he weft lchamru silk is reeled out of 8 sers of g reencocoons (abou t three seers ofdry cocoons) by each spinner per diem. If he. hasto make warp silk, he has to reel off 10 seers ofgreencocoons (abo ut 3} seers ofdry cocoons) before he gets leave for the day. Kkamra silk is sold by 825 tolaweight. Filatu re silk is sold by 72% tola weight. With one maund of.lc/zamrusilk are obta ined 25 to 30 seers of

‘waste.

’This wa ste is not clean like the

filature waste, but full of chrysalides. In filature the quality of cocoons isfa irly judged form the

‘waste ’ they produce. If onreeling 1 1 Ita lians ofcocoons1 seer ofsilk

.is

,obtained ina filature. if the cocoons are tip-top inquality,

1 1 seers of waste are expected with a maund ofthis silk. If the cocoons arepoor, and they go 20 lira/mus to .the seer, 20 seers ofwaste are expected with a

maund of this silk. The fila ture ‘waste ’which is clean sells for Rs. 80 to

Rs. 100 a,maund ,

inthe Calcutta market, while the lr/iamra ‘waste ’sells from

Rs. 38 toRs . 60 per maund . Infilatures each spinner makes 4 skeins of silkper day, which weigh from 3 to 4 chitaks. In Ir/zamra-reeling establishmentseach spinner tu rns out 12 skeins per day. If these are ofweft silk

,they weigh

8. to 9 chitaks : if they are of warp silk, they weigh 10 to 14 chitaks . Thecompa risonhere institu ted will show that, on the whole, it is more profitablefor the native reeler to reel coarse khamru silk. Bengal khamra silk is notexported to Eu ro e, but coarse silk is exported to Eu rope fromChina and Japan,and it is advisab e to export Ichamru silk also to Europe. But it will scarcelyfind a ma rket unless it is re-wound before export. In the manufacture of thelclzamru silk thread, the winder turns the reel very fa st. When a threadhappens to break, he makes the re-attachment anyhow withou t pu tt ing a knor

,

and the winding ofthe reel goes on a s before after a moment’s interruption.

Such being the case, it costs a great deal unwinding the khamra silk from theskeins into bobbins. The cost of labour inEu rope is so grea t that Ic/zamru silkwill fetch very little price unless it is ex ported

' ina t e-wound state. Agrea tdealmore of[dram a silk is produced inBengal thanfilature silk. The competitionbetweenEu ropeanfactors and na tive reelers is therefore very keen.

The best way for the European factors to avoid the evil resulting from thiscompetitionis to recognise the Ichamra silk as an article of expo rt

, to buy uplarge quantities ofit, to re-wind it, and thensend it to the Europeanma rket.T he effect ofsuch a procedure will be two-fold— ( l ) to give the native silkreeling industry a still grea ter impetus , and (2) to combine it wi th Europeanenterprise. That a very wide field is likely to be opened out in Europe forthe coarse k/iamru,

silk is the opinionofsome of'

the best manufacturers of England, France, and Italy.

64. No time shou ld be lost intaking advantage of anenterprise tha t islikely to develop export trade ina new direction, While giving animpetus to an

already-flourishing na tive industry. For such manu factu ring pu rposesfor manufacturing shoe-maker’

s twine), where coarse siz es are preferable to finesiz es

,the native-reeled silk, ifex ported re-wound and twisted, if possible, would

be preferred to the more expensive fila ture-reeled silk.

CHAPTER VI.

Si Lx SPINNING— FEATURE svsrw .

65. The raw s ilk ofsuperior qual i ty— superi or, that is, to kliamra silk— is

nea rly all exported to Eu rope.‘

This s ilk is spuninfilatures, the largest ofwhichare owned by the Bengal Silk Company andMessrs . Lou is

,Payenand Company .

Many small fila tures p roducing silk ofnearly as good quality as that producedinEuropean.filatures are owned by native merchants, such a s the Debkundafilature, ownedby Haji Naku Mondal. The principal filatures of the Benga lSilk Company are those of Sardah and Ma tiha r in Rajshahi, Baragha ria inMalda

,Ganu tia inB irbhum, ,

Babu lbona and Rangamati inMu rshidabad, andGhatal and .Chatteraganj inMidnapore. The principal filatures owned by the

French Company. are those ofKajla .and2Tala imari inRa jshahi ; Bholaha t inMalda ; Gadi , B ajarpara,.Gouijipur, Su japu r, and Na rayanpu r inMurshidabad

,

and Gorelle .iu Midnapore.,

Mr. Fergussonof,Bcrhampore owns a factory a t

Beldanga andanother.at .Jangipu r, inthe district ofMurshidabad, and also the

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 82 )

ma inta ined,‘

and some improvement evenis noticeable. The regula r export ofraw silk from Bengalmay be said to have commenced inthe year 1772. .T heannual average of ex pert for the 20 yea rs from 1 773 to 1792 was abou t

lbs. During the next 20 years 1793— 18 12 \ the average annu al exportwas lbs . The next period of 22 yea rs ( 18 13 to at the end of

which Government gave up a ll direct control over the silk trade,saw the

average annu al export of raw silk a ttain to 6 1 lbs. The next period of20 years , from 1836 to 1855

,saw the average rising to a still higher fig

’

rre,

v iz .,

lbs . T he next period of 20 yea rs , from 1856 to 1 875,saw a

still higher average , viz .

,lbs , which was the maximum reached . T o

study the ma rch of export inraw silk from this time onwards it‘

is best totake into account much shorter periods

lbs

( 1876 to 1880 was

I1881 to 18851

The average annual export of raw silk from 1886 to 1890 4865 1

1891 to 1895

1 896 to 1900

L1901 9nd 1902

70. The upward tendency since 1889 has beenvery distinct (s ide table C ofPart III ) ; and if the methods of amelioration are persevered in, I have nodoubt

,the improvement can be mainta ined. Every department of the silk

industry depends for its health and vigour onthe sta te of the cocoonrea ringindu stry. Cocoons will necessa rily become cheaper if crops become certa inandplentiful and it is cheaper cocoons that are needed to make cheaper silk

, bo thraw andmanufactu red. Bengal silk is always acceptable, specially inEngland,if it canbe supplied cheap . The Imperial sentiment is opera ting here , a s inevery-thing else inthe British Empire

,and England is interesting herself more

and more inthe raw-silk from Benga l. France is no longer the principalpatronof Bengal silk, and England is striving to assume the same unrivalledositionwith reference to Bengal silk which she held 30 or 40 years ago .

The na tu re of the present competition betweenEngland, France, and Italy inthis respect canbe judged from the following figu res

7 1 . The figures compiled from the Bengal Administra tion Reports for1 896 97 to 1900-1901 are given in T able E . In 1896-97 the amount ofraw silk and waste exported to England was ma unds or lbs.

,

while in 1897-98 i t rose to maunds lbs) . The quant ityexported to all other countries taken together in 1896-97 was maunds

,

while in 1897-98 it fell to maunds. From 1875-76 down to 1896-97France invariably imported la rger Qu antities of raw silk and ‘wa ste ’ fromBen al thanEngland, and evenItalyoccupied for some years a higher place thanEngTand. For the first time during the last 30 yea rs , therefore, England a ssumed the first place once more in1897-98. T his is as it shou ld be

,and if the ten

deney continues , there is no rea sonwhy B engal silk should not continue toflourish , though it may never rega inthe positionit occupied from 1813 to 1875,when Bengal silk stood unrivalled in the competition even with Chineseand Italiansilks. T able E , however, is not altogether hopeful on this point.Mr. Liotard writing in 1883 made the following cogent rema rks rega rdingthe fall of Bengal silk being due to England

’s fa ilure to patronise it

It will have beenseenfrom this series of tables that of Indianraw silk, the UnitedKingdom was

_by far the largest consumer 13 years ago (viz ., 99; lakhs of rupees in

Export ofraw-silk inbales

To

England.

( 33 )

1870 but that the e orts thither declined ra idly till they came down toRs. 1 1 lakhsm 1875-76, toRs. 4§ lags in1880-81, and to agent Rs. 3 lakhs in1882-83. It is chieflythis decline, this abandonment of the Indian su p lies the United om,

that hbrought abou t the fall inthe Indianraw silk trade.

”P by nd as

72. England’s behaviou r inthis respect is all the more regrettable, since

other Europeancountries did not see any‘

reason for abandoning Bengal silkinthe same manner as England did. he cocoon creps of France and Italybegansteadily to improve from 1876, and yet France .went on importingalmost as much silk from India , and Italy impo rted more and more of it.

73. The raw-si lk ofexpo rt is made inlarge factories, andmore carefully,though , on the main, the principle of reeling resembles more the oldnativemethod than the present methods which have come into v0 us in Italyand France. The principal differences be tween the Ickamru an the filaturemethods are

1 ) The boiling and heating ofwater is done infilatures from a centralboiler with steam, andnot by fire kept under each basinasis done inthe native gi n/ is.

(2 The discipline under which the spinners and winders are kept byconstant check of their work by means of special testingmachinery and a special supervising sta ff renders the silkturned out ofevener siz e thanIchamru silk.

(3) WheriIthere is a break a knot is put, which is not done in kkamru

sil

(4) Crossing oftwo adjacent threads to give them roundness and firmness is invariably done infilature reeling, though it is only rarelydone inklzamru-reeling .

5) Filatu re silk is finer thankkamru silk.

74. The following extracts from the “Handbook ofSericulture ”will giveanidea ofthe system offilature-reeling invogue inB engal

Tire Oven. —Tu Part H ofthis book it has been said tha t cocoons require to be killedby heat or with carbon-bisulphide before they are reeled. Evenwhenthey have beenkilled,they require to be steamed, except inthe rainy weather, whencocoons killed inthe sunare

exposed to the act ionof heat and moisture simultaneously, which does away with theneedofsubsequent steaming . ThecmbinatiOu of hea t and moisture makes the fibres onthecocoons to swell up and become loose and easily reelable. Even inthe rainy weather itmay be necessary to bake the cocoons ina steaming oven, simply to kill them, when the raysofthe sunor ea rbon-bisulphide is not available for this purpose. At other seasons the objectof putting cocoons into anovenis not simply to kill them. They are, therefore, steamedinthe ovenevenwhenth have beenkilled inthe sun before they canbe pro rly reeled .

Where large quantities o cocoons require to be killed, steaming ovens mustllie rcvided.

Whensmall quantities ofcocoons only have to be reeled, the steaming canbe done y introducing the cocoons in a basket or inanearthenvessel having holes at the bottom, and putting the basket or the earthenvessel onthe reeling

basin, where water is boiling, the basketor the earthenvessel being covered 11 with a lanket, to kee the steam in as much aspossible. Aproperly constructed oven this advent e

, that t 6 temperature inside it canbe made to exceed 1OO°C.,

while the temperature oft e steam got fromthe boiling basinisordinarily 100°C . Exposure ofcocoons to a temperature of 160°C. for 5 minutes kills themeffectually. Ashort exposure of living cocoons to 100°C . leaves those inside a heap alive.

Moths coming out ofsuch cocoons afterwards make them waste.’ Killing cocoons inthe suninthe rainy season does not do any harm to the silk fibre, but inthose seasons , whenthea ir isnaturally dry, killin the cocoons by exposure to the sunlessens the elasticity of theirfibre. Cocoons should, t erefore, be killed in these seasons either ina steaming ovenorwith carbonbisulphide. The kind ofovens constructed in this country inconnectionwithfilatures is not altogether suitable for the baking ofcocoons . These are hemispherical inshape, constructed with bricks, and have a small removable door in front of each . They are

first heated with fuel burnt inside. The fire is thenextinguished by sprinkling water fromoutside, the charcoal and ashes being removed immediately afterwards, and cocoons arrangedinbaskets put in. The littlemoveable door is thenfastened on, and the cocoons kept insideinthe hot and steamy atmosphere of the ovenfor 1 0 or 12 hours. They are afterwardstakenout and spread inthinlayers onmac/ions, and distribu ted as required to the reelers .

InEurope there is a long cavi ty under the oven. Inthis cavity is put fuel (wood or coal)and a boiler incontact with it. Atube from this boiler opens into the ovenabove. The

cavity underneath the oven leads into a fine, which 068 up the further end ofthe even,thenalong the top, until it terminates infront inthe cm of a chimney. The cavity or

flue going round three sides ofthe oven, heat is radiated into the evenfrom the three sides.This makes the temperature ofthe ovenstand at over 1 60°C . Putting fuel inside the oven,bringin charcoal and ashes out, and s rinkling water are not required for anevenofthiskind. he killing ofthe chrysalides is effected inabout three minutes in such anoven.

1)

( 34 )

At the entrance to the evenjust described, a couple ofrails are fixed inthe ground. Atruckladenwith cocoons is rolled along these rails, shut infor threeminu tes inthe oven, and thenrolled back. Another truck ladenwith baskets ofcocoons is inthe meantime got ready androlled inas before. If the ovenis made 12 cubits long 3 cubits wide and 4 cubits high,5 maunds of cocoons canbe smothered at a time, or 50maunds (10 truckfuls) per hour.Anevenlike this worked for eight hours a day cankill and steam 400 maunds of greencocoons per diem. Sometimes the accumulation of cocoons in a filature is so great tha t itseems desirable to introduce the European system of baking in this country. If a muchlarger quantity of cocoons arri ves ina factory inone day thanwhat has beenspokenofasbeing easily capable ofbeing smothered during the day, these mu st be baked first that are

not safe to keep over for a day or two. Ahandful ofcocoons out ofeach lot coming into a

factory should be held close to the ear and shaken. If the shaking gives one the idea thatthe sound has a dry character, or whena rustling sound is heard from inside the cocoonswhen they are simply held close to the ear, those cocoons shou ld be killed that veryday, or else moths are likely to emerge next morning and spoil some ofthe cocoons. Ifthere is any doubt inthe matter, a few cocoons may be cut open, and it may be seenwhether the chrysalides have got their eyes quite distinct, and also whether the contour ofthe wings are qu ite lainly seen. Whenthese signs appear, the cocoons shou ld be killed thesame day. Steam and unsteamed cocoons should not be kept inthe same room

, as thismay lead to occasionalmistake insteaming cocoons.

Amore detailed descriptionofthemethods actually followed in the large filatures forkilling, drying, and evening cocoons may be ofinterest .

Killing and drying.— Aspecialmethod is adopted for killing the cocoons of the rainy

bunds and the November bund. Whensunny days are available, the cocoons with livechrysa lides inside them are exposed to sunfor a day or two immediately after they are

brought to the filature. If it is wet at the time, they are spread out in the cocoon-godown;and before themoths cut out, they are killed ina stove-roomcalled a tasglzar. This room iskept hot with a big stove, the fire-place ofwhich is at a low level and in one corner of theroom, so that coal is fed from ou tside thi s room. Two pipes or fiues from this stove go ina

curved manner along the length ofthe room and up to the roof, where they end inchimneys,whence the smoke goes out. Onthe opposite wall to which the door of the stove is placed isa huge door through which anirontruck ladenwith fl at trays of cocoons goes inside thestove-room or comes out ofit along ironrails. The trays are made of wood or iron, andeach time the truck is charged with about 600 kahans of cocoons in60 or 65 trays. Thecocoons are kept inthe stove-roomat a temperature of 150° to IGO°E. for four or five hoursafter which they lose nearly the whole of the moisture. There is a small trap-door at oneend ofthe room to which a thermometer is attached, and which is Opened every now andaimfor inspection. Out ofthis opening a few cocoons are also brought out with the helphi s. stick and cut open. Excessive heat or too lon

glheating spoils the cocoons. Inthe hot

weather, whentwo or three days’

exposure to t 6 sun is sufficient, the cocoons are notput inthe stove-room. After sunning or stoving the cocoons, as the case may be, they are

spread out on bamboo shelves (mac/nine) and stirred every now and again, and after sevenor eight days they are put out once more inthe sunfor a short time.

Orening.— Three or four days before the cocoons are reeled, a week

’

s supply ofcocoons(about kahans ) is ovened at once. The ovenor tundul is a hemispherical masonrystructure, hollow inthe interior, havmg a masonry floor and a small trap-door. Wood isburnt inside this even, and when a blaz ing fire has beenmade and the evenhas becomevery hot, the fire and cinders are brought out and water is sprinkled thoroughly all over theinside withou t loss of time. InDecember 12 or 14 Imlsies of water are thus used, and inApril 24 or 25 1 1716568. Inthe rainy bunds cocoons do not need evening, as the fibre inthese bunds is naturally soft and open. The cocoons arranged inbaskets are put inside theevenas soonas su fficient water has been sprinkled inside the oven, and immediately thetrap-door is made firm. The ovening continues for 10 or 12 hours . No sunning is requireda fter evening, as the object of evening is to give the cocoons a mellowness, which is lost bysunning or drying . InDecember the evened cocoons are spread out onbamboo shelves, butinApnl they are spread out onthe floor that they may not lose the mellowness throughexcess ofdrought. The evenedcocoons are distributed among the reelers.

Method ofreeling — It is impossible to learn reeling of thread from cocoons simplyby reading books. It is altogether a matter of practice. One should learnto reel silk at anearly age. Inyouth it is easier to bring muscles andnerves under control, and apply themto special kinds of work. In silk-reeling factories, therefore, small boys and g irls are

u sually employed for winding the reels. They be'

nby learning to wind the reel and toput knots onto the reeled thread whenit happens to rock, and they gradually get to dothe unravelling ofthe ends ofthe cocoons with bundles ofsticks, and to throw them off theirfingers for the purpose ofreeling InBengal it is usu al to employ one reeler and one winderfor reeling four skeins ofthread per diem. This is waste of labour. Two winders canbeemployed for winding 6.whole series ofreels , while anextra mancanbe employed to walk upand down, pu tting knots onto threads that happento break. This system has come intooperationinsome ofthe B engal filatures. There are three mainarrangements in a reelingmachine Abasin, where hot water is kept, where the cocoons spin, and whence the fibresare carried off. (2) Two erforated porcelaineyes or discs attached to the end of two wiresjust above the basin. T 688 are fixed to a block of wood, into which also are fixedvertically two brass wires or rods. The ends ofa number ofcocoons are assed through oneofthe eyes or discs and attached to‘

one side of the reel. The ends of)

a similar number

( 35 )

of cocoons are then assed through the other eye or disc and attached to the other side ofthereel. Whenthis is one the two lots offibres will be found stretched ina parallel way fromthe basin to the reel. If the reel is turned under such circums tances, the fibres fromthe cocoons will work off and be la id on the reel in two loose bundles. Thefibres going to form the two threads reeled off from the two sets of cocoons are

agglutina ted together by the two sets being crossed with each other a number of times,the vertical brass rods serving to keep the two oroisures or crossings intact by keepingthe threads separated betweenthem. The first croisure lies between the two porcelain discsand the two vert ical brass rods , and the second croisure betweenthese vertical rods and thereel. The two sets of fibres from the cocoons form into two single threads by means ofthesecroisures, and they are gathered on to the reel as single threads. (3) The reel. Whenthis is turned with a handle, the fibres from the two sets of cocoons are worked off from the

basininto two threads . Whena cocoon has beenworked off inthis way, another is madeto supply its place out of a lot of ready-boiled cocoons. To avoid the two adjacent threadsfrom a basin being laid onthe reel exactly onthe same spot, a rod or lath is made to worklaterally with the help ofaneccentricarrangement connected with the reel bymeans oftoothedwheels. Onthese laths are fixed two glass or brass guides, through which the two threads aremade to pass. The top end of these guides being twisted inthe shape of corkscrews, thethread reeled off ass incontact with themwithout getting detached, so that the two threadsare laid ona Widt of3 or 4 inches ofthe reel, whenthe lath moves right and left at each turnofthe reel. The thread reeled ofi being laid inthis Wide manner, results intwo advantages1) Whenthe thread happens to break the end is more easily found out onthe reel. (2)‘

he threads get dry inthe skeins while the reeling is going on(Fig .

We may conclude this chapter by giving anestimate of cost and outturnof a filatureof100 basins conducted onthe B engal (European) system

Rs. A. r .

Purchase ofcocoons, at 35kahans perbasinper day, for250 working days (1 00 x g x 250 x 87,500 kahans),at 1 1 annas a kahan 4 0

One hundred reelers, employed for 250 days, onRs 6

permonth 0 0

One hundred winders, employed for 250 days, onRs 4permonth 5 3

Two coolies for pumping water, for 250 days, atRs 5permonth 83 5 3

Goal, 35maunds for each maund of silk turned out and2smaunds for the stove-room for each maund ofsilk turned out (say, 136$ maunds out ofkahans ofcocoons), z .o., maunds , atRs. 40per 100maunds 12 0

Fuel for evening , &c., 500 maunds, atRs. 25 per 100maunds

Repair offilature

Establishment chargesEuropeanAsmstant, including commissionGomastahClerk n o on I

Godown-keeper (also clerk)Hasr

’

rnabz’

sk (roll-caller)Chaukidar

Two barkandaz es or peonsThree filature sardars or foremenOvensardarEngine lasoarCarpenterSweeper

(9) Contingent expenses

Total expenditureOutturn1364maunds of10— 12 denier silk, at Rs . 800 per maund l ,09,200

0 0

0 045} maunds of chasamor tape-waste, atRs. 100 permaund 0 0Nine maunds ofgudar or coarse chasam, atRs. 40 permaund 360 0 0

34 maunds oftopa or unreelable portions ofcocoons , atRs 7permaund 238 0 0

0 0

O 0

Total outturn l ,l4,348

Deduct expenses

0

( 36 )

According to the above calculationofex penditure, each seer of silk (and a fila tureseer is only 72% tolas) costs overRs . 14 ; and if the price realised is onlyRs. 12 orRs 13 perseer, as sometimes happens, instead ofa net profit a net loss would be the result.

”

75. ..Thenumber ofsilk-carders and spinners inBengal inclusive ofdependents is over (vide T ableA). It includes ma t/ca and Khamm spinners

,

butnot cocoon-rearers, who are also spinners. So the figure°

ves no clue for

finding out howmany filature-spinners areat present em loyeg1

inBengal. Theamount ofraw-silk exported to foreign countries, whio i s all filature-reeledsilk (very little of which is used inthe country) , ofi

'

ers, however , a clue forascerta ining the number ofspinners and winders employed infilatures . Assuming lbs. as the amount offilature-reeled silk

,

tu rned outper annumof200

working days, and lbs . as the amount turned out per diemb two men,one spinner and one winder, we get the total number of emp oyed hands infilatures as that is , spinners and winders. But as insomefilatures, where better mechanical arrangements have been introduced, onew inder is employed for several spinners

,the number ofwinders is perhaps

ins tead of and the totalnumber ofhands employed about The

filature-spinners and winders come from the lowest grades of Hindu andMuhammadan(chiefly Muhammadan) societies. They work ona system of

uses, and they get very small wages— Rs. 4 toRs. 6 permonth— for thosedays whenthey actually work.

CHAPTER VII.

Unwrunmc AND Tanowsrmc.

76. Plairdn, or unwindz’

ng.— Native weavers, as a rule, employ Ichamru silk

in thei r looms . It is only rarely that they employ Eu ropeanfilature silk, or

.

Latm’silk, for turning out some very eu rior fabric. Inweaving pakwan

srlks silks made out of twisted threa the weaver first unwinds the skeinsto a number ofla ta z

'

s (fig . and thengets this unwound raw-silk twisted, and

II

5

Fig . 6 .-Unw inding of ske ins .

( 37 >

finally gets it warped before he commences weav ing . In weaving Hui/nsilkthose made out ofraw or untwisted silk), the weaver gets the thread

unwound and ga thered on to la t/a ils, and then warped before commencingweaving . If the thread is bleached, dyeing is done a fter warping. The

thread for the weft is gathered on to Za ta z'

s from the skeins, two or threefibres from the skeins of a raw silk going to form a weft-thread. T he

weft-thread is takenout of lata z'

s and bleached and dyed,if necessary. In

other words , whether the raw silk is used in a twisted or untwisted condition, whether it is bleached or not, whether it is dyed or not, it mu stbe unwound before it is used. The unwinding is done with two objectsto ga ther the thread of the same thickness or

‘siz e ’ in the same letter,

and (2) to get one uninterrupted thread ineach la ta z'

. The skeins of raw

silk are loosened out and pu t round a fra il bamboo wheel called ‘

polti’

or‘chorki

’

(fig . 6 The end of the skeinis a ttached to a la ta i, and thethread transferred to this la ta z

’

(fig . 6 B ) by keep ing it turning with the righthand, while the thread is made to pass between the thumb and the indexfinger ofthe left hand. The stick passing through the axle of the ‘ polti ’

being loosely planted ina hole inthe ground or inthe hollow ofa thick pieceofbamboo , the tu rning ofthe la ta z

'

with the right hand makes the thread come

out unwound from the skein. The thread passing through the fingers oftheoperator , he canjudge ofits thickness . Thread ofthe same thickness is wound onto one la ta z

'

,so tha t three or fou r la taz

’

s are sometimes employed for unwindingone skeinofna tive-reeled silk. Inunwinding the thread, the clu e is lost fromtime to time . T o get back the clue or end

,some waste takes place. Eu ropean

filature-reeled silk is ea sily unwound,as it is fa irly eveninthickness throughou t.

and a whole skein can be g a thered onto one la taz'

. One tola or half a tola of

silk per seer is wasted in unwinding filature silk, and half a chitak to one

chitak is wasted per seer inunwinding the c amru silk. It costs abou t 8 annas

per seer to get raw silk unwound. Womenare u sually employed inthis work.

77 . Throws tz’

ng or lwz’

slz’

ng .— The raw-silk ga thered onto la ta is may be used

for wa rping in untwisted condition for manu facturing [claim silks,or silks of

poor qu ality. For manufacturing superior silks,twisted thread is employed.

Superior silks are therefore styled pakwan twisted) . The na tive processof twisting is extremely simple and inexpensive . Inother words

,the totalcost

ofthe too ls and appliances u sed in twisting silk threa d is less thanone rupee .

But to get a seer ofsilk thread twisted by th is process costs abou t two rupees .

InEu rope, labou rers are pa id nearly tentimes as much as inthis country, and

yet getting a seer ofraw silk twisted in Eu rope costs only abou t e ight annas,

The machinery u sed in Eu rope for twisting silk thread is not so complicatedtha t i t cannot be constructed even in country places inIndia . The chiefobstacle to the employment ofthe B eng al raw silk inEurope is the grea ter costit enta ils inunwinding . The Bengal raw-silk shou ld be re-wound and twistedin this country before export. Re-wound raw~silk has indeed begun to be

exported by the French firm. If the export takes place in the form of

thrown-silk, the difference of Rs. 6 or Rs . 7 per seer between Europeanand Benga l silk is likely to disappea r. Indeed, one of the principal waysofameliorating the export trade inIndian raw silk would be the recognitionof Organz ine and T rame as the staples of export

,instead of raw-silk.

Doubt may be reasonably entertained with regard to the advisability of introducing the complicated powervlooms ofEu rope into this country under existingconditions , but there is no doubt it is high time tha t the compa ra tivelysimple machinery requ ired for throwing or twisting silk should be introduced. Eu ropeanmethods, indeed, shou ld be introduced into this country

,

a s a ru le. China and Japan have been able to develop their silk industryconsiderably by the adoptionofEu ropeanimprovements. Tha t the old methodsare the best for India alone cannever be accepted a s a sound theory. Withregard to the Japanese enterprise one fact only may be pointed ou t a s

qu i te conclusive : we are now b uying Japan-made handkerchiefs and other silka rticles evenat Berhampore . T hese are qu ite Eu ropean in style and finish .

Ja pan silks are finding their way into the English ma rket also, to the grea tdetriment of the silk-weaving indu stry ofEngland.

( 38 )

78. Thena tive process of twisting .— ln twisting silk by the native process,

are planted loosely in holes inthe floor (fig . The threads are

Fig . 7 .— The Tw ist ing of raw-s i lk.

passed through an irongu ide (L l, called Loibanqrs'

Icfiuntz'

,firmly planted inthe

floor they are thenca rried up infront of the operator through a bamboo and

cane erection(E), called Dd! (fig . and then through the first space of the

Fig . 8 .-T he Dél.

upper-most series of a number of third/cs or bamboo erections (D), back throu ghthe first spaces of the lower series of spaces of the same flaw/cs and the secondspace of the £161

,when the threads are snapped a t the irongu ide, and a tdlrur

tied at each end, as at a , a , the two ends being thenmade to hang vertically a t

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

PART III.

THE SILK-WEAVING INDUSTRY.

CHAPTER VIII.

SILK-WEAVER°

82. IT is best to deal with this subject district by district after discussingthe commonfeatu res ofthe industry inthe different districts ofB engal.

83. Weavers are more wholly dependent onweaving than spinners onspinning , or cocoon-rea rers oncocoon-rea ring . Abou t ha lf the cocoon-rea rersof Bengal are also cultiva tors inthe ordina ry sense . It is only the old caste ofPandas

,who more or less depend exclu sively on cocoon-rea ring . Carders and

spinners are usually too poor to ownland , and when they are not spinningma t/hi or working infila tures

, they are u su ally employed as servants or

labou rers. Bu t there are sca rcely aneighth part of weavers owning land, andthey belong to a grade ofHindu society (when they a re Hindu s) in whichworking as servants or . labourers is considered degrading . Muhammadanweavers, called y

’ug z

'

s or j ola s, are more independent in this matter, but eventhey cannot help imitating Hindus in this a s inmany other socia l customs .Weavers are considered superiors to cultivators in social position

, and a familyof weavers w ill suffer a grea t deal of priva tionand incur a good deal ofdeb tbefore it chooses the lower positioninsociety. Families ofweavers strugglingaway for two or three generations and yet pu rsu ing their calling is anordinaryaffair inthe silk districts. But silk-weavers as a class are far more prosperou sthan co tton-weavers, though in the districts where silk-weaving is not a

speciality silk-weaving and cotton-weaving are pursued indifferently by thesame families, a s occasionarises

,the same looms being u sed for both purposes.

S ilk-weav ing proper is done in all the districts b adult males, but women

and childrena ssist them inprepa ring the thread an fixing the warp .

84. Weavers are u sually their owndealers , that is, whena number ofpiecesaccumu late ontheir bands they take them to the nea rest towns for sale

, andwhat they cannot dispose ofinthis way , they take to their maladjcms or money.

lenders'

by way of part-payment of their debts . The mafiaj ans are wellacqua inted with the prices ofyarn, the cost of bleaching, dyeing and weaving,and they acqu ire the pieces at cost price after a most deta iled calculation.

Besides getting silks cheap, they cha rge the weavers heavy ra tes ofinterest— 12

to 36 per cent. per annum. The progress of the silk-weaving indu stry, as of

many o ther industries inBengal, is grea tly impeded by the grabbing policy ofrich money-lenders , who get all the good out ofanindustry

,leaving the actual

workers poor. Bu t in silk-weaving there is fortunately ano ther class to bereckoned with , v iz .

,the silkmerchants

,Eu ropean and native. Mahayana are

indifferent whether they are paid back inmoney or inkind,and they are no

more interested insilks thaninjewellery, or ingra in, or in land. They are

u tterly indifferent if their grabbing policy only results inthe decay ofa partionlar industry . There will be people always ready to borrow money

, wha teverthey may pledg e aga inst the loan, andnothing comes amiss to the malzajans.Thesilk merchants , onthe other hand, are interested in the welfare of thesilk. industry, and they pu rsue a more liberal policy. They make advances ofmoney, buy articles at more reasonable prices

,and they compete one a ga inst

another to the benefit ofweavers. At Berhampore, Rampu r Boalia , and EnglishBa z ar

,there are many rich silk merchants who keep up regula r places of

business, and make purchases for variou s parts of India and also for foreigncountries.

85. T here is one well-knownfamily ofactu al silk-weavers at B erhamporethe family of T anti Ram B abu , who are now z amindars and a lso exportersof silk. Babu Shoshi Bhushan Chowdhu ry is the present representativeof this family. Rai Mukunda Lal Barman B ahadu r, who died lately, wa salso a rich silkmerchant ofBerhampore . His firm deals principally with the

( 42 )

Mahratta country. The French firm ofMessrs. Lou is, Payen 00 . also deals insilk piece-goods. I have knownone very ta lented weaver (Mrityunjoy Sa rkarof Gankar-Mirz apur) rising from the ranks Within the last 13 years and

a spiring to the positionofa silk merchant until dea th removed him also fromthe field ofcompetition. In1887 , whenI first knew him

, he wa s a servant of

Joykisto Mandal, getting Rs . 6 a month, but whenhe died the other day he lefta brick-bu ilt two-storied house behind him. Other Mirz apu r weav ers recognisedhim a s their ma ster, a s he wa s the means of introducing many improvements inthe silk-weaving industry ofthe Jang ipore centre. The ca ste system viewed inthe light of trade-gu ild is a grea t lever for industrial improvements inthiscountry, and any system oftechnical educa tionthat may be introduced in thecountry should fully u tiliz e the existing system.

86. InMu rshidabad abou t persons depend on silk-weaving , andthere are over looms at work. Most of the Murshidabad weavers are

Hindus,and the majority belong to the T anti caste. T here are also some

Ka zbartas, Va z'

shnavas,Ill a ls , B agdis, Chanda ls , and Muhammadan j ug z

'

s engagedinthis indu stry. Du braj , the most famou s wea ver of this district

,who also

died withinthe last fou r yea rs, belonged to the Obamar caste, and he actuallybeganlife as a maker of tom-toms or na tive drums and other articles inwhichlea ther or skinis employed . He thenchanged his professionentirely and became

the leader ofa gang ofimpromp tu singers (lcabzs). Though he could neither readnor write, he was able to compose verses impromptu . Later inlife he becameapprenticed

°

with a famou s Muhammadanweaver of Baluchar, who knew the artofconstru cting looms for bringing out figured patterns ; and Dubraj wa s theonly master-weaver inthis department ofthe indu stry until dea th removed hismost interesting figure from the recent sericu ltu ral histor

léyof this district.

B ut Dubra j’s case is an exceptionrather thanthe rule. amilies ofweavers

adhere to their ancestral occupa tioninMurshidabad a s elsewhere. If Dubrajhad belonged

'

to the weaver caste , there wou ld have beenno occasionfor anyanx iet that his art should not die with him. The ma jor ity of weavers inthis d

yistrict belong to wha t may be termed“ the intermediate class

,

”a large

number t o the lowest, but none to the highest, with the sole exceptionof TantiRam Babu ’

s family. In their house also the family traditions are kept up,and here a number oflooms may be always seenat work. The other nativesilkmerchants ofBerhampore are not weavers, bu t only exporters . T hese are

S . S . Bagchi , Du rga Sankar Bha ttacha rjya , Kalidas Premj i,Dharamsi Kanj i

,

and Gopaldas Makundala l (to which firm the la te Rai Makundala l Ba rmanB ahadu r belonged ), T hough some of these call themselves silk manufacturers

,

they are really silk-merchants or dealers . S . S. Bagchi, the winner of the

Gold Medal, at the Interna tional Exhibitionof Paris , does some amount ofdirecting, which has resu lted inthe improvements which have characterised of

la te years, the silk weaving indu stry ofJangipur.87 . There are many weavers in the district who employ their fellow

caste-men on a system of contract . They each keep 40 or 50 families of

weavers employed , and they exercise a kind of supervision over the actual

work of these families , with the ob ject of keeping up their own reputa tionfor the qu ality of their goods Joykristo Manda l of Gankar-Mirz apu r andB a takrishna Ranu of Islampu r-chak are weavers of this class. T hese a lso int ime are likely to i ibe reckoned as silkmerchants

,like Babu Shoshi Bhushan

Chowdhury of‘

Berhampore . Besides Berhampore, Mirz apu r , and Islampu r,

there is another recognised silk-weaving circle inMu rshidabad,viz .,

Baluchar.T here isno substantial weaver inthis circle , though Dubraj, the most ingeniou sweaver ofthe district (but a poor man), belonged to it. The persons who are

recognised a s the silkmerchants of this circle are B isenChand Babu ‘and‘Khetu

B abu . T hey are not silk merchants properly so called , bu t they add ordinarymahaj ana

’

business,which all rich Ja z

’

ns more or less deligh t in, to the ir functiona s silke x porters . This is one cause ofthe low condition of the Balucha r silkindustry. Another reasonfor the B a luchar weavers not getting onso wellnowa s they did int imes gone by, is the change inpublic taste . The figured saris

,

e tc., ofB aluchar were at one time very fa shionable , but now they are ra therdespised as being ugly and unsu itable for personal wear and as they are

far more expensive thanp ll rarz'

es ofthe Punjab, they cannot be u sed for meredecorative pu rposes. The silks knowna s ‘ Balucha r silks"are not actually woven

( 43 )

at Ba lucha r, and there are no weavers a t Balucha r. The weavers live'

in the

ne ighbou ring villages ofBahadu rpu r (where Dubra j had his looms), Ama i para ,Ramna-pa ra , Ram-dahar, Baligram,

Ba -dahar,Belia-pokhur, Am-daha r, and

Ran-sagar. As the Mirz apur (Jangipur silk-weaving indu stry is ina compara tively flourishing condition, weavers of the Ba lucha r circle are g raduallyg iving up weaving offigured fabrics and taking to Weaving pla inand checfabrics inimita tionofJangipur weavers . T his is a good po licy under ex istingcircumstances, however much the death of the artistic Wea v ing ofMurshidabadw ith the master-weaver, Dubraj , may be deplored. The weavers of the

Gankar-Mirz apu r (Jangipur) circle are better offthanthe weavers ofany otherpa rt ofMurshidabad. Next to them come the wea vers ofthe Islampu r-chakcircle. Next come the weavers of the B erham pore circle, and last of all the

Weavers of the Balucha r circle. But the ma tkd weavers of the B erhamporecircle a re the poorest of all. T hey live in two villages— Goaljanand Neyalisb ara— across the river, Opposite Berhampore.

-T he average earnings of an

adu t male weaver are fromRs . 8 to Rs. 1 5 per month, and ofa womanorchildabou t Rs . 4 , these last getting food in addition. In the Balucha r system of

weaving figured silks, childrenare largely employed to assist wea vers ; a manand a boy being requ ired to weave a piece offigu red silk, while o ther kinds offabrics are wovenby a single person. Mr.A. R. Edwa rds,Assistant CollectorofMurshidabad , who wrote the district monograph ofMu rshidabad

,says

Aweaver, whose cottage I visited, told me that he canearnabou t 6 anna s a day, andhis boy about 4 annas , bu t there are times at which he canget no work. Another said hisrofits ona piece ofwork which took him one and-a-halfldays to finish amounted to 6 annas.here is no doubt that as a class their conditionis not prosperous, and that they are deeply

involved indebt. They do not, as a rule, work for tnemselves, but for dealers who advancethemmaterial and pay them so much for their labour. Some ofthese dealers employ a very.large number ofweavers . Iam told inKandi subdivisionsome weavers found the industryso unprofitable that they have entirely g iven it up and inmany cases takento agriculture.Others inthe same subdivision have abandoned the weaving ofsilk for that ofcotton. Atpresent the price ofcottonyarnis low and the demand for goods fairly great, so that industryis found to bemore paying.

”

88. T hese remarks, though probably applicable to the mat/sci weaversof Goaljan and Neyalishpara, and weavers of figured fabrics of Balucha ror to the few silk-weavers who are found in the Kandi subdivision

, ddnot apply to the grea t body ofMu rshida bad weavers

, who are onthe whole,

rosperou s, many living in brick-bu ilt houses . The ma t/sci weavers alsohave constant occupation; and though the profits of their rude industry are

very small, and though very few ownlands,they are anindependent class ofmen

Infamine times, however, ma t/ta weavers (who being landless buy food-g ra ins)suffer very much owing to the smallness of their income , and being weaversthey are ashamed to dig or to work a s field-labourers

,or to earn famine-wages

by twisting ju te-string . The average income ofRs. 8 to Rs. 15 per month ,Specially whenwomenand children can ea rnsepa ra te wages is considered a

good income inthis country, and a s a class,therefore, silk-weavers cannot be

regarded as indigent.

Hooghly.

89. The following extracts from the Hooghlyreport g ive ani dea of the exi sting status of the

silk-weavers of tha t district

Inthe Census of 1 891 the workers and dealers insilk fabrics were returned at 505 forthe district. As no silk and laser fabrics are manufactured inany part of the district ou tsidethe Jshanabad subdivision, the figure represents the manu facturers of that subdivision.

”

The decline inthe silk trade has been to some extent compensated by the gradual

extensionof the ta sar industry to the westernpart of the subdivision, Wt h borders onthesubdivision of Ghatal (Midnapore) and B ishunpore (Bankura), which are noted for tasarmanufacturers.

Abou t 210 people of the Tanti caste are engaged inthe silk industry proper, the restinthe tasar indu stry.

The silk industry inthis subdivisionhas its centre at B ali. There are at present onlysevenfirms (tut/us) or individual dealers, five of the kutlz zfs or wholesale shops being ownedby bunniahs ofAgra and the Punjab.

The only kind ofsiik fabric manufactured is rangz'

n-kapar, or coloured silk, which ismade for export to the Punjab.

“These wholesale dealers are only agents of, or order-su pliers to, up-country firms, andreceive a commissi onat the rate of two per cent., payment being made on arrival of goods

( 44 )

at destination. It is said that camels were formerly sent by the Punjab merchants forthis traffic.

”

“ It is estimated roughly that goods to the value ofRs. are annually sold bythe agents ormiddlemento the up

-country merchants.”The fabrics made at B ali are now u sed only onmarriage and ceremonial occasions.

It is sa id that only three years ago, when there was an unusu ally long aka! or prohibitedseasonfor marriages inthe Punjab, there was a serious depressionof the industry here.

”

The Tantis depend a lmost entirely onthe product of the loom,and very few of them

possess agricultural lands. Several families have emigrated to and have settled inCalcutta .

”

90. InBu rdwan, the average wag es of a weaver are said to be Rs . 8 to

B dRs . 12 per month , and it goes u p sometimes to

“r wan' Rs . 15. The silk-Weavers of B urdwan may also

therefore be sa id to be in fa irly easy circumstances. The following extractfrom the Bu rdwan report will be found interesting in connectionwith thequestionofthe income and social positionofsilk-weavers

The yarncosts abou tRs. 15 to Rs. 16 a seer. This is manufactured into articles whichsell at the rate ofRs . 8 orRs 9 perpiece of10 cu bits, ofwhich 2ato 3 pieces canbe manufactured ina month. ThusRs. 20 toRs. 27 would be the gross income permonth to make 25to 3 pieces ;Rs. 12 orRs. 13 worth of yarnwou ld be used, and thus the average net income,would beRs. 8 to Rs. 12 a month . Garad silk r equires more skill and care than taear silk

but the wages obtained are qu ite as high. The cocoons costRs. 1 2, andRs. 2 go to thewomenformaking the yarn, and there are incidental expenses for dyeing, etc., which makethe cost abou tRs. 15 a seer, which is about the same as for qarad silk The same qu antity i s

w oven, and pieces 7 cubits long are turned ou t to the number ofthree to fou r permonth .

Thus the wages vary betweenmuch the same limits . It is said that a thoroughly energeticand skilful man could makeRs. 15 a month , but, onthe other hand, the ordinary weaver

’s

wages are nearer the lower limit thanthe higher.The caste rank of the weavers is, as has already beensa id

,fairly high, being inferior

only to B rahmins, B aidyashand Kaysthas. Financia lly their position is not very high, andis sinking along with their industry. Some families, e.g .

, the B isni Shana fami lies ofMemari a

‘re wealthy, but their position is not due to the silk trade, but to ou tside

causes.”

9 1 . Inthe silk districts proper (Mu rshidabad , Ra jshahi,Maldah, B irbhum,

and Midnapore ), the yarndoes not cost Rs . 15 to Rs . 1 6 a seer, bu t only Rs. 1 0to Rs. 12, and the sa ris and other IO-cubit pieces turned out by the bestweavers ofMurshidabad sell not for Rs 8 orRs . 9 per piece, bu t for Rs. 13to Rs . 15. The profits ofthe best Murshidabad weavers are therefo re larger.

92. The conditionofMidnapore silk-weavers is, however , deplorable. Mid

Mldmpom.

napore Sllk fabrics have no t the same repu ta tionas

Jangipur silks, and fabrics almost of the samequ ality canbe had very much cheaper at Chandrakona (Ghatal i thana t Mirz apore (Jungipore). The profits ofthe Midnapore silk-indu stry are therefore less ,though there being a -fa irly large number of weavers concentra ted intwov illages , the competitionis great. The monograph from this district has the

following rema rks onthe conditionofsilk-wea vers

InGhatal thana menof the Kaibarta ca ste, numbering abou t 200,and in Daspore

thana those of the weavmg (Tanti ) , Sunr i'

, Vow/mam and other castes, numbering abou t700 in all, work in silk. They are not inprosperous circumstances, as the industry is

declining.

93. The Birbhum report has the followingrema rks onthis subject

About 300 or 400 families inthis district have takenup this industry for their livelihood. Most of them come from Boswa , B ishunpur, Margram, and some petty villagesround Ganu tia Silk Factory and other petty Vi llages scattered over many parts of the

d istrict. Themanu facturers generally _come from the following classes 1 ) Tanti, (2) Jugi,

(3) Jolah, and some Dhopés invillages Ra ipur andMirz apore inBolpur thana .

“The castes employed inthis business are regarded as coming between the artisan ca steand the labouring castes . Their social position is, therefore, an inferior one . Theirindustrial positionis gradually falling , as the business seems to have been in a decliningcondition.

B irbhum~made silks being of an inferior qua lity to Mu rshidabad andMidnapore-made silks, the profits ofthe B irbhum silk-weavers are less .

94. InBanku ra , however, silk-weavers are better ofi . There is more localdemand for Vishnupore ( Bankura ) and Meh i a ri(Bu rdwan) silks thanfor Birbhum silks , a s the

Bankura .

( 45 )

quality of the former is superior . “At Vishnupur, says the dis trict

monograph,“ there are abou t 60 families engaged in the manu factu re of

silk fabrics. Of these, 6 belong to the Rajak (washerman) ca ste ; the rest areall T antis .

”

95. InBogra there are only about a doz ensilk-weavers properly so-called .

BThe Bogra silk has only a local demand

,not

Ogm'

sufficient to keep even these few weavers fullyoccupied. T hey are, however, considered ofgood social position. They takepride intheir wo rk, and they do not let their women go ou t to work, which isa signofrespectability.

96. InRajshahi silk-weaving proper is hardly ever done. T his district,however, is famous for its mat/rd weaving. Thereare abou t 30 families of weavers at Dakra who

produce the famous Mirgunge or Dakra’

. ma t/ids . Some ofthese are made so

fine that they look like fabrics made out ofreeled silk. Khamru silk is

occasionally mixed with ma tlcci thread for turning out ma t/his ofsuperior qualitspecially ordered. The weavers a re mostly Tantis. Mr. H . L. Selkel

Ass istant Collector of Rajshahi, writes in the monograph

There are very fewMusalmansilk-weavers inthis district. I have only heard of oneat Paikpara, police-station Lalpur, inthe course ofmy enqu iri es ; but incotton-weavingmany are engaged. Silk-weaving ona small scale, by one person, seems to be combinedwith other occupations.

97. TheMaldah monograph has the following remarks onthis subject“InMaldah there are over silk-weavers. The weavers are all Tantis by caste .

MaldahThey arenot badly off. Muhammadans have lately takentosilk-weaving inthis district.

”

CHAPTERIX.

SILK FABRICS.

98. It will be best to treat this subject also district by district. The largesvariet ofsilks is wovenin the district of Murshidabad, which is the heart of

the si -weaving industry ofBengal. The fabrics woveninthe other dis trictsof Bengal have their counte art inMurshidabad, excep t a class of fabricswoven in Maldah, but now a most defunct. No specimens ofthese Ma ldahfabrics have beenan plied with the district monogra h, and I have not any ofthese inmy owncol eetion. Afuller descri

ption 0 Murshidabad silk fabrics

may recede the mere enumera tionof the abries inthe other dis tricts. The

only'

strict monograph accompanied with samples offabrics is the one fromManbhum. With the exceptionof the sevensamples ofTeaser fromManbhum

,

showninthe sample sheets, all the samples shownat the end ofthis chapterare from my priva te collection obta ined principally from the district of

Mu rshidabad. The Murshidabad silk fabrics have beenthus fa irly well illustrated which is another reasonfor dealing with them first.

99. Murshidabad.— The principal types ofMu rshidabad silk fabrics areClassA.

— Fabrics made with ordinary looms, such as may be used forweaving cottoncloths also . Under this class come

Int— Plainfabrics, either bleached, unbleached or dyed.

2nd.— Striped fabrics.

3rd.— Checks.wi n— Bordered fabrics.5 th. -Printed fabrics.

6 ih.— B anhus.

Class B .— Fabrics made with nakska loomfor weaving figured silks.

Class 0.— Embroidered and other hand-worked fabrics.

massA(Ist) — Pla infabrics are usually made with klmmra silk and ra relywith filature-made silk. Ma tkci silk is also made u se of for special purpose s .

Mirz apore (Jangipu r) weavers usually obta in Ma ldah camru , and sometimes very high-class native filature-reeled t h

’

or Barapalu silk. The bes t

( 46 )

fabrics are made ofthis latter kind ofsilk. The following silk fabrics fall underthis cla ss

( 1 ) Gown-pieces. -The raw-silk u sed fer gown-pieces is twisted andbleached and sometimes dyed before Weaving . White gownpieces are woveninfou r different styles— (a ) la in

, (6) twill or

drilled ( z‘ercbi or dt striped, and (d?

c ecked. Colou red

gown-pieces are usually made ei ther p ain or drill. The

dwensions are u sually 10 yards X 42 inches . Sometimes thewidth is made 44 inches, 45 inches, or even54 inches. The

price ofgown-pieces va ries fromRs. 12 toRs. 40per piece. An

extra thickgown-piece, 10 yardsX 42 inches,made out offilaturereeled Barapalu si lk

,is valued a t Rs. 45 or evenRs . 50. The

cheaper kinds are made of untwisted thread,and should be

styled corabe rather than gown-pieces. The only differencebetweena comb and a gown-piece made of untwisted threadis,that for the latter bleached thread is used, while for the

former unbleached thread,

raw silk as it comes from the

gba z’

,is u sed.

The specimens ofgown-pieces illustrated inthe specimensheets at the endofthis chapter are

1 . Anextra thick twill gown-piece, 12 yards X 54 inches (Rs.2. T hinner gown-piece, 10 yards x 40 inches (Rs.3. Anextra thick plaingown-piece , 10yards X 42 inches (Rs.4. Ordinary gown-piece ofsuperior quality, made of dba li

’

silk,10 ya rds

x 40 inches (Rs.5. Dba lz

'

gown-piece, somewhat inferior, 1 0 ya rds X 40 inches (Rs .6. Lali

'

gown-piece, 10 yards x 40 inches, superi or quality (Rs .

7. Ditto, ditto, inferior quality,heavily

starched Rs.8. Pla instrip gown iece, 10 yards X 40 inches (Rs .9 . Twilled and stripe gown-piece, 10 yards x 40 inches (Rs.10. Twill gown-piece , maurbantbz

’

colou r, 10 ya rds x 40 inches (Rs.1 1 . Plaingown-piece, red colou r, 1 0 yards x 40 inches (Rs. 25)12. Twill gown-piece, cheap qu ality, grey colou r, 10 yards X 40 inches

Rs. 2213. T

(will goivn-piece, slightly superior quality (Rs.

14. Plaingrey gown-piece, 10 yards ) ( 40 . inches (Rs.

1 5. Plaingown-piece, black, deep indigo colou r, 10 ya rds x 40 inches(Rs.

Gown-pieces are inu se among Eu ropeanladies for making dresses and byBengali gentlemenfor making coats, cbap/cans, andMayor.

(2) Comba — These are the cheapest silk fabrics which form the staplesof export to Europe, where they are used mainly for liningpurposes. Combs are generally woven7 yards X 1 yard

, andsold a rupee per square yard. They are made out of unbleached and untwis ted thread, and they are bleached in thepiece a fter they are woven. Combs are also woven10 y ardsx 42 inches like ordinary gown-pieces, and wornas saris bywidows. Like gown-pieces combs are valued by the number of

warp threads (called abduct), warp threads per yardmaking the best gown-pieces and combs, while or

warp threads per yard make the poorest gown-pieces and combs.The price ofca

’

rabe va ries from 6 annas to Re . 18 per squa reyard . Asample of comb showninthe sample sheet (No. 16 )which is cut out of a piece of abdmi comb

, 7 yards X 1

yard , is valued at only Rs. 5-8 per iece. High-class combsare u sed. for making ladies

’ blouse-jac ate and other garmentsusually after dyeing

(3) Silkmusline or bdwdz’

pieces are very fine fabrics made with filaturereeled dbab

'

silk. Haiwcii'

chaddors, bdwciz’

dare(No . 18 ofillu stration sheets) pieces, as well as plainbeiwciz

'

pieces or ma lmabs,are

illusrtated here (No. 17 of the illustrationsheets). This last

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 48 )

that under a fostering care the silk-weaving industry ofBengalmay be developed in other directions also .

"I‘

bese imitationAssam silks, or Murshidabad Endies, as they arenow called

, are

sold specially by one Berhampore firm (S . S . Bagcbi

and the samples shown(No . 2 1 to No. 31 , are takenfrom theirpattern-book. The iecea are usually made 7 yardsX 27 inches,as originall advise by Mess rs .Whi teway, La idlaw Cc.,

andthey are so (1 forRs. 6 or Rs. 7 per piece. They are ju st sufficient for making one ordina ry su it ofclothes. They are also

wovendouble the width. Sample No . 26 (valued at Rs . 9) andsample No. 31 (valued atRs. 14 ) are exceedingly pretty , andthe show wha t Murshidabad weavers cando out ofwaste silk.

A(2md Stripedfabrics.— Gown-pieces with coloured stripes are

made in two styles,called respectively rabbis and dbarz

'

s.

Rebbz’

s are plain white or colou red gown-pieces (usually 10

yards x .40 inches ) with some dark-coloured lines or doublelines as per illus trations (Nos. 63 to The ground of rebba

'

s

may be either plain(Nos. 63 to 65) or twill (No. 66, a to e ).Dbarz

’

s have broader stripes, usual] of more thanone colou r.According to the

'

colour of the widest stripe a dbarz’

may beeither (a ) red, (6)

(yellow, (0) green, pu rple, or (e) banesh

(chocola te coloure T hese five standard kinds of dbarz‘

are

wovenfor theArabianma rket, one ofwhich is represented byspecimenNo . 62. The kind of a

’barz

’

appreciated locally 18

not so highly colou red (vide specimenNo . Like rebbz’

s,

dbars'

s are wovenin10 ya rds X 40 inches pieces,and are sold

forRs. 1 6 to Rs. 18 orRs. 23 to Rs . 25 per piece ; the heavily'

sta rched , high-colou red pieces being sold cheaper, while thethick-woven, lighter-coloured pieces made for the localmarketare sold for the higher price.

Class A(3rd, . C'becbs are divided into five kinds offabrics

( 1 ) Ubdrbbdnds or checks where the squares or oblongs are of diversecolour. T hese , like rabbis and dbarz

’

s, are made intwo styles

one suited toArab taste, and the other su ited to loca l taste.

The former (called obaubdrds) are more highly colou red andheavily starched, and are cheaper fabrics, Sold for Rs. 18 to

Rs. 19 per ieca, while the latter are closer woven superiorfabrics, so] for about Rs . 25 a piece. Two samples (Nos. 57and 58) ofthe kind ofcbaubdrcis made for the Arabianmarket,and twelve ofthose cbarbbdnds (Nos . 51 to 56) made for the

local market are shown inthe sample sheets for illustration.Fine flimsy checks of the la tter style (No. 55) are wovenin the Baluchar circle for the use of Ja in ladies and JainchildrenofB aluchar andAz imgunge, who are habituall to beseeninburtds and pdjdmds made ofsuch cheap silk. T e are

made 40 inches wide and are sold forRe . 1-8 er yard. hesefine and flimsy checks used to be made a t handrakona ando ther villages inthe Jahanabad subdivision of Hooghly, andthe B aluchar weavers have simply takenover the Jahanabadindu stry.

(2) Oba rbbdmis or checks, which consist of white ground and colouredsquare ou tlines , the squares being ofva rious siz es as inthe previous case. The lines are either double, triple, or single, andthe ground is either plainor twill (vide samples Nos. 37 toThe dimensions and prices are the same as inthe previous case,i.e., they are u sually made 1 0 yards X 40 inches, and pricedRs. 20 to Rs. 40 per piece.

Ma trds.-Thsee are ofa s tandardArabic pa ttern, like dbarzls, rebbz

’

s,

and cbaubards. They are atri ed like dbarz'

s, but all alongthe edges ofthe stripes are stu ded rows of little squares or

oblongs . The dimensions are the same as in dbarz’

s, rabbis

and cbauba rds . Ma tras ex ported toArabia cost a ru pee morethanthe other s ty les also made for theArabianmarket.

'

49 z)

(4) Pbu lz'

bdt checks— Illustra ted by sample'

No. 68, are woven for theRangoonmarket . T he lines are white and the ground iseither red, or yellow, orgreen, or purple, or banesh (chocolate) ,which are the five standa rd colours for the goods tha t are

exported. Phulikat checks are considered su itable only forhandkerchiefs. They are made a yard square

,and 1 5 are

woventogether, which cost aboutRs. 1 9.

(5) Check ma t/ecia (No . 67) are a very coarse class of fabrics wovenforthe Maharatta country. Acheckma tbd sari 84} ya rds longand 45 inches wide may be had forRs. 5 orRs . 6. The tradewith the Maha ra tta country in pla in and check ma t/his ispretty extensive .

Class A(4lbj .— B ordered fabrz’

os. —The demand for Mu rshidabad borderedsaris

,dbotz

'

s, jars, cbelz'

s,and ma tbds

,is very considerable. The upper middle

cla sses of Bengal patronise these fabrics very largely, and cbeh‘

s and ma t/hisare in demand among the lower middle classes also. The rice of a canof two or three borders, va ries from Rs. 10 to Rs. 18. hite silk saris

made out of dbah'

silk, with dbdbbd tcij pair or border, ofkamlau-orange colour,are considered very fashionable by Bengali ladies. Asari with spo tted ground

(No . 9 1a) has beenrecently produced by Mrityunjoy, which is sold at Rs. 30 apiece. This is the ver best fabric produced inMurshidabad. But tdj jadr,ba lbcipa

’

r, padmapu

’

r,an bbomrapa

’

r sarzs with pla inwhite g round are the common styles inu se. Dbdm

’

batbcipdr, pbz‘

tapcir, gbunstpdr, and cburz‘

pdr are thecommonstyles ofborder adopted for men’

s dbutz'

s. The sari represented bysample No . 91 is a three-bordered ba lbcipcir sari. Number 90 illustrates what i scalled Dhakka ” border. The bo rders ofdbutis are made !narrower, and thereare never three bu t always two borders at the two edges. Number 84 illustra tesa basz

'

poirdbuti. Silk saris anddha it'

awhenthey have coloured grounds are ca lledcbelz

'

s. Cbelz'

s of very flimsy texture have a large sale. T hey are used for

making ceremonia l presents at various religiou s festivals . Pa rsi s also u se cheapcbelz

'

s for making ceremonious presents incelebrating funeral rites. Asevenyard piece ofclash of this sort may be had for Re. 14 0 to Rs. 2

,and whenit is

considered tha t the material used is pure silk, the worthlessness of the stuffcanbe very well imag ined. Acbelz

’

j ér (42a , dbutz'

and cbadder) of superior quality,such as is wornby a Bengali bridegroom of good family, may cost as much as

Rs. 25.

B eyt’

as have also colou red borders. They are sent to Assam, where theyare wornbyAssamese womento cover the 11 per part oftheir bodies, somewhatinthe same way as cbadders are worn. hey are woven in the B alucha rcentre. They are 4g yards long and 22 inches wide, the two ends (ancblds)being ornamented with colou red borders. The gold embroidering of reyias isdone after their a rrival inAssam.

Handke rchiefs are sometimes wovenwith coloured borders.Ma t/rd dbutis and saris are also made with black or red borders, the borders

ofsaris being wider thanthose ofdbutz'

s.

Class A (5 — Printed fabrica — The art of printing combs for

making handkerchiefs, dooro curtains, scarfs, andnamabah

'

: (or cbaddcrs conta ining religious texts) is almost extinct inMurshida bad. The industry has transferred itself to Serampore and Chandernagore, though silk pieces are takentothese places from Berhampore for the purpose. The dyers of Kha ta are

chiefly employed in dyeing yarns, bu t the still do printin to s ecia order.Samples Nos . 71 (a) and (6) i llustrate the efunct printed s

'

han kerchiefs ofMu rshidabad , and sampleNo. 72, a

(printednamatah

’

. The price ofthese fabricsdepends onthe quality ofcorab use

ClassA(6tb).— B dnbus or bandannabs (tie-and-dye silks) are dyed combs orma tbds with spots or rings, coloured or white. T hese spots and rings are madeby tying strong kno ts a t small distances, according to the requi red patternanddyeing the pieces of comb or ma tba . The word ‘ bandbana ’

inSanskrit meanstying , which is the origin of the term bandannab.’ The pieces after pa tient

Inhis per on“Art s. Aplied to the Wca and Printing of Tex tile Fabrics ,” Sir ThomasWardle in nding to the tie-an dye work, say s t i s extensively practi sed inIndia, rticularlyin Jeypore and Ulwar. It was the recursor of printing inthe l ilk handkerchieftrade in alcntta andB erhampore, and i s a very remarkab a means of producing designs inspots. round. oval or square, andplaids.

”

dyed and washed and dried , and the knots loosened.

‘ Whitespots or rings are formed at the ints where the knots were made. Whencoloured s ots or rings are de the string s with which the knots are

made are dyed inthat particular colour before the tying of the kno ts.The colo ur of the strings is imprinted onthe cloth at the points where theknots are made. Pieces with rings instea d of spots are called oburz

’

s . Whenthe rings are small and close together they are called ma ticburs. Skirts andtu rbans are made ofthese materials, and there is a considerable trade with theNorth-WesternProvinces and the Punjab inbein/ms and charts. The price of

a piece depends entirely onthe quality of comb or ma tbd used, abou t 8 anna s

per piece being a dded for the dyeing process . Sample No. 69 represents acburz

’

and sample No . 70 a bdnbu with square Spots.Class B .

— Fabrz'

os made witb nabsbd-loom

Jam—Under this classwe have first ofall the Baluchar ba tedor sari. Thesesaris wi th ornamental ground, ornamental border, ornamentalcorner figu res (called banjos), and a more highly ornamentalend-piece or dncblci, were at one time very highly riz ed by theupper middle class people of Bengal. Now the adies ofthisclass go infor themore costly fabrics ofBenares. The ordinaryB aluchar butadar sari is rather anugly fabric to use for personaldecora tion(No . bu t some are very neatly made and deserveencouragement No . These saris are ma de 10 cubitslong and 42 to 45 inches wide. The price varies accordingto quality fromRs. 10 to Rs. 50. For the cheaper a rticlesuntwisted and ill-sorted raw silk is used ; the number ofthreadsused for the wa rp is also less, the weft is loosely woven, thedyes used are fugitive , and the appearance is maintained byheavy starching , sugar being mixed with the starch u sed to

add to the gloss. Acheap B alucbar ba tedor sari can be wovenina week, but a valuable one takes three fou r or monthsweaving . Sometimes these saris are made withou t cine/ibis

,but only

with fou r ba lbas or banjos (conventional lotus buds ) at the fou rcorners. Such saris of the same siz e are somewha t cheaper

(Rs . 8 to Rs. 40 instead ofRs. 10 to Rs.2nd. —Rumals (square shawls) and shawls with o rnamental borders and

corners, in imitationof Kashmir ruma ls and shawls , are occa

sionally made to order. T able-cloths (No . 94a ) are also turnedout from uabsbci-looms . The ground is of twilled pa tternandwhite, the o rnaments either grey or more highly coloured .

The shawls, a re made 6 cubits long and3 cubits Wide, and theprice asked is Rs. 40 or Rs. 50, there being no inferior articlesof this class indemand . The high-class saris , ruma ls

,shawls

,

and table-covers u sed to be woven until la tely by only onemaninthe district, or rather the looms tu rning out these couldhave been set only by Dubra j, the weaving being done byothers working under Dubraj ’

a direction. Dubraj would notset looms formaking these high-class fabrics for any one else.

He used also to weave at one time shawls with relig ious textsin the place of the ground ornament, but he gave up thiswork inhis old age, as the Operationofweaving required tha tthe cloth-beam sho uld be below the navel, which is considereda sacrilege when one is dealing with a cloth conta iningreligiou s texts.

3rd.— Sca rfs and sashes (No . 94) were also wovenby Dubraj to order.The width of these is a lways 1 foot, and the price varies withthe length, a rupee being charged for every foot of length.

The quality ofsilk (which is twill) is the same , and there is novaria ti onmade inthe price. Dubraj

’

s loom for weaving sasheshas beenacquired by the Rampu r B oalia Sericultu ral School

,

and it is in working order and actually in u se in this school.The products of Dubraj

’s looms are inferior only to the best

products ofKashmir and Benares looms. The competitionwithKashmir products would not affect the sale ofthese, as rich

51 f‘

)

menwho use Kashmir shawls and'

scarfs inthe cold wea thercould use Dubraj

’s shawls and scarfs inwarmer weather

,

a s locally they are so used. Bu t the competitionwith Benaresgold-embroidered saris , shawls, etc.

, is too strong evenfor Dubra j ’

s goods . AHindu lady who canafford to wear a Benaressari will not look at even a high-class Baluchar sari onhighdays and holidays. One thing , however, should be mentionedinfavour ofthese ornamental silks . T hey stand an amountofwashing which Bena res goods do not. It is too ate

,how

ever, to think of reviving the industry of weaving ornamental silk fabrics, a s the only manwho could be u sed as a leverto uplift the industry is now dead.

r

i’

he Society for the Promoti on of IndianArts in London interested itself in the

matter and raised some money also, but the loca l peo lo were

extremely apathetic and the scheme fell throng fi e onlyhope of reviving the art now rests onthe fact that Dubra j ’

a

looms are still inexistence.

C.— Embroidered and otber banal-worked fabrs

’

cs.— Embro idering ons ilk is chiefly done inrich Ja infamilies and also insome Muhammadan housesfor domestic purposes. The few professional embroiderers there are in thedistrict live inCityMurshidabad, and they come to Balucha r for embroideringreg/{a s and mebblas tha t are exported to Assam. Apiece ofembroidered regionormekhle costsRs. 40 toRs. 50. Foreignsilks, sa tin, and velvet are u sually chosenby JainandMuhammudanladies for their domestic work, inwhich they oftenexhibit grea t skill and taste. Hand

-embro idered wearing apparel cannot be hadin the district inshops or markets ; and the fabric used being u sually foreign,the a rt need only be mentioned here.

100. Knitting ofsilk socks was anindus try ofsomeno te inMurshidabad inthe days whenthere were Englishmilita ry officers inthe district. The industryis now extinct. I sent anoldMurshidabad silk sock to the Economic sectionofthe IndianMu seum a few yea rs ago . Iwas told the industr was confinedamong some poor womenofBerhampore inthe palmy days of urshidabad,

101 . Having now g ivenanaccount of the various classes of silk fabricswoven inMu rshidabad, I will now simply quote the portions of the districtmonographs from the o ther districts dealing onthis subject :

102. The Hooghlymonograph furnishes the following particulars regardthe silk fabrics manufactu red intha t district

(1) Savage/ e— Th689 stand first in point of demand. They are made of a

mixture of silk and tasarwarp wovenwith cottonthread. They are madeofvarious lengths from 1 0 to 38 yards , the breadth being 1 5 yard. Theseare used in the Punjab inmaking skirts and jackets and wraps for women.

They are made with red and white stripes onanorange ground. They are

sold forRs. 2 8 toRs. 35 er piece.

(2) Maskbo . These are made of t 9 same materials and are used for the samepurposes as above. The length varies from 1 5 to 32 yards . The stripesare black and oran e, and the price varies fromRs. 5 toRs. 35.

(3) Selai-Kbata.— Same as a ove, but fine black stripes Onorange ground. The lengthvaries from 15 to 30 yards and the breadth from inch to i yards soldfromRs. 5 toRs . 20 or piece .

1°

(4) Phalor-u . Same as above, ut red p lats or flowers on yellow or white ground.Siz e varies from 12 yards by 5 yard to 18 yards by ‘i’

l yard. These are6

made of silk and ta ssar used inthe Punjab as pagyn‘

es (head-dress) andbummerbands, sold fromRs. 2 to Rs . 4-8 per

piece.

(5) Jarda or 8’1j 08dL— Tllese are made in red and w its stripes on yellow ground ,

Siz e 10 ards by t yard, made of silk and toner warp wovenwith cottonthread, so (1 atRe. 1 per piece.

Besides these, a variety called sue/ii inred and blue checks is occasionally manufactured to order. They measure 20 yards by 1 } yard, and sell from Rs. 25 to

Rs. 30 per piece.

”

103. InBurdwan“ the silk is made into p ieces with embroidered edges,and are used for dhuti

’

s,saris, cheddar, napkins, mooba

104. InB irbhum “ the products which generaliy consist of dbutis , saris,with printed and pla inborders , pieces of

.

10 yards and 7 yards (mam), and

handkerchiefs , are sold locally and sometimes “ ported to other .Pal'ts of the

x 2

‘

52 f)

Province through agents. Thane (pieces 10 yards or 7 y ards) are sold at 12

to Re. 1-8 per yard ; dhuti'

s with ordinar borders atRs. 6 toRs. 10, sarisatRs. 8 to Rs . 15 ; handkerchiefs at Rs. 3 to s. 6 per do z en.

105. The various kinds ofsilk fabrics manufactu red at .Bankura and theirprices are noted below

Rs. A. Rs. A.

(l ) Fullamsari , or cloth for females with patternsofflower onthem 1 0 0 to 20 0

(2) Dlmtz'

,or cloth formale 10 0 12 0

(3) Maine, or pieces formaking dresses with l 8

i

l 12 per yard.

(4 Comforter 1 8 1 12 each.

(5) Handkerchief 0 12 each

(6) Checks ofsilk 1 8 peryard.

106. The Bogramonograph g ives fuller informa tiononthis subject“The kinds ofsilk fabrics manu factured inthis district are very limited . The Tantis

weave mostly dil utw and chadders. The other kinds of fabrics are handkerchiefs, Mansorpieces formaking coats, chaplcans, etc., and alawam.

“The things wovenare all plain. No ornamentationcanbe worked inthe body of the

fabric.Only one weaver knows how to prepare ornamented borders. His name is Rea l

Tanti ofMalatinagur. I have seenhimweave Kalkapair d/mtz'

a The Tantis do not dyethe fabrics ; all fabrics are sold whi te. Some dhutzs are woven.with their borders coloured.But the threads for these borders are generally brought from Calcutta . The Tantis do not

know how to make fast dyes.Of the silk fabrics, we shall first take up d/mties . These are woven either with dyed

or with plainborders. There is practicallyno di fference inprice betweena dhuti with colour

ed border and one with plain border. Garad dlmtzes are preferred by Hindus for wearingwhensitting at prayers or for worship. Menand widows use ditches with plainborders, whilemarried womenuse a

'

kuh'

ea with coloured borders . None but Hindus wear garad dhuties.“Adhu ti is generally of the following dimensions — 9% cubits long x 25 cubits

wide.

‘

The price varies from Rs. 9 to Rs. 12 per dhuti. The thread required for eachdhuti will be abou t 6 chitaks.

Price at the rate ofRs 14 per seer

Cost ofextra labour inpreparing the thread for dhutis

Price ofa dhuti

Marginfor the weaver 5 3 o

A dhuti canbe woven this way ineight days. B ut the weaver will require the labourofanothermanthroughout— generally a member of y

This will give a rough estimate ofthe profits ofthe weaver.“ ( Madden— This is a sheet required bymen for wea ring over the coat or other cover

for the upper part of the body. The borders are plain. This is 6 cubits long x 3 cubitswide priceRs 6 toRs.

a z has (required for making coats

,chap/cans, clzogas, etc ). It is made generally 6 yards

long and 1 yard wide. But longer or shorter pieces are made onorder. The tlza'

n 6 yardslong will be sold atRs. 14 toRs. 18 according to the quality.

Handkerchief. Handkerchief 24 inches square sold at 10 annas toRe. 1 . Handker

chiefs bigger thanthis are also woven.

”

Alawanor Tera/ii chadder 6 cubits x 3 cubits — From the manner of weaving thishas a better look thanplainsheets. The crossings of the w and the weft show prominentlines inclined both to the length and breadth ofthe cloth.

‘T is formofsheets is behaved to

bemore durable. PriceRs. 24 to Rs. 28 per piece.”

1 107. InMaldah “silksaris, dhutz

'

es, handkerchiefs, sheets, and pieces ofcoat

ing are manufactured . Fine silk saris and dhuties, 15 feet by 44 to 46 inches,

( 52msell at fromRs 10 to Rs. 1 5 per iece. and silk thana for coating sell at Rs. 20to Rs. 25 per piece of 10 yards , t 9 width being 44 inches . S ilk sheets u seda s wrappers inwinter, six to seven cubits in length, and 2% to 3 cubits inwidth sell at Rs. 25 to Rs. 28 p er pair. Besides these uram

’

s or chaddera u sed insummer, made of fine threads, leng th 6 cubits and width 3 cubits

, are alsomanu factured, the price r piece being Rs. 5 to Rs. 7 .

The following kingsofcloth are also made of silk or of mixed silk andcotton, the warp being ofsilk and the woof ofcotton:

(1) Maldahi Gultishi Katar sells 50 1

55130

: t8 yard

(2) Maldahi Udakatary

(3) Maldahi Belkhali Fuldar(4) Chaki Mujlahar

(5) Sada

(6 Nangfuli

(7) Fulam Senaja(8) Kadumfuli (length 6 yards(9) Chand tara ditto(1 0) Pattadar Seraja(l l) Sfirhor Seraja(12) B ulbul chasma

(13) Maldahi Kator Hiradana

(14) Maldahi Katar KalbaliLa lsahana.

( 15) Masru Sells at 3 0 6

Matichur.

1 0 0 II1 0 0 1 1 0

108. InRa jshahi onlyma t/feta ofa superior quality (ma t/rd yarnbeing sometimes mixed with reeled S ilk yarn) are woven. Ma t/rd pieces (Mains) are well

su ited for making du rable clothes. Ma t/col dfzutz'

s and saris made in Ra j shahia re also inrequ isition, chiefly inthe Ca lcutta market .

109 . The Ra jshahi monograph speaks of cha sam or tape wa ste (frisson)being utilised at Delhi for kamarbands (waist bands) , finds for elephants, and fortu rbans. The chasam is exported to the North-Western Provinces and the

Punjab as well as to Calcu tta .

“As regards the quantity of chasam produced,

”

continues this monograph,“ in comparison with silk

,it was estimated tha t 1 1

v illages bordering onthe road ofNatore from Boalia produced in a yea r 800maunds ofsilk and maunds of clzasam. The proportion between silkand waste is not, however, correctly pu t here. More wa s te is no doubt madeby the native system ofreeling , partly owing to the inferior cocoons used inthefo rmer and partly onaccount of rapid and careless handling Amaund of

khamra silk produces about 25 to 30 seers ofwaste, while a maund of filature

silk produces only 1 1 to 20 seers ofwaste. Very little ofthe waste is u tilisedinthe country, the greater portionbeing exported to Eu rope. Insome dis trictsborders of co ttonsaris and dhutis are made wi th dyed silk obtained from tapewaste. B ut the total quantity so used inthe whole ofBengal mu st be veryinsignificant. Pierced cocoons, onthe other hand, which are also a kind of

waste, are mostly employed inthe country for the ma t/rd-weaving indu stry.

1 10. Including tassar and endi weavers,there are over silk

weavers inBengal (vide T ableA, Pa rt III), representing abou t families.T here is not a Hindu fami ly so humble that does not a spire to make a show of

cbelz'

s and other indigenou s silks on religiou s festivals . T his demand is verylarge and very constant ; and although the silks ofone locality may get popula rand ofanother locality may get cast into oblivion, silk-weavers, a s a class

,are

well patronised and their earnings are higher than those of cultiva tors. The

fact tha t during the last decade the number ofsilk-weavers has increased fromto is also significant ofthe prosperity of the Province and the

vitality ofthe Bengal silk industry.

64

CHAPTERX.

DISPOSAL or SILK FABRICS.

1 1 1 . No uniform planexists for the disposal ofsilk fabrics inthe differentdistricts . Individu al weavers going to makaj ans (money-lenders), or merchantsor shop-keepers, carrying their goods intheir ownhands, is the general rule.

Occasionally one rich weaver secures goods from a number ofweavers wholook up to him as a sort ofpatria rch

,and disposes of large quantities to rich

merchants. ABerhampore merchant gets a requ isition for pieces ofco mb

,for instance , from Calcutta or Bombay. He sends for Joykristo Moudal

ofMirz apu r and Batakristo Ranu of Islampur, and he g ives them advances andthey enter into contract with him. T hey have g reat influencewith their fellowcaste-men, and they secu re the pieces ina short time withou t much trouble. Ifthe merchants have to deal with small weavers

,they would lose a considerable

portion of the advances they might make to them. Bisenchand Babu andKhetu B abu ofB aluchar , who are both silk merchants and makaj cns, buy uplarge quantities of silks fromweavers direct.

1 12. The following account regarding the disposal of silk is givenintheHowrah monograph

Silk has no regular market in this district, asno silkcloth is wovenhere. It is takenHowrah,

to bats or fairs, and sometimes to Ghatal and Calcutta forsale. The produce in thana Jagatballabpur is said to be

takenmostly to Furfura inthana Krishnanagore, inthe district ofHooghly, and is sold to

the dealers of that place . S ilk is also sold to the persons who trade insilk, and who givesmall advances to the cultivators of mulberry. Sometimes cocoons are sold in places inthe nei hbouring district ofMidnapore, where there are silk filatures. The value of

ir

idigenoés silk trade in this district may be roughly estimated at Rs. duringa year.

1 13. The following information is fu rnishedHooghly. by the Hooghly report on the trade in silk yarns

and silk fabrics

The Tantis use the followingmaterials inthe manufacture ofdress-pieces, etc.

(1) Kkaj a Mej u res/mm ( silk of superior quality) . Price from Rs. 1 1 to Rs. 13or seer of 70 tolahs, purchased either direct from the Chasi Kaibartas of

as Bar inGhatal or frombunniahmiddlemen, who purchase fromthe ChasiKaibartas.

(2) Buddha Al e/em, fromRe. 1 toRe. 1-4 per seer less thanabove.

They employ labourers for cleaning the thread at the rate ofRe. 1 for each seer of

good thread turned out. It is said to take from four to sevendays for a man to turnout

one seer. The thread whenready is called B anak-resham.

“After urchasing the silk they cleanit by the process called plairdn, they take thethread fromt e spindle and gather it onto a ldta i or reel. About one to two chitaks weightof silk is lost inthis process. The waste silk (l lki or kicker)onbein removed is said tohave beenformerly sold at from8 to 10 annas per seer ; there is no as e now. The threadis thenmade into bcida or reels .

“ B esides the weavers, there are a few families ofTantis at Udaira jpur, Kalagachia,and Sudanganj , who deal insilk thread. They purchase the raw silk fromMidnapore.

“ The thread is sold by the Tantis inCalcutta at a profit of one and-a-half to two and-ahalf annas per seer toArracanese dealers .

The trade is. however, inconsiderable.“Akind of silk threa’d called pakwanor twisted thread was spunformerly, but has gone

out ofvogue.

“ The looms u sed are the same as those which are used In turning out cottonpieces,and the process of weaving is similar. It is needless therefore to go into details onthese points.

All the silk fabrics manufactured are ex ported.

1 14. Burdwan silks are sold preferably to dealers ofnative firms, who

come round, a s they give the best prices— Rs . 8 or

Rs . 9 for a piece of garad silk 10 cubits long , and

Rs. 7 or Rs. 8 for a piece of tasar silk 10 cubits long . In some ca ses the

ina bay'

ans advance the money to the weavers to buy yarn from the dealers, and

Burdwan.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 56 )

districts by roads, canals, and rivers, which are not included in the 19 lakhsand 1 6 lakhs. Thenthere is some inter-district transaction also inBengal,which is not included in the above figures.nor the local consumptioninthesilk districts themselves . The export of manufactured silk from the silkdistricts ofBengal by ra il to Calcu tta and to up

-country is represented byabou t 33 lakhs ofrupees, and the total exports, including inter-district and boattraffic, probably by abou t 40 lakhs of rupees. T o this if we add what isconsumed locally in the silk districts, the total product ofBengal silk-looms,must be estimated at

,at lea st , 50 lakhs ofrupees, z

'

e.,at perhaps a higher

figure than the product of raw silk which is exported to foreigncountries .

The raw silk exported by rail to up-country is worth about 1 5 lakhs of rupees

per annum,and the maunds ofBengal raw silk exported by steamer to

B ombay, Madra s, and Bu rma (vide T able G) are worth another 15 lakhs of

rupees. T hese 30 lakhs ofrupees’worth ofBengal silk is woven into fabrics

ou tside Bengal, in o ther Provinces of India . The value ofthis silk wouldcome to over 50 1akhs of rupees. T hu s out ofthe silk spun in B engal, theIndiansilk-weaving indu st ry benefits to the extent ofover a crore of rupees

per annum,while the foreigntrade inBengal raw silk brings to the country

another 50 lakhs ofrupees per annum. T ables H and J go fu rther to confirmthese statements.

121 . Leaving out of questionthe broad channels into which Bengal silksfind their way, we have already seenhow each district disposes ofits products.The informationsupplied onthis point inmost of the district monographs isvery meag re and unreliable. T ha t weavers (vide Table A) are easilyable to p

roduce 50 lakhs ofrupees’worth of silk can be seen from a little

ca lculati on. Of the 50 lakhs ofrupees, abou t 1 2 lakhs represent the wagesofthe weavers, including the profits ofthe middlemen, and the rest the cost of

materials . The 12s lakhs divided among 27,000 individuals g ive abou t Rs. 46per annum to each individual, orRs . 184 per family, i.a.

,about Rs. 1 5 per

month per family. As the profits ofthe middlemen, including money-lenders,are inclu ded inthis calcu la t ion, the monthly wages estimated er family cannotbe considered too high, and this estimMe is, in fact, in accordwith the sta tements inthe district monographs rega rding ea rnings ofweavers. From anotherpo int of view we can substantiate this estimate. TheRs. worthofsilk fabrics represents abou t maunds (vide T ables Q . and and as inbleaching and unwinding , raw-silk loses a fou rth of its weight, themaunds ofsilk fabrics are equ ivalent to over maunds of raw-silk, including martini, tasar, and ena’z

‘

silks. T o this add the maunds of raw and

waste silks exported to the o ther Provinces by river, and another maundsexported by steamer. T his brings u s to the total of about maunds of

raw and waste silk,as the quantity ofindigenous silk u tiliz ed in Indian looms,

which is equ ivalent to abou t ki los . Now M. B ondot in his sta tisticalWork entitled L’Industrz

'

e de la 8056 enFrance ( 1894) g ives kilos of

mulberry silk (indigenou s) and kilos ofwaste ( indigenous) as the quantities consumed in Indian looms. Allowing kilos as the total produceofraw and waste silk inthe other Provinces, we get kilos of B engalsi lk consumed inIndianlooms, viz . , the same qu antity we have calculated out .

T hus, while the estimate of50 lakhs ofrupees’worth of manu factured silk is

borne ou t by the figu res in the Administra tion Report, and inthe Censu sReport of189 1 , and the figu res supplied by M. B ondot

,the district monographs

supply little clue a s to where these 50 lakhs ofrupees worth ofsilk are woven.

It is possible, no doubt, to make animagina ry allotment ofthis amount according to the number ofweavers in-the different districts, but the result of suchallotment would not be accu ra te by any means. As most of the districtmonog raphs g ive no real clu e for tracing the total produce indifferent centres

,

the only feasible way , however, ofdoing this is to make the allotment, a s

suggested. The census figu res of 189 I, where positive,are, on the whole

,

reliable. Silk-weavers who are mainly cultiva tors or members of other tradeor profession, have no doubt beenreturned as cultivators , & c. 80 tha t therewere probably abou t silk-weavers inBenga l in1891 instead of

and the number seems to have materially augmented du ring the la st ten yea rs ,as the conditionofthe silk industry since 1889 has been steadily improving .

( 57

The following table, therefore, gives a fa irer estimate of produce indifferentlocalities thanwe cana rrive by any other means

,at present ava ilable

Locality.

B 0 3

DazeChittagong DivisionPatnaB hagalpurMaldaSonthal ParganasCu ttackB alasorePllri C O

Haz aribaghL ohardaga

Feudatary States

50,oo,ooo

122. Asno distinctionis made betweenmu lberry, tussar and endz'

silk fabricsinthe figu res g ivenintheAdministra tionReport, the dis tinctionis made intheabove table ina conventional form. Figu res with single lines only under themdenote chiefly mulberry silk industry , figures with no lines under them denotemulberry silk indu stry exclusive

ly,and figu res w ith double lines under them

denote either teaser or endz'

(chie y tussar) silk industry. In other words, abou tpersons are employed in silk-weaving , abou t persons in tusser

weaving , and abou t persons inmalt-weaving , and the respective va luesofthe three classes offabrics may be put down, inround figu res, a t 43 lakhs

,

4 lakhs and 3 lakhs ofrupees, per annum. The Censu s of1901 gives us a stillmore hopeful view ofthe situation.

123. T ha t the above estimate differs entirely from the estima tes annuallyfu rnished by district officers may be judged from only one instance. Aga inst2 1 lakhs of rupees worth of silk fabrics, which I estima te as the annualproductionof Mu rshidabad

,the district officer’

s estimate is only 23;lakhs.

The district monograph onthis point has the following remarksN0 statistics are published, but from what I have beenable to learn, Ithink that the

annu al value probably does not exceed Rs. The district administrationreportoflast year mentions Mirz apore alone as having turned out pieces ofcloth, valued at

Rs . this as against pieces valu ed at Rs. of the year before. The

Statistical Reporter ofMay 1 876 estima tes the annual value atRs. but there isno doubt there has beena large decrease.

”

( 58 )

r 124.

"Such statements being based on.

vague guesses of police officerscannot be relied upon inthe same wa as the deduct ions from censu s figuresand figures supplied by Ra ilway an Steamer Companies canbe relied upon.

Let u s see what quantities of silk found their way to Ca lcutta and to upcountry in1896-97 and 1897-93, a s far a s can be gathered from Steamer andRa ilway Companies’ retu rns embodied in the Administration Report for1897-98 (vide pages 203— 210)

Silk piece-goods brought down to Calcutta 6

rivers .Silk piece-goods brought downto Calcutta by rail

Total to Calcutta

iece oods exported by rail from 486

Bengal)

to orth-Western Provinces andOudh, Punjab, Centra l Provinces, etc., ex

clusive of what is exported from Calcu tta(which may be assumed to be not indigenous).

Total quantity of B engal silk ascertained to be 6

exported.

125. To the above might also be added some of the 545 maunds,va lued

at Rs. exported by ra il in1 896-97, and of 788 maunds,valued at

Rs. exported by ra il in 18979 8 from Calcutta to up-country. The

table inpage 2 lo oftheAdministrationReport does not mentionthat themanufactured silk so exported by ra il to up

-country from Calcutta is indigenous ;but it seems it is indigenous silk that is meant. Assuming , however, as I haveassumed inthe above table, that it is all foreignsilk tha t goes from Calcuttato the North-WesternProvinces and Oudh, Punjab, etc.

, and not taking intoaccount any other route oftransit to Calcutta and up

-country ( though there aresuch routes) , not taking into account any inter-district trade and any localconsumption, we have to account for over 36 1akhs of rupees worth ofsilkin 1897-98. As Mu rshidabad, according to the Census figu res (Table A),conta ins about half the number of silk-weavers there are in Benga l, half theabove quantity must have beenderived from this district. That gives us atleast 18 1akhs . T able J confirms this estimMe as maunds of silk piecegoods exported from Benga l are worth nea rly 50 lakhs ofRu see.

126. It will be seen that we have under-estimated the productionof B engal silk fabrics in the preceding paragraph, putting it down at

Rs . I have knownweavers carrying bundles of silks with them brail to Calcu tta for sa le before the Pu jas . N0 account is taken of sunpersonal luggage of passengers, a nd I know a la rge quantity of silk fabricsproduced inMurshidabad find their way to Calcu tta as rai lway pa rcel ’

or

‘ personal luggage.

’ If to this we add the inter-dis trict trade and local consumtion

,we cannot be far wrong inputting the tota l production at 50 lakhs. T e

year 1896-97 being the famine yea r, there was a very considerable falling offinthe silk trade of Bengal with the other provinces of India , and this is thereasonfor choosing the higher figu re of the above table (Rs. insteadofthe lower figure (Rs.

,876) a s the measu re for the existing state of the

silk-weaving industry of Bengal. The importance ofthe silk-weaving |industryof Murshidabad and some other districts has therefore been vastly underestima ted , and I am of opinion that neither 6 lakhs nor 2s lakhs of rupeesrepresents by any means the present product of the Murshidabad looms ; but,

59 j )

a s shown in the‘

table given higher up, I believe Murshidabad produce smore than20 lakhs of rupees’ worth of silk fabrics annu ally ; and though theexpo rt trade incarahs has diminished of la te years, from personal observa tionand enquiry l have ascerta ined tha t the silk-weaving industry ofMu rshidabadis looking up aga in, and there have been improvements innew and importantdirections withinthe last fifteenyears. There is a larger internal trade now insuperior fabrics, specially in the Jangipur circle, thanthere has beenformanyyea rs pa st, and this may infact be looked upon as an index of the generalprosperity of thi s Province. The use of silk fabrics is considered eveninEu rope as a su re index of national pro sperity , and the rise and fall ofthe silktrade is looked uponinthe light ofa social and political barometer. The famineof1896 97 affected the use of silk fabrics most materially, bu t the pro speritytha t followed inthe next year at once brought with it renewed u se ofsilk goods .

It should be a lso noted here tha t from personal enqu iry fromna tive merchantsof Berhampore I have ascerta ined that if it had not beenfor the Plague, thetrade both inBengal raw silk andmanufactu red silk wou ld have augmentedfar more rapidly within recent years. The decrease of trade with foreigncountries has brought with it anincrease of trade with the other provinces ofIndia , and the general conditionofthe silk industry is, onthe whole, morehopeful than it has beenfor many years past, and this fact is very clearlybrought out by the census of 1901 .

127. Referring to Table E, it will be seen that the countries to which

Messrs. Blackwood, Blackwood Cc., Messrs. Buskin Co .

, Messrs. A.

Ashman Cc. , Messrs. B . L. Sen Cc., Messrs. D. C . Roquitte Co ,

Messrs . Shaw, Wallace Cc.,Messrs. Kettlewell, Bullen Cc.

,Messrs. Tellery

Co.,all ofCalcutta .

128. The principal local merchants who buy for the foreignma rkets arethe Benga l Silk Compau Messrs. Loui s Payen Co.,

Mr. M. Fergu ssonandB abu Shashi Bhushan howdhury of Berhampo re

,and Babu Radha Shyam

Gu inofGhatal (Midnapore).129. The costliest silk fabrics are used inBengal. Some costl fabrics are

exported to Assam also, but the quantit is insignificant. The fabrics used inBengal are — 8am

'

8,dhait

’

a, j o‘

rs,B a luc r ba tedar saris

,ekelt

’

e, gownnp z

'

ecea,

hdwdz’

goods, rekkz'

s,altar/shame, scar/8, shawls, and plainand bordered hand

kerchiefs. Individual weavers may be seen hawking them abou t in townslike Berhampore, Raj shahi , Malda/c, and Midnapore, and sometimes car gbundles of silk cloths down to Calcutta as personal luggage by tra in. anysuch weavers come to Calcu tta before the Pu ja time, inSeptember and October

, when there is always a brisk sale of silk saris in the Calcutta market .T o Europe, combs, printed handkerchiefs , and gown-pieces, also tasars andbafl as ( tasar mixed with cotton) are exported . T o Rangoon are exportedpizulz

'

lca t handkerchiefs and banker. To the North-WesternProvinces and thePunjab are sent ma tiokurs or cfiurz

’

s made out of ma t/rots and corahs. T oArabia are exported dlzarz

'

s,clzau/caras , and ma tras. Uhelz

'

s go to most pa rtsof India , also coralzs for printing. Ma t/ta dhuti

’

s and saris (plain and check)go to all parts ofIndia where there are Mahrattas.

CHAPTER XI .

THE NATIVE LoomINDUSTRY— ITS INDUSTRIAL POSITION.

130. Enough has beensa id inthe last chapter ta demonstrate the importance and vitality of the Bengal silk-weaving industry a t the present timeand its growing importance. T here is no doubt the industry has dwindleddowninto insignificance incertainlocalities, e. g . ,

in Hooghly,Nadia

, Howrah,and Bogra ; but it has made progress inothers , e g .

,inMurs idabad, Bankura ,

( 60 )

Burdwan,and Ra jshahi. InMidnapore the industry is fairly extensive

,but

it is ina stru ggling condition, and the presence ofa few enterprising Marwari

and o ther up-country traders may alter the state ofthe loom-indu stry, which

is at present far too much in the hands of a few rich men,specially if the

cocoon-rea ring industry ofMidnapore canbe saved by the Pasteur system.

131 . The belief,however, tha t the English occupationof this country has

beendetrimental to the interest of arts and indu stries is so widespread,that a

discussion of this question, so far as the silk-weaving industry is concerned,may not be out ofplace.

132. The silk indu stry, like the jute, or the tea , or the indigo industries,was developed from insignificant proportions by means of B ritish capital andenterprise ; and although this indu stry has held a lower position du ring the

la tter half of this centu ry than it did du ring the earlier half, it is ina far

better positionnow thanit was inthe eighteenth century, and in a better position sti ll than it was inpre-British times. The “ Reports and Letters con

cerning the Company’s affairs in Bengal, 1 661 to published by

Mr. C . R. Wilson, gives a bird’s-eye v iew of the commodities obta inable in

Cossimba z ar, Mu rshidabad, Hooghly, Patna , and Balasore, i .a., in the principalmarts ofBengal, Beha r, and Orissa , inthose dag

s . Silk was qui te a secondarg'

a rticle of trade inB engal inthose days in ossimba z ar and MurshidabaIt was recognised a s ana rticle of some importance inPatna . In Orissa andHooghly it did not seem to have been known as an a rticle oftrade. Withregard to Cossimba z ar, the reports say

“The commodities cbiefi vendible in this place are silver and gold.Other commodities are vendi le here, but not ingreat quantities, except cha uk or ( inn.

Commodities procureable here are silk tafia tics, long and short women’

s clou ts ofsilk, abou t1 4 cowa

’s long , and several sorts ofstriped stuffs and striped girdles.

”

1 33. With regard to Mu rshidabad silk fabrics, the‘Reports ’ have the

following noteAt Murshidabad, above three lea gu es fromCossimbaz ar, there are made several sorts of

silver and gold girdles from 10 rupees to 60 rupees each, also fine taffa tiea from 9 to 1 2 rupeesper piece, butnone ofthose goods are near so fine or good as those tha t come fromPersia .

”

134. Inconnectionwith the description about Pa tna and Benares merchandise , we have the following references to silk

“ English cloth sold by the Plush yard, which is abou t more than the Englishyard, so are tafiatzes and all other things measur .ble at Pattana Y -u may buy inthe baz aranything by the yard , vendin much by retail. All manner ofGuz ratt, B anara , Jehaunpore,etc., commodities are to be her? here, as gold sashes, u ru sy irdles, clatches , remerrys , etc.

all sold by weight, the 1 1 mace tola , and usually abOutBe. 1-15 toRs. 2-1 per tola .

At B enares 12 course from Pattana and Lachore, 1 6, theres white cloth fitt for Persia to

be had called Umbertees and Comcomp, fromRe. 1-8 toRs. 3 per piece inwhich commodities are invested byArmenianandMogu l] merchants a t least tenhundred thousand rupeesper annum,

transported by land to Sura t. and thence by shipping to Persia . Good profitsare made oft hem from thence to Surat. There are better lafatt

’

es made at Pattana thanCossimbaz ar, which are sold from 9 to 10 annas the long yard, but no grea t quantities, bu tif followed a good quantitie might be procured.

”

1 35. Bernier,the celebrated traveller of the Seventeenth Century

,no

doub t, speaks inmost glowing terms ofthe silk as ofother industries of Bengaldu ring tha t Century , but the number of workmen employed in the principa ls ilk facto ry of B engal is mentioned by him to be “

sevenor eight hundred”

only, while a good many factories a t the present time employ at least twicethis number . The passage referring to the silk industry may be quoted hereinfull :

“ In regard to valuable commodities of a nature to attract foreignmerchants , I amacquainted wi th no country where so great a variety is found. B esides the sugar I havespokenof, and which may be placed inthe list of valuable commodities, there is inBengalsuch a quantity of cotton and silks, that the kingdommay be called the commonstorehou sefor those two kinds ofmerchandise, not ofHindustanor the Empire ofthe GreatMogol only,but ofall the neighbour ing kingdoms , and evenofEurope . I have been sometimes amaz edat the vast qu antity ofcottoncloths, ofevery sort, fine and coarse, white and coloured

,which

the Hollanders alone export to different places, especially to Japanand Europe. TheEnglish, the Portu guese, and the nativemerchants dea l also in these a rticles to a cou siderable extent The same may be said ofthe silks and the silk stuffs ofall sorts It is notpossible to conceive the quantity drawnevery year from B engal for the supply ofthewhole ofthe Mogul Empire, as far as Lahore and Cabul, and generally ofall those forci 11 nations towhich the cottoncloths are sent. The silks are not certainly so fine as those ofPersia , Syria ,

( 61 )

Sayd, aud'

Barut, but they are of a much lower price and I know from indispu tableauthority that, ifthey were well selected and wrought Wi th care, they mi ht bemanufacturedinto most beau tifu l stuffs . The Dutch have somet imes seven or eig t hundred nativesemployed in their silk factory at Kassem-Baz a r, where, inlike manner, the English andother merchants employ a proportionate number.”

136. Thus we get a glimpse of the silk trade of Bengal in the middleof the 17th century. It was not to be compa red to the silk trade of

Persia . It was poorer thanthe Benares silk trade, and the only market inBengal inwhich silks comparable to Persian silk wa s to be ob tained in anyqu antity was tha t of Patna . The tafetas, or colou red silks of Cossimba z a r

( bankus, printed handkerchiefs, phulz'

lra ls. dkarz'

s, were to be had. But the

industry had to be improved and developed before trade inthese and other silkfabrics assumed an importance. And so we find as ea rly as 1 670 a factor“ well skilled in silk”

sent out from England to Cossimba z a r. From this timeforward for a whole centu ry the Company was unremit ting in their z eal toextend sericulture inall depa rtments, until by 1776 “ Bengal silk drove all

competitors, except Italian and China silks, out of the English market.

”

(Geoghegan, page137. But the development up to this had come to a stage whenthe annual

exportationreached “small pounds,

”and this quantity included “

all

sorts ofsilk.

” What is the state ofthe industry now ? In1 901-02 the ex pertstc

'

foreigncountries alone were

Oi raw silkwastesilk piece-goods, yards-about

the total representing abou t pounds, or about fou r times the annualqu antity exported between 1776 to 1785. T henwe must take into considerationthe facilities now afforded by rai lway and steamer communica tions inB engal silk (raw and manufactu red) being exported to the o ther provinces ofIndia. Tables H and J show tha t much larger quanti ties of raw and manufactured silk grown inBengal, are u sed inIndia , thanwha t are exported

,and

there is no evidence to show tha t any considerable quantities of Bengal silkwere u sed in other parts of India in olden times, though Benares and Agradid use some , and there was some export evento Lahore and Cabu l.

. 138. The Company developed the silk-weaving industry by establishingthree weaving factories

— one at Cossimba z ar, onc'

e t Malda , and the third at

Santipore.“ Goods were manufactu red, but from the country-reeled or Putney

silk. All filature silk was exported raw.

”(Geoqlzegan, page

139. T o what pro ortions the silk-weaving industry developed under thefostering care of the ast India Company is not known. But from wha t

Geoghegan says in the matter, it seems the industry attained to a grea terprosperity thannow inMaldah , but that the Murshidabad silk indu stry is ina

more flourishing conditionnow than it was in the days of“

the East IndiaCompany.

As all that Geoghegan says on the subject of silk manufactumis virtually contained ina single paragraph, it canbe easily quoted here in

ex tenso“As to the extent of. silk manufacture, I have not beenable to obtainmuch informa.

tion. We have seen that the Company manufactured silk-stuffs at three ofitsResidencies,

but from country-wound silk. The stuffs seem to have beenchiefly undyed piece-goods ,knownas corahs and bandannas . There was doubtless a good deal ofsilkmade for homeconsum tionalso, but I have not found any figures to show either the exports or the totalproductionfor the period of the Com ny

’

s trade. Buchanangives an elaborate accountofthe silkmanufacture inMaldah an the neighbourhood. The cloths made were almostall mixed, the warp being silk and the woof cotton. The warp was generally disposed instripes, the woof being of one colour. The patterns did not display much taste. There

were said to be about looms in thi s region, but not one-half ofthemconstantlyem loyed. Buchananestimates the value of the stufis exported annu ally to the westward

,

torMurshidabad and Ca lcu tta, atnot less than1 0 lakhs annually. The industry still exists

abou tMaldah and English Baz ar, but ina langu ishing condition. The aspect of the townofOldMaldah is that ofthe dreariest decay. Mr. Holwell, writing in 1759, mentions six

kinds ofcloth and raw-silk as being exported fromNator (inRajshahi) both to Europe andto the markets of Bussora , Mocha

,Jedda , Pegu ,Achsen, andMalacca .

’From the passage

asquoted by Mr. Skrine (to whom I am indebted for the reference), it is not mtg

‘

clear whether the cltchs were all of page 24: t 26; and Oct

( 62 )

1 40. With regard to Maldah also, it is not qu ite clearwhether it isnot“

the“

European side of the industry only tha t has decayed ofla te years. Tha t thenative silk-reeling industry, a lso mulberry-growing and cocoon-rearing industries have been steadily improving ofla te years , I have ersonally verified andI have also ascerta ined fromna tive silk merchants of aldah that they are

exporting more silk fabrics from Maldah now than they ever . did before.

Mr.Morey ofBaragharia Factory wrote to me a few yea rs ago tha t he noticedextension of mulberry cultivat ionall over Maldah . Discussing this questionw ith Mr. Batabyal, at that time Collector of Maldah , who had sent ina returnshowing shorter area for mulberry than in previous years, I saw tha t the

general but erroneous impress iontha t the silk indust was gradually dyinout was the main reason for pessimistic reports an returns being submi ttedre arding acreage under mulberry and outturnof silk. Mr. Liotard in the

glemorandum onSilk inIndia makes certa inremarks, which representthe true positionof the Maldah silk industry at the present time, and, 1 mayadd, the progress onthe native side ofthe industry since 1883 has beencontinu ous.

“ The native side of the industry , onthe contrary,”says Mr. Liotard

following a report by Mr. R. Poreh , Collector of Malda , “ is prospering initsag ricultu ra

l aspects,and as regards the easy profits made by the na tives the

mulberry silk indus try mus t be considered as brisk, prosperous, and fl ouris ing.

The greater portionofthe cocoons rea red in the district is either bought bynative manu factu rers or are reeled by the rea rers themselves, who most of themhave one or two reels : the silk reeled by the natives and called [titangru ispartly bought by silk-piece manu facturers ofBombay, Benares, Delhi,Mirz apur ,etc., and pa rtly is used inhome manu facture of corahs

,mosru, and other kinds

ofclo th. T hese cloths are mostl exported to Calcu tta , Bombay, Madras,Nagpore.Allahabad , Benares, and elhi (the largest exports being to Calcuttaand Bomba l

, and pa rtly worninthe district.”

l4 l . hrom a study of T able A it will appea r that the na tive side of the

industry has a tendency to revive whenthe Euro anside ofthe industry decays.B ut there is a limit to this, as will he expla ins la ter on. The revival of thesilk weaving industry canbe pa rtly ex pla ined by the difficulty cocoon-rearersare now experiencing inobta ining good prices from European factories. The

enhanced production of coco ons ha s thus resulted chiefly in an impetusbeing givento the na tive reeling and weaving industries.

142. The notionthat the silk industry ofBengal is d ing ou t is so deeprooted that an official request from the Collector of Mu rs idabad to the la teMaha rani Sumomoyi of Cassimba z ar to devote the Rs . which she hadpromised inthe yea r ofher la te Imperia lMa jesty’

s Jubilee ( 1887) to the founding ofa s ilk-weaving school elicited the reply tha t the Maha rani considered thatthe silk industry ofMu rshidabad had declined to such anextent that there wasno hope ofreviving the industry , andthat therefore she was not willing to founda silk-weaving school. T he establishment ofa silk-weaving school inMu rshidabad

wa s definitely recommended inthe report submitted by Mr. E.W. Collin, o.s.,

ontheArts and Indus tries ofBenga l, after a personal enqu iry into the conditionofall the important industries ofBengal. T hat the silk-manufacturing indu stryofBengal canbe developed to something still better by systema tic tra ining and

by preper organisationcanbe inferred from the fact ofthe recent developmentof the Bombay silk-manufactur ing indu stry, though it depends for its raw product on Bengal and China . B ritish interest lies entirely in the directionofdevelo ing the silk indu stries ofBengal, andMr. Collin

’s suggestionis wa rranted

not only by the actu al vitalitv ofthe silk-industry of Bengal, bu t also by the

decaying vitali of the B ritish silkmanu facturing indu stry, which is failing incompetitionwit France

,Ita ly. Switz erland, Germany, and evenwith Japan.

The vitality of the Bengal indu stry is worth preserving and fostering in the

interest evenof the British s ilk industry .

143. Much a s has beensa id ofthe decay ofBeng al silk, it is doubtful if ithas ever enjoyed such a healthy vi ta lity intimes past as it is now enj oying . We

are onthe threshold of the Pa steu r system ofsericultu re be ing accepted by thepeasantry ofBengal as the solu tionoftheir chief difficulty ; we have traders fromall the provinces of India coming to Bengal inincrea sing numbers both for silk

piece~ge ods andfor raw

-silk and this new silk is util ised inthe o ther provincesfor manu facture of silk fabrics. Eventhe Eu ropean side of the industry has

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 84 )

buy their cocoons at a price fixed according to the current rates inthe silkmarket. Interestbeing charged, the rearers frequeni ly get into financial difficu lties . Those who work ontheir ownCapital are ina much more favourable pos ition. As a class, rearers are a peaceful and qu iet people

,and li tigati onis almost unknownamongst them.

There seems no doubt that the silk-weaving indu stry is onthe decline. The importationofforeignstuffs has ofcourse a great deal to do with this. Another reasonlies 1 11 thelack ofinterprise displayed in disposing of native fabrics. Where there is anattempt atadvertisement, it usually meets with great success. It wou ld be a s lendid thing for the

trade if middle-class Bengalis with a small capital were to hawk roun the s ilk products ofMirz apur and other places. At the time ofthe famine the suffer ings ofsome ofthe weaversofthis district were much alleviated by the efforts of a native gentleman, who advantageo usly disposed oftheir goods inCalcutta . It is a pity that more energy is not displayed inthis direction. There is no doubt tha t as a class their condition is not prosperous

, and thatthey are deeply involved indebt. They do not as a rule work for themselves, but for deal erswho advance themmaterial and pay them so much for their labour. Some ofthese dealersemploy a very large number ofweavers. I am told that inKandi subdivision some weaversfound the industry so little profitable that they have entirely givenit up, and inmany casestakento agriculture. Others in the same subdivisionhave abandoned the weaving ofsilkfor that ofcotton. At present the price ofcottonyarnis low and the demand for goods fairlygreat, so that industry is found to be more paying .

”

148. The Bu rdwanmonograph has the following rema rks“ There are no factories, but each man

’

s loom is kept in a solid and respectable-lookinghouse, considerably cleaner thanmost native hu ts It is rather hard to find any way of

helping these people. Their machines are cheap andeffective, and labour is cheap. Agreatdeal oftheir misfortune is due to their ownfault. They have runinto debt, and thus ei therhad to get yarn on credit fromthe merchant who took interest at the rate of 8. ice intherupee and bought up the cloth manufactured at the end of the month , after de noting theprice ofyarn, or else they had to go to the mahaj rm,

who charged interest at the rate of

Rs. 2 per seer (is , 15-1 6 ru pees worth) ofyarn, and then bought at his ownprice. If theycould do cash business, they would be prosperous and contented. The other reason is, of

course, Europeancom etition.

“ There is proba ly nothing that will prevent the native pu tting his head inthemoneyo lehder

’s noose ; but it is perhaps just possible that the industry might be saved from

extinctionby other means

(1) There might be a better supply ofcocoons it is possible to grow themin thisdistrict, as is shown at Kalna, but there the growth is only anaux iliaryto agriculture. If this cultivation was ext ended and the cocoons solddirectly to the weavers inthe district, the initial cost would be lessened.

(2) The products might be advert ised ; many articles suited for ladies’

rmentscould be made from th e silk, and also cloths like Assam silk, t ough ofbetter andmore durable quality, could easily be purchased. If these wereadvertised and a better market obtained, it would help the weaver, whomight thenescape from the clu tches ofthe money-lenders.

149. The Howrah monograph has the following lines bearing on thisquestion

No silk cloth nor any tusser is manu factured here. The trade insilk has considerablydecreased , and is gradu ally dying out. At present the silk indu stry is carried onona very smallscale. The lower class of people who used to trade in it have takento cu ltivationandotherpursuits, as they find that the amount oflabou r spent gives no adequate return

”

150. The following lines may be quoted from the B irbhummonographInthis district silk industry is carried onto some extent, and is ina somewhat declin.

ing condition, as the genuine silk manu factured inthis country cannot compete with theadulterated silkmanufactured inJapan.

"

1 51 . The Bogra monograph has the following lines onthis subject

Inthe case ofrearing worms, as well as inthe cases ofreeling andweaving , the industryhas declined inthis district owing to the want of demand, absence ofencouragement, andlowering inprices due to competi tion. There was a time whenthere were one ormore silkfactories in this district conducted by Europeans . At that time every facility was offeredto the grower ofsilk for cultivationand disposal ofhis articles. The factor would advance a

lump-sum to a pmkar ormiddlemanfor,bringing upnot less thana specified amount ofcocoons.“The pa ika r would then distribu te portions of the advance money among the

cultivators either for expenses ofgrowing the plants or for purchase ofleaves. The par‘

kar

would thentake the produce from the cultivators and take his collectionto the factory.

These factories, therefore, encouraged the cultivation of worms, and took all the producefor exportationto other parts ofIndia or to Europe

The silk factory ofNowdapara was situated onthe western bsp h ofthe Karctoya.river, abou t three miles away from Bogra town. This factory was aboli shed abou t 30 yearsago. It is said that there was a factory at Kharna , which was aboli shed long before tha t,and another at Sajapur, which did not exist for a long time.

( 65 )

The cultivators complainofinadequate pricesobtained for the cocoons . This year theyare selling cocoons at the rate ofRs. 20 permaund. B ut last year the price is said to havebeenas low asRs. 13 orRs. 1 4 permaund ; so it is very difficult for a cultivator to make ahandsome rofit ou t ofthis industry.

Of t e cocoons growninthis district, only a ver small portionis reeled here. Most ofthe produce is sent to the district ofRajshahi, Peop s living near Bo a take these cocoonsmostly to Tahirpur inthe Ra jshahidistrict, where they finda readymar et. Cocoons are alsotakento hate inthe Rajshahi district, which are close to this district. Some ortion ofthe

cocoons is purchased inthese Izdts by cultivators for breeding purposes. It so sometimeshappens the traders or beparis come from Rajshahi and purchase and take away cocoons.Now and thencultivator, from that district also come for purchasing cocoons for breeding.

“The proportion of export to loca l consumptionis estimated at 13 annas to 3 annas.But it should also be noted that amajor portionofthe silk thread reeled inthis district,small as it is, is also sent to Rajshahi. The local reelers purchase the cocoons at the house of

the cultivator, or itmay so hap entha t the cultivator himself takes his produce to the

reelers. Insome ofthe Izdts oft district a small quantity ofcocoons canalso be purchased .

The number ofpersons actually em lqyed inthe weaving ofgarad is extremely small.There arenot more thanhalf a. doz enski weavers ingarad silk inthis district, (excluding ,ofcourse, the othermembers ofthe family of a weaver who know something of the workand help him) . Many Tantis haveg

ivenup the occupationand have takenrecourse either tocottonindustr or to agriculture.

‘he silk industry is not at all very paying, and it is not

possible for a anti to maintainhimself by silk-weaving alone.

The processes ofbleaching the threads, arranging themafter bleaching , reeling, starching, wa

rping, arranging the threads onthe reels, forming the healds and fitting up the wholethmg require a lar e amount oflabour, andmany ofthe above processes require the help of

one, two ormore ditional hands. So silk-weaving is far from a profitable concern. The

weaver has got to take recourse to agriculture or some such thing .

The weavers ofsilk proper are Hindus. The silk industry imparts to them a certainim ce, as they are the few representatives ofworkers inanart which was once the prideof ndia.

“Not a single weaver canbe said to be well-to-do. The Tantis whenthey keep landsdonot lough fields themselves, but servants do the field-work for them.

(generally one family keeps a single loom; but there are instances of a family of

weavers keeping two looms, but they are seldom worked together constantly. One loom is

worked for preparing things urgently required, and the other for things that may be takenupat leisure.

“ It will appear fromthe above that the silk industry inthis district is of very limitedextent. The industry has deplorably declined in all its branches. Some 30 years back,dealing insilk insome shape or other was a very eas way to fortune. Besides the growersof the worms, there was a class ofmiddlemenwho u sed to bu silk from the growers and

es ofthemona large scale inthe hdts famous for trade insi Tahirpur, inthe districtof ajshahi, was the most important lace inthis respect for the people ofB ogra. EvennowT ahirpur draws a major portion0 the produce of this district in the shape ofcocoons .There are many eoplenow inthis district who admit that their fathers and grandfathersgrew rich by dealing insilk. Besides buying cocoons for sale, these middlemen also workedseveral furnaces each for reeling silks, and sold the thread.

At a time growing ofmulberry or rearing worms was considered the most lucrativeemployment for agriculturists .

“ It is said that the decline ofthis trade has impoverished many people. The mulberryfields bore very high ra tes ofrent, for it is the commonpractice inthis part ofthe country to

leave the improvement ofthe land to the cu ltivator alone, while the z amindar comes inforhis fu ll share of the increased profits. Ina village where good paddy-fields do not bringmore thanRe. 1-8 per highs , a mulberry-field hears Rs. 4 as rent per higha .

Owing to the decline inthe industry these mulberry-fields are lying waste, although thepoor cultivator is paying very high rents for them. The z amindar willnot allow him to

surrender these raised fields alone. If he is to surrender at all, he should surrender thewhole jote, which he cannot. So he is paying every year rents at a very high rate for fieldswhich do not bring a pice into his pocket. So the decline inthe industry is doubly detrimental to the interests ofthe cu ltivators.

Several reasons are suggested for this decline, among which are

(z'

) Want ofencouragement by Government or factories, &c.

(is) Falling offinthe prices due to competitionwith imported articles.(in

’

) The mulberry plant is said to be less thriving thanbefore.

(iv) Diseases among worms . It is sa id that the worms do not thrive as before.(a) Want ofdemand for cocoons and the difficulties ofcarriage.

“ It is very difficult for a manto carry cocoons to distant places for sale. People whogrow only a limited quantity cannot themselves carry their produce to the purchasers, nor isthere any way ofselling the produce at home, except to people who will pay a low price bydeducting a commissionfor undertaking the sale.

Thenew railway opened up to B ogra may remove this difficulty to a certain extent.B ut onthe whole it is believed that the silk industry ofthe district will gradually die out ifno encouragement be offered from outside.

( 66 )

152. The Maldah monograph may be also quoted fully on this subject,though I do not at all agree wi th the pessimistic view taken in this monographofthe conditionofthe industry

Malda has, b orna very ancient time, beenfamous for its silk indus try. It is evennowthe lar est silk-producing district inB engal. Abou t maunds ofcocoons are grown.

t has beenstated above that the silk-weaving industry is in a very decayed sta te.The best weavers of Shib

lglanjl,‘

where the fmest cloths are made, do not earnmore thanRs. 8 toRs. 12 a month. e antis were once a rich communi ty. Owing to the importation of cheap foreign goods , the demand for indigenous silk fabrics has much decreasedimported goods are, however, less durable thancountry-made articles. If the best varieties ofcountry-made fabrics could be sent to industrial exhibi tions, which are now so numerous, itmight help to revive this decaying industry. The backward state of the industry is due as

much to ignorance onthe part of purchasers regarding the quality of these fabrics, whogenerally prefer the gaudier articles offorei nmanufactu re, as to the want of organisationand enterprise onthe art ofthe weavers, w ose poverty prevents themfromadvertising theirgoods to any apprecia lo extent.

No attempt has hitherto beenmade to give animpetus to the industry, and the weaversare too poor and illiterate to do it themselves. The weavers as a class are very poor. It isvery seldom that they sell their manu factures to the consumers direct. They are entirely inthe hands ofthemahaj ans ormoney-lenders, who make advances to them for the purchase ofthread and the support of their families. Frequently it is the malmj ans who supply the

thread, and the weavers etnothing but their wages. The wages for the manufacture of a

piece ofsari amount to a utRs. 2, which means that the weaver is paid at the rate of about4 to 6 annas a day.

The silk industry is thus entirely in the hands of the mahajans , who are generallyMarwaris. So long as this state ofthings continues, it is hopeless to expect that the industrywill flourish.

A very large roportionofthe silk fabrics manufactured inthe district is exported toB ombay, Calcutta , eypur, Benares, andMirz apur by the Marwaris and other money-lenders.There is also a small local demand for cloths made ofmixed silk and cotton. There is nointerna l trade insilk. Silk goods are never sold at the local Izdts or periodical fairs Thereare one or two shops inEnglish B az ar Town, where silk fabrics are sold.

“T he indus try cannot possibly be improved, unless capital is invested for the purpose of

advertising the goods widely and for creating a demand for them among the well-to-do peopleofthe country and also for inducing the weavers to

‘ manufacture a large variety of newpatterns ofgoods for which there is likely to be a demand in Europe, America , and othercountries. It is well knownthat the silk fabrics made inB irbhum district are exported inconsiderable quantities to London, and find a ready market there. There is no reasonwhyMalda-made cloth should not also find a foreignmarket, especially as Maldah grows thecocoons, which B irbhum purchases.

”

153. T o this last point. raised inthis monograph , it may be answered, thatMaldah silks are largely exported to foreignmarkets, far mo re thanB irbhumsilks. T o another point mentioned in this monograph, I may say , there is a

considerable internal trade inMaldah silk fabrics quie tly ca rried oninthe district.Every time I visited the villages of Maldah I noticed peripatetic weaversvending their silk cloths.

154. Tha t the import offoreignsilks into Bengal is materially affectingthe indigenou s industry is an opinionwith which I entirely differ . The

purposes for which the two kinds ofsilk are employed are different. Foreignsilks as an article of luxu ry have been in use in India from very ancienttimes, and mention is made of Clzz

'

ndngslmlra in Kalidas’s Sakunmla , and

in later writings, of Persian silk. B ut these were never to be employedon ceremonial occasions. A peculia r notion of pu rity is attached to indigenous silk fabrics by the whole Hindu population of India ; and thoughthe use of silk is enjoined and universally current in the celebration of

certa inrites, there is never a Hindu wedding or funeral inwhich the use of

foreignsilk is ever thought of. The amount ofimport into Bengal of silks of

all kinds bears no comparisonto the amount ofexport , and the tendency is nottowards increase. T able M shows tha t du ring six recent years an averageofonly abou tRs. worth ofraw silk has beenimported into Bengal, whilethe export ofraw silk from Bengal into o ther countries and into other ProvincesofIndia is worth over a crore ofrupees (vide T able H .) There is practicallynoimport of waste silk into Bengal, while the export is valued at over 10 lakhs.Abou t Rs. of sewing silk, abou t 5 lakhs ofru pees

’worth of silk piece

goods, about 5 lakhs of rupees ofpiece-goods made of inferior fibre mixed withsilk, and aboutRs . worth ofribbons and other silk goods are now importedannually into Bengal from foreign countries, or a total of less than1 1 lakhs.Against thiswe have 50 lakhs’ worth ofBengal Silk Fab rics only,most ofwhich

( 67 )

iswovento meet the requirements of this'

country. Table"

K gives figu res forimport for the whole of India

, which no doubt shows some tendency towardsincrease during the last 30 yea rs, but not more than is warranted by the

considera tionofincrea se ofpopula tionand ofprosperity. Besides such a rticlesas sewing silk, ribbons, etc.

, are imported into India a lmost exclusively for theEu ropeanand Eu rasianpopulation. The wardrobe ofan ordina ry Hindu or

Muhammad an may have no cotton or woollen fabrics produced in Indianlooms ; it may not have any foreignsilks, but it is very rarely without someIndiansilks. It is also well recognised tha t Bengal silks last for many years,and if carefully used, they last for two or three genera ti ons, while foreignsilksare never lasting . That Bengal produces 50 lakhs ? of rupees

’ worth of fabricsand imports only 1 1 lakhs ofrupees’

worth of silks ofall sorts is initself astrong proof of the native vitality and stability of the Bengal silk industry.

155. T here is another point ofvery considerable importance which has a

direct connectionwith the increased u se of indigenous si lk fabrics in India .

The spread of English educa tion ha s resulted in a very peculia r degree ina widely spread sentiment of patriotism,

and the use of indigenous articlesthat are ofreal intrinsicmerit is s reading very rapidly among the educated classes .The development inthe manu actu re ofhigh-class silks has beenquite phenomenal inthe Mirz apur centre ofthe Murshidabad indus try withinrecent yea rs.

156. It may be mentioned here tha t the value of Bengal raw silk inforeign-markets has depreciated to abou t half ofwhat it was 20 years ago . T hisdepreciationrather thanany ma terial diminu tion of produce has resulted in

considerable strain, chiefly inthe conditionofthe foreign trade with Europe.

The depreciation in the value of Bengal raw-silk in European market hasresulted inno appreciable change inthe selling price ofcocoons or of Ichamrusilk, and the strainwhich is felt by Euro ean exporters is hardly shared bynative cocoon-rearers, silk-spinners , or sil -weavers , who do not depend mainlyonthe condi tionofthe Eu ropeanmarkets for the sale of their respective ro

duce. The Europeansilk factor may buy cocoons forRs. 30 a maund and ose

money by doingl

so, while the Ichamru spinner may pay Rs. 32 for the samecocoons and pay igher wages to his workers, and sell hi s poor silk for Rs. 14a seer, while the superi or Eu ropeanfilature-reeled silk scarcely fetches a higherprice. The na tive competitionis keen, and in some localities, as inMaldah

,

more thanequal. T his competitionis injurious to the Eu ropean trade, bu t so

far it has beenconducive to the prosperity ofthe industry a s a whole ; but shouldEuropeansilk factors ever retire from the field altogether, the harm that will beeffected to the Bengal silk indu stry will be incalculable. Bogra and Midnapu rare now suffering keenly owing to the withdrawal,

“

entire inthe one case andpa rtial inthe other, ofEu ropeanenter rise. Native merchants (chieflyMarWarimoney-lenders ) try to take all the goo out ofanindustry, and ultimately leaveit ina wretched condition. T here is always money-lending at high ra tes of

interest associated with native enterprise, and inthe absence ofEuropeanrivalrythis money-lending saps the founda tionofany indu stry .

1 57. I would conclude this chapter by a quotationfrom the Hand-bookofSericultu re ”

z

Import ofsilk into Indau— The import offoreignsilk thread into India has declined

considerably ofrecent years, while the transhipment ofB engal silk thread into other parts of

India has developed Wi th rapid bounds during the same 81‘

10d. The figures'

venbelow Willshow to what insignificant proportions the import tra e in foreign silk t ead has beenreduced withinrecent year :

Year.Seers. Rs.

1885-86

1 886-87

1887-881 888-89

1889-90

The import ofsilk into India consists chiefly inpiece-goods, The total import of silkthread and silk pieces forfour years since 1889 has b

Fromwhat has beensaid, it canbe clearly inferred that India buys two or three croreofmpees

’worth offoreign silk. This is the least hopeful featurelot the Indian silk trade .

If India bought two or three crores of rupees’worth ofEnglish silk, she could have

consoled herselfwith the thought that it was a price paid for loyalty to England. B utnearly the whole ofthis import is fromcontinentalcountries andnot fromEngland. Englandonher part has beenshowing anxiety oflate for u tilising more ofthe Indianrawmateria l.T he condition of the Eng lish silk trade, again, has become most deplorable. Englandnow imwrts annually about 24 crores of rupees’

worth ofsilk from other countries, whileshe exports only three crores ofrupees

’worth. For England to buy 17 to 1 8 crores ofrupees’

worth ofsilk-pieces manufactured inFrance, Germany, Switz erland and Italy is not to her advantage. England has not always u sed foreignsilks insuch large quantities. For the last 30years the import offoreignsilks intoEngland has steadily increased, while the export ofEnglishsilks into other countries has steadily declined. The more silk thread she imports and theless ofpiece-goods and the more piece-goods she exports. the better it is for her. B ut thecourse ofthe English silk trade has gone onexactly inthe reverse order for the last 30 years.It is pretty nearly certain that England will be unable to compete successfu lly with otherEuropeancountries inthe silk trade. Enlish labourers are not satisfied with the wagesofevenRs. 60 per month. Itahan and rench labourers are quite as skilful as En lisblabourers inweaving silk, but they receive abou tRs. 30 to Rs. 40 per month . The la our

strikes we constantly hear of from England are most intense inthe ca se of silk factories .

The foremost silk-weaving establishments inEngland (viz ., those of Messrs. Lister andCompany) sometimes find it difficult to work more than four days in the week. Afewyears ago Messrs. Lister and Company used to export about fifty lakhs of ru ees

’

worthof velvet per annum to America alone. The American export o velvet of

this Company has gone down to about six lakhs of rupees’worth per annum.

There seems to be only onemeans now by which England can combat successfully with thecontinental silk trade, viz by transferring the centres of competition fromManchester,Manningham, and Leek to B aluchar, Mirz apur, B enares;Amritsar, and Srinagar. Such apolicy alone canrestore the commercial supremacy which England enjoyed inthe days ofthe East India Company. The interests of England and India are identical inregardto the silk trade. Indiansilk-weavers are arti z ans of no mean order. Skilled Indianlabou r guided by English enterprise canproduce silks ofEuropean ex cellence and finish.

Indianweavers work onthe monthly wages ofRs. 5 orRs. 6 only.

”

158. Avisit to the Economic sectionofthe IndianMuseum,where silks

Ofvery superior quality manufactured in Europe out of Kashmir silk, Sincethe above remarks were published, are prominently displayed, would amplysatisfy any one ofthe cogency ofthese remarks.

CHAPTER‘

xn.

Srarrsrrcsr. TABLES.

Afew explanatory notes bringing ou t the special info rmation which isdesired to be conveyed ineach case by the following tables are givenbelow

TableA.-T/zepopu of B enga l which depend onfire sil/c industry.

— T hisTable, compiled from the census figures of 1901 and 1 89 1

, shows that the silkweaving industry of Bengal has made considerable strides during the lastdecade The number ofsilk weavers including silk dyers and sellers of silkclo ths

,increased from in189 1 to in1901 . T his table, however,

also shows a very serious falling offin the number of mulberry g rowers, silkworm rearers and cocoon-gatherers, the numbers for 1891 and 1 901 beingrespectively and It does not, however, appear very clear, howthe number ofspinners could have remained about the same , 22a , in1 901 as aga inst in1891 , and how the number ofweavers has increasedso largely, if there has beenanactual falling off inthe number ofcocoonrearersandmulberry g rowers. Inpage 32, pa ragraph 69, it has beenshown, how thes ilk industry ofIndia , which is virtu ally the silk indus try of Bengal, declinedfrom 1875 to 1885, but that since thenthere has been a steady improvementfor the last 16 yea rs . The improvement inthe export trade inraw silk whichis a fact, and the improvement inthe silk-weaving industry, cannot be accounted for by the figures for silkworm-rea rers and cocoon-gatherers as g iveninthecensus tables for 1901. Avery considerable proportionofcocoon rea rers musthave beenreturned as cultivators pure and simple. I am inclined to put thenumber ofLmulberry g rowers, cocoon-rea rers and sellers, including partiallyagriculturist

”and dependants ”

at evena higher figure than whichwas the figure for 189 1 , and e stimate the total population of Bengal whichdepends wholl or partly onthe silk indu stry at instead of

the correspon ing figu re for 1891 being

( 69 )

Table B .— Relctive imporlance of the diferenl branches of the B eng a l sil/c

industry — T his T able has beenbased on the censu s figures for 189 1 . I do notthink the silk-rearing industry has declined to that extent at any rate withinthe last tenyea rs to which the census tables for 1901 would lead us to suppose ithas. The figures for 1891 also are very low insome cases for cocoon-rea rers.Palamau , Manbhum and S inghbhumwhich have “Nil”

aga inst them underthis heading , mu st have thou sands of T usser-rea ring Sonthals and othersliving inthem,

as will appear from the district monographs which will bequoted la ter on. The tendency to class cocoon-rea rers as pu re cultivators wasonly more exaggerated du ring the last censu s. The Tusser and Endi rearingindustries are fa r more extensive thanthis T able would lead one to infer, and

the mulberry silk indu stry also has been understa ted in the depa rtments bothofrearing and weaving .

Table 0 ,

— Export ofraw silk,waste and silk piece goods fromIndia toforeign

countries during the la st twenty years .— T his T able shows improvement in the

export ofraw silk and waste,but a considerable decline inthe export of piece

goods. It is compiled from the Annual Report of the Bengal Chamber of

Commerce for 1901 and the Annual Statement of the Director-Gencral of

Statisticsfor 1 902 . The figu resmu st be considered reliable. But it shou ld notbe inferred from these tha t the silk-weaving industry of Bengal has beendeclining oflate years. T here is no doubt a great decline in the export of

Gerahs and other cheap silks to foreigncountries, bu t the u se ofindigenou s silkshas beenincreasing by leaps and bounds during recent years in India itself.T his improvement has more thancompensated for the decline in the exporttrade inIndiansilks to other countries.

Table D .— More deta iled view ofexport ofsill:fromIndia by seen— T his T able ,

comp iled from theAnnual Statement ofthe Director-General of Sta tistics for1902, shows the present streng th ofthe export trade in the different branchesofthe silk indu stry, the total value coming up to abou t seventy lakhs of rupees .

Tabla E.-Countries to which B enga l sil/r [raw andmanufactured] is ex ported.

This table has been compiled from the Bengal Administra tion Report for1 900-1901 . It shows how England, France, Au stralia and Arabia includingTurkey inAsia are the g rea test patrons ofthe manu factu red silks of this Province, while France, England, Italy and Tu rkey in Asia are the grea testpatrons ofthe B engal raw silk.

Table F.— Rela tz

'

ne importance ofEnglish, French and Nakuda trade in B eng alsills fabrics — T his T able has been compiled from the Bengal Adminstra tionReports and from theAnnual Report of the B engal Ch amber of Commerce.

It shows how Bengal silk has beenlosing the patronage ofFrance ofla te yea rs,

also the greater stability ofthe English and Arabian markets a s the na tu ralou tlets for Bengal silk fabrics.

Table G.— Eeport8 of raw silt [including cocoons} from 0a leutla .

— Thistable g ives ina succinct form the rela tive importance of different foreign andIndianmarkets over sea for the Bengal raw s ilk.

TableH.—Export ofraw sil/cfromdifierentpnrts ofIndia by mil and river.

This table shows how the indigenou s raw silk in circulation in the countryis abou t maunds aga inst maunds offoreignraw silk, and nearly

maunds out of maunds represent What goes out from B enga lfilatures and indigenou s ghais. The value of maunds ofraw silk, abou t

maunds ofWhich is ‘waste’

,is abou t one crore and twelve lakhs of

rupees. As the value ofthe raw silk exported to foreigncountries is aboutfift lakhs (vide Table D), the value ofwha t is u tilised inthe o ther Provinces ofIn

‘

a is abou t seventy lakhs ofrupees, producing cloth to the valu e ofat least acrore ofrupees.

Table J — Enport of sil/t piece g oods fromdiflerent parts ofIndia by rail andriver.

-'l‘

hi s table shows how the indigenou s silk fa brics of India in circula tionin the country is more thandouble inqu antity offoreignsilks. The value of

maunds ofsilk fabrics is over fifty lakhs of rupees . Of thi s ten or

eleven lakhs (vide T able D) only represent foreign export. Of themaunds ofindigenou s silks, B engal sends ou t maunds

,and calcula ting

the price of one maund of manufactured silk at Rs . 800, the va lue ofthe

export from Bengal looms comes to over 33 lakhs ofrupees, of which twentyfive lakhs represent the export to other Provinces and eight lakhs over sea.

F 3

( 70 )

Table K.—Imports of silt: into India fi omforeigncountries during thirty years.

T able L .—More deta iled view ofimports offoreignsil/c into India .

TableM.-Import offoreignsill: into Benga l — T hese three tables be ing

studied together show that Bengal uses comparatively little offoreignsilks ,either raw or manufactu red.

Table N.-Import ofraw silk into different parts ofIndia by ra il and river.

T his table shows how Bombay and the Punjab are the most prominent importersofforeignraw silk for manu factu ring pu rposes, wh ile the Central Provincesand Madras as the chief places next to Benga l where the indigenou s raw silk isu sed for manu factu ring purposes . It also shows how twice as much Indian raw

silk is u sed inthe country as foreignraw silk.

Table 0 .—Import of silkp iece goods into deferent parts of India by ra il and

risen— This table shows how Calcu tta is the principal emporium of Indiansilks

,whi le the Punjab, the Uni ted Provinces and B ombay also patronise Indian

silk fabrics to a considerable extent.Table P .

— Imports of raw sit/c(including cocoons )from the diferente district ofB engal into 0alcutta .

— T his table compiled fromthe BengalAdmnistrationReportg ives some idea ofthe produce of silk indifferent districts of Bengal. It doesnot take into consideration the raw silk tha t goes to the o ther rovinces of

India , nor what is u sed in theBengal looms, nor does it give a fgir idea evenofthe relative production of di ffe rent districts. Malda comes out a t a grea tdisadvantage in this table as the silk filatures ofMalda send a g ood deal oftheir produce to the centra l factory of Rajshahi by country boats to be

there tested and packed up before despatch to Calcu tta .

Table Q .— Ex terna lRa ilway Trafi c of B eng a l insilk.

TableR.-InternalRa ilway Tragic of B engal insilk — These two tables have

beenconsidered a t length inpages 55 and 56 ofthis Monograph .

Table S .— Rela tiue importance of export and import of B engal silk,

_ This

table brings out the importance of the export trade in Bengal silk and theinsignificance ofthe import trade inforeignsilks.

Table T. World’s Productionof silk.

Table V.— World’

s Importa tions of sith.

Table W World’s Exporta tions of silk.

Table 21 .— Consumptionofmulberry raw sil/c indiferent countries.Table Y — C'onsumptionof spunsil/c indifierent countries.Table Z .

— Tota l consumptionof silk yarnindifferent countries.T hese tables , takenfrom M. Natalis Rondot’

s work L’Industrie de la soie

enFrance explain themselves , and they show the po sitionoccupied byIndia by B engal chieflyl as a producer and user ofsilk among the many silkproducing countries ofthe world.

TAB LE A.

The popu lationof B engal which depend on the S i lk industry.

Tota l for B urdwanDivmon.

Tota l forPres idency Du mou

The number of cocoon-rearerincluding

“

parti a lly agricu ltu rrets

"and “

de endents ”cou ld

not have decline so verv muchWithinthe last deca de.wh ile thefilature indu stry scarcely showsany deteriora tionand the wea v

ing indu stry shows cons idera b leameliorat ion. The figu res forcocoonmearers a re ev ident ly too

low, and these mus t have beengenera lly classed as cultiva tors ,in most dis tricts There beingonly 16 cocoon-rearers includingdependents in Midnapore , far

instance. w on the very face ofit , absurd.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

72\

J

Them; B .

Relative importance of Me dzferent branches of the B engal silk industry.

(Table based onthe Censu s figures for

usha l Hlllfl

Parganas

nd Khondmals

no Census figures for the 311kmgl ustry for 1901 appearing to memore unrelmble thanthose 01 1891 Ihave based th e table onthe Census figureslam 1891.0 G1 M.

Raw sxlk

Chasemorwaste

Cocoons

S ilk pleoe—goods

Semng thread

O ther sorts

TABLE D.

Export ofraw-silk,

“waste”and sat/cpiece-goods fromIndia toforeign

countries during the last twenty years.

More detailed t ime of export of Silkfrom India by Sea .

lbs.RS.

lb sRs.

Yds.Rs.

Yds.Rs. 1 54 735

lbsRS

lbsRs

Yds.Rs.

Yds .Ks.

lb s.Rs.

lbs.Rs.

Yds.Rs.

Yds.RS. 586

lbs.Rs .

lbsRs 819

Yds.Rs.

Yds.Rs.

lbs.Rs .

lb s.Rs. 8,

Yds.Rs.

Yds.RS.

Total value

lbsRs.

lbs.Rs.

lbs.R8.

YdsRs

YdsRs l

,4ti.4s9

R8 .

C’ountms to which Bengal S zlk (raw and manufactured) is exported.

RAW. MANUFACTURED

’nltedn dom 15 635 403241 981

rence Rs .6 11 1181 1

iu

t I") T u“s "a g“ ylbs . lb s. lb s. lbs .

Rs . Rs . 25,45.soo Rs. Rs.

00

u stl'

a lla

ther Countrles

Tota l quantltvTota l value

TAB LE F

Rela tive importance of English, French, and Nakoda trade in

B enga l silkfabrws.

75

TAB LE G

Ezpcrts ofRaw S ilk (including cocoons) from Ca lcutta .

To United KingdomOther ForeignportsMadrasOther ports inMadrasB ombayOther IndianportsBurma.

TABLE H

Export ofRaw S ilkfrom difi‘

erent parts of India by ra il and ricer during recent years.

(1 ) FOREIGN.

Bntish Provinces (ex clud

ing chief sea-ports )

Native Sta tes

1 6 502

(2) INDIAN.

B rltl sh Provmces (ex clud.

mg chlef sea-pod s )BengalOther Provmces 946

( 76 )

TAB LE J

Eaport of Silk Pcece-goods from different p arts of India by ra zt and ricer during recent years .

(1 ) FOREIGN. Mds .

B rltlsh Provinces (ex cluding chIef sea-ports) .

Nat 1ve States

Chi ef sea-portsB ombayKaracb 1

O ther ports

(Forelgn) .

(2) INDIAN.

B rltlsh Provinces (ex cludIng chief sea-ports)AssamB engalB omba lO ther rovmces 1

Na ture States ”39 11831Chlefsea-portsCalcu tta 676)B ombayOther ports

(Indlgenous) .

TAB LE K

Imports ofS ilk into Indza fromforeigncountries

More deta iled view of imports offoreignSilk into India.

Raw Si lk

S ilk piece-goods {is 1

38328522

assess es 12? new,

it em s thread 331253

O ther sort. 1112

.

‘ 0 0

lbs.Rs.

Yds.Rs.

Yds.Rs.

lhs.Rs.

lbs.Rs.

lbs.Rs.

Yds.Rs.

Yds. 3 633 516B».

lb s.Rs.

TABLE M

lbs.RB.

YClS.Rd .

Yds.Rs.

lbs.Rs.

lbs.Rs.

Import afforcignSilk into Bengal.

Yards .

TABLB N

lbs. bs. 2 13l ,836B s. 8 9. 7i.40, 154

Yds. Yds. 12,142 , 143Rs. Be.

Yds. Yds.Rs. Be.

lb s . lbs.Rs. as.

lbs.Rs. 25.

Import ofRaw Silk into diferentparts of India by rail and river.

(1 ) Forums .

B rl tish Provinces (ex clud

Nahve States

(2) 1 11mm.

B riti sh Pronnces (ex clud

Madra s

Madras ports

Import of S ilkp iece-goods into difi‘krcntparts ofIndia by ra il and ricer .

(1 ) FOBBGIN.

Brxtish Provinces (ex cluding chiefsea-ports)

Natlve Sta tes

Chlef sea-ports

(2) INDIAN.

British Prov mces (ex cluding chIefsea

-ports)B engalUnited Provmces ofAgraand Oudh

Punj abO ther ProvmcesNatlve States

Chief sea-portsCalcutta

Other ports

TABLE P

Imports ofB ansilk (including cocoons)fromthe difl '

erent districts ofBeng al into

Mds.

Totalmulberry silk 20 964From

B alasore

Total oftusserFromAssam (chiefly endi)Other Provinces ofIndia

Total of all raw silks imported into

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

Austro HunItaly

gag,

FranceSpainand PortugalSwitz erlandGermanyGreat B ritainMoroccoUnited States and CanadaMexico

Country .

JapanIndO-ChinaIndiaCentralAsiaRussia InEuropeArabiaTurkey InAsiaTurkey InEuropeB alkanStatesAustro-HungaiyItalyFranceSpainand PortugalSwitz erlandGermanyB elgiumGreat BritainEm.

Tunis and TripoliAlgeriaMoroccoUnited States and CanadaMexicoAustralia

Kilogrammes.

TAB LE V

World’s Importations ofS ilk.

600 000

3 290 000

880000

Kilogrammes.

Country.

ChinaJapanIndo-ChinaIndiaCentralAsiaTurkey inAsiaTurkey inEuropeB alkanStatesGreeceAustria and HungaryI talyFranceSpainand PortugalSwitz erland

TAan X .

Consump licnqfmulberry raw-silk indg'

fierent countries.

Country .

The Levant

Spainand PortugalSwitz erlandGermanyGreat B ritainUnited Sta tes and CanadaMexicoEgypt, Tunis,Algeri a , andMorocco

Consumptionof spun-sitic indiferent countries.

Kilos.

Russia inEuropeThe Let

Austria andHungaryIta lyFrance

United States and CanadaEgypt, Tunis,Algeria, andMoroccoAustraha

TAB LE Z .

Total consumptionof cells yarnindzfi’erent countries.

Country.

China

Au stria andHungary

Spainand PortugalSw1tZ erland

United Sta tes and Canada

PART IV

SILK-WEAVINGANDDYEING.

CHAPTER XIII .

BLEACHING.

159. The art ofbleaching silk is a very ancient one, and it is mentionedinthe Institutes ofMann(0 .f. KousM

’

kcibz’

lca qo-m dza ilz : Silk and shawl are to bebleached with u rine and water). The ancient method

,though recognised by

dkobz'

s,i s not practised by weavers inbleaching yarn. Whatever the y a rnused

forweaving , Eu ropeanfilature-reeled silkorMamru,twisted oruntwisted

, orma t/ltdthread (which is a lways twisted thread), bleaching usually precedes weaving .

Inthe ca se of corahs, however, bleaching follows weaving, the meaning of

the word ‘cora/z itself being

‘unbleached .

’ The colour ofthe raw Beng al s ilk,both of European a nd native manufactures , is yellow, that is, like tha t of

the cocoons ou t ofwhich it is made. T his,howeve r, is not a permanent colou r,

and it ha s to be removed by bleaching it White before it is dyed. The s ilkofthe annual B ampalu cocoons is u sually white

,but this also has to be sub

jected to the bleaching process before it canbe dyed. Inbleaching a seer ofsilk— (a ) one pow lb.) ofsaj z

’

(crude ca rbonate ofsoda ) is powdered andmixedu with 2% seers ofhot water, and the liquid stra ined through the same pieceoi)

cloth for a number of times, or (b) ha lf-a-seer ofashes obtained by burninplanta in leaves only is mixed up with 2% seers of hot water, and the liqu idstra ined as before, or (c) half-a-pow of soft and one pow ofthe ashes aremixedwith the wa ter and then strained a s before .

“Apiece of cloth is'

spread overa basket , and the water to which the powdered sqiz

'

, o r ashes, or a mix ture of

the two,has been added is poured «on to the clo th and gathered ina vessel

undernea th. T his liqu id is aga in poured into the basket and s trained a

second time. The straining is repea ted until the liquid looks like oil. This‘liqu id or lye is mix ed with abou t half-a-maund ofwater rand boiled. Into thisbo iling wa ter the seer ofsilk is int roduced, ou t of which it is taken whenthebleaching is done and washed ina tank of cleanwater. After the silk is dryit will be found onweighing that it has lost abou t a quarter of its weight bythe bleaching operation. If a piece ofwhite (or undyed) silk weighs 2 1 tolas,it should be inferred tha t 2l+7=28 tolas of unbleached silk thread have beenused inweaving it .

160. Weave rs u sua lly do their ownbleaching and eventheir owndye ing ,but corahs are bleached b dhobz

’

s or professional washermen, and there are pro

fes siona l bleachers in urshidabad as there are professional dyers . Men are

the chief operators, but they are sometimes assisted by women. T here aremore thana hundred professional silk-bleachers inthe district ofThey earnabout six or eight annas per diem;but as the washing

ofcorahs is a fluctuating bu siness , the rofessional bleachers cannot be sa id to bevery well ofi . They live chiefly at K ag ra , Sa idabad, and Kunjaghata , wherethe principal dyeing establishments ofMu rshidabad are situa ted . The processo fbleaching is done somewha t differently inBankura and B ogra, and thefollow ing extracts 'onthe subject will show how the work is done in tho se twodistricts. The Bankura monograph has the following lines onthis subject

The first process that the native-reeled silk undergoes inthe hands of the weaver iswinding all silks of difierent degrees of fineness on difierent lalm

’

a. The second process isthat ofbleaching ; for this silk is boiled for anhour inwatermixed with the a shes of act!

leaves. It is thenwashed and dried and'again rolled on 11. Ma i. Asort of gum, preparedby bailing parched paddy

' inwater, .is thenapplied.. The warp and woof are thenprepared,0 2

( 84 )

the former consisting of two strands and the latter offour strands ofthread. After the warpand the woof are prepared, they are separately dyed.

1 6 1. The Bogra monograph has the following lines onthis subject

B leaching — For this purpose the 8-shaped skeinoftwisted thread is takenaway fromthe kha tia .

“ The skein is then tied at the two extremi ties by two strings passrng through the two100 3. These knots serve the pu rpose ofkeeping the turns ofthe thread from being entangledwit each other.

“Asolutionis then prepared ofsoap water, water m which rctha fru i ts had beensteeped and ashes ofplanta inleaves. No definite proportions are givenfor the ingredientsof the solu tion, as they are all things tha t canbe used singly for the purpose of ordinarywashing .

“ This solu tionis thenbo1led and the skew ofthreads steepedm it, held by the stringin the extremities. The skein is stirred now and then with the strings. When the

requ isite amount ofwhiteness is acqu ired, the skeinis takenoff, thoroughly washed with pure

water and thendried .

The next process is that ofarranging the washed thread called pa rka ra .

“ Two flat pieces of split bamboo are inserted through the two loops inthe skein, andthe strings are untied and takenoif. Thenthe two bamboo pieces are gently pulled apart

,

so as to give a moderate tensionto the thread. The tu rns of the thread are then arrangedone by one on the bamboo pieces so as to allow reeling . The thread is then reeled off intoIatar

’

s.

“ Thenthe thread is starched with rice gruel or a similar substance obtained by boiling[that (fried paddy) inwater. Whenthe thread is still wet, it is reeled once. Whendry thereeling is repeated, which process removes the su perfluou s sta rch, as the thread is allowed to

betweenthe thumb and forefinger ofthe left hand The thread is now ready for thenext process ofwarping locally called tdnd-Izdtdnd or tand

CHAPTER X lv.

DYEING AND Pmrmne .

1 62. Dyeing is done either inthe thread or inthe piece . In both cases

bleaching (ofthe thread or ofpieces of clo th), and inmost cases mordanting ,precedes dyeing. The following seventeencolours are recognised inB engal

( 1 ) Indigo , (2) black, (3) blue , (4) grey or light blue, (5) red, (6 ) light red or

dncirddnci pomegranate-seed colour ), (7) yellow, \8) o range, (9) g reen, ( 10)

purple, ( l l ) banesh chocolate), ( 12) p z'

tambarz'

, ( 13) sona lz’

, ( 14) l u'

ramankanthz

’

, $15)mayurlcant/zz

'

, ( 16 ) dhupchlzciqd, and ( 17) cislzmzim. Of these , black and

blue co ou rs are not recognised inMurshidabad, Maldah, and Ra j shahi. The

la st five colou rs are ineach case the effect ofthe combina tionoftwo colou rs— one

1 63. Mordanting .-As a rule, bleached silkneeds mordanting befo re a dye

canbe permanently fixed into it. T o mordant a seer ofbleached silk, 10 tolas ofalum is used. This quantity ofalum is mixed up with about 10 seers of wa terand bo iled. The silk is pu t into the alumwater whenit is still hot, and turnedabou t inthe solu tion for half-an-hou r to get the fibre mordanted evenly. Itis thenwrung ou t and put inthe dye in a moist state. T his preparatorymordanting is not requ ired for dyeing silk with lac, ana tto, and indigo .

159 . Indigo anal gray .— T entolas (4 ounces ) ofindigo is u sed for having

the indigo vat ready for one dip. Six such dips in six days would make the

colour ofthe silk almost black, and one dip makes it grey. T he number of

di ps depends onthe kind ofcolou r wanted. S ilk which has beendipped in six

vats is regarded inMu rshidabad a s black ; while inBanku ra and Bogra , the ,art

of.dyeing silk with a true black (lye, seems to be known. To the indigo vat

( 85 )

is added some lime, some ashes obta ined by burning indigo-refu se, and somepowdered seed ofchakanda (Cassia tom). Whenthese are not u sed, the colourinthe silk is not permanent . The quantities are reg ulated by the appearanceofthe liquor inthe vat and not b the weights, handfuls

, of these subs

tances being throwninto the vat an the whole stirred . The fro th or scum whichrises onthe top should be blue, bu t underneath the froth onthe surface the liquorshould look green. T hese a pearances indica te tha t the indigo has properlydissolved. These substancesFashes, lime , and cassia tora seed) are not put intheindigo-vat whenit is intended to get only a fugitive dye. lnweaving figuredfabrics silk weft dyed in fug itive indigo is used, whenwhite o rnamenta tiononwhite ground is ultimately desired. The blu e colou r helps the weaver toweave in the patternneatly and properly , as he cansee the work better if thefigures are ofa different colou r from the ground . Such cloths get g raduallybleached white by washing . T o dye silk grey the bleached silk is put intheindigo-vat, wrung ou t, and dried . If the silk is to be dyed a deeper shade

,the

dry silk already dyed grey, as described, is againput inanindigo vat. T he

Opera tion is repea ted six times (60 tolas of indigo being thu s u sed up) if thecolou r wanted is very deep , almost black. Of all the dye-stuffs used inBengal,indigo is the most expensive , though in the silk districts

, where indigo is

generally produced, there is a great deal ofillicit traffic inthis dye , unknownor

undetected by indigo factors from whose factories the article is robbed and sold'

cheap in shops. Weavers inMu rshidabad pay only abou t 8 annas for every10 tolas ofindigo, or abou t Rs. 4 per seer, at which price they could notalways get the article inthe wholesale market. T o dye silk grey, only 10

tolas of indigo are needed for each seer of silk, and it costs Re. 1 per seerinclusive of labour. If the silk is dyed black by six dips

,the cost comes to

Rs . 4 per seer.165. B lack— The Bogra monograph gives the following recipe for pro

ducing black colou r insilkThe following things are kept steeped inwater for two days, viz .

, baritaki (Terminaliachebula), amlaki (Imblica ofiicinalis), bahcra (Terminalia bellerioa), andMela (Anacardiumindica ). Thenthe thread to be dyed is kept steeped inthis water with the other ingredients for, say, five days. After that the frui ts are thrownaway and the silk thread bo iledwith the solution. B arataki and amlaka

’

are two well known fruits. B oira or bakers is fruitsold by tam

'

yas inthe baz ar. The fourth ingredient (b/zela ) is the thing used by washermenformarking cloths. No definite proportionwas givenfor the ingredients to be used.

1 66. InBanku ra black dye is obta ined from harz’

takz’

,iron filings, and

ferrou s sulpha te insmall proportion.

” Inthe Sonthal Pa rganas tusser ya rn isdyed black by first bleaching it inlye , thenpu tting it ina mixtu re of wa ter towhich powdered myrabolams and bakers have been added , boiling the yarnin

this mixtu re, and finally bu rying it for anight inblack tank earth. It is takenbut inthe morning and washed.

167. B lue— Two or three dips in the indigo-vat are employed for producing

‘ blue ’colour inMurshidabad. InBanku ra “ blue is made of indigo ,

karitalcz’

,soap , and a few o ther ingredients.

”

168. Red and light real — To get the exact shade ofred onsilk is consideredby native weavers a very difficult art. The reasonfor this is twofold— first,na tive weavers donot weigh their dye-stuffs , etc.

,nor keep exact . time by the

clock, normea su re the temperature ofliqu ids with thermometers, bu t . do everything by guess-work ; secondly , lac and lodh (Syn: locos racemosa) dust are bothsubstances which are more or less adultera ted, an it is impossible to get exactresu lts simply by weighing , while a hydrometer is not in use. The weaversdepend onexperience to get the exact shade ofred. The lac is first made into a

co arse powder with a quern. It is thenplaced onsome vessel, some water addedto it , and it is rubbed with the palm of hand against the vessel. While thisrubb ing goes on, saj r

’

is dusted over'

it. For each seer oflac li to 1g tola ofcmis u sed. Two to three times the qu antity ofraw silk to be dyed is the proportionoflac used. After the rubbing ofthe lac and the saj z

’

is over,the paste is

transferred to a piece of cloth spread inside a basket. The basket is placedonthree pieces of bamboo over a trough (gamla ). Water is then pouredover the pa ste inthe basket, and the solu tionofthe dye ga thered in the troughbelow. Abou t 30 seers ofwa ter is used, whena seer ofsilk has to be dyed, for

G 3

( 86 )

getting all the colou r ofthe paste into the trough . The bo iling ofthe liqu id so

obtained , goes onfor abou t three hou rs . When the boiling is going onlodhdus t is sprinkled over the liqu id. The quantity oflodh used is the same as the

quantity ofmj i tha t has beenalready u sed formaking the paste. To a scert ainwhenthe ‘ bowl

’ofliqu id is exactly ready, the following test is u sed -Adrop of

the boiling liqu id is dropped into a vessel of plain water. If it sinks to thebo ttom ofthe vessel inthe form ofa ring, the

‘ bowl’ is ready. If it does not

sink inthis neat manner, bu t disperses inthe wa ter, it should be inferred tha tit requ ires more safi to make it right. Asolu tionofsaj z

’

has then to be addeduntil the boiling liqu id sa tisfies the test. If the drop ofthe liqu id appears too

da rk (blackish ), a little more lodh dust is du sted to make the bowl ’ right.Whenthe ‘ bowl ’ is read the g amla is taken down from the fire and keptcovered up for a day. ex t day it is againput on the fire, and as soonas

boiling takes place , bleached (but not mordanted ) silk is put in the liqu id andstirred. Whenthis stirr ing of the silk in the boiling liqu id is going on,tama rind wa ter is added to it. The tamarind used for this purpose shou ld notbe qu ite fresh from the tree nor very old. It should be a few months old.

For a seer of silk a seer of tamarind in seed is used. When the propershade of colour has been obta ined, a chitak ofalum is put in the liqu id

,

the silk stirred for a moment longer, takenou t, wrung , and dried. If alum is

not u sed , the dyed silk requ ires to be ‘ lodhed ’ before the d e is permanentlyfixed . To ‘ lodh’

a se er ofthe dyed silk half a powa (i lb) o tu rmeric is madeinto a paste and mixed up with half a powa of lodh du st, and the mixtu reboiled inabou t 15 seers ofwater. The dyed silk is put inthis liquor and takenout, whenthe dyeing w ill be qu ite finished. If there is too much water inthe‘howl

’

,the colou r obtained is pink. T o get a seer ofbleached silk dyed red

at a dyeing establishment costs Rs. 2-8.

1 69 . InBogra“ the silk to be colou red red is first mordanted ina boiling

solutionofalum. The lac is powdered and kept steeped inwater for one day .

Then the powder, as far as possible, is thrownaway and the solu tionboiled.

Thenthe silk is steeped in the solution.” The black and red dyes obta ined

inBogra are not qu ite fast, and Bogra weavers sometimes obtain colouredsilk thread from the Calcutta market.

170. The Banku ra monograph says Red ismade oflacdye. The lacis

finely powdered. It is thenboiled with tamarind, alum,and Hear”

crudesodium carbona te).

17 1 . InBurdwan resin from the banyan and ashad (peepul) trees isu sed ” for obtaining red dye in silk.

“ The resin is rubbed with wa ter inanearthenvessel, and then the thread with alum and the bark ofthe lad/z plantis put in.

” By resinofthe banyanand peepul trees, is no doubt meant . lac.

172. Yellow.—Four seers ofsawdust of jack wood (Arlocarpus integrsj

‘

bha )and one seer of balms]: (Adlaatoda vasz

'

ca) leaves are boiled together in ha lf amaund ofwater. The liquor is stra ined offand a seer of bleached and mordanted silk put in it, stirred well, takenout, wrung , and dried. This processis repeated three times more, whenthe yellow colou r will be permanently fixedinthe silk. The fou r seers ofsawdu st cost two annas. T o make the liquorfou r times and get the silk dyed yellow

,costs

,therefore, abou t one rupee per

seer.173.

‘InBu rdwan ba z ar tu rmeric is u sed for obtaining a yellow dye.

0range. -The following account of this dye is taken bodily from the

Hand-book ofSericultu re

Oi all the dye-stuffs used inB engal for dyeing silk, kamela dust is considered the best.This substance is found a s a granular deposit onthe fruits ofa small tree called Abir or Patsindure (Ma llotus phrlzppinenszs). This tree is found inmost Indianforests. The dust canbegathered inabundance inthe forests of Debra-Dun, Manbhum, Singhbhum, Jalpaiguri, andofCentral India . InMurshidabad, however, it is difficult to procure this article for dyeingsilk . and its u se is therefore extremely limi ted . Weavers cannot get unadulterated kameladust evenby paying 25 or 26 rupees for a maund. B rickdust and sand are the substancesusedfor adulterating kamela dus t. If the weavers are to secure pure kamela dust, theyshou ld propagate the trees at Mirz apur

, Baluchar, Khagra, Islampur-chak, and BashwaB ishnupur, which are the principal centres of silk-weaving inMurshidabad . The treesbeing small, they fruit within four or five years after they are planted. The fruits or

capsules ripeninFebruary toApril. Whenthey ripen they burst. and that is the proper

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 88 )

(Adhatoda vasica) leaf and five sears of jack-wood saw-dust are boiled together inwater,strained, and a seer ofbleached andmordanted silk dyed yellow by stirring in the manneralready described . The silk is thenput ina

‘spent ’ indigo vat, whenit becomes green. By

‘spent indigo vat

’

is meant a vat which has been already u sed for silk blue, andinwhich there is very little blue-colouring matter left. If 10 tolas of are bought for8 annas, it may be assumed that 2 annas’

worth ofindigo still remains in vat after it hasbeenu sed for dyeing silk blu e.

Cost ofdyeing silk green

Rs. A. P.

For bleaching 0 3 0

mordanting 0 2 0

(B ahash leafcosts nothing, as it is found inabundance everywhere.)Five score ofj ack-wood saw-dus t 0 2 6

Fuel formaking the liquor 0 1 6

Indigo left inthe spent vat ’0 2 0

Labour 0 6 0

Total cost ofdyeing a seer ofsilk green 1 1 0

Fast greem— Have one seer ofbleached silkmordanted with half a seer of powderedalummixed with eight seers ofwater, and kept over night soaked in this mixture. In the

morning the silk is to be wrung nearly dry and shakenup. The same evenin tha t the silk

is soaked inalumwater a seer ofdry cephalikd (Nyctanthes arbortristis) fl ower uds is to be

kept soaked in10 or 12 score ofwater,— also over night. The water with the flower-buds isto be boiled inthemorning , and the liquor afterwards strained out into another vessel bymeans ofa cloth. Into this hot sephahka liquor is to be plunged the mordanted silk while it

is stillmoist, and kept stirred so that all parts ofthe silkmay be ovonl dyed. When the

liquor gets somewhat cold, the silk is to be wrung out and shakenup. he remains of the

fl ower-buds onthe cloth are thento be put into the liquor and boiled againfor about half anhour. and the liquor strained out once more as before with the help ofthe cloth. The silk isto be put againinto this liquor and kept inside it for anhour, occasionally stirred as before.

For facility ofstirring, the skeins are tied with a tape and plunged inthe liquor. After anhour’

s soaking inthe liquor, the silk is be takenout and wrung nearly dry and shakenup.

Next day have 12 seers ofcold water ina gamla and mix with it two tolas ofanilinegreen, which is sold in the baz ar as European green. Have the silk while stillmoistplunged into this greenwater and stirred init until the desired shade of greenis obtained.

This greenwill be found to be permanent .Pa rp la — B leached andmordanted silk is first dyed red inthe lac liquor, and then put

inthe indigo vat. A small quant ity of lac is used that the silk may be dyed light red.

The cost ofdyeing silk light red isRe. for a seer. The [su bsequent dyeing inthe indigovat costs another rupee. The total cost ofdyeing silk purple is thereforeRs . 2-8 per seer.

Chocolate (banesh) .— B anesh is black with a shade ofred. To obta inthis colour the silkis first dyed deep red inthe lac liqu or, and it is thendipped once in the indigo vat. ItcostsRs. 2-8 to et a seer ofbleached silk dyed deep red. The subsequent blueing costs 12annas ; that is, t 9 total cost ofdyeing silk banesh is Rs. 3-4 per seer.

176. Weight ofdyed sz’

ih.— It has beensaid,a seer ofraw-silk is reduced in

weight to 12 chi taks after it has beenbleached. These 12 chitaks of bleachedsilk weigh about 125chitaks after it has beendyed. Whensilk is dyed green12 chitaks enhance to 12% chitaks inall o ther seasons except du ring the ra in},7season, whenthe enhancement inweight is half a chitakmore. Silk isnaturallyhighly hygroscopic incharacter. This by roscopicity increases when it i s

dyed green. T welve chitaks of bleached si k weigh l3i to 14 chitaks afterit has beendyed deep blue .

177. Secrecy — Most ofthe monographs speak of the reticence onthe partofthe weavers ingiving informationabou t silk-dyeing. They also speak oftheu se of Europeanchemical dyes being very common. In B irbhum “

colour is

not genera lly u sed indyeing saris .” This

,

is all the informationonthis subjectobta ined from this district. InRajshahi there is no silk-dyer .”

178. Europeandyes.-The u se ofaniline dyes, which is so verymuch easier

thanthat ofcountry (1 es, is bound to extend. All aniline dyes are not equallyfugitive. T hey are al more or less fug itive whenthey are exposed to sunlightfor any . length of time ; and the encou ragement ofthe native dyes which are

( 89 )

permanent is very necessary. But if aniline dyes must be used,those tha t can

s tand alkaline washing shou ld be a lone u sed . The Rampur Boalia Sericu ltura lSchool has instituted some experiments in this direction

, and so far theMaypole Soap (ob ta inable of Messrs. Whiteaway, Laidlaw and Company)seems to have g ivenvery showy results . Ashort account of the experimentsconducted in this school may be of interest, as the shades ofcolour obta inedwere very beautiful.

179. The soap wa shes and dyes the silk at one operation. Soaps of thefollowing colours are made z— pink

, cream, mauve, heliotrope, light blue, canary,fawn

, orange, cardinal, aloe pink, sa lmonpink, scarlet, cerise, terra-cotta , nutbrown

, crimson, maroon, navy blue, and black. Acake ofsea is dissolved inhalf a gallonof boiling water in an enamel-lined vessel. T e soap dissolvesinthe boiling water inabou t a minute. When all the soap has dissolved thethread or fabric is put inthe bath and kept stirred, ina simmering , but not ina

bo iling state, for a quarter of an hou r, when the vessel is taken down altogether from the fire and left to cool. Whenthoroughly cold the yarnor the fabricis rinsed incold water, a little starch being used if the fabric is needed to bes tiff. In that case after wringing and drying , the fabric is ironed. If thecolour obtained is not su tiicientl deep, a second opera tionma be necessary .

180. InHooghly ani linedyes are incommon use for yeing s ilk. Thefollowing lines occu r inthe report from tha t district onthis subject

The colours used are— Red, green, orange, and violet. The dyes arenot fast. For

red, magenta is us ed. Aniline dyes are u sed for green. Orange or yellow is made of

lutkan seeds and kamala dust (seeMr. N. G . Mukerji’s “Hand-B ook ofSericulture,”section

and sometimes from aniline dyes. Aniline dyes are also used for producing violet.”

1 81 . Printing — Dyeing and printing pieces ofcomb is a decaying industryforMu rshidabad. Whether country dyes or European aniline dyes (magenta ,etc.) are used, the dyeing liquor— ofa thicker consistency thanthat used fordyeing yarn— is mixed up with a quantity ofcottonwool when printing has tobe done. Woodenblocks w ith relig ious texts or conventional designs carvedon them are u sed for taking up the dyeing material from the cotton-wool pad,and the piece of silk being spread out properly ona wooden platform

, theimprinting of the design is done on the piece. Where mordanting is necessary the piece is mordanted beforehand with alum.

182. B andanna dyez'

ng.— There is a special process of dyeing pieces of

comb,called B andanna dyeing or B dnhu dyeing. T o make a piece of bein/m

kno ts are put on a piece of silk a t regula r intervals with cotton threads.Thousands ofknots are sometimes pu t ona piece before it is plunged inalumandin the dyeing vat. It is thenwashed incleanwater, and the knots are takenout

,whenit is seenthe knotted spots rema inwhite, while the ground becomes

dyed. The knots being pu t at regular intervals, the presence ofthe spots doesnot look bad, but the slight effect is produced with such enormous labourthati t is hard] worth producing . B ria/ms

,in fact, are made only out of cheap

corahs an mdtkas. The spots are sometimes made coloured by plunging a

white spotted bdnku ina coloured vat, whenthe spots take one colour, while theg round becomes altered incolour. Another process ofdy

eing silks inthe pieceis called “momin”

or waxing . Amomz'npiece is produce with drops ofmeltedwa x being arranged inregular figu res inthose spots which aremeant to remainwithout colou r. After this the piece is plunged inthe dyeing vat

,and the wax

afterwards removed. If the white spots are requ ired to be coloured,the piece

is a fterwards put inanother vat, whenthe spots take the colour ofthis vat,whilethe ground becomes altered incolour by the mixtu re of two colours. Thus

,if

the waxed piece is put inthe yellow dyeing vat, and after removing the wax ,if it is put inthe indigo vat, the spots o riginally waxed take blue, while the

ground is coloured green. Pieces ofsilk are sometimes dyed with the help of

stifl clay exactly inthe same way as they are dyed wi th the help ofwax , littlepellets and strings, of clay being used for drawing the figu resbefore it is mordanted and dyed. The practice also prevailspo rtions ofa piece by tying them with straps of leather or of

plunging the piece ina dye vat, thenprotecting the dye portion

those protecte in the former opera tion in a different colou r.bdnims, knots are sometimes put with freshly coloured pieces ofcottonthread,

90'

when, afterthe piece is dyed and the knots taken out, little rings are formedall over the piece ofthe colour ofthe cottonthread u sed for kno tting .

183. Dyer8.— Dyeing is u su all

ydone by the weavers themselves, but where,

as inMurshidabad,silk-weaving is one onanextensive scale, there is more divi

sion of labou r ; and as there are special twisters ofyarn,so are there special

dyers’establishments. T hese areminia ture factories

,employing eight

'

er tenmen each , in brick-bu ilt hou ses, conta ining a number ofva ts embedded inthefloor, and also anumber ofbra ss and co

pper pans. There are probably between

twenty and thirty such factories inthe strict ofMurshidabad . The menwhowork inthem are chiefly Tantis and Ka ibartas. T hey are moderately prosperou s

,their wages amounting to about fou r annas a day . B aluchar

, Khagra ,Mirz apu r

,and Islampu r may be regarded as the chief centres of the industry.

Radha Krishna Khan and Mohesh Chundra Manda] ofKhagra , with BhaghatBhushanDara ofKunjaghata are the principal dyers ofthe district.

184, Adiagram sheet at the end of this Monograph (No . 98 to 1 15)illustra tes the silk-dyeing industry ofMu rshidabad.

CHAPTER XV.

Pnocnsss s PREPARATORY TO weavme.

185. The process ofunwinding skeins ofraw silk and gathering them intoIa taz

’

s ofshorter skeins ofthread ofeventhickness and withou t break has beenalready described . The raw silk thu s ga thered into la ta z

'

s is sometimesemployed for warping without any further processes being gone through ,a s in

.weaving coralzs . T he process of twisting has beenalso described .

The twisted thread gathered into la ta z'

s is employed for warp ing inthe caseof pakwanor superior fabrics . The processes of bleaching and dyeing havebeen also described. Bleached and unbleached thread, dyed and undyedthread, twisted and untwisted thread , are employed in producing differentclasses of fabrics . The warp may be bleached and dyed , or the threadused in the wa rp may have beenbleached and dyed before wa rping takes place.

186 . Warping .-T he nex t p rocess to be described therefore is wa rping.

Four posts (A, B , C , and D) are planted inthe ground as showninthe figure

(Fig . IQ ). They are so planted that the width B to Cmay allowa manto move

Fig .

’

l

I0 .— Wa r'p ing .

abou t freely inthe space enclosed withinthe fou r csts. Th d'

and C D are so measu red ou t that the total ofAB,BC

, and Ce

Ddigrnbzs

efiudlto the requ ired length ofthe pieces to be~wovenat one settin ofthe loom. Iffor instance, the loom 1s set for weaving five lO-yard gown-pi

geons, theWarp has;

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

groceeds inthis manner up to D,

no intersections being made at or betweenand C

, the thread simply passing round them. T he same process is repeatedwhenthe operator comes back from D to A

,laying two mo re threads above

the first two. T his goes on till the requisite number of sbana ’ is . obtained,whether or double (and sometimes quadruple or eightfold ) threads inthe ya rd ofwidth. If the cloth is to be one yard inwidth andoffirst quality, double threads are laid one above ano ther before thewarp is ready. The set of intersections betweena pa ir of[ca t/32

'

s is called fold.

The Ica tln'

s are removed whenthe warping is completed and tapes inserted intheir places. These keep the two sets ofthrea d from the two char/ms qu iteseparate during the processes ofbleachng and dyeing if the warp is bleachedand dyed before it is introduced into the loom. If no bleaching or dyeing isdone at this stage , bu t the warp removed to where the loom is, slenderbamboo rods (called fade or j oci-lcafl u

'

s ) are introduced at once instead of

tapes, where the posts and the ka tta’

s are. The j od [cat/258 are also introducedinto the war after the wa rp has been bleached or dyed

,the tapes being

removed an bamboo la ths inserted inthe ir places .

187. The warp with j ocis inserted in them is rolled up and b rought towhere the loom is. One extremity of the warp is thenattached to the yarnbeam or off-beam (66) ofthe loomby a series ofknots, and the whole warp withthe j ade is wound round this beam (fig . 13)

Figu re l3.— Improved loom used . in theRajshahi Sericultural School,

showing the yam-beam.

188. Thenbegins the next operation, which is called shana-parana, tie ,passing the warp through the reed . This is a work of great patience, andthis is the reasonfor weavers object ing to weave one or two pieces only. Whenthey are sure ofbeing able to dispose ofeight or ten pieces of any fabric, they

go 111 for setting the loom,though the weaving ofthe eight or ten pieces may

take them two or three months. This accounts for silk-weavers needing tospend a good deal ofmoney inadvance. If tengown-pieces have to be woven,silk for the warp for all the tenpieces mu st be bought a t once, and itmeans anou tlay of over Rs . 100. When a weaver gets anorder to weave one or two

pieces ofsome fabric and receives half the price in advance, say Rs. 20, he is

still unable to begin work. He looks out for possible buyers ofother six or

eight pieces , and he needs anadvance ofanother Rs. 80 orRs. 100 before hecanbeginhis work. This is how silk-weavers get entangled with mahaj ons .The makaj cm assures the weaver he will buy the rema ining pieces a t cos t price ,and he advances the requ isite amount ofmoney at a high rate ofinterest. The

weaver may succeed inselling the remaining pieces at a profit to outsiders ; bu tif he fails, he sells them to hi s

‘maizaj anat cost price, and ou t ofthe profits ofsale ofthe one or two pieces forwhich he had received order, be has to pay themafiaj aninterest onthe loan.

( 93 )

189. The process ofinserting the threads of the warp through the reedand” a ttaching them to the clo th-beam or nea r beam

, is thus described in theBogra monograph

“Aj ald or crossing is brought near the ex treme rod. Thenthe Operator introduces aneedle through aninterval inthe reed, and the second operator, sitting onthe other side ofthe , reed where the whole yarn is, encloses the needle by two ormore threads (ordinarilythree) by a temporary loop. Thenthe first operator pu lls this loop out into the o

therside

of the reed by means ofthe needle. The number ofthrea ds to be introduced through each

interval depends uponthe Width ofthe.

cloth to be woven, the totalnumber of threads m theWarp, and the number ofinterstices 111 the reed employed. But this number cannot be lessthantwo. Having introduced, say, the first three threads through the first interval in theportion of the reed selected, they are drawnout

.

a li ttle. Thenthenext three threads areintroduced inthe same manner through the second interval, and so on.

This proceeds onto some distance inthe reed, say one inch. Then a slender bamboorod (c) is placed above the threads inthe first half inch and below the threads inthe secondhal f. .The ends ofthese two sets ofthreads are brought together and knotted in a s

inglekDOt ; 80 as to leave the rod betweenthe knot and the reedThenanother inch ofthe reed is worked inthe same manner, and the threads knotted

beyond the rod (0) as before. Thus when the_

end of the warp is reached, the newly

introduced rod (0) is held in positionand cannot get off111 a d irection parallel to the warpthreads (see fig .

“The warp is now ready for the process offorming healds .

Fig . 14 .— Arrangement of reed and hea lds .

E x plana tionqftkefig uro.

a , a— Dapti or frame enclosing the reed.

b Sluimi or reed.c Yarn-beam.

d d Knors onthe sets ofwarp threads.3 o a a « Slender rods over the shafts ofthe heald call dfinfsifl i-Shafts ofthe healds cal led 6am,

8 e mom

g , , g ,— Bamboo rods ti ed Wi th the shafts ofthe healds and connected with the treadles fi

h, h— Twomic/rants , or heald suspenders.

190. Ii'ormz

'

ng ofMalda —

.

The next operation, vi z ., fo rming of healds (oralso fully descrlbed inthe Bogramonograph, and this monographmay be againqu oted here

For forming each set ofhealds four round rods are required, viz .,two of the thickness

of the little finger and two others much less thick, and all ofthem a little longer thanthewidth ofthe warp.

(The treadles are not showninthi s figure).

The thicker rods are called 6am and the thmner ones mom‘

s.

One ofthe j alds or intersections being brought to a convenient position, the two rods (or“

corresponding to this are removed, a fter putting intheir places two pieces ofthinsplitboo , abou t 2 inches wide.“Thenone ofthe thinner rods , intended for the healds, is placed over the warp

, and aninstrument called fonds is placed close to it, also above the warp . Thisfaadz

‘

consists of a

rectangular piece of thinspli t bamboo about l i’th inch in width, with one of the ends

rounded off, which contains a hole. A thick cottonthread is passed through the hole andtied with the fandt’

. The thread is tied at the other extremity with the apex of a small,hollow, metallic cone.“Athick silk thread from a oharki is then introduced betweenthe upper and lower

sets of threads inthe warp , and drawnout to the other side, where the j awdi has beenplacedThe extremity of this thick thread is tied by a slip-knot wi th the slender rod

mentioned above.

“ The opera tor thenpicks up a loop from this thread by hi s forefinger betweenthe first

and the second thread inthe upper set. Thi s loop thenpasses round thefunds, and is knonto the slender rod cose to thefandz , by turning the end of the loop twice, so as to forma second loop through which the slender rod (called moon) is made to pass.

“Whenthe next loop is p icked up betweenthe second and the thirdwarp thread, anyslackness in the first loop and the corresponding knot round the moors

'

is removed. Thesame process is repea ted with the second loop, and so onto the end. Thefandi is meant forregu lating the length of each loop which is formed round it. The j cmds

'

ismoved onwardas the work proceeds, and inthe end the string tied to the fandi will be found to havepassed through all the loops .

Thenone ofthe thicker rods (baws) which have all conical ends, fitting exactly into thehollow cone. is taken

23) and one end of it is pressed into that hollow cone. The s

tring ofthe fana i being pull at the other end draws the cone and with it the bow shaft , so tha t inthe end the shaft occupies the positionofthe string, having passed through all the loops.

The moon’

is thintied with this baw shaft at several places (see fig . After thisthe whole thing is turned upside down, and thefold or intersectionmoved beyond the set ofloops formed . Thus the set ofthreads that have beendealt with before are aga

in on the“mm, Then another moori is taken up and 100 8 formed with the fandi inthe same

manner as before, with this exceptionthat thenew oops formed enclose each thread a s

well as the one string ot the loop that is already round it. Thenthe bow shaft is introducedas before and tied with the newmoors

“

.

’1 his completes halfthe process offorming the,

healds. The remaining set of threadsis dealt with ina simler manner to complete the process.

Fig . 14 shows the sets ofhealds whencompleted : e‘, e

’are the moon

‘

s, andfl andf:the corresponding baw shafts .

Now the wholething i s ready for fitting up inthe loom.

19 1 . The description ofsettmg the loomis also fully g ivenin the B ogra.

monograph . Though the Bogra loom is ruder inconstruction thanthe Murshidabad looms, a full descriptionofi t 18 a good introductionto the explana tionofmore complicated forms . The Bogra loomcc of the following parts(Fig .

Fig . l5.—The B og ra s ilk-loom.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 96 )

ckdrki only(

C) being showninthe figu re, as planted onthe pivot cl] come ou t

freely an get wound round the spool as a single thread F . Whena sufficientnumber

,of spools have been cha rged (wi th threads of different colours if

the operator is ready to beginweaving . He takes up a shu ttle (fig .

1 7) is made of steel, and pu ts a spool inside it inthe manner showninthe figu re, and the weaving proceeds as showninfig . 13.

Fig . l6 .-C ha rg ing of spo o ls .

Fig . l7 .— Maku o r shuttle .

CHAPTERXVI.

Weavmc.

193. There is noth ing special about the methods o rdina rily employed insilk~weaving , and the same looms are employed insome districts for weavingboth cottonand silk fabrics , the looms employed insilk-weaving being indistinguishable from those emplo ed in cotton-weaving . There a re , ofcourse, a smany

varieties of looms as t ere are patterns ofweaving . The mo re com

plex 1ty there is inthe pa ttern, the grea ter is the number ofhealds . The mo recomplex figured patterns cannot be wovenwith looms fitted with healds only,but by special a rrangements of harness-cords and loops to be described inthenext chapter.

194. The ordinary loomfor weaving a’butz

’

s, cara ts, and pla ingown~

pieces

(not twill) used inthe different silk districts, differs inno essential respect onei om another . An improved loom used in the Rampu r Boalia Sericu ltu ralSchool (fig . 13) and the ordinary country loomofB ogra (fig . 15) have beenalreadyillustrated inthe previous chapter . T hese may be sa id to be the most refinedand the crudest silk-looms respectively used for weaving corahs and gown-piecesinBengal. Inprinciple they are identical inconstruction. Instead of sittingon a stool, bench or chai r, the o rdinary weaver sits onthe floor, his legs hanging down a rectangu la r hole dug ou t or bu ilt round inthe floor . The tablelike a rrangement ofthe Rampur Boalia School is nicer andmore convenient,but it is not so steady or substantial, while the reed being su spended withwoodenshafts instead ofs trings makes thi s pa rt ofthe Rampu r B oalia arrangement more satisfacto The pulleys (PPPP) of the Rampu r Boalia loom,

which work the hende, are a lso an improvement over the correspondingnacham

‘

a ofthe Bog ra loom. The flys-huttle has beenalso successfully employed

inthis school. This simple mechanical arrangement makes the working of the

shuttle easier and swifter .1 95 , We g ive here also the sketch of a Mu rshidabad loom and one

of the Malda loom. Representing simila r pa rts by the same figu res, itwill be seenhow they correspond almos t exactly with each o ther and withthe o ther two looms illustra ted in the previou s chapter. The differencesthat occu r are only in the manner inwhich strings are suspended or postspropped up or supported, and so on. Ageneral descriptionofthe Murshidabad

and Malda looms (set as illustra ted in the two figures— figs. 18 and 19) forweavin saris ma beofwearing .

y g ivenhere, and 3 130 a general descr ipti onofthe process

Fig . l8 .— T he Ma lda h loom.

Fig . I9 .— T he Murshida bad loom.

196. The whole framewoik is rectangular— about 6 feet long and 4 feet

wi de, and it consists ofthe following pa rts

( 1) AAAAare four khunties or upright posts, a yard high , fix ed inthe

ground at the four corners ofthe loom.

9 3

(2) A,Al are two tel-thea tres or support-posts, each abou t nine incheshigh, placed just infront ofthe [Mani acs nearest to the operator. T hese are the pivots for the cloth beam.

3) se is the kol—marofor [col-narod (cloth beam) which rests onthe Italkhunties.

i is bz’

skarmar-lchuntz'

, which is an iron hook rigidly fixed to the

grounder T his is not showninthe figure illu stra ting the Murshidabad loom. At this po int is theArt-god, B askvakarmd ( lit ,theArchitect oftheUniverse) worshipped by the wea ver withgreat ceremony once a yea r , and da ily he bows down beforethis book when commencing the day’

s work. T o it is tiedthe handle of the cloth beam (52) that the warp may remainstretched, and tha t the cloth beammay not roll.

(5) BB are the two ba lms or shafts placed lengthwise on the fourkimnlz

'

es, onwhich are placed loosely the clza Zd-baj us or fiziaeld

baj us (ch. i.e.,moving battens .

(6) From the balms are su spended two strings, to which the dalctz'

or

the reed frame (cc) is sus ended. From the c/za Zd-baj us restingon the bakers are suspended wooden pulleys or naclzm

'

es,

or

both woodenp ulleys andnachm’

es, to which the baws or healdsare attached .

(7 ) The dalctz’

or dap tz'

(cc), reed-frame, which consists of two ba ttens,between the grooves ofwhich lies the reed or sinimi, are madeof the common reed (shar T here are

or dents inthe slzdnd, and a

skeinci with a la rger number ofdents is pu t inthe da/ctz'

whena close web is requ ired to be woven. As the cloth is woven

,

the daktz'

is further and further removed along wi th the cha iribajus, until the weaver finds it inconvenient to reach the shed.

’

T o the yam-beam (bb ) is fixed aniron lever (J) , which isworked to loosenthe wa rp. T his is not shownintheMurshidabad loom. The bamboo handle (is) of the cloth beam is thenworked to roll up the cloth that has beenwoven, the lever rea ttached to the be

‘

skarmdr kbuntz'

,and the weaving is continued,

the da lttz'

and the ckdlci-boj as being at the same time broughtcloser to the operator .

(8 ) The bakz'

r-naraj (bb), called also baIzir-narod (warp or yarn-beam),is su spended by means of ropes or supported on two sma llposts, one ofwhich (A, ) is showninthe figu re illustrating theMu rshidabad loom. The figu re illu strating the Bogra loom(fig . 15 shows how the ya rn-beam is suspended from the 0&

posts by means ofropes, While also resting against the off-posts.(9) The baws or healds (dd ) have to be adju sted every time the loom is

set . Abase consists of a slender stick ( sim'

,and a thicker

stick (dang i ) at the top, a rranged side by side,and a thicker

stick a slender stick (Shir), and a ba tten of wood

(futiles) at the bottom. Betweenthese two sets ofsticks a cord1 8 arranged in loops crosszed in the middle

,where the pa rti

onla r threads ofthe wa rp meant for this particular heald are

made to lie. In other words, the cord of the heald is madeto pa ss successively through the proper threads, the c<3rd beingfastened at each pa ssage through the warp to the top or

the b ottom sticks.

( 10) The pdskd-nam’

s or treadles (ff) are attached to the healds at theirbottom, with ropes crossing each other as they go up. Theyare not shown in the Murshidabad loom. These treadlesare simply bamboo s ticks rest ing onone end on a fulcrumgar/rink), which inv ite-tu rn is fixed on two wooden pivotscalled (garthee). B etween the-free ends of the treadles are

; planted a number, of upright”

bamboo sticks called bar/ta ttle

which ,keep,

the treadles from interfering with one another.It requ ires a good deal

'

ofpractice to ‘work the healds properly.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 100 )

fabric,but it is a vicious practice. The sugar spoils the fibres, and a fabric

s iz ed with sugar gets spotted , be ing stored for any length of time in the ra inyseason. Siz ing is also practised to make some of the stuffs heavier. Weaversthemselves are opposed to weighting , as the local sale of all silks is invariablyconducted onthree principles , vi z ,

l ) by actual count of the threads used inthe warp ; (2) by the length and wi th ofthe stuff (3) by the regularity ando ther excellence of the web . Dealers in Calcu tta , however, go mainly byweight. Anunsiz ed piece ofchew/cam, for instance, 10 yards long and 42 incheswide

,weighs (if the piece is a shcind p iece ) about 1 0 ounces. The

Ca lcu tta dealers , however, want that the ahdad-ckaukani pieces shouldunifo rmly weigh 125; ounces per piece. An inferior piece weighing 7 ouncesonly ma

yby siz ing be made to weigh 12% ounces

,for the benefit

'

not of the

weaver, ut ofthe dealer or merchant, who trades with o ther countries or otherparts of India, where they judge a piece of silk by its touch and look.

198. The Burdwanmonograph sta tes that cubits of wrap are warp

ped round the ya rnbeam at a time, and that it takes 3 to 3% months to tu rnthisamount into cloth . The Burdwan silk-weaver mu st have very good businessto be able to Weave 10 cub its a day uninterruptedl

yfor 100 days . It is not

imp ossible work, bu t it is heavy work, and it is ony whenweavers have very

good business that they work at such high pressu re, but probably 100 cubitswa s only meant andnot cubits

,as 100 cubits of wa rp is considered the

right quantity to put ina t a time inthe district ofMurshidabad, which is therecognised centre for silk-weaving .

199. The Malda monogra ph speaks of superior cloths being of to

shcinris . The ordinary Murshidabad maximum is But probablysome Malda weavers canweave closer webs.

200. Inweaving ma flccis the same system is followed, but the number of

dents inthe reed u sed for weaving ma t/ids is smaller.InWeaving corahs which are exported inthousands , more wholesale

methods ofweaving are employed. Warp for 10 or 12 pieces is firs t introduced afterwards by kno tting to the la st piece more wa rp is put in. Two

warp threads are passed through each reed-space and one through each bawspace.

‘

The shu ttle lays fou r warp-threads at each stroke . Inclu sive ofthe

cost ofsetting the loom, it costs one rupee per piece to weave corahs which a re

of the standard dimensions,

7 yds. X 1 yd. I t takes a weaver 2 days toweave a piece ofcora ls. With the fly

-shu ttle loom introduced by Messrs . Shaw,

Wallace Co., viz . with Messrs . Hattersley’s Domestic Loom one weaver can

finish one piece ofcoral: per day.

CHAPTER XVII.

SPECIAL PROCESSES or WEAv .

201 . No attempt has beenmade inany of the district monographs todescribe these processes of wea v ing which resu lt in highly complex webs.Mrityunjay Sirka r, who was the cleverest pla insilk-weaver ofMurshidabad

, wasa sked at one time by the writer of this Monog raph if he cou ld construct loomsfor weaving ornamental fabrics like those made b Dubra j. Afte r many effortshe succeeded in reproducing the border of Du raj ’

s shawls and table-coverswithout the corner ornaments . It is b a special a rrangement of healds forthe borders tha t he produced his plains awl with a wide ornamental bo rder

,an

article which is new highly va lued in the B erham ore ma rket. He also suc

ceeded in producing a sari with o rnamental g round sample 9 1a ). Mrityunjaywas familia r with the na/rslza loom of Baluchar, bu t it is of such complica tedmechanism tha t he fa iled to understand and reproduce it. There is now no oneinthe district since Dubraj

’s death who understands the mechanism of those

looms (fig , 22) which are still inuse inthe Balucha r circle for producing figu redfabrics . Whenany of these looms wou ld get out of o rder Dubraj was sent forto set it right , but he reserved the nea test pa tterns for himself. The looms fortu rning ou t these pa tterns are inpossessionof Dubraj

’s son

,who is represented

infig. 22a weaving a piece offigured can, ina loom left by his father.

202. It seems from the wording of someof the district monographs tha tfigured silks are wovenelsewhere a lso . The Banku ra monograph , for instance,speaks ofa Fullammm, or clo th for females with patterns offlower onthem,

“as

being sold for 10 to 20 rupees a piece.

” T hese are probably something likethe B a luchar butcdar sat/ 3

'

s. T hen there is in the Ma lda monog raph mentionmade ofthe Maldahi Belkhali Fu ldar

,

” the Fullam sedrj d,”the Kadamfuli,

”

and the cbdndlara s tarts, va lued at Rs . 9 to Rs. 1 6

,which are probably fig ured .

A different system of weaving figu red patterns is also alluded to in the

Midnapore monograph, in connection with the Tasar-wea v ing indu stry. Ana rrangement for ra ising and lowering some of the threads ofthewa rp in regularsuccession, of introducing coloured thread with spools only instead of shu ttles ,and thu s bringing out coarse pa tterns of flowers (something in the Punja bPbcl/mm

’

style), is recognised incotton-weaving also . Gu lbci/zcir cotton saris ,however, cannot be compa red in complexity of web or richness of designevento the ordina ry B a ltic/air bu tcda r sari. 1 Wlll quo te here my descriptionof

the nakelzd loom, giveninthe a rticle onthe Silk Indu stry ofMurshidabad,which

a ppeared in the Jo'

urna l ofIndianArt (No. which will help to illu strateFigs. 22 and22a , which have beenreproduced from photographs oftwo ofthesecomplicated looms

The arrangement of the loomused formaking Ba luchar bu tedors. shawls, and soar-fa is

somewha t different . The cloth beam is placed ontwo pillars or platforms, the wea ver sittingon a plank resting onthe same pillar a longside the cloth beam, his legs going between, andhis feet working the treadles,which are fixed inthe floor at one end inthe same manner asthe treadles are fixed in the pit inthe case of the ordinary loom. The warp-beam is alsoplaced on the floor, being slightly elevated with two pivots . Thu s the warp runs up ina

slant from the warp-beam to the cloth beam, instead of horiz ontally, as in the case of the

ordinary loom. The use offour healds where two only is essentially necessary, has been

alreadymentioned . The essential peculiarity ofthe nakelza-loom consists inthe presence of

the skirak, or a large number of strong twines running across and above the warp just beyondthe healds . Each ofthese twines is attached below to a certainnumber ofthreads inthe warpbymeans of long lo

ops ofstrong cottonsu spended vertically from the twines and allowingone, two, ormore warp threads to pass through each, according to the figure intended to

be brought out. Above the twmes are attached two naksha s or sets ofharness-cords, which

the draw-boy, sitting beyond the twines onan elevated platform. manipulates, thus bringingup each t ime a number of twines, which in their turn raise by means ofthe loops therequired threads ofthe warp . Tomake the sheds onthis side the reed distinct, two nanghsor plough-shaped wooden wedges suspended from the ceiling with ropes are thrust inby the weaver among the twines. He then passes the little sticks called Shir/rte (notspools put in shu ttles) charged with coloured weft threads through the sheds

,

’

alongthe whole width ofthe iece, corresponding to the different buts or figures. When the

coloured threads for t e buts ha ve been once passed, the nangla’

s are withdrawnwhilethe reed is pressed home to the web, the treadles worked, and the shuttle passed once tolay one thread of the ground weft. The reed is againworked and thenthe ‘ draw-boy

’

manipulates the cords ofthe nuke/ms which governthe elevation of the warp for the two

borders only. The fl ung/is are againthrust into bring the two sheds onthe two sides(for the borders) distinctly up, and thenthe two sticks with coloured threads meant for thetwo borders are passed through the sheds ones. Another weft-thread for the ground is thenput inw

ith the shu ttle. These three‘

sets of operations go onthroughout the weaving . Asarule there are two nuke/ms for the borders , two for the ba ts, two for the anckla or the

ornamental end piece, andone for the beginning and finishing up. The draw-boy’ manipula tes

a‘ harness cord ’

for the buts and the weaver pu ts in a thread for the ba ts. At the nextoperation, viz .

,the putting inof a weft-thread for the ground , the

‘draw-boy’ does nothing;

then the draw-boy manipulates a harness-cord for the border , while the weavernu tsina thread for the border. At thenext operationagainthe draw-boy does nothing, whilethe weaver passes the shu ttle to put inanother weft thread for the ground. At each operahon, therefore, time is spent by the weaver not only inhis ownmanipulations, but also inwatching those of the boy. For richer designs as many as 14 nakshas are sometimesemployed. It is easy therefore to imagine how a piece five yards long and 42 inches widecantake as much as SIX months for a weaver and his boy to weave, beginning at the adjusting of the loom and ending inthe completionof the first piece, for evenin the case of the

figured patterns 5, 10, and sometimes 20 pieces are turned out before a readjustment of the

loom is allowed.

203. An ordinary loom costs Rs. 4 to Rs. 10, while a mks/ta loom

costs Rs . 30 to Rs . 40.

204 . Figu re 22 illu strates a nakslza loom tha t has been set up at the

Rampu r Boalia Sericultu ral School by one ofDubraj’s workmen. I t is not so

complica ted as the looms which produce saris with ornamental ground (Fig . 2211 )

Figure 22 illustrates the weaving ofa shawlwi th a wide ornamental border, and

( 102 )

Fig . 22a ofa acira'

with ornamental ground, border, icunj a or corner figures and

t h b G M Puckn b e rm, Schoo l o ‘ An. Ca ‘

a s 22 3 NAKSHALOOM or MURSHIDABAD (MORE t'

oMPUCA'

rED i

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 101 )

specially adapting them for important requirementsof the silk indus try I hope to be able

to prove this in the course of next year. B ut while recommending to further,nay, to

g reatly increase, the culture of Indi anta sar (Antheri a myli tta ), onanimproved basi s, I am

ent itled strongly to support Mr. Wardle’s suggestions to introduce into India the culture

ofAntheria Pernyi too . The silk of the latter has other properti es which.

for otherrequirements give a value superior to tha t ofAntheria myli tta , and from a pornt of view,

considering the economic value ofboth kinds for India as a whole, I should think tha t it wouldnot be wise to neglect it now or as the one of two Sllks. the oak

.

s1lk is not indigenous inIndia , to impel t its culture to the benefit of the cool and hilly reg ions, while the cu lture oftasar, mylitta , wou ld , ifbased onbetter principles , largely benefit the poorer cla sses of thepeople inthe tropic parts of lndia .

”

210 . So the Bengal tasar, though it has beengreatly ou sted by the Chinatasar in the Eu ropean market, has a

'

future before it, if full advantageis taken of its capab ilities . It seems strange that the cocoons should be

gathere d in the jungles of S inghbhum,

Manbhum, Sontha l Parganas, and

even of Assam, and brought down to the filatures of Mu rshidabad for

reeling . T he tasar silk reeling and weaving indu stries must be estrangedfrom the mulberry silk-reeling and weaving industries, and the fo rmer devoloped ontheir ownlines. There should be no difficulty in establishing tasarfactories in tasar growing districts, where labou r and fuel (both coa l andwood ) are abundant and chea

21 1 . The industries ( t ose of rearing , reeling and weaving ) exist inthe same original conditioninthese districts, inwhich themulberry silk-rearing,reeling and weaving indu stries existed ino ther pa rts of Bengal before thesewere developed by B ritish enterprise and capital. The climate of thesedistricts is also more congenial to Eu ropeans thanthe climate ofLower Bengal.A'wear-reeling and weaving company organised on European principles, and

wo rking in the wear-growing districts is likely to have a very prosperou scareer before it.

2 12.

'It will be best to deal with the laser silk industry dis trict by

district.Murshidabad.

— It has been already sa id tasar cocoons are reeled inEu ropeanfilaturcs inthe district ofMu rshidabad , bu t they are imported fromdistant places . Tasar-reeling is done chiefly at the Bajarpara (oppositeB erhampore) and Narayanpu r Factories.

2 13. Hooghly.— The following extracts from the Hooghlymonograph refer

to the tasar indu stry ofthe Jahanabad subdivisionofthat districtWeaving of laser andmix edfabrzc8.— Fabrics made of tartar and of a mixture of tasar

and cotton are manu factured inseveral sca ttered villages in thana Goghat, but chiefly inShambaz ar, B adanganj , Kristoganj , Bettiah, Kayapata, Phubi, Hajipur, Mohesbgeria.

Kirtichandrapur, Debkhanda and Gosa inbaz ar.I have not been able, owing to the villages being scattered over a large area to

ascertainthe number ofpeople engaged inthis bu siness. The figures supplied by the policeappeared to me to be altogether unreliable. The number, however, may be roughly takentobe between300 and 350.

The fabrics manu factured by these people are tasa r some for womenandj ors (or suitsofdhuti and clwdder ) formen, beside dress-pieces made of a mixture of tasar and co tton.

These fabrics are sold inlocalmarkets or at Ghatal and other centres .

Ta t ar-weaving is invogue in several villages in thana Gogbat and notably inthevillages in Badanganj outpost. The area included in B adanganj ou tpost is contigu ous tothose parts of B ankura and Midnapore where there is animportant tasar industry. Theindustry appears to have extended to this subdivisionfrom B isbunpur, Ghatal, and Garhbeta .

The chief centre is Shambaz ar.The fabrics manufactured are such as are in local demand, and consist chiefly of

caries or dha tu .

“ The people engaged inthis indu stry belong for the most part to the Tanti caste and

ga

di

more limi ted extent to the castes ofKamar, Kumar, Jelias , Goalas, Chandals, andag s .

The fabrics are purchased by mahajans or wholesale dealers who make advances tothe weavers, and are sold by them at the lad/s ormarkets at Ramjibanpur inMidnapore,a t the Howrah hat, and at the local baz ars.

Tasar-spmmng .—Tasar-s

p)inning is confined to Sripu r, Madhubati, B airi, Haj ipur,

Kirtichandrapur, B OI‘

JO, Gosain aaar, Shambaz ar, and Baburampur inthana Goghat. Thesespinners are included amongst the tasar weavers mentioned above.

The ta sar thread is spun from cocoons imported from Manbhum and Singhbhum.

The fabrics are made either of pure tasar thread or oftasar mixed with cottonthread.The wear-spinning is done entirely by womenand gives occupation to most of the

w dows ofthe weaving classes.

( 105 )

The following are the different kinds ofcocoons u sed inspinning

(1 ) Ddba (superior) at Rs 10 per I (2) B dgui (medium) atRs . 9 per

(3) Jada i (inferior) at Rs. 7 per

Tacar thread is bought at Rs. 7 to Rs. 8 per seer of 70 tolahs direct from the manufacturet s of Sultanpur inGhatal, and also to a more limited extent, from Manikhat, Raipur,Salepur &c.

, inJahanabad.Tat ar caries and dlzoti's made of tasar are made inthe following siz es

S ara'

es. B hott’

a

5 yards by 1 yard 9 inches 5 yards by 1 yard 9 inches.3 by 2 feet 7

Besides these pure tasar suitings are made to order ' measuring 10 yards by 1 yardfor the u se of Bhadra loks. These are sold forRs. 1 1 per piece and are made inone qu alityonly, called chausuh

‘

,i.a., two threads warp and two threads woof The texture i s very

strong .

The aan‘

es which have a red or black border and the dhutis are made in two

qualities :

(1 ) Ohausuta’

,i a., two threads warp and two threads woof .

(2) Dcr-sutz'

, one thread warp and two threads woof.

The first quality of caries is sold at fromRs. 6 toRs. 6-8 per piece and of d/zuh'

s at

about Rs. 7 per p iece, the second qua lity being sold atRe. 1 less per piece.

Kathe alcili . -Aworse kind of b eer called [tel/re is made at Badanganj . Only abou tten families ofweavers are engaged inthis manufacture. The fabric is made ofpiercedtasar cocoons and is purchased by dealers from Calcu tta and Orissa . It resembles inappearance the welloknownAssam silk.

Garb/1a sutz’

.— A'

mixed fabric called Garb/1a su tz’

is sometimes made to order. It

consist of a mixture of cottonand ta sar. The siz e usually made is 1 0 yards by 1 yard.

The material is su itable for suitings and is sold atRs . 8 per piece.

“The indu stry is ina decidedly prosperous condition. Infact it has to some extentakenthe place of the old cotton industry . Owia to the depressioninthe cottontrade,the cottonweavers have takento lasermanufacture, t e looms being entirely adapted for

the pu rpose.

“ The time of the year when the fabrics are in the greater demand is the marriageseason in spring . The business is slackest during the rains. The cloths are wornduringfest ive occa sions and in the performance of relig ious ceremonies. B orderless tasar clothsare largely used by widows , anidea of sanctity being as sociated with silk and tasar. Duringthe rains the tasar weavers betake themselves to cottonweavmg .

”

214. B urdwan.— In the district of Burdwantasar spinning and wea v ing

are carried oninthe Sada r and Katwa subdivisions. Inthe Sadar subdivisionthey are carried oninthe following places :

InGalsi thanaAt Khanpara by abou tAt Uttarpara by abou tAt Halba z ar by abou tAt Jagatpur by abou t

At Kota by about

InSatgachia thanaAt Memari by abou tAt Radhakantapur by abou tAt Tantigar by about

Thus inthe Sadar Divisionabou t 228 families are dependent onthe tasar industry : theyare all Tantis by castes

215. Inthe Ka twa subdivision, thanks to the efforts ofRadhicananda RayofAmdanga , anofficer inthe employ ofa former Nawab Na z im,

tasar cocoonrea ring , s ilk-spinning and weaving are carried oninthe following vi llages

B agdigi, Goalkanigi, Madhatpu r,Musthul,Amdanga , Ghoranash,Panchberia , Jagadlanandapur, Chandul, Sribati, Multi, andMaygachi.

Employment i s givento abou t 500 families.Various castes take part inthe growmg and spinning , but the weavers are Tantis ofthe

Nava sak caste, which is only inferior to B rahmins, Baidyas, andKayasthas.

( 106 )

No cocoons from which resam or garad might be manufactured are growninthissubdivisionor imported : all importa tions are inthe form ofyarn.

Cocoons for ta sar silk manu facture are grown at Kalna along the banks ofthe river.Cocoons are imported from various places, of which Chaibassa in Singhbhum is the mostfavoured. Sonamuki in B ankura , Hu usongooninCuttack, and some places inthe SonthalParganas al so send cocoons . These are imported by Uriya merchants and also by tradersfromRajgram, B ankura , and elsewhere : at Katwa there are a fewmerchants who import.

The cocoons are ofvarious classes, viz .

(1 ) Daba, the best quality, comes exclusively fromCha ibassa inSinghbhum oneIra/ummakes two seers of yarn. Its price is Rs. 1 0-8 to Rs. 12-8 for 1 kahan

cocoons.

(2) B aga i, which also comes from Singhbhum, produces 1 } to 15 score ofyarnperkahan, and its price is Rs. 7-12 toRs. 9 per kakan.

(3) The mayo, which comes from Haz aribagh, produces If to 13seers of yarn perlea/mm, and its price is Rs. 7 to Rs. 8-8 per kahan

(4) Ja idui or winter cocoons is a quality imported from various places in the coldweather : it produces only 12 to 13 chitaks ofyarnper kahan, and is soldatRs. 3 toRs. 5 per kahan.

Yarnfor tasarmanufacture is prepared inthe following wayIf the cocoons are not dead, they are hung in a cloth over boiling water until theyme so . After being dried inthe sun, they are placed in a vessel containing water,

ca ttle-urine, and potash or scy‘

z'

water (the former being preferred at Katwa, the latter inthe Sadar) and boiled for about anhou r. As they become soft they are takenout and peeledby the finger and placed in a stone vessel. The spinning is done by the women of thefamily, while themales weave or engage in other occupations. The spinner takes hold ofthe cocoonand pinches it and draws out the clue. The thread is wound onto a bamboo frame(la ta i) which is held inthe right hand. The cocoons a re kept onthe left side ofthe spinner,and as the thread passes over the right thigh, it is twisted with the left handbefore it passesonthe la ta z

'

. The womenmanage to weave abou t two seers ofyarna month, and they sellthe best qu ality yarn for Rs. 1 2# to Rs. 14 a seer. As the price at which they purchasedthe cocoons ofthe best sort was Rs . 10-8 to Rs. 12-8, their averagemonthly earnings are

rather under Rs. 2. One anna a day is about the rate ofwages prevalent.”

2 16. Midnapore. -InMidnapore iasar cocoons are found inthe jungles ofGogooi, Mooga , Sildha , and Ramgaon. The jungle mahals to the wes ternsideofthe district generally and the jungles ofMourbhanj, and Dhalbhum producethese cocoons in abundance. T hey are imported from these places

,and they

gradually find their way into the villages of Anandapore in thana KeshporeandKesiari inthana Narayangarh , where weavers live.

217. The following account is furnished in the dis trict monog raph re.

garding the present industrial positionofthe tasar-weaving indu stry inthesetwo villages

These villages are wholly inhabited by weavers who prepare various sorts of d’wi'ecaries, and thana from the silk, and after local sale send out the surplus to Calcu tta for salethere. At one time the weavers ofAnandapore and Kesiari made their fortune by preparing tasar cloth, but for abou t 20 years the industry is onthe decline, owing to want ofpurchasers for their cloths and owing to the influx ofmachine-made European silk cloths ofa ll sorts, which being superior inmake and comparatively cheaper in price, the people likethem and do not care to buy cloths made by native weavers inthenative method , and thebest weavers complainthat they canhardly makeRs. 1 0 a mou th for their livelihood.

”

218. The following descriptionis also fu rnished inthe same monographofthe rearing and manufacturing processes invogue inthis district

One or two wild cocoons are found upon trees knownas a s/ma (Termz'

nalza tomontosa) . These are plucked from the trees inthe months ofAssz’nand Kurtis

, and‘

are keptinside a small pot made of greenleaves and kept tied to a small twig of the treefull ofleaves, and in the course ofa month the caterpillar’ comes out of the cocoon

, andanother caterpillar? is soonfound there. Whence it comes no one cansay, and a fter boththese had grownwell for abou t a montki , they give out eggs. Whensome hundreds ofworms are produced at this time, small twigs containing green leaves are put upontheselittle worms, and they go on feeding upon these new leaves, and g radually numbers getattached to these newly-cut twigs. At this time the little worms with the newly-cut twigsare removed to different parts ofthe trees as a lso to other trees having large quantities ofleaves . In this way all the little worms produced from the original

“

cocoons are removedto numbers ofbranches and trees, and they gradua lly grow to the siz e ofbig ca terpillarsand form cocoons. In the course of three months- October and September are favouri temonths for putting inyoung worms upon trees, and . inJanuary they ripe and are collectedby the dealers and takento different markets. The seed-cocoons are a lways found injungles ,

Female moth is meant. Malemoth is meant.This is a mi stake, eggs being laid by the female the very nex t day.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 108 )

or any alkalinematter ismixed with the boiling water, the silk loses not only its gloss,but also its weight, and the cloth gets spoiled. So the best process u sed in washing is

a little soap with cold water only.

Inthis district the following dyes are generally used in preparing ta sar cloths(1 ) Red and high red, (2) yellow, (3 green, and (4) purple, besides mixtures ofcolouredtasar silk inpreparing (5) ma urlumt/u and (6) p i tambarz cloths The red is prepared fromlac and a sort ofbark called lodh chal by boiling both the substances, and while boiling a

small quantity ofFuller’

s earth is sprinkled over the boiling water. The exact quantity of

eachmaterial cannot be stated by the weavers, but the red colour is obtained from a

particular caste ofpeople knownas new is.“ Yellow is prepared from a sort of earth obtained inmany places inMidnapore . It

resembles something like yellow ochre, and canbe obtained in large qu antities near deepwells and beneath laterite blocks . This earth is mixed in wa ter and a small qu antity oflodh chal pu t inand boiled and afterwards stra ined through a piece of cloth. Turmeric andwood ofjack-fruit trees are also used inthe preparationofthis colou r.

“No fast cancanbe prepared by the weaver : it is prepared from turmeric and indigo,and though boi ed with a little ofalum,

and the cloth dried three times to make the colourfast, yet i t fades away very soon.

Purple is repared fromthe barks of peepul trees, boiled with alum and mixed withindigo. This co our is much faster thangreen.

“Themaurkantkz’

cloth is prepared from a mixture, two sorts ofcoloured silk— one for thewarp and the other for the weft. Generally the red prepared from lac is used for the warpand the greenfor the weft.

Prtambara‘

cloth is prepared by the use of red silk for the Warp and yellow for the weft.E xport and import of tasar silk and sells cloth. Nobody canexactly say the qu antity

ofthe tasar silk that is manufactured inthis district, bu t, roughly estimating, I think the

export ofcloth will be worthRs. toRs . with a manufacture of yarn preparedfromthe cocoons, worthRs. a year.”

2 19 . B irbhum— The B irbhummonograph has the following account ofthetasar silk indus try of tha t district

B esides silk as described above,tasar or wild silk industry is followed inmany villages

ofthe district, important ofwhich are Karidhu, Kalipur, and Tantipara . Some 200 or 300families have takenup this business. It is principally centred in the western part of thedistrict and at Illamba z ar. The cocoons are brought infrom the westernjungles, where they

’

are either reared by the aborig inal or semi-aborig inal tribes or gathered fromthe forest trees.

They are reeled offand woveninthe villages.“ The quantity ofcocoons gathered or reared inthis distri ct is not found sufficient tomeet

the demand ofthe quantity oftasar manu factured inthe district. The manufacturers, there.

fore, get their supply fromManbhum and other districts in the vicinity , from which theymanufacture tasar cloth into dhuti s, series, and tbdns of10 yards. They are also coloured as

per demand . D/mtz'

s sell atRs. 3 toRs . 6 ; sense sell atRs. 4 toRs 8 ; but t/nins of ord inarytesa r sell atRs. 7-8 toRs. 1 0 and ofpakwanthread atRs. 1 2 to Rs . 1 8. These cloths are

sold locally and exported to other parts ofB engal.“ The industry is carried onby 200 or 300 families in this district in about 20 or 25

villages belonging to the same cas te as the silkmanufacturers belong . In social and industrial position, the tasa r manu facturers are exactly the same as of silk manufacturers . Theycome fromthe same caste, and it is found that the same manhas ta kenup both the industriesinhis band.

220. B ankura - The tasar silk indu stry is ina fa irly pro sperous conditioninthe d istrict ofBanku ra . The ketlze

’

s or coa rse cloths, made ou t of threadSpunfrom pierced cocoons (answering to ma t/ca cloths) , made inthis district are

well known, though the distr ict monog raph does not happen to mention this

cloth. Apiece ofketlré sufficient for a complete suit ofc othes can be had forRs. 4 orRs. 5. The whole ofthe account givenof the tasar industry in thedistrict monograph is quoted below

The eggs ofthe silk-worm are gathered and put onthe leaves of0 32m, ga l, fiartakz andszdka trees inthe jungle. The eggs are hatched onthe leaves, and the worms feed upon theleaves. Indue time the cocoons are formed, and they are gathered by cutting the smallbranches from which they are suspended.

~The cocoons are sold atRs 5 toRs . 9 a lcalzan(= 1 6 x The cocoons are purchased wholesale by substantial merchants, such as KedarNath Kundu and Faquir Chandra Dutta , ofRajagram, and reta iled to the weavers Theprincipal centres ofindu stry in taaar silk are B irsinghpur, Gopinathpur, and Sonamukhi.The manufacturers are all ofthe Tanti caste, who generally prepare the silk themselves fromthe cocoons. The cocoons are at first boiled inwater mixed with wood ashes . They are

then washed and cooled. Five cocoons are thentakena t a time, and the silk from them iswound by a womanona lata i. The silk thus obtained is gummed and otherwise prepared forweaving as inthe case ofdomesticated silk.

The msar silk is generally coloured violet and redwith aniline dyes. The yellow colourontasar silk is made from turmeric and komala powder.

( 109 )

The various kinds oftasar fabricsmanufactured in this district and their pricesnoted below

Price.

r

Rs. A. Rs. A.

(1 ) Sari or cloth for women 3 0 to 8 0

(2) Dhutz‘

or cloth formen 2 0 to 5 0

(3) d nor long pieces formaking dress 0 12 to 1 0 per yard.

(4) B ofl a or a species ofmixed cottonand tasar fabric 0 8 to 0 10

The major portionofthe tasar silk produced in this district is sold locally. A few

brokers come annu ally to B ireinhpur from Jessore and other districts , and take away a

considerable quantity oftasar fa ric from the weavers for sale inthose districts .

221 . B lzagalpur.— As a cheap fabric, the bafta ofBhagalpur , is far more

widely known and apprecia ted than the [retire of Bankura , and though theB hagalpu r tasar and bafl a industries are perhaps not in such a flou rishingcondition as they were a few years ago, they are still of considerableimportance . The following description ofthese industries has beensupplied byMr.L C .Adami, c.s.

Silk fabrics take a very important place among the manufactures ofthe district ofBhagalpur. fi om enqu iry it has beenshown that in the Sadar subdivision alone is the

industry carried on, and eventhere to no very great extent.The chief woven silk fabric is tasar silk cloth. About two thousand weavers gaina

livelihood by its manufacture— Tantis, Golas and Momins, the twfi former classes beingHindus and the latter Musalman. Most of them are cor and live inChampanagar,Nathnagar, Rampur, Kelahavi, Kutubganj , Khangarpur,

pLodipur, Poorami, Mustalferpur,

Radhanagar and Dariapur. All these places lie round B hagalpur.The cocoons have to be imported from the Sonthal Parganas, Haz aribagh andManbhum

The are sold at Nathnagar at rates varying from 80 to 250 to the rupee according to

qua'

ty. Pierced cocoons, the fibres of which are broken, are sold at from 1 00 to 400 to

the ru

Thee

yield a tola of tasar silk 15 to 20 cocoons are necessary, and eight to tentolas oftasar silk will bring inabout a rupee.

The preparationofthe BL“! is as followsThe cocoons are first exposed to the heat of the sun, and then steamed in an earthen

vessel and dried. The combination of heat and moisture makes the fibres loose andeasy to reel. The silk is next wound offthe cocoons by means ofaninstrument called puh

’

as.

The loomused inthis district cons1sts offive parts

(l ) The Chap}: (warpbeam) , a piece oftimber measuring about 6’

long broad and25"high . Round this the warp threads are wound before the weaving

commences.

(2) B ar’

mrs (healds) , pieces ofsplit bamboos fastened togetherwith thread so as to forma trend of comb. The healds separate the different sets ofwarp threa ds .

Just below the ba z‘

surs there are two corresponding pas'

surs made ofwood andmeasuring abou t 5

'

x 2"x They are connected by r ope links of a

triangu lar shape. The two links are worked in turn by the legs. Thebaisara hang from ropes fastened to a bamboo frame above. The par

’

surc

to which they are fastened keep themmovingup and down.

(3) The loan, consisting oftwo pieces oftimber, 6'

x 3'

x i'. B etweenthese there is a

framework ofthree reeds, like a comb, and through this the warp threadspass. This presses the weft thread whenthe loom is working.

(4) Kapur/um (shu ttle with spools) which introduces the weft thread through thewarp thread horiz ontally .

(5) Nanda .-Anoctagonal piece ofwood about 6 feet inlength round which the

wovenfabric is rolled.Bafta is another sort offabricmanu factured inthe same villages. It differs from'

tasar

in that the warp is all tasar and the woof cotton. Pieces of6, 10 and 12 yards aremadeand

'

dyed by the weavers Inone month a weaver canmake three pieces of 12 yards each.

Tasar as well as bafl a is u sed for d/mtss , sans, coats, overcoats, chap/ram, palms

and wrappers.The rates at which this silk is sold vary. It is takenby the piece and not by the yard

and the siz e and qu ality ofa piece makes a difference.

Apiece oftasar tenyards long to be u sed for a sari or dhuti will cost fromRs. 7 toRs. 10.

"

For coats, pieces measuring 1 0 to 15 ya rds are sold for fromRs . 5 to Rs. 15.

Apiece ofbafl a— dans i curb— measu ring 1 1 yards will bring fromRs. 3 to Rs. 5 forthe making ofclothes. For pakrz

'

s sevenyards are sold at fromRe. 1-8 to Rs. 3. A pieceoftwelve yards for a coat will cost a s much as Rs . 10.

Bcfl a for wrappers (dhasa) will bring fromRs 5 8 toRs. 12 for pieces of sevenyard3 to Rs . 3-8 for six yards, and Rs . 2 to Rs. 2 4 for five and-a-ha lfyards .

For colouring matter the Bhagalpur wea vers depend a lmost entirely on English dyes.The chief native dyes used are flowers of lei/ sem, sufah

’

, and pales, ha ldi (turmeric),Imus (sulphate ofiron) , resume (a yellow powder) and indigo.

( 1 10 )

The English dyes'have only to be mixed with water and also give a more brilliant

colour thannative dyes, and therefore are preferred.

Inmany cases two native dyes are mixed to form a third colour. The favourite mixtureis klmkz, made up offia ldz and knees.

Very oftenone colour is used for the warp and another for the weft, for instance, inthe cc-called peacock-coloured pieces, where the warp is red and the weft green.

The trade in tuner is gradua lly diminishing , though Eh pur used to be famou sfor it, and intime it seems it will die altogether, and imported clot alone will be

It is a great pity, but the hand-loomcannot compete with machinery.

222. Sou tiral Parganas — Inthe Sonthal Parganas iasar cocoons a re rea redthroughou t the district, for exporta tionchiefly to Mu rshidabad . T here is somela se r-weaving a lso inthe subdivisionof Godda , and the following descriptionofthe industry ha s beencompiled out ofthe monograph furnished by the Subdivisional Officer ofGodda . Wi th the exceptionof some ofthe vernacu la r terms

used , the descriptionof tasar weaving and its subsidia ry processes will be foundto be almos t identicalwi th the descriptionofsilk weaving , though the appliancesu sed for wear-wea ving are ofa ru der description:

The mainclass who carry on the industry are a class of people called Pa twas . Theyare really residents of the Gaye district, but a few of them have come and settled m thenorthernpart of the subdivision, and have taken up their hereditary occupationas tasar

weavers . They appear to be the only class ofpeople who manufacture silk cloth. Paharias ,Sonthals, Bhuiyas and

_

Khetoris also assist them inpreparing thematerials, but these classes takeno active participat ioninthe manu facture itself . Their work is againreferred to later on.

The Patwas number only 40 innumber and live all tog ether inone village, called M31Bhagaya ju st ou tside onthe borders ofthe Government estate (Damin—i-koh) . This class ofpeople are found nowhere else inthis subdi vision. They a lso go infor some cultivationas anaddi tional source ofincome.

Their social positionis that of simple weavers and their industry is that of lasar silkmanu facturers . They make the cloths and sell them in the local markets

, occasionallydisposing f their cloths inthe hills.

The ollowing are some of the names ofthe cloths they make with a short descriptionoftheir siz e and u se

D’mtz . —The dhuti is a waist cloth made for males. They measure about 4 yards x

1 yard and are sold according to their texture. Coarse quali ty Rs 2 per piece a piececonsists of 4 yards x 1 yard. Superior quality Rs. 5 per p iece. They are sometimescoloured yellow and red. They are used at the time ofmarriages and onfestive occasions .

Sara — The sari is a chief cloth wornby women. Itmeasures 6 yards x 1 yard .,The

pieces are sold according to their quali ty. Coarse qu ahty at Rs. 3 per p iece , and thesuperior qu ality atRs. 7 . They are ofvarious kinds, white, yellew, red, urple, accordingto the demand. Sometimes they are made with coloured broad borders . hese saris are alsoused by various classes at the time ofmarri s .

Gamcba .— The game/3a is a towel, worn

a

ie

y childrenround their bodies. They are madeinpieces, measuring yards x 1 yard.

The coarse kind cost about Re. 1 , and the superior quality Rs. 2 per piece.The cloth is also made into one continuou s piece called tlzdn, measuring 8 yards x 1

yard, and co stsRs. 8. The variou s colours u sed are made from variou s dyes, some of whichthe weavers purchase, others ofwhich they make themselves intheir homes.

The red dye is purchased from local bam’

as who bring it from elsewhere for sale. Thematerials for the dye (yellow) is also procured from the local bam

’

as.

It is said that they procure a kind of flower called komla which grows in the jungles}

They bring thi s flower home and dry it and powder it. The powder or du st the weaverspurchase from them taking it home andmaking a yellow dye. They put this dust into anearthenvessel boiling it for abou t anhour ti ll it begins to simmer and bubble up,

then,taking it ofi, they put the thread into it , and let it remainfor some time ; when the colou rhas soaked well into it they take themout and allow them to dry.

The other colou rs are purchased from the shops.Process ofmanufacture.— The following clas s ofpeople, viz ., Paharias, Sonthals, Khetoris

rear the toss” worms ontheAssntrees, either onthe bills or plains .

There are four kinds ofcocoonsl . Sari/zam— No. 1 .

2 . Langa .— Produces less thread thanNo. 1 .

Mama — The best, bigger than(1 ) and4. Phaka .

— Sold to Jogi or Bhairagi caste, who make a kind ofthread with themfor ja lis (nets ) they are used also for purposes ofmaking beads .

The process for cultivationis as followsThey take the seed of the munga for breeding purposes and enclose them ina coveringarm leaves called (thongs ). Then they keep these for two days. intheir houses whenIt l l the dry capsule or fru i t (not l ower) ofthe Ma llo tus Phrlrpprnensrs tha t i s meant. Agranular dus t i s found on

t hese fru its which yi elds the valuable dye Kamela orKamala-gunn. See the descrrptronof the preparati onof thrs dye inpara graph 178.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 1 12 )

The womansits downon a low four-leg ed stool themacfn'

a is made withfour woodenlegs, the sea t being interwovenWit sabai grass strings, with her legs stretched ,and she rubs the klmz’s onher left thigh, and one end ofit is attached on to the reel (la la z)

t‘

hhiOh she holds inher right hand, and she keeps turning inher hand winding the thread into0 IntactFive gundas 20 cocoons) yield one anti ofthread. Its weight is abou t I; bhoru

(tolas) . It takes about 18 antz'

s of tou r twist (toga) to prepare a piece of cloth 5 yardsx 27 inches inlength and width.

Thencomes the preparationofthe thread for the purpose ofmaking the cloth.

The preliminary process called [chews ka tna has beendescribed above.

Now they take the antic from the lataa'

and put them onto the char/cfone oneach side.(Vida sketch No. 2 offi

Thenthe attach t em onto the la taa'

and commence to reel. This process is calledsarki karna . They thentake this single thread (car/ti) and place it inrice starch (mar) tomake it stiff. This process is called patwari :nuk/zanwe. After this they put it onone side ofthe sharks, and twist it againonthe reel or la taz

'

. This process is called patwan’

ubbarna .

The Iota is then laced inthe sun to dry. The thread is thentakenoff and placedunder a stone, and we pressed. This process is called sarki chapna.

The thread is thenpu t into a wet cloth inorder to moisten it slightly. This is calleddohari mekde‘ Threads (sarki) are againput on each side of the cnarki and twisted on thereel (la tai). This is called dollar; ubbarna .

Warping process or Naritona process. Two la int'

a are taken, one in the right handand the other inthe left, and the threads are attached onto the [o ils post (cede fig.

The personthenpasses the latai inhis right hand onthe right side of mukban or lath,and the If taz

'

inthe left hand is passed to the left side of the mukban and so on, forming a kind offigure (8) right round . The personkeeps the whole time on the ou tside ofthesticks ; whenhe comes round to the next post a change occurs, the threads being kept oneither side withou t being crossed, they do not intersect or form the figure They runparallel from the second to the third post, as explained infig. 10 and 12.

Then the threads are passed on to the fourth post forming again the figu rei a., they are crossed. The above process is called na rztana . In this way they completenarttana process according to the siz e ofthe cloth they desire.

When a number ofthreads have beentakenround, the person thenwith some silkties the intersecting threads so as to prevent their being mixed or confused with otherthreads . The posts are then uprooted, except the first and la st. This process is callednarr

’

tana .

The personthentakes two sarsz’

s (pieces ofbamboo abou t 3 feet inlen th, half an inchinwidth) . They cut the thread offWith a knife intwo places at one of t 9 end posts, anda ttach it ona sarac

’

, placing the other sarai over the thread. This process is called blzanyaIaptana , and wrap it inorder to form the heald .

The reed or sana is showninfig. 24 (No . It is a sort ofa comb consisting of teethmade out ofthe ou ter covering of columns ofthe commoncar grass usually found on dearnland .

The teeth are just far enough to admit ofthe passage ofthe thread. The interval betweenthe teeth (gewa) varies according to the quality ofthe cloth.

They also differ infineness as well as inlength. The reed used inthe Sonthal Parganascontains 752 teeth, and is 3 feet 9 inches in length. The teeth (own) are abou t 3 inchesinlength. The reed costs abou t 4 annas each . It is made by Rusbania or Odna Godnacas te (Muhammadansect) inthe district ofGaya .

Thefmme enclosing the reed — It consists oftwo long fiat woodenbars, each about 5 feetinleng th , 2 inches inwidth, and having a

%ocve along one ofthe edges and a holenear each

end, and passing breadthwise through it . he reed is placed between these two bars (videNo. 5 of fig . 24 and No. 21 fi 25) and tied by string at the end, which passes through thehole. (Vernacular name of t e bars is blzanri.) The two bars are pinned together bywoodenpegs (kana le) which pass throu gh the holes at two ends.

To insert the reed, the two pins are taken out, and the u pper bar is lifted up, and thebottomedge ofthe reed is set to rest inthe groove inthe lower bar. The upper bar is againbrought down, so that its groove fits on to the upper edge ofthe reed, and the two barsare again pinned within The reed is thus supported with its length horiz ontal and itsbreadth vertical. When this is done it is supported from the centre bar (chalan) . Thecentre bars (chalans) are placed parallel and tied together and are placed across the twoside arm bars (balm). These bars are used for the purpose of suspendmg the lachm

'

. Theother (cha lan) is u sed for suspending the reed frame.

L ao/micaremade ofbamboo, and each is abou t 4 feet 7 inches inlength, and is attachedto one ofthe bars (cha lans) by string— cide figure 25.

The reed frame is suspended by strings from the cross rod.

Descriptionof loom— There are four posts usuall made of bamboos, and

are fixed into the ground, so as to forma rectangle. They are about 35 feet in1 5inches indiameter. The posts are u sually placed abou t 3 feet apart verticallycylindrical. The two front posts are almost ofthe same len th to the rear posts.

The yarnbeam is tied loosely to the rear posts — s ide ITO. 7, offig 25.

( 1 13 )

The cloth beam,however, rests ontwo posts, about 1 foot in length and 2 inches in

diameter. These posts are driven inclose to the two front posts on the inner side, andhave their tops cut in the form of a ledge, shaped somewhat like the letter V onthisthe cloth beam rests. These posts are called biskarna .

”

The yarn beam is a square bar, abou t 5 feet 4 inches inlength . The facesare 2 inches wide. Al ong the inner face runs a groove (71; inch x i“ inch) which is calledpa l-fl ) . This groove runs along the face ofthe beam. At the left end of the beam at abou t

5 inches from its end there are two holes (shed) . They are bored ri ht through two oppositefaces ofthe beam, and similarly two other holes onthe other two aces at right angles tothe others— s ideNo. 8

, offig. 24.

The cloth beam (narad) is very similar to the yarn beam, except tha t it is cylindrical,ozdo No. 9 ,fig . 24.

The yarnbeam is made of ad! wood, and the cloth beam is made either out ofthe ad!tree wood or palm wood. The warp is he t in a state of tension by the beams beingrolled round and thenfixed inposition, each y means ofrods which pass through the holesabove-described till they touch the ground at right angles. The rods are made of ordinarybamboo, and are about 2 feet in length. The rod passing

“ through the holes inthe yarnbeam is called the dunla, the other which passes through the cloth beam is called the

tunebo.

The posts support two bars, which are tied onby string to them. These are called ba lms(No. 1 0, fig . Across the centre of these two hers is placed two cross rods of bamboo

(chalans) (No. 20, fig . These two cross rods are tied together by means of string wi ththeir fl at faces sticking to one another. One of these rods (chalan) is used for the purposeof su spending the (lac/2m) which will be described hereafter

,and the other for su spending

the reed frame.The loom is enclosed ina frame which has beendescribed.The arrangement forworking is rather a complicated one, and not easy to describe ;

however, the arrangement must be so adjusted that it canbe pulled up and down, alternatelythe one shaft rising as the other falls.

The device is as follows

From one ofthe cna lans is suspended three or fourMuslims, No. 1 1 , fig . 25. They aremade out ofpieces ofbamboo, about 6 inches in length, with a hole through the centre. Athin round bamboo rod, abou t 3 feet inlength (No. 1 9, fig . passes through these holes .

This bamboo rod is suspended from one ofthe two chalans or cross rods . These lac/micareplaced at right angles to the bamboo rod which passes through the centre.

Fig . 24 .-Imp |eme 1its fo r tus ser-w eav ing inthe Sontha l

Pa rg ana s.

( 1 11 )

No . ga— T he tus ser-w eav ing loom of the S ontha l Pa rg ana s .

The lac/mic thus lie parallel to thewarp. At each end of these (lackm'

s) are attachedstrings which are connected to the [condo and sik, corresponding to sir and dangz

‘

oftheMur

abidabad silk loom. The [condo is a thinbamboo rod, abou t 4 feet inlength. The micissimilar but a thinner rod. B oth are suspended from the lac/11318. Just below these twothinbamboo rods, another bamboo rod, somewhat thicker, is attached, which is calledpustanancorresponding to j ut/ice ofthe Murshidabad loom.

The pustawan has two holes at the ends, passing right through them. There 18 a stou tstring abou t the thickness of the small finger which passes through them, and is attachedto the kanda and 8171: onthe other side . There are four holes inthe pustawan, about anequaldistance fromeach other. Through the two inner ones are attached strings which are joined,and this forms the treadle— aide No 12, Fig . 25.

The two upper rods (kanda and sale) are intended to secure the upper bow and the lowerto secu re the lower ba .

The weaver by pressing one treadle pulls down the shaft of healds attached to it.

This, in turn, pulls down the lac/mi, and consequently raises the back ends, which drop

with them the other shaft of healds . The pressure of the other treadle pulls down the

second shaft ofhealds, and draws up the first, and so on.The shu ttle (No. 13 ofFig . 24) i s abou t 8 to 9 inches inlength, and 15 inohes inwidth,

and 3 inch indepth. It is made ofcast-iron, and is shaped like a sculhng boat. At eitherend is fixed a piece ofwood, 2; inches in length, shaped like a cone. They are called mangc

'

.

Inthe centre is a rectangular hollow, measuring 4 inches x 15 inches x t inch.Inthe centre ofthe hollow is a. round small hole (bir) inone ofthe ends of the hollow

is a small hole, and inthe other end wall, exactly opposite, is a slit ornotch. Those are to

receive the spool pins, one end ofwhich 18 inserted 1D. the hole, and the other fits into thenotch, and these secured by a small peg (pakhhir) which is ed through a hole drilledacross the notch from one side ofthe shu ttle . It i s made out o thec apital ofthe worm (mussi) .The shuttles are made by local blacksmiths who belong to the Moreya caste. The spoolconsists ofa.length of the silk thread wound inanironpin. The thread is wound on to a

hollow tube first, which i s placed onto the ironpin.The tube 1s made out ofa kind ofreed called no! market. The ironpin is called ten

’

,

and the hollow tube chucks“

.

There i s another instrument called the churka (No. 14 ofFig. 24 and No. 18 ofFig.

It is used for the pmpose of winding the thread onto the ckucl u'

or hollow tube describedabove. The hollow tube i s placed onto a thinround ironrod or pin. The thread i s wrappedround the chuck/an one end of the thread is attached onto the hollow tube (onurkna). The

person then turns the handle, which sets the wheel inmotion, and thus the thread is woundonthe hollow tube.

Before a ca r ing proper starts, four processes are gone through.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 1 6

small scale. The following account has been furnished in the local

There is no silk industry inthis district properly so called . Tasar cocoons are cultivated to some extent in the jungles onasantrees by lower-class people, such as Bhuians,Bhoktas, Sonthals and others. A. very small portionofthe cocoons is unreeled by a class

of people called Patwaris, inhabiting the thanas ofGomia and Kasmar, whence the threadis exported toAz imgur, and sold to the mahaj ans at the rate of Rs. 360 per maund. Nosilk cloth is woveninthis district.

“Almost all the cocoons produced inthi s district are exported and sold at the rateofRs. 1 0 toRs. 30 per khan(a klzarz

' varies according to local custom, and is equal toand sometimes to cocoons). The cocoons are takento Purulia , Katras and Giridih andsold to the mahaj ans. The silk thread which is exported toAz imgur is sold at the ra te ofRs. 8 per seer.

225. Ranchi— InRanchi also no tasar cloth is woven, nor is any sp1nnmgdone ; but abou t a thousand persons earn their livelihood by rea ring ta safrcocoons The following account ofthis industry has been fu rnished by the

district ofiicer

Silk-growing is not a profitable occupationinthe district ofRanchi with the increaseincultivation, it is gradually dying out.

Its production is confined only to a small area ofthe district. It is reared within thejurisdiction of the police-stations ofTamar, Torpa , Palkote and withinsome selected areasofthe pargana B iru .

There are two kinds oftasar cocoons, viz ., (1 ) jungle-bred cocoons ; (2) domesticatedcocoons. The la tter class are more largely met with thanthe former.

The jungle cocoons are larger thanthe domesticated ones, and give much more silk.

When the worms are onthe trees they are carefully watched by the growers and protectedfrom birds and insects. Cocoons are collected in considerable quantities from the jungle,and eggs are hatched either in the growers

’ houses or inhuts erected for the purpose in

j un les.g“ There are two harvests or breeding seasons inthe year, first ofwhich begins in June

and ends inAn st, while the second begins inSeptember and ends inNovember. The

mo is ofbreeding ollowed inthe district is thisWhen the moths emerge from the cocoons kept for seed, the females are exposed or

left to form their connexions whether with the males emerging from the same ba tch of

cocoons or with jungle moths. Impregnation having taken lace, the eggs which are immediately laid are collected in baskets or tu fts ofgrass . hen ln about 8 or 10 daysthe worms beginto emerge, they are placed onasanor 861 trees as they devour the foliageof their first loca tion, till finally in abou t 50 days they spintheir cocoons uponthe trees.These cocoons, whenready, are picked fromthe trees, packed innets and slung to the roof.Twelve days later, they are takendown, the wood extracted, and they are stored .

The cocoons intheir wild state feed uponthe following trees— cal,kusumb, daota , sida

Lokire, k/zowa . The quahty ofthe cocoondepends not only uponthe species ofthe tree, butuponthe 8011 onwhich the tree grows.

The rearing ofta sar cocoons is not confined to any particular cla ss. The followingtribes are found employed in this work— Cheras, Kherwars, Mundas, Uraons , B huians,Chamars, Dosadhs, (J

‘

hasies. All these tribes are not found exclusively to engage inthiswork. They are found to rear silk-worms inorder to supplement their income from othersources, chiefly agriculture. It is difficult to give anidea ofthenumber ofpeople engagedins ilko rearing indus try . It is believed that the actual number wouldnot exceed

Cocoons are sold and counted by kbari, which contains more than or

cocoons. The cultivators generally receive advances fromma/zaj ans, chiefly bam‘

as. Whenthe cocoons are ready, the creditor collects his dues , and the remainder is sold by the

producer either to the mafia/ans or to the Izdts, at prices varying fromRs. 5, Rs. 6 andRs. 7per khari. Cocoons are exported to Puru lia , B irbhum,

Mirz apur, Gaya and Patna .

The productionoftasar cocoons is gradually diminishing . The falling-off is ascribedto (1 ) increase ‘

of cultivation, (2) greater demand for agricultural labour and higher wages,making the productionofcocoons a less profitable employment. Collectionofcocoons is nolon er profitable. There is, it seems, no prospect ofimprovement ofthis branch of industryint 9 near future.

226. Pa lamau .— In this district also there is no manu facture , but cocoon

farming for the manufacture of ia sar, is ca rried onto a certain extent and a s

this is a branch ofthe industry,the following facts may be ofinterest :

Cocoons are farmed chiefly by Cheros, Mallahs , Bhuians and Dosadhs, numbering from400 to 500 families. With the exceptionof the Cheros who have a certain pos itiontheseca stes belong to the lower orders ofthe Hindu community. The process is as follows

Inthe second fortnight of Kartw a number of cocoons, generally abou t 100, are

placed ina bag made ofpaddy straw and kept ina closed room, where they can get neithereat nor light. In the beginning of Adm Naclzhatra inAsarh (abou t the beginning ofJuly) the cocoons are takenout ofthe bag , strung ona rope and exposed to the cold . Infrom two to four days the moth emerges from the cocoons . The males, which are of a

( 1 17 )

reddish colour, are called plasma, the female, which is yellow, being called Mr. They are

mated inpa irs and kept frommorning t ill abou t 4 P.M., when they are separated. The

females are then fastened together inpairs, their wings being fastened with their fibres, toprevent them from flying . The pairs are gently shakenand placed ina basket , where theylay their eggs. The laying of eggs is generally finished by 7 P.M. Inthe morning theeggs are gently rubbed with the wings of the moths, the object being to keep themcarefully cleaned . In the evening the egg s are put insmall cloth bags and exposed to coldduring the night. being kept ina dark room during the day. The eggs are hatched by thee1ghth mormng. The young silk-worms are then taken, still in the bags, to a santrees .

Small cups are thenmade ofleaves ofthe bar tree, in which the s1lk-worms are deposited .

The cups are thenclosed and fastened to leaves ofthe neontree,abou t three or fou r feet from

the ground. The cups are most carefully made with the object ofprotecting the si lk-wormsfrom heat and rain. Fromnow for 30 days the breeders follow a curious custom. the reasonof which I am unable to ascertain. They observe the strictest abstinence

,not drinking any

wine, nor eating meat, onions, garlic, tamarind. or turmeric. They will not shave nor allowany Womento touch them, and sleep only onmats.

Three days after the cups have beenfastened, they are opened again. About one-thirdof the young worms are generally found dead the rest are a llowed their freedom onowntrees. On the evening of the third day they become torpid, and a fter remaining 24 hoursin this state, cast their skins (kenchur) . They againbecome torpid inthe evenincr ofthefifth day , and after 48 hours inthis state, againcast their skin. The process is repeated insi x days, the period oftorpidity onthis occasionbeing 60 hours. The three sta g es are calledckj art , doya rl , and tej ari. The period of20 days from the time when the worms were firstshu t up in the leafcups is called basouri. Inanother day cocoons will be found all over thetrees. By the 1 5th ofKama the cocoons are again collected ; a sufficient quantity is leftfor breed ing the next year, the rest being sold to ma/mj ans .

The rate is fromRs 6 to Rs 1 0 per lot of This lot 18 called khan or hayar

(ht. onthe same principle, Isuppose, as a baker’

s doz en.

The jwamas , as the breeders are called locally, pay the owners ofthe asantreesRs 4-8per sickle, viz .

, 8 annas as Ic/zu 'lmr and 4 annas as patkar— lc/mt/mr and pat/car be ing a royaltyon b ranches and twigs and leaves, respectively. The rent is calculated, not according tothe number oftrees occupied, but according to the number of sickles employed ; 1n anotherword , the number oflabourers.

There is no particu lar centre of the industry, but it flou rishes most inTuppas, |Kote,Pundag , Imli, Talleya and Goawal.

227. S ing/zbhum.— There are only a few Tanta

’

(wear-weavers ) inthe PoliticalState ofSeraikela in this district. The cocoons are reeled by hand by theweavers themselves and the thread ga thered onto ia ta z

'

s,the cloth being woven

inthe ordinary loom. The cloths are ofyellow colou r and are made to measure5 yards by 44 inches, i.a. , the si z e ofd/mlz

'

or sari. The price ofone of theseis fromRs . 3 to Rs. 4 . T hey are export ed to Dacca and o ther parts ofLowerB engal, and are not much u sed locally . The trade inthese series and dhuti?is not a very large one. The g rowing of la ser cocoons

,which is anindu stry

ofconsiderable importance, may be thu s described inthe words of the Depu tyMagistra te, Mr. P. Meerz a

The cultivationof laser cocoons is not peculiar to any particular class of people, butmembers of most of the different tribes of the place engage init in additionto theirordinary agricultural pursuits . The people who employ themselves inthis work are mainlyHos and Santals, but Dharwas, Gonds, Bhu iyas, Genre or Gowalas , andKharia s also carry onthe bus iness. The other occupa tions ofall the above-mentioned classes are chiefly agricultural.

It being as likely as not that people engaged in (near work one year give it up entirelythe next, it 13 almost im cesible to form any correct ideas as to the numbers engaged inthetrade . Inthe Kolhan overnment estate the average number of cultivators of cocoons isabout annually .

The tasar silk-worm is reared from eggs hatched artificially in sheds erected by thecultivators for the purpose, near the jungles or inthe1r hou ses.

Three sorts ofcocoons are knowninthe d istrict the man‘

s,baga z

‘

,and dab/la . The two

former are obtained from the jungle parent moth . the moths laying their eggs inAugu st.The dab/1a cocoons are reared wholly in captivity and are ready for sale inSeptember, theSilk derived from themcommanding the highest prices .

The process of rearing in some of 1ts stages requires great care on the part of the

cultivators. The naris and baga i cocoons are sou ght by the cultivators inJu ly andAugust,being found in the jungles on all trees. They are brought home by the cu lt1vators, andhung up intheir houses t1ll the moth forms. The moths are thenpaired off and placed insmall baskets , where they lay their eggs after a few days. The eggs are takenfrom the

above-mentioned baskets and rubbed with a shes, turme1 ic, and some jungle roots called man,

which latter the natives ofthe place u se for fermentmg their rice-boar called harm. Afterbeing rubbed as above, the eggs are placed betweenleaves sewntogether and hung up inthe

The Census tables for 3 111: g i ve no idea ofthe number ofpeople engag ed 1 11 Tu sser rearing inthis and other districts .

The returnboth in1891 and in1901 18 us ually b lank (r ide TableAPart

( 1 18 )

houses. The worms are hatched in from six to nine da s,the length oftime depending on

the strength of the man. They are first discovered y their eating holes inthe leavescontaining them. The cultivators take the young worms and place them onsmall asantrees,where they are left for a fortnight or so to g row. Ontheir becoming bigger they are placedonlarger asantrees and left to themselves to formcocoons, which , as a rule, commence to beready for collectionin September During the earlier stage a li ttle rain is beneficial to theworm, but fatal whenthe worm grows higher and commences to form its cocoon. The dobl u

cocoons are the home cocoons, a few being kept each year by the cultivators for the nextyear's cultivation. They are reared and brought u p inthe same way as the normand bagaz

’

,

and originally came from one of these two kinds , having derived their present superiorityover the nora i and bagai from the fact oftheir having beentended and kept by the people forseveral years .

Nart‘

a and baga z’

cocoons are never now kept for a future crOp ofsilk-worms.B esides the above three kinds of cocoons, there is one more knownamong the natives as

the moory or moonga . This latter is very rarely found, its peculiarity being that instead of

being found hanging from a twig by a circular stem,a s is usual, it is formed betweentwo or

three leaves. Although it goes by a distinct name, the moonya inreality belongs to one ofthe three classes mentioned, coming from one of their worms and the thread being the sameinquali ty and quantity as ofthose ofthe kind to which it belongs.

The good or bad results ofa tasar crop depend entirely onthe weather. As has beensaid before, rainis beneficial to the worm inits earlier stage, though the reverse later on.Heavy winds also affect them by blowing the worms off the trees, they being unable to findtheir way back again

Cocoons forminSeptember, October, and November, whenthey are collected and sold off,being purchased by mahaicms and banias in large qu anti ties, the rates varying, according tomarket competitionand the state ofthe crop. fromRs. 8 to Rs. 12 a Ira /zoo , or cocoons.

Ina good seasonone cultivator might get between two or three kahans, and as intheGovernment estates of the district he would pay only one rupee for the privilege ofbeingallowed to cultivate tasar, this would meana sensible profit ; the time takenup inthe wholebus iness, that is to say, from the commencement of the rearing to time of collecting, beingabou t threemonths and other expenses nominal.

Good crops, however, are uncommon; such great care being necessary and the wormsbeing so easily a ffected by the weather, that very often several cultivators inthe same placehave beenknownto reap absolutely nothing .

The purchasers steam their cocoons after purchase. Themethod ofsteaming here is verysimple inits arrangement ; a perforated chatty with cocoons init being placed over a chattyofwater, which is kept borling . The cocoons are thus steamed for a short time, till the worminside dies. They are thendried inthe sun, packed up inbags, and sent offto B anku ra andother places.

228. Manbhum— The lasar weaving industry ofManbhum is ofconsiderable importance, and the following account has beencompiled out ofthe reportwritten by Babu Prasanna Kuma r Dass Gupta

, Deputy Magistra te. The

diagrams illu strating the tasar weaving industry of Sonthal Pa rganas will serveto explainthis descriptionalso

Rawmaterc'

al.— Manbhum is one ofthe few districts inB engal inwhich the silk-wormis reared. The worm is ofthe tasar species . The indu stry has, however, declined duringthe last tenyears, as jungle ha s year a fter year been cleared . Now the weavers of thedistrict depend for the supply ofcocoons chiefly onthe neighbouring district of Singhbhum,

where the industry is carried on, ona large sca le by the Kols. Chaibassa is an importantcocoonmart fromwhich cocoons are export ed inlarge quantities, not only to this district, butto distance places more largely since the Opening of the Bengal-Nagpur Railway. Thefacility ofexportationafforded by the railway has raised the price of cocoons from Rs. 3to Rs. 10 per kahan wi thinthe last decade ; and in consequ ence the price of silkgoods has risen, which has againled to reduced sale. Si lk-worms are reared in the thanasB araba z ar, Manbaz ar, and Chandil, chiefly by the Sonthals, and to a small extent by the

Kurmis, onjungle trees locally knownas sci! and a sanand onplum (kul) trees. There 18

no special cultivationfor the purpose. Worms are put on here and there on the treesscattered over the jungle like lac-worms. Seeds have to be moved from tree to tree (graftedonas it were) withou t which cocoons do not grow properly . This process is locally knowna s chala . The period of rearing is from Srabanto Kama. An early crop is gathered inB hadra , which is poor inquality

‘and the cocoons are mortly pierced pierced through

by the worms, and yield a small quantity of bad thread. Those gathered in Kartz'

c are

good cocoons. The price ofcocoons varies fromRs. 4 to Rs 1 0 per kahan accordingto ualitq

Clashesw earers and their social position— The weavers in the district are Tantis whobelong to the class known as Nabasfrkks of the Hindu caste system which includes the

kamars (blacksmiths) , kumars (potters) , sankharis (makers of bangles of conch shell)— all

artiz ans . AB rahminwould drink water touched by them and would accept personal servicefrom them. InLower Bengal a Tanti will not do menial service, but here the poor Tantis

Wha t 18 intended 18 ewdently this. The cocoons of the first crop being thenex t generation to the few Wi ld cocoons

ga thered fromJungles , give very healthy result , and a ss therefore ent i rely used tor seed. But moths cutt ing out or seed

cocoons BpO l l them for the purpose of reeling. Katha cloth 18 made ou t of tamr thread spunou t of pierced cocoons . The

descriptionoftacar s ilk worm rearing conta inedm the Handbook ofSericulture should be consulted

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 120 )

Con( lusz'

on. -Want ofcapital and enterprise seems to be the chief cause of the declineinthe trade. Exportationofcocoons has, as I have stated, largely enhanced the price of

silk goods and led to reduced sale. No protective measure is of course possible ; but theTantis ofRaghunathpur may with advantage be helped with capital, and the formation of

joint-stock companies may be encouraged by advances. This may help inkeeping up a

u seful and rich industry ofthe di strict and add to its material prosperity.

”

229 . The appliances used by the tusser weaver are

(A) Charka or the spinning wheel. Only one personis necessary to work this tool.(B ) The nata i, the reel and (O) the char/Ci which is only a broader nata i (w.th a larger

circumference) . These are sometimes worked together. The manis engaged intransferrinvready-made yarnfrom the cllarkz‘ to the na ta t

’

. The na taa’

is a simple instrument made of a

few strips of bamboo or wood, the upper ends ofwhich meet at a point. and the lower aresupported on a wooden or bamboo circular base through which anaxle (of bamboo strip)passes to the top, which serves the purpose ofa handle by which the instrument is tu rnedfor rolling up thread. The char/a consists of two arched pieces of bamboo strips crossingone another and forming four arches onfour sides. The circumference must be the same a s

that of a skeinofthe tu sser yarn. so that the lattermay exactly fit onto it. The instrumentmoves on anaxle which may be loosely posted onthe ground, as the thread is rolled up onthe natas

’

to which one end ofthe twist is fa stened before the operationcommences.

For (nari-tana ) malawy the warp (D) certain bamboo sticks abou t two cubits long are

posted on the ground abou t three cubits apart . Each post is composed of two sticksmeeting at the bottom with the upper ends abou t two cubits apart, thus forming a

triangle with the vertex onthe ground. Aman goes from the first to the last post and backagainwith two reels onhis hands briskly arranging the threads intwo layers ontwo sidesofthe posts. For the sake of convenience , when the texture is very long the range t

shortened by arranging the posts onparallel lines, leaving a passage for the movements oftheworkman. The number ofposts varies according to the length of the texture. B it/turfham,

or arranging the lines of threads is only a contnnu ationof the above process. The posts are

takenup, and the warp (With the sticks through) 38 made to occupy a horiz ontal position.

Each line ofthread is carefully arranged one a lter another and the breadth of the texture isobtained. Amanbrushes the warp after it has beendrenched with boiled rice-water (mar) .The brush or kashi consists ofa bamboo or a woodenhandle attached to a brush made ofIdeaskbas (AndropogonMurica ta ) .

(E ) The tant or the weaving loom— The warp is first attached to the loom. There is a

pit just below the centre of the lower end of the loom, where the weaver keeps his feet anddraws and relaxes thereby thepa z

'

sars by pressing onthe woodenknob a ffixed to two stringssuspended from the paisars. The arrangement contains the moving principle ofthe loom.

It is knownas as taut garah (the hollow ot the loom) .

(F) The mm; is a circular-shaped wooden bar to which one end of the texture isfastened by means ofa thinstick which is made to pass through the texture over one line andbelow the next, and is affixed to the naraj on a hollow cut on its surface. This stick is

knownas bmduz . It is round the naraj tha t the texture is gradually rolled u as the weavingproceeds by winding it by a handle, and thus drawing the texture towards t e weaver. Thenamj is supported ontwo posts abou t half cubit high fixed vertically onthe ground .

(G) The tcua consists of two pieces of timber su spended from the roof. There is acomb of reed knownas sand betweenthese two pieces of timber. The sum: keeps each lineofthread ofthe warp apart . The ( and is pulled towards the weaver each time as the ma in;(shuttle) made to pass and repa ss over and below the two layers of thread in the warp inalternation. The process tightens the wovenpart of the texture by pressing it towards theuaraj and giving each line ofthe warp its proper position.

(H ) The ba z‘

sars and the puisera form together one apparatus inthe loom, the objectofwhich is to keep apart the two layers of thread and also the lines of thread ; the baisarsare two comb-like substances made oftwo sticks, each with stou t threads laterally arrangedbetween them, so as to give them a comb-like appearance the ba zaars are two sticks belowthe warp suspended from thepa zsars by strings the patron have againtwo strings suspendedfrom them with two woodenballs at their ends. Each of these balls is pressed betweentwo toes of the weaver’

s each foot, and the actionraises and depresses the p a zsars and thebaisars which enables the shuttle containing the thread of which the woof is made to passand repass over or below a layer of thread of the warp. The rising and the depressionof

the apparatu s in alternation separate' the two layers ofthreads of the warp and leaves a

passa e for the shu ttle to be passed by the weaver’

s hand.Pamkka ta .

~—It consists of two woodenor bamboo sticks placed across each otherwith two nails at the ends to keep the texture straight. It is moved forward as the weavingroceeds.1)

(J) Atrama.— These are plainbamboo sticks placed across the warp over some lines of

thread below others ju st to keep the texture tight and preventing the 1111 68 of thread frommrxm u

(TI)PB andurka ti.— It is a small stick dividing the lines ofthread into two parts, perhaps

for convenience sake.

(L ) Sam — It is the tied-unends of the collected threads , and is kept lying on the

ground or fastened somewhere onthe roof.(M,

l There is a rcpe tied to two pegs. The rcpe is gradu ally drawntowards the weavera s weaying proceeds and the woventexture is rolled up onthe namj .

( 12 1 )

(N) Tangnaka .— The beam supported on two vertical posts from which tana sana

ba isars, paisars are supported bymeans of ropes passing through sockets (made of world) or

wheels (like punkha-wheels) to enable the parts named to be raised or depres sed alternatelythe tagna is sometimes su spended from a permanent beam of the house, so that the wholeapparatus may be removed out of doors and worked there with the assistance of two vertica lposts fixed onthe ground to support the tangna .

(O) The mahu or the shu ttle. This is a handy ironor woodenframe with anironrod inthe middle to which is affixed the tube with the yarnat whicht hewoof ismade rolled round it .

The loomdescribed above is that u sed by the Jolahs . The Tantis’

loom is slightlydifiercnt. There the upper end of the tex tu re is [rolled up round a second naraj ju st beyondthe baisars and, as weaving proceeds, it is moved round giv ing up the necessary portionof the

warp which again(as soonas woven) is rolled up on the first naraj . This economises spaceand keeps the texture tight at both ends .

230. Gag/a.-The ta sar weaving industry of Gaya is also of considerable

importance , though cocoons are no longer reared in this district. It willbe refreshing to read the following somewha t hopeful monograph fu rnished byMr. L . S , S .O

’Malley, o.s ., when so many of the district monographs look

upon the silk-weaving industry as a decayed or a dying industry.

E x tent ofthe Industry — The silk industry is carried on to a very small extent in theGaye.

d istrict, berng confined to a few part icu lar locali ties named below

(1) Inthe Sadar DivisionInB uniadganj , Manpur and Gayawalbigha , all withinthe limi ts ofthe Gaya

Municipality, and at Ohakand, some five miles north ofGaya .

(2) Inthe Nawada subdivisionAt Kadirganj andAkbarpur.

(3) IntheAurangabad subdivisionAt Daudnagar.

The silk cocoonitselfis not produced inthis district now. Some tenyears ago the silkworm was reared to some e x tent in the jungly country sou th ofSherghati, close to the

Palamau border, where asantrees, which were once cultivated for the purpose, are still found,but latterly the cocoons have beenimported fromthe Haz aribagh and Palamandistricts.

Importance of the industry — Owing to this limited extent of the industry, the total

amount ofproductipnis necessarily equally small.Inthe villages ofBuniadganj andManpur there are about two hundred and fifty looms

one loom turns out agood piece inthree days, and a piece of inferior silk intwo or one and

a-half days . If we ta 9 two days as the average time, it will be seenthat these two villagesproduce one hundred and twenty—five pieces a day, or to make a rough estimate, allowingfor the slack seasonof su spended labour, pieces inthe year, for inthe Gaye. districtsilk-weaving is essentially one which is lia ble to slack periods, and inwhich continuous andconsistent labour throughou t the year is not prevalent.

The highest value ofthese pieces is Rs. 8, the lowest price obtained for bafta (mixedlaser and cotton) is 10 or 12 annas . As a matter of fact, pieces of the best silk are notu sually woven, and are generally made only for special orders . Onthe average, pieces,the value ofwhich ranges fromRe. 1 to Rs. 5

,are common. If we take the average as

Rs. 2-8 per piece, the annual ou tturnmay be rou ghly estimated at Rs. annu ally.

The ou tturnfor Kadirganj and Akbarpur is estimated at yards, valued atRs.for the year just past tha t of 1897-98 at yards, valued at Rs. so thatRs . may be taken under present conditions as the average value of the products ferthe year ; this silk, however, is extremely coarse and ofpoor qu ality. The report for thisyear from this subdivisiononthe subject ofthe total supply of silk fabrics ha s not yet beensubmitted : for 1897-98 it was 200 thdns or pieces, each ofeight yards, calculated to be worthRs. 600, allowingRs. 3 per yard .

It is di fficult to make anything bu t a rough calculationofthe amount and value ofthecloth woven in Gayawalbigha , where there are only five families of weavers, and at

Chakand, where there are 14 families. Perhaps Rs. 500 might be takenas the maximumvalue ofthe products ofthese two places. The total annu al outturnof the district might bevalued at a rough estimate atRs.

Present cendttzonof the industry — The present state, however, of the industry cannotbe regarded as bad, or its prospects as gloomy . The value of the ou tturn for 1890-91 (totake a period ofsome considerable duration, inorder to facilitate a comprehensive view) wasvalued at abou t Rs. at Gaya and at Nawada atRs. for the whole district

,

at Rs. inall. The year before the total ou tturnwas estimated at only Rs.so that in the last decade the industry may »be said to have made very great strides Atthat time the centres ofsilk-weaving were the same as now, but at Daudnagar the pa twas werereduced to such a low pitch, and the silk industry had so far declined, that the Su bdivisional

Officer atAurangahad made no reference to it inhis report. The patwas there had takentoweaving only cotton, and many ofthemhad had recourse to ordinary labour to eke their living .

At B uniadganj andManpur there were near ly 200 families ofp atwas, but silk-weavingwas inthe hands ofonly 40 families, employing abou t 170 hands. Most ofthe pa twas had

given up silk for the weaving ofcottoncloth, andmany families were obliged during the

offseasonto work as labourers .

( 122 )

At the present time, out ofnearly 300 families , about 100 work onsilk and bafl a regu.

larly, and the proportionofthosewho have to work as ordinary labourers has largely decreased.

InKadirganj andAkbarpur there were only abou t 30 families working insilk tenyearsago , where there are now about 60 families weaving . Inrecent years there has beena greatadvance inthe amount produced here. They produced

In1895-96, yards worthIn1896-97,In1897-98,In1898-99,

the las t year showing a slight decrease, which maynot be permanent.The quality ofthe silk wovenhere has lately improved, as may be seenby a comparison

ofthe values ofthe years 1897-98 and of 1 896 97. At the same time it mu st be admittedthat in spite of this recent improvement, the industry has declined since 1890-91

, whenthe outturnwas valued at Rs. At Daudnagar, where the industry has recoveredsomething of its old vitality, we find that the ou tturnfor 1 895-96 was estimated at 202pieces of8 yards each, the valu e per piece being betweenRs . 2 8 andRs. 3. The total valueof yards was estimated at abou tRs . 600.

In1896-97, it fell to 800 yards, valued at aboutRs. 300, but this was probably due tothe preva iling scarcity, as in1897-98 the supply rose againto yards atRs. 600.

At present it is reported that fifteenfamilies carry on the industry, which is admittedto he flourishing incomparisonwith past years.

Future Prospects.— The silk produced by the patwas in the Gaya district is generally of

a coarse description. The silk produced is tasar, the cocoon fromwhich it is wovenbeingthe antheraea paphia much ofit is remarkable neither for durability nor beauty. The classrich enough to buy it is necessarily rather small, and generally able to purchase a betterkind ofsilk cloth, such as that ofMurshidabad, which greater cheapness of carriage putsuponthe market at a reduced rate ; such competitionnaturally tells against the home-madestu ffs . The result is that the cloth woven tends to deteriorate inquality ; the best kinds arenow rarely woven, and the quantity ofbafl a (ormixed tasar and cotton) increases.

The weavers also complainthat they canonly produce slowly and in small quantities,

while theirWant ofcapital prevents their being able to tide over a bad year, so that ina waythey may be said to live fromhand to mouth. At the same time,however, there appears

to be no reasonable grounds for apprehension, at least for some time, that this industry willdecline. The townofGaya supplies a market for their goods : it is to Gaya and to thevicinity of Nawada that all the silk woveninthe Nawada subdivision is sent coarse as isthe material made at Chakand, it has a sale in Gaya, while the patwas ofGayawalbighaweave good dhotrs, which are bought by Gayawals and those connected with them.

The cloth ofthe Daudnagar weavers likewise obtains a local sale, which does not extendbeyond the district, but they produce practically no pure silk cloth

, but only bafta .

The cloth woven at B uniadganj and Manpu r i s sold at their doors inGaye townthou gh this village differs very largely from the other centres ofthe industry , as it exports

’

largely to Az imgarh, and has bamas who export to many parts of India . The best cloth issold inGaye. itself , though this is not ofany high merl t ; the ordinary cloth 1s generally sentaway. Gaye. itself offers a goodmarket. owing to the great number ofpilgrims who are gladto take away a piece ofthe silkmade here.

For the most part thdns or pieces are wovenfor s agas, chaplains, Icurtas, and also some andehudders. The weavers themselves are proud of the fact that the Manpuri silk is used formum/am inwhich to wind the dead, and that these are exported all over India .

The wea vers, their social and industrial condition.— The families ofthe weavers (patwas)themselves onthe whole mana e to earna competence by weaving alone, inspite ofthe evilsofintermittent labour, for the usy season, beginning inDecember

, after the best cr0p ofcocoons, lasts for four months, inwhich nearly half ofthe total outturnis produced

, and therest ofthe year is more or less a slack time for work.

Most of them have only one loom, but some have as many as four or five. In thevillages of B uniadganj and Manpur, out of the 1 00 families of regular weavers, no lessthan14 families are assessed for income-tax fromRs. 10 to Rs. 20, sums which representanincome ofRs..500 to Rs. The maximum daily wage of a family with four or

five looms isRs. 4. But inthe last two years the number ofthese more prosperous familiesha s decreased from 18 to 14, in itself p robably aneconomical advantage, caused by theleve lling up of wages. The ordinary p a twa gets only two annas a day . The great meritof the 1ndustry is that it gives employment to men, womenand children; the first weave,the

1gecond spin, and the third set the warp . Labourers are not employed by the patwas

at a

Amanwho weaves bafta will work three yards at the most a day, and gets four annaser yard, or else works abou t two and-a-half yards of coarse laser for eight annas per yard .

he price , infact , ofthe cloth naturally varies according to its quality fromfour annas to tworupees ; but ofthis best cloth only one and-a-half yards at the utmost canbe woven intheday. Awomangets five Gorakhpun

'

pice for a day’s spinning , for one ehrtet ofspun

silk. For waste silk, they get one rupee for six seers formerly the rate used to be tworupees per seer.

The small profit derived from this is compensated for by the small expense ofmaterials,as evena loom wi th all its parts only costs about Rs. 2-4, and the Daudnagar weavers

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

“

124

out silk as they walk. and the two lines are passed betweeneach pair of sticks (sar) irr~opposite directions. The result is that at each pair of sticks (sar) the threads interlace,and the threads at this point ofintersectionare kept separate, the thread ofone nata i passingfrom right to left, and that ofthe other from left to right. Where the warp to be set is

smaller, the process is somewhat different. Inthis case there are also two parallel lines withtwo stou t posts

,abou t 2 feet high, but at one end there is another post standing a foot or so

beyond the lines and at anequal distance from each .

Taking a length of, say, twenty to thirty feet, there will be four sars altogether ineachparallel line

,but these are ofdifferent character, as they are not sticks or cats fastened inthe

ground : the two middle ears consist ineach case of a solid base of drie mzrti (clay) broadenough at the bottom to stand firmly. In this there are four bamboo splints abou t 22; feethigh the two cars which flank these oneither side have only two splints ofbamboo fastenedinthis base.

The reel also is different : it is long and straight , consisting oftwo parts, one the ironaxle , kunda , abou t 15 feet long , which is held in the hand, and the other the woodenreel, about 6 inches long, onwhich the silk is wound, and which revolves, and pays out

the silk.

Inthis case the operator walks up and down, onone side of. and not round,the posts.

Inthis case also she has two reels, which she passes inand out oftwo ofthe bamboo splintsofthe central sure, and through those oftheir next .

Ineach ca se, the crossing ofthe thread helps to keep themdistinct and separate.

Whenall the thread has beenset uponthese cars , the thread onthe post at the end ofthe two lines is out, and the thread removed it is thenmade up into a big hank called lam/i i,and a fterwards set uponthe loom.

This process obtains inthe case of cottonno less thansilk, but with silk the processemployed ofwetting and brushing with a preparationofmustard oil is not resorted to. The

silk is naturally so smooth and glossy as to preclude any necessity ofsmoothing and brushing out irregularities. However, before transferring the warp to the loom

,it is stretched

and spread horiz ontally at a height of35 feet: from the ground the upper and lower sets ofthread are quite distinct and separate they only interlace at each end, where there are

three bamboos at the crossing of the threads ; except at the ends, the threads lie smoothlyand evenly.

The warp is su spended inmid-air by means of the support of a trestle-shaped stand(dogm) the end bamboo keeping the threads crossed is called danrhz', the next two ckeurh

the stand itself is secured by a rope, fastened to a peg inthe ground ,which is tight enough

to keep the warp straight and firm, till it is transferred to the loom.

Weas ing prawn— The loom itself is worked by one patwa , who sits with the loom beforehim, and with his legs ina small pit , inwhich are placed the treadles (paunra), with which heworks the loom. H is method ofweaving is as follows

Infront ofhim stretches the warp, with its upper and lower layers ofthreads : separatedbetweenthem he slides his shuttle (kaparbmm

’

) this is a canoe-shaped iron instrument hollowed to containthe needle (tm ), onwhich the silk thread is wound, and onwhich the tube(chucbchi) revolves, the whole being called mm ; the latter is kept in its place by a small

peg made ofa big sort of feather (pakknarz) , and pays out thread a s it revolves inside theshuttle, which is pu shed into and slides betweenthe two sets ofthreads.

Whenit has passed through , thepatwa pulls forward a wooden frame (hat/ca) suspendedfrom a bamboo bar above his head.

This ba ths consists of three parts : the upper, a heavy bar, the lower, a light bit ofbamboo, while between them is a comb of fine reeds, keeping apart the threads of thewarp , each ofwhich is set betweentwo of these reeds, and separated thereby from the next.

This sand (as it is called inGaya, besides a variant word rack/z) hangs from an upperbamboo fromwhich the nae/mi are also suspended.At the same time the patwa works his treadles with the feet, the result of which is

' tomove the healds (bar) , and thereby alternately raise and depress each set of threads ofthewarp ; they are connected with the nacizm already mentioned, a small lever abou t 6 incheslong , so called because its movements, which correspond to the working of the treadles,suggest the motions ofdancing .

It must not be forgottenthat behind these treadles are two sets ofreeds (ban) separatingt he two sets ofthread, and that the intersectionofthe threads not yet worked upon by theweaver is still preserved.

The pa twa is not only bu sy with the weaving of fresh cloth, but he is obliged , at thesame time, to secure the web already woven: thi s he does by means of two elastic bows,consisting oftwo arches (kantz) , connected by strings : these strings are pushed along the bowto tighten it ; by this means he regulates their tension, and adjusts their lengths exactly tothe width ofthe cloth . At the end ofeach arm is a pin, which is fas tened at either side of

the cloth, and keeps them intheir places.

The cloth itself is fastened to a roller immediately in front of the weaver (ckanpal) ,which is also u sed for winding up the cloth when woven. This is supported by two shortposts abou t 15 feet high (Hum id ) ; it rests upon the left-hand one (banu aria) , and passesthrough the right-hand one, which in shape recalls a tongue, and is consequently calledj tbhela . The portionofthe warp which has still to be wovenis ti ed up by a p iece of wood(dense) , which is itself supported by pillars, or rather woodenposts there is no loose end toit, but it ends offjnet as the cloth will whenwoven: it is kept tight by a string which is

1 23

biought back close to the Weaver’

s left hand, and which enables him to tighten or relaxthe warp as necessary . From the above account it will be easily gathered that the means

of ornamentation of the cloth can be readily supplied by charging the shuttle with thedifferent coloured silks required ; in this way the cloth may be shot with various colouredthreads, and bars ofdifferent colours may be introduced into the plainbackground ofthe silk.

This is the method also inwhich the bafta (mixed tasar and cotton) is introduced. The

warp i s composed entirely ofsilk, and the shuttle introduces the woof ofsut (cotton) .Where, as is generally the case, the piece is left inthe natural colour , nothing remains,

whenit has beenwovenand removed from the loom, but to sti ffenit with a preparation of

rice wa ter (mamrh) .If bright colours are considered desirable, it is handed over to the dyer. It is noticeable

that inthis district the cheap English aniline dyes are not u sed for silk, as they always arenow-a-days for cotton. Native dyes, carmine and yellow by preference, are exclu sivelyemployed, but this is a subject which does not legitimately belong to the province of silkweaving proper.

231 . Pa tna — Inthe B ihar subdivisionof the district of Patna,potia or

ta sar silk cloth is manu factured to a certa in extent. The extent and natu reof the indu stry are detailed in the following extract from the di strictmonograph

Potea is silk cloth as manufactured by B ihar weavers. The process is as followTasar cocoons are imported into the B ihar subdivision from the Bhagalpur and

Haz aribagh dis tricts by B eni Shah and Jhanda Shah, of Alinagore, inB ihar town, whosell them to other dealers. Cocoons are purchased inbatches of325 gundas, called locallyIran. The price varies fromRs. 5 toRs. 8 per hart.

Cocoons should be hard. Soft cocoons are oflittle value.their price being fixed according to their quality.

Spinning — Aclas s ofHindus called patwas purchase the cocoons and boil them inearthenpots ina solu tionof cru de carbonate of soda , suit, for abou t two hours. Afterthis as soon as cool, they are washed in cold water and are thenkept under shade sothat they may remaindamp . They are thentaken, one by one, and strand of thread is

drawn out of the cocoon, with thumb and index finger ofthe right hand, and attachedto a spindle, onwhich it is wrapped by the revolu tions of the spindle. From this the

thread is afterwards transferred to a latami (pyramidal bobbin made of bamboo lat/lies) .About Ii or It chztaks of thread are wound 1D the latami in a day. Each latamr containsthread of abou t 20 cocoons. This is removed andmade into a bundle, which is called auti.The bundles are thendried and stored for use inreceptacles so that vermin may not injurethem. The price of thread varies from Rs. 8 to Rs. l oper seer of80 tolas weight. The

quality ofthe thread is determined by its fineness or otherwise.

Pierced cocoons are also spunby the above process and are u tilised for textile purposes .

The thread ofpierced cocoons is comparatively thicker and is used as woof (bizarm) at

the time of weaving . Thi s thread is also made into a coarse kind of cloth called potia .

Coarse tasar cloth is sometimes made inB ihar and sells forRs. 6 per piece of10 yards.Steaming — Anearthenpot containing boiling water is kept on anoven, and another

pot with small holes bored below it, and conta ining a number ofcocoons, is placed over it, andis kept there for steaming for abou t half anhour. This steaming kills the chrysalis within.

The cocoons are thentakenout anddri edfor purposes ofreeling, which canlnow beeasily done.

The wage ofthe person who does the reeling is generally Re. 1 per seer of thread.

One kart, ale. 325 gundas of cocoons, is said to yield a seer oftasar thread .

Winding and weavmg.- B efore wa ing , the weavers soak the bundles of thread ina mixture of rice flour and water. ach seer of thread is wetted inhalf a seer offlourmixed with five sears of water. When coloured tasar cloth is required , the thread iscoloured before being wetted with the above mixture. When the skeins are saturatedthey are loosened andwound ina thinbamboo wheel called cherkl u

’

. The end of the skeinis then attached to a la ter, and the thread is transferred to the la taa

‘

by keeping it turningwi th the right hand, while the thread ismade to pass betweenthe thumb and index fingerof the left hand. After making the thread into convenient bundles and skeins, they are

ready for warpingWarg ina.

— The warping is commenced by placing the skeins againround the shark/tie .

Two at a time are held inboth hands and laid alternately against the two side of the

bamboo lat/n, called semi, which are supported by kilos or pegs on both sides . The warpsare made from 10 to 1 00 yards long , according to the capital of the wea vers . Duringwarping , bamboo lat/i ts are placed at convenient distances to keep the thread separate,and also to help at the time ofweaving fl owers or checks onthe cloth. B leaching is doneonthe warp .

Setting oj loom.— Whenwarping is finished, the loom is set and the warp is tied to

it and is wrapped round the warp beam, called chapta, at one end ; the other end is fixedto the cloth beam

,called nara’t. As the weaving proceeds, the cloth is wrapped round the

beam, and the warp is set free from time to time from the otherbeam.

Weavmg .—The skeins ofweft thread are transferred to a little piece of reed, called nari

or chuck/t i, and are placed in shu ttles called dbzrkz’

es. The weavers of B ihar work singlehanded. Introducing the spools, using of the loom, &c., are done by one man. The

looms and the working ofthem are similar to those used inweaving cottoncloth.

( 126 )

Onemancanweave about 25yards ofcloth ina day. For weaving a Mainof 10 yardslong the weaver gets Re. 1 a s wages.

Coloured dhutis and saris are also manufactured inB ihar, and are used by bridegroom:and brides at time ofmarriages. The colours liked best by the people are yellow and red.

The titans or pieces of1 0 yards length are us ually ofthe natural colour oftasa r.T/zdm in pieces of 1 0 yards length are seldom sent to other parts ofthe country for

sale, as they nerally obtainread sale 111 B ihar.No relia lo sta tistics canbe 0 tained about the actual outturn, as looms do not work

the whole year in weaving tasar cloth . Cotton cloth and cloth of a mixture ofcottonand silk are also wovenduring the greater part of the year. There are approximately 200

looms in the B ihar subdivision. The estimated ou tturn of each loom, according to theweaver, is 30 titans a year. Tasar cloth made inB ihar is sold to mahaj ana, who visit thevillages periodically . These people take the cloth to Calcutta and elsewhere. Tasar

cloth is also sold to residents of.B ihar. The weavers allege tha t they do not keep anyaccount.

The price ofa thanor piece oftamr cloth varies fromRs . 4 toRs. 9.

The following persons are reported to be local experts inthe making oftasar clothSukul Patwa , ofNipura . Gopal Patwa, ofAlinagore.

Chamari Patwa , ofSilas. Kirti Patwa , of ditto.

While tasar cloth is made by Tantwas, a few Jolahas also make very fine muslins,inimitationofDacca muslin, inAssanagore withinB ihar town. The tam ofthis cloth is ofCOW)“ thread and the oberm (W005) is Of tasar silk. The process is similar to that followedinthe making oftasar cloth. The weavers also make flowers of different patterns on the

muslin. This is done while the cloth is onthe loom.

The Tantwas who make tasar cloth are Hindus. and Jolahas are Muhammadans the

former consider themselves higher socially than Jclahas, and they are also better off thanthem. Jolahas , who have beensuccessfu l in business and havemeans, are usually ashamedto call themselves Jolahas and use the word Shaikh before their names. The number ofTantwas and Jolahas is not known.

232. B alasore.— The following short account of the industry has been

fu rnished from Balasore

SILK industry is not carried ononanextensive scale inthis district. Among importantindustries it has no place. Of its various branches the only kind of silkmanufactured hereis tasar silk The articlemanufactured is not of a eu rior quali ty. The industry , sucha s it is, is carried on by some 200 persons altoget er inthe whole di strict . Byfar theeater number of these people live inthe northernpart of the district, in the villages of

Pt

atpur andRaibonia ; the rest are inhabitants ofthe Village ofPurusanda , withinthe Bhadraksubdivision. The manufacturers ofthe northernpart are not confined to any particular caste.

They are realnatives ofthe soil, and a B rahmini s as much at liberty in this part of the

country to engage himself in the manufacture offasar silk as a Kapadia, a B ania , a Raju ,

aJola , or a manofany other caste. This manufacture is not, however, t heir sole occupation

They follow their respective avocations, and consider the industry as only a supplementarymeans ofaugmenting their hmrted income. They perform the same religious rites and are

governed by the same social customs as are obligatory uponthose oftheir castes who have no

concernwith this particular industry. Such is, however, not the case with those men whodwell withinthe jurisdictionofthe Bhadrak subdivision. They are knownas Bengali Tantis(wea

vers) , and not original natives of the soil, from whom, however, they are at presenthardly distingu ishable, inasmuch as having migrated fromBengal and settled downinthisdistrict years ago, they now speak the langu age of the country of their adoption, and have,more or less, accommodated themselves to the conditions of their environs They numberonly abou t 50 men, all told, but silk manu facture is their sole occupation. Aman isexcommunicated for ploughing land Wi th his ownhand.

Among both these classes ofmen, the rearing of silk-worms or cocoons does not formany part inthe process ofmanufacture. They purchase cocoons from the Sonthals and the

B humijes of the Garjat (MourbhanJ and Keonyhar) at the rate ofabou t 200 per rupee, thenborl them inhot water, reel them and gradually draw out all thread out of them. After,wards they knead the thread with a paste ofboiled potatoes, dye them, wea ve themby usingordinary looms, and thus manu facture cloths both formales and females. '

l he article thusmanufactured, after meeting the demafid ofthe local consumers, mostly Hindus, who have tou se such cloths for the various religious ordinances , goes to themerchants ofthe towns ofB alasore and Cu ttack and at Mahmed Nagar, Pa tna , withinthe Jellasore thana . Silk threadis not sold . It has beenroughly calculated that a ltogether cloths to the value ofRs.are sold by the manufacturers ofthis district annually. The local name of the cloth is

katza .

It has been already mentioned that silk-worms and cocoons are reared by the Sonthalsand Bhumijes of Mourbhanj andKeonjhar. The worms are black incolour and feed uponthe leaves of asan trees. The months intervening betweenthe end of the rainy season

and the beginning ofthe cold weather are chosen for the rearing of cocoons . Hundredsofmen are engaged inthis pursuit. Eachmantakes charge of100 insects and places themonthe leaves of the asantrees, himselfliving ina temporary but hard by, on one meal a

day and strictly onvegetable diet. He believes that the least diviationfrom this practice

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 128 )

lundz and two pieces of strings are tied at both the ends of the stick, and these strings are

again tied to two gherac. The ghora is a pair of splinters of bamboos fastened crosswise .

The strings mentioned above are tied just at the point of intersect ion of the two splinterswhich the gkora consists of. These two cross-pieces are attached tight to two other sticksfixed firmly to the ground. Now the lundt is stretched quite tight, and the weaver separatesthe several threads and makes them qu i te apart from each other and here and there thrustssome other bamboo splinters into the lundi. These bamboo splinters are called tzar z‘catkz .Now,

if the single threads are found to be torn, thentheweaver jcins them. Thenthe threadsare cleaned by means of a brush called kancha , which is made of a kind of grass. The

brush is wetted with rice gruel before it works. This process i s called tasaninpreparation of

the thread for weaving .

Now the lunch thread is taken into the loom. Here the lundz'

is called p om’

an. Bycertain contrivances, one set of threads are laid in one direction and another in the

Opposite, so that whenthe weaver by means ofhis legs sets inmotionsome part of the loom,

where the land»has been fixed, the threads are entwmed round across each other, and thusmake a fabric. Along with this fabricationgoes on the process of varani

, l a , the [condo is

kept ina small canoe-shaped instrument called na li, which is very skillfully and rapidly,

madeto pass across the abovementioned threads breadthwise. This completes the process of

weav mg .

”

231 . As the diagrams illustrating the description of the tasa r weavingindu stry ofSonthal Parganas serve also to illustra te the descriptions of the

same indu stry inthe districts ofB iha r and Chota Nagpu r, so also wou ld one set

ofillu strations ( figu res 27 and 28) serve to illustrate the indu stry for a ll the

districts of Orissa . The resemblances between the different silk-weavingappliances u sed all ove r B engal are indeed qu ite obv ious, though the B engalB iha r and Orissa types are qu ite distinct, and the vernacular names also differsomewha t for the three provinces, though some of the names such as bow and

meta are pretty universal.

Fig . 27 .—Ta sa r ree ling and w eav ing a pp liances of Ja ipu r

(C uttack )

Beng a l type .

Ree ling T a sa r cocoons

(b) Do u b ling ofT a sa r thread (only one charki be ing shown).

130

(f) Attachment of hea ld to tread le .

(g) The Ta sa r lo om of C uttack.

Fig . 28.— Ta sa r-w ea v ing app liance s ofKhurda (Pu ri).

O ris s a typ e .

C loth~beam (Pauz d).

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 132 )

Reed (Shana ).

Spinning wheel (areta) .SpoolShuttle (maku) .Healds (baw).Comb (talow) .Cloth-beam (pausa).Reed (shand) .fl

Q

Q

Q

P’

N!‘

T he Ta sa r loom ofPuri.

( 1 33

Sp inning w hee l (areta)

235. Cutlack.— The following fully illustrated and interesting report on

the tasar silk-weaving industry which is ca rried on only in the villag e ofGopalpur (thana Dharamsa la , Jajpur subdi vision) in this dis trict, has beenfurnished by B abu B raj a Durlabha Haja ra , Subdivisional Oliicer ofJajpur

The classes whocarry onthe industry.— Only tasar silk indu stry is carried on on a

very small scale, at the village ofGOpalpur, which lies partly inpargana Olas and p artly inkilla Madhupur , thana Dharamsala , by a class ofweavers who are called B engali Tantzs (orTantis, i a , weavers, of B engal) . The weavers are so called as they are not ofUriya origin.

They have settled here from time ofwhich no accurate account is available. Their ancestorscame to Orissa from Burdwan or Chandrakona inMidnapore on p1lgrimag e, and for somereasonor other settled here. There has beenaddition to their number from time to timeowing to people coming to Orissa on a similar object, and ultimately settling to live withthe ir brethrenofthe same stock. They have formed a class by themselves , and are notsocially connected with any class ofUriyas ,

(i t) Their number.—There are about 200houses or families ofthese weavers at the village.

Almost every family owns a loom, and carries onthe industry independently by the labou r

of its ownmembers, including tha t of females and girls, who have parts assigned to themas hereinafter described.

(an) Their scam! and andustre’

al poss’

tion.— As stated above, these weavers form a classby themselves. Their socal intercourses are confined to their own circle. They may besaid to belong to the middle class inposition. Other people do not have anything to do withthem except inthe dealings oftheir proper profession. These weavers weave tasar as wellas cotton cloth . They do not engage inany other industry or bus iness or hold or cultivateany lands. Somehow they have kept ontheir industry and get oninlife with .the earningsfrom i t . By this I do not meanto say that they are poor or instringent circumstances .

Indeed, some ofthem are well 03 and havemoney enough to carry ona small money-lendingbusiness intheir ownhumble circle, as everyone who cansave anything does at almost everyrural villa o'e.

(w) The processes they follow.-The process that these weavers follow is as simple

as the scale of their business i s small. They maintainno extensive filature or possess anyintricate or improved form ofmachinery, or ownany forests to rear cocoons. They use onlytasar cocoons, which they purchase from those who rear them inthe jungles ofKeonjhar,Mourbhanj and other places.Rearzng comma — The account that these weavers give of how cocoons are reared

is somewhat interesting and is, therefore, givenbelow inbrief, although Ihave personalLymadeno enquiry.

The bcheh (or seed) cocoons are purchased at 1 0 to 12 gundas (ganda=4 innumber)by a class ofmen called Bhunuyas and Sahara. These menget the bs

'

hanto their ho useinthe month ofSteven(August) , and keep them in earthen pots, which are kept coveredduring the day. The man who goes to rear cocoons must observe strict and religio uscleanliness. He must have only atap for his mea l, z .e. , observe haba

’

shya and will notsee his wife during the time he is en ed inthe business . The pot inwhich the parentworms are placed, is kept in a 0 canroom, and is uncovered at night, whenthe" are said

a s

( 134 )

to be joined by worms ofthe opposite sex who find their own to the place, and thus theylay eggs, each laying about [5pans (l pon=80 innumber) . The eggs are collected inthemorning, wrapped ina piece ofclean cloth, and laced in the same pot with the parentworms . This oes onfor about a week, during w ich all the parent worms die, leaving theireggs . After t is the eggs are takenout and spread ona piece of clean cloth and fanned .

They grow inabout 15 days, and are thenput onass et and dimtrees, onthe leaves ofwhichthey make cocoons.

(b) Collecting and selling cocoons — These cocoons are collected abou t the month of

Pam and Magha (December and January) , and sold either at the place where they are

reared or at themarket. They are also takento the houses ofthe weavers for sale. Cocoonsare sometimes sold raw as they are taken down fromthe tree, or after being boiled andkilled, for if they are kept raw formany days the worms will pierce out through them. The

bigger cocoons sell at 3 pans, and the smaller ones at 6 pans to the rupee pon=80innumber).

The raw cocoons are cheaper by 10 to 15 gundas to the rupee than the killed ones .

The weavers purchase either kind ; but they generally purchase the raw ones for the sake ofchea ness.I

lo)Killing worms by boiling-It is, however, with great reluctance and pang of theheart that they boil and kill the cocoons. This part ofthe work is left to the females. It isalmost with tears intheir eyes that these weavers ofGOpalpur complainthat as a consequenceofthis cruel and sinful business (ofkilling the worms) their womenlose their husbands , andhave to live the miserable life ofwidows from their very youth. The simmering ofthecocoons inthe boiling pot is interpreted to be the plaintive utterances ofthe worms appealingto Siva, Siva . The weavers also say that those who are engaged inkilling cocoons are intime stricken with some sort ofloathsome skindisease, which, whenaggravated, brings ontheir end. They could not, however, showme anyone who was so suffering . Those familiesthat are comparatively better off, do not , on account ofthis belief, by their ownband dothat part ofthe work which consists inkilling cocoons . They hire labour for this fromamong their own class ; and suchmenor women

,as have no domestic ties, are readily ava il

able for the purpose, and the charge is about 3 annas for boiling one kahan(16 pans) of

And this is howthe Worms are killed : a large hand»,with pure Water init, is, placed ona fire. The co

‘

coons are put in another, the mouth-cfwhich is covered by a piece (of010thtied to it. The latter is thenplaced onthe former, upside down, mouth to mouth, so as to

a llow the hot steam from the boiling water to pass thro h the covering cloth into the upperpot to kill the worms. The worms whenthey feel the eat are said to make a noise andwhenthis ceases, the killing business is done, and the cocoons are kept away after cooling .

(d) Preparmg the cocoons for fila lure by a second boilmgr -After this the cocoons are

prepared for drawing out the thread fromthem. This is done by boiling the killed cocoonsa second time inwater which has 'beenpassed through ashes obtained by burning the leavesand bark of plantaintrees about half-a-seer (a pound) ofthe ashes is takenand put into anearthenpot, with a hole at the bottom onwhich has b een s read some cocoanut husk. or

similar substance, to prevent the ashes frompassing out. Thenabout I} seer (25 pounds)ofwater is poured

,

onthe ashes . The water drOps through the ashes,‘

and ’

the hole at the

bottom and is collected in another panon the top ofwhich the perforated pot is placed.This water is thenpoured into anatzka (cochin pot) and 1 pan (80 in number ) of killed

cocoons is put into the water andboiled . T e above-mentioned quantity ofwater (11 seeris generally sufficient for one panofcocoons. Sometimes. however, the quantity is insufficient for the number, andmore water (waterwhich ofcourse has beenpassed through ashesas described above) has to be added till the cocoons are soft enough for reeling . This partofthe workis done usu ally at night, by the females.

(e) Separating wasle‘

szlkr -Inthemorning a‘

fter'

they haVe cooled , the cocoons are’taken

out one by one, and the loose and coarse fibres that adhere to them are separated by thefemales With their hand . This waste tasar, it willnot be out of place '

to note here, is notu sed by the ‘

weavers ofGopalpur, ‘but they keep it apart for sale. T he Patras ta ke it formaking pendants and strings attached to ornaments. This waste silk is locally called arua

tasar and is sold a t about two pice per chatak 5 tolas) . Arupee worth of00000113 givesabout 2% charaks ofw as laser and 3 rhalaks ofgood tasar fit forweaving.

(f) Reelmg or khza hala i — After the waste ‘

lasar has beenseparated, the cocoons are

ready for reeling or khta kataf (drawing

out thread) . This part of the work is done bythe females and little girls . Figure 7 (0 ) illustrates how this is done.

'

Seven or

sometimes 8 cocoons are taken at a time. The end of t he thread is takenout ofeach,

and they are all joined together and tied to a note made ofbamboo sticks (N infigure 27)This is called the ka lum

‘

nata after the purpose for which it is used. It is altogetherabout 2 feet long ; about 8 inches from a to 6. one foot from 6 to c

, and 5 mohesfrom c to d. The diameter of the lower .part ofthe frame, e to j ; is about 6 inches. The

womanholds this inher right hand, andputs the cocoons ina‘ pan(d) to her left. She takes

off her cloth to a little above the knee, and the threads pass over the uncovered part ofherthigh She as ontwisting , with a light pressure of her left hand, the 7 or 8 threadscoming out ofihe cocoons and passing betweenher hand and thigh, and revolving the ”amwith her right hand to wind the single thread onit. And thus the reelin goes ondrawingou t the threads , twisting them into one, and winding them on the note, all simultaneously.

Particular care is not takento jointhe ends ofthreads when‘

one lot ofcocoons is exhausted,

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 136 )

and the man holding the ha ldchanguri walks in front of the (frame, which is calledthe char/l a a rd to and fro, and as he walks all the charkz

‘

s turnat once, the threads areunwound and laid lengthwise along the pegs . The weavers say they have introduced thischa r/ti are) fromB engal. The advantages ofthis frame over the o ther method are (1 ) that itcanbe worked inside the hou se, as onaccount of the pegs much space is not requ ired : and(2) that twenty instead of two char/sis are unwound at the same time, and thu s one-tenth of

the time is required.

’

The mmdc’

(as the length of the threads so laid is called) is generally made longenough for 10 pieces ofcloth , and is abou t threads thick— the number requ ired for acloth ofordinary width (25cubits) .

The next process is called dhdla or warping proper. The ends of the threads arepassed two and two through each indentation(pamd) ofa long reed called the sand (8. infigure 27a) with the help of the pointed end of a porcupine quill . The ends that are thuspassed are secured with a string to a beam and rolled onit (B of figure 27e). This beamis supported and turned ontwo posts fixed to the ground . Whenthe whole length has beennearly rolled up, the threads ofthe warp are crossed with the help of two rods (P1 0 P2 ) ,called pdchdnis Each alternate thread is taken up one by one with the finger and onebar passed through it. The other bar is similarly introduced, the threads crossing in the

middle, c.e., the thread which passes above one of the rods, passes below the other. Th i sis called j un-making, an intricate arrangement, which gives much trouble, and an errorinwhich spoils the whole warp ing , and to which the B engali word j ua ohor (a cheat) owes

its derivat ion. This j am-making is a preparationfor the haw or healds inthe loom.

(k) Weaving.—The warp is now ready for the loom. The warp-beam is placed on

short posts and makes the oil-beam of the loom (B in figure The pacham’

a are

replaced by thinner rods which are called chalama. The reed is pushed offto the end ofthethread. The upper threads are taken one by one and passed between two short cottonthreads (L , ,

L 2 figure 27f) , each of which is doubled , the ends ofone downwards andthose ofthe other upwards ; the former ends are fastened and tied to two rods below thewarp, (R3

R 4 ; and the latter are similarly tied to rods (RH The warp threads(T , ,

T. 2) canplay through the heald S imilar eyes are made by simi larlydoubled threads arranged 1 11 parallel sets, fastened and tied to the rods, above and below .

Two more rods are placed between the doubled threads . These rods serve to keep thethreads in position. The upper

‘

warp-threads thu s pass through one heddle or heald.

The lower threads similarly are passed through another heddle.

’

l‘

wo heddles are requ ired,

and they appear onthe warp as shownin the figure 27g (H 1 and H 2 ) . The threads whichass above the off-oha lani (P,

are held by the off-heddle, and those which pass below ity the other heddle . Five strings are thentied to the upper edge ofeach heddle at correspondin points. The free ends of these threads ofone heddle are tied to as many cocks

(K1 ,K8.“ K3 ,

K4 ,K which are hung from a cross-beam overhead (V) . The strings from

the other heddle are tied to the other ends ofthe cooks. These cocks turn on a rod (W)passing through holes in them, as one heddle mounts, and the other goes down. Thisis effected by working a treadle, (Q ), which is attached to each heddle by strings as showninfi ureg

The free end ofthe warp is now tied to the cloth beamA. The weaver sits near it atM

,works the treadle, so that while one heddle goes down, the other mounts, making an

0 cuing between the warp-threads as shown in the illustrationthrough which he shootst e shuttle, which is charged with the weft-thread . The shu ttle is shot first

, say fromthe right-hand side. The next time when the shuttle has come to the left-hand side, theother treadle is worked so that the heddle which mounted first, goes down, and that whichwent down, mounts, t.e., the lower threads come up and the upper go down, making a similarOpening between. The shuttle is now shot back to the right-hand side, and thus the weavinggoes on. Z is the shuttle inthe illustrat ion. B efore the cloth is woven, thick pieces of wood(called daktes) are fixed to either edge, t0p, and bottom. of the reed or sana . So some wettthreads are g iven, the reed is pushed towards the cloth beam to press the weft-threads closer.

Two bows, called kantums, are pinned to the wovenpart to prevent the warp fromcollecting .

(The bows aremarked 0 “ O 2 ,inthe figure.) As the wovencloth is wound onthe beamA,

the warp beam (B) unrolls and sets free the thread at the ofi'

-end.

The‘maku and the nah or the shuttle and the spooI.— Imust now say something abou t

the shu ttle. It is a thing made of bu ffalo horn (I speak of the thing that the Gopalpurweavers use ; others use ironthings als0 ) ofanelongated egg

-shape, the two sides enclosingan open space. These are procured from Anandapur inKeonjhar. There is a needlelengthwise a t one end inside (Z , ) and another (Z 2 ) crosswise joined to the side at theother end. The weft-thread is rolled on small reeds (h a lts or spools) from Chakw withthe help of a wheel called the amt. Two threads are ordinarily rolled on one nahby planting two cha/ms ona block of wood and turning the handle of the wheel. Thethreads are not twisted, sometimes threads are taken. Several such spools are kept readywith the thread wound onthem. One ofthese is put into the shuttle at a time being fixedonthe lengthwiseneedle ; and the outer end ofthe thread is passed below the crossing-needle,so that it unwinds from the spool as the shuttle is shot. The thread, which is wound ontheneedle, doesnot pass through any ofthe processes subsequent to the katum‘ described above.If it has to be coloured, that is done when the skeins are taken out ofthe [cam/ti nata .

Paste is not applied to the weft-thread.

This rind ofwarping frame With spools is supplied Wi th fly-shuttle looms byMr. P N. De ofChinsurah.

( 137 )

The method of weaving described above is no special method of weaving ta sa r.

Cotton cloth is woven in the same loom. The loom that these B enga lis use differs somewha tin construction from the loomthat weavers ofother classes u se, but that is not onaccount ofweaving tasar. D ifferent classes of weavers in this country have differently constructedlooms, which probably shows that they have come here from different places

(a) The manner mwhich the products are di sposed oft— The tasar cloth and these weaversofGopalpu r turn out is ofa coarse and inferi or quali ty. The bulk of the products is takenaway by people coming fromMadras, B erhampore and other places in South Indi a . Thesepeople come to the v illage, advance money to the weavers and take away the fabrics whenthey are produced. They are sa id to take about Rs . worth oftas ar cloth in theyear. The weavers also sell a bou t Rs. 500 worth at the Cu ttackmarket .

One pair oftasar cloths ofordinary siz e is sold for about Rs. 5-8. It would take a manabou t 1 0 days ifhe ha s to finish a cloth from killing the cocoons to taking it out of theloom. About 18pans orRs . 3 worth of cocoons are required for one pair of cloths. Thecolouring costs abou t 4 pice , the rice-paste two pice, and fuel two pice per pair. Thematerials thus altogether costRs . The weaver’

s net profit comes ou t to be Re. l-l4 perpair , the proceeds of ten days

’ labou r, i.e. , 3 annas per day. As females and children takepart in the work, the average da ily earnings of a manmay be estimated roughly at 4 annaser day .p

A pa ir ofordinary tasar cloths weighs abou t 1 3 chataks. Allowing for the weight of thepaste applied to the threads, the net weight ofthe tasar would be abou t 9 chataks or 45 tolas.

B esides cloth, the Tantis sell skeins of tasar thread also, which are used in the bordersorpa rs ofcotton cloth by the weavers ofB alipa tna . The thread is sold at abou t 1 1 tolas pept u so.P

(oz) Infl uence of imports. —The industry does not appear to have ever been affected byimports From the account given by the weavers, the industry appears to have remainedstationary so far. Only in the present year, they compla in that their mafia/ ans from thesou th have not yet made their appearance, a lthough they have left behind anadvance to theextent offive to seven hundred rupees .

”

236. InDhenkana l T ribu Sta te which is under the management of theDepu ty Commissioner ofAngu l , a cut a hundred persons rea r tasar cocoons.

They are E adies and Kostias by caste. The E adi es (Mehernters) are drummers, andKostias are weavers ofcotton cloth by profession .

Process ofrearing cocoons — InJanu ary and February the people co llect wild cocoons forseed from shores robusta (sal) , termma lz

’

a bellerz'

ca (bahara) and termmah’

a tomentosa (asan)trees, or they buy the wild cocoons at two to three cocoons per pics from the collectors of thecocoons, and at one cocoon per pics from the traders (middlemen). For three to four months,fromFebruary to June, they preserve the seed cocoons by tying themin rows with strings andhanging them over the fencing ofhu ts infront of their hou ses . In June or July, when heavyshowers fa ll, they remove the cocoons to other huts near jungles and at some distance fromhomes and hang them as before . During the nine days oftheir removal, the worms come ou tofthe cocoons, with the wings onboth sides of their bodies like a butterfly and with appearances qu ite unlike that when they shu t themselves within the cocoons. The wings of thema le worms are of violet colou r and those of the females are yellow. Onthe tenth day oftheir coming ou t, the male and female worms join , and after nine days of their joining thefemale worms beget each about six to eight hundred eggs , which are white

,flat and as smal l

as mustard seeds. After j oining, the male worms are thrown away and the female worms are

put in baskets wherein they produce eggs. During nine days after birth, the people brushthe eggs off the wings of the mother worms, and then keep them in small bags of

asanleaves, each leaf-bag holding a handful of eggs After nine days since birth, the bagscontaining a handfu l ofeggs a s well as worms fresh from eggs (during these nine days someworms come out of the eggs) are hung onthe twigs of asrmsapli ngs. During 45 dayssince removal to asansaplings, the eggs produce worms which grow to their full siz e, andcomplete the cocoons, which are removed fromthe trees and are sold at three to five hundredperrupee formanu facture oftasar cloth. After the bags holding eggs are put onascm saplingsthe eggs by and by roduce worms which eat the asan leaves and grow as big as roundplanta in fru its when t ey begin to make cocoons. The full siz e of the worm is 5 inches longand 3 inches ingirth. The worms appear black for eight days '

ust after birth and white forthe next eight days, and then green for the days u ntil they shu t themselves in their nests(cocoons) . During the progress of the preparation of the cocoons, the siz e of the worm is

gradua lly reduced td'the siz e ofanonion, so as to be easily containedwithin a cocoon . WhileWithin the cocoon, the worm appears in violet colour, and is sa id that the male worm is ofa

viol et colour and the female of a yellow colour, whil e within the cocoons. The male worm,

With the wings of a violet colour, and the female, with yellow wings, get ou t of the

cocoons . The mal e cocoon is white and smal l and the female cocoon yellow and large.Process of themanufacture of tasar clam— The reared cocoons, just after their remova l

from the trees,are stored ona platformunder which a fire ismade, so as to affect the cocoons

by heat . Consequ ently,the worms within the cocoons di e ofexcessive intolerable hea t and

the cocoons become then useful ; because the worms , if left alive within the cocoons, cu t holesor ou tlets inthe body ofthe cocoons and get ou t ofthem. Consequ ently, the cocoons becomeu tterly useless formanu facture ofcloths. The stuff is then soaked one day in pu re hot wateror hot water boiled with ashes of husks ofka laa‘ (birhi) , ashes ofttl (ra m) twigs or those ofcaster trees. Six or four cecoons are placed at equal distances in one row and six or fou r

( 138 )

ends ofsix or four fine threads ofthe cocoons aremixed together into one which is drawn andfolded up until the whole stuffof the cocoons is entirely exhausted. With these threadswhich may be doubled or tripled, as the case may be, the Pa tras (a class of people) weavetasar cloth. The better the cloth the greater the folding of thread. As for instance, chowtarz

’

cloth is the best. ha ving twelve folded threads l engthwise and the same breadthwise . It

sells at Rs . 7-8 toRs 1 1 for a cloth of 16 cubits long and 25to 25 cubits broad. Tctarz’

cloth, twelve folded thread, lengthwise and eight folded threads breadthwise, It sells a tRs. to Rs. 8 for a cloth ofthe aforesa id dimension.

The cocoons are reared in the following places ofthis State, vizB asuloi, Manikmara , Kulai, Brahmanbedia , Kualo, Kolda, Barjhara ofParjang B iso .

Gurh Palasuni, Jarada, Dasipur, B irhibolai, Bhejia, Pangaitra, Asa ubahali andKhoirmunda , ofPalasuni B iso.

Kci, Dhulpasi, B ahani, B irasal, andMaruabil ofSourika Biso.

Rekula ofJenadesh B iso .

Kalang ofChhadesh B iso.

Tasar cloth is manufactured in the following placesIndipu r and Sariapada in B a larampur B iso.Bhubonin Ganpur B iso .

Pangaitra in Palasuni B iso .

B arhiapur in Parjang B iso .

F ity persons know how to manufacture the tasar cloth,and they are Pa tras by caste.

They are weavers and cul tiva tors. These Pa tras buy the cocoons reared throughout theState. and occasionally the reared cocoons of Dhenkanal are bought by the weavers cf

Nuapatra in'l

‘igris andManiabund in B aramba .

CHAPTERXIX.

THE ENDISILK INDUSTRY.

The endi,cm, or erz

'

a (Attacu s ricini) cocoons are rea red inthe dis trictsofBogra ,Rangpu r , Jalpaiguri and Mymensingh. Being more easily rea redand less subject to epidemics thanmulberry silk-worms, it is easier to introducethe mu lberry silk industry into a new locality , through the means of the erz

‘

silk indu stry. But the an'

silk industry is not so lucra tive as the mu lberry silkindustry , the product of the em

’

cocoonbeing a spun-silk and no t ree led silk.

A l l a ttempts to reel the em’

cocoon have hitherto fa iled, and a lthough the u ltimate fibre ofthe cm

’

cocoonis a stronger andmore lasting fibre thaneither themu lberry or the ta sar silk fibre, the thread spun from this cocoon is a. coa rsekind ofthread adapted only forweaving cheap and coarse fabrics

, which correspond to ma t/ca and ket/ze

’

fabrics made out ofpiercedmu lberry and tz sav cocoonsrespectively. Erz

'

silk cloth is, however, much more va luable thaneither ma tkaor [cat/wclo th, as these are less lasting . In cou rse of t ime an

'

cloth a lso getssofter and more si lky looking than either mat/fa or fret/w. The demand forerz

’

clo ths is greater thanthe supply, and the demand is now being la rgely metby the imi ta tion erz

’

silk made ou t of waste mu lberry silk, which has beenintroduced in the district of Murshidabad by the writer of this Monograph .

From the specimens ofsilk fabrics appended to this monograph tSpecimens Nos.1 9 to 31) it wil l be seento wha t diverse and beau tifu l u ses these imita tionen

’

silks might be put. T hey a lso indica te the line in which improvementmight be effected in the genuine article a lso Of. Nos. 26 and 31 withNos. 32 and A t present l i ttle skill is brought to bea r onthe productionoferz

'

silks either inAssam or inEasternand NorthernBenga l . The spinningmight be more uniform in imita tionofthe spinning ofthe Rajshahi ma t/sci, andthe wea ving might be more varied and a rtistic. As epidemics do not seem to

prevai l among the cm’

silk-worms inBenga l ( though they do inAssam) , it isunnecessa ry to introduce the system of g ra inage , organise seed-rea ringnu rseries for the supply ofheal thy seed. B ut improv ement inanother directioni s feasible and desirable. The erz

'

cocoons rea red inBengal are not so select a ssome ofthe erz

’

cocoons of Assam, which are beau tifu lly la rge and whi te .

Erz'

cocoons reared inBenga l are ofmixed colou r and ra ther ‘

smal l . A la rge

proportionof brick-co lou red cocoons being mixed up among them

,i t makes the

colou r ofthe an'

silk fabrics woveninBenga l less pleasing to the eye thantha tof the high class erz

’

silk fabrics woven in Assam. The Rampur Boalia

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

140

a circu lar pieceofstone or broken pot. The bamboo rod has a catch at the other extremi tyand is fixed firmly to the stone piece. The end of the thread to be spun 18 tied with the rod

and wound round it a number oftimes . Then the whole thing is g iven a vigorous tu rn bythe two fingers of the right hand The tan/m being suspended by the thread goes ontwisting it , the heavy thing below serving the purpose ofa fly-wheel . More fibres arepinched up and added onto the thread which is drawn out and the twisting goes on.

Fromthe'

tanlra the thread is trans ferred to a nata z‘

ofpeculiar construction . It consistsof a forked branch ofa tree across which is tied a bamboo rod. The thread is now ready foruse.

The thread so spun is far from smooth and is not of uniform thickness. So thefabrics woven out of this thread are not. at all fine . They are course and thick. Thewoman goes oncollect-ing her produce

,till she has sufficient thread in stock for weaving a

cloth Then the thread is made over to a Jola (Muhammadan weaver) for weaving the cloth .

The Jola char es for the cloth at one anna per cub it of length if the width ofthe cloth wovenbe 2 cubits . The charge is higher when the cloth is wider As I have a lready said, threadis spun mostly for home consumption. Bu t when the quantity spun is too small for a clothor larger than the quantity requ ired for home consumption , the thread is sold to the weavers .

The present price of thread is Rs. 2 per seer. A higher price may be paid for thread thatis finer.

B esides the thread required for the looms ofthe district some thread is sent out by theMarwarimerchants .

This may come to 10maunds in the year,Taking the price Rs . 2 per seer, the price

of this quantity comes to Rs . 800. The cultivators themselves bring the thread to theMarwaris for sale. Those who have to sell only very small quantities take the produce tothe ladts and pu rchase vegetables or other articles offood with the sale proceeds .

Wea ving — The weaving ofbond silk is done by people called Jola s, and also to someextent by Jogis. The Jels e are Muhammadans weavers. They are the lowest caste ofMuhammadans in this part of the country. Ordinary Muhammadans do not interma rrywith them, and they are looked down upon as low people. In fact the very name ofJ01ais u sed as a term ofreproach by other people . The people of this class are found generallyto be inferior to their neighbou rs in common sense. These Muhammadan weavers, in orderto avoidj he epithet ofJole. style themselves Icarigars . The people are generally poor. Theyweave both bond cloths and cotton fabrics. But the profit from these is far from adequate,and a Jola cannot support himself by weaving only The Jolas also keep lands and cattleand cu ltivate the fields The weavers do not prepare the threads fromcocoons .

The other class of weavers who wea ve bond cloths are Jogis. These men style themselves Hindus . but are not recognised by H indus as such . The number ofsuch menweavingbond cloths is comparatively small . These menare a lso looked down upon by others. Theya lso take to cu ltivation as weaving a lone is not enough for maintaining a man.

The loom employed for weaving bond cloths is very l ike the looms employed by Tantw,bu t it is generally sma ller . The threads obtained fr om the spinner or from the bats are

transferred to a shark/nand the warping canbegin at once. For this pu rpose two posts areplanted in the ground at a distance equ al to the length ofthe cloth to be woven. B etweenthese posts bamboo rods are planted in the ground at interva ls of1 cubit only, in a straightline w ith the extreme posts. The operator then knots the end of the thread from the charkhz'

to one ofthe two posts, and proceeds with the char/{Inin his left hand towards the other post .He is provided with a bamboo rod in his right hand. This rod is split into two at oneextremity and between these two halves ofthe rod a segment of a broken smooth cburz

’

(orglass bangle) is introduced instead of the ring mentioned in the case of the Tantra. Thethread is passed over the concave side ofthis churz

'

. It is drawn out as the operator walks,and he , pu ts the thread, with the help ofthis instrument called hate, to the right ofone rod

and to the left of the next consecutive one. and so on. After reaching the extreme rod andtu rn ing the thread round it, he proceeds back towards the first post, the second turn ofthethread intersecting the first thread between every two consecutive rods, so that these twothreads enclose every one of the rods and posts. The operator goes onin the same mannertill the warping is completed. The difference between the warping of the Jclanand thatofthe gar 1d weavers is this

They u se only one shark/n“

, while the Tantis u se two. The ka ta is separate from thecharkha

’ in the. case ofJolas instead ofbeing fixed to it perpendicular to the axle. So it isevident that the process ofthe Tantis is more economical a s regards time. The next processis that ofstarching the threads . This is done by applying rice gru el to the warp whichis kept stretched for the purpose. The gruel is applied to the warp and when the threadsare still wot a bru sh is applied to the warp and the superfluous gruel taken OH. Thebrush is ofpecu liar construction . It is made of roots of the [thus-Islam (baina bushes) . Itcosts Rs. 2 or so and lasts for 10 or 12 years . It is sa id that these brushes used to be imported from other districts.

‘They cannot be loca lly prepared. In pu tting threads through

the sdnd the process is simpler than that ofthe Tantis. Instead ofca ttin 100ps at one endofthe warp for the pu rpose, the Jolas introduce the loops themselves throug the scina

’

. Oneloop is introduced through each interval in the adminor reed. So in this case each interva lcontains two threads and no more. The process offorming the hea lds is very simi lar to theprocess ofthe Tantis with the following exceptions

(i) Thefendt 1 s not rounded offat one end, and it is longer .(ii) The thin rod for knotting the loops called moors by Tantis is dispensed with.

( 141 )

Instead ofthis a rodwith a hole onone end is used for formin the knots. A tstring is tied with this rod through the hole. The rod is drawn out

gand the thick stiffs;

takes the place ofthis rod and serves the same pu rp ose as the moon’ in garad looms.

There is no difference in the fitting up or working of the loom. The Jelse use onlyone manm'

or bow instead oftwo for keeping the width ofthe cloth un iform.

A wooden shuttle is us ed instead ofa metallic one.

No rods are u sed as treadles. Two strings tied with the rods below the healds areprovided with two small square pieces ofwood or bamboo at the other extremities. Thesesquares have a hole each at the centre, and the strings passing through the holes are knottedat the ends, so that theymay not run out. The Operator puts each of his feet on one ofthese squares, the strings passing through the first two toes of each foot. These squaresserve the purpose oftreadles.

In bond cloths no ornamented borders are woven, and so there areno additional healds.Formaking the cloth strong at the borders, the only precaution taken is to pass two 100pstogether through the extreme interstices in the ortionofthe reed to be used.

The weavmg is done in the same way as y the Tantis. The Jola uses rice gruel (orwater in which cooked rice has been thrown and formed into a paste) instead of khaz

’

, for

application to the cloth woven .

The looms u sed by Jolas are much smaller than those used by the Tantis. They cannot prepare bond cloths wider than2 cubits. This is due to the fact that they use shortreeds (sands). They purchase the sands at 8 or 12 annas each. When a broader bond clothis requ ired, they weave the cloth ofha lf the width, bu t ofdouble the length. Then they sew

u p the cloth to make it ofthe required width. For instance, menrequ ire bond cloth 3 cubitswide and 12 cubits long for u sing it as a double gilap or wrapper, for use 111 the winter.This demand i s met by weaving a cloth It cubits wide and 24 cubits long and cutting andsewing it to make it of

'

the requ ired dimensions . There are only a few weavers who canweave bond cloth 3 cubits W ide. They reside at and near Chandonbasia in a part of thedis trict bordering onMymensingh

The industry of bond weavmg is re idly declining. The consumers find it moreeconomical to purchase European cotton fa ricewhich are very chea p, instead ofusing bondcloths which, though very lasting, are too costly, considering everythi ng. No bond cloth isexported fromthi s di strict to other districts . All the fabrics woven are consumed in thisdistrict . Onthe other hand, gentlemen requiring endt

'

cloth ofbetter workmanshi bring itfrom Assam by private arrangement. But this import is very small and hardly worthmentioning.

Fabrws.-The two kinds of bond cloths woven are gilops and dkutz

’

s. No other varietyis known, although it is possible to have a requ ired length of cloth woven to order. B ond

cloth is not dyed. No ornamentation is done in the cloth. There is practically no border ;the only precaution taken formaking the cloth stronger at the edges is to use a double pair ofwarp threads at each ofthem.

Dhuti.— Dhutzs are said to be 2 cubits wide x 5 cubits long . But practically the widthis less than 2 cubits.

Price ofthread requ ired (half a seer) isThe wages ofthe weaver

1 5 0

Two such cloths are woven together by a woman . One for covering the upper part ofthe bodHnd the other for covering the lower part. Generally three dhutz's are wa rped at a

time. e time requ ired by the weaver for weaving them is shown below (according to theestimate ofa weaver)

Preparin the warp and brushing the threadsPassing t 0 threads through the reedMaking the healdsWeaving

5 days.

The wages for these dhutz‘s will be 1 5 anna s. I think the time given for the wholeoperation is notmuch over-estimated. So the remuneration ofthe weaver is very small.

Galapa—Apiece, It cubits wide and 24 cubits long, is woven and then sewn into a

double wrapper 3 cubits wide and 6 cubits long, priceRs. 6 toRs. 7. A bond double wrapper,which is woven 3 cubits wide, will fetch Rs. 8 ormore.

N0 bond cloth is exported from this district to other district. All the fabrics woven areconsumed in this district. Onthe other hand, gentlemen requi ring endz

'

cloth ofbetter workmanship bring it from Assamby private management. But this import is very sma ll andhardly worth mentioning .

”

Rangpur.— The following account of this industry has beenfurnished bythe Collector ofRangpu r :

No silk industry is carried onin this district ; but a rough kind of silk called endz'

is

manufactured inthis district by the low class Muhammadans andRajbansis and Koeris

( 142 ;

It is not st ported, but is used by the poorer classes as wrappers. Fema les of well-to-docultivaters a lso use them as sa ris . The processes of rearing the cocoons and spinning thethread are described shortly in the annexed note prepared by B abu Sashi BhusanMukerj ee

, a

Depu ty Collector of1511 18 district .Rearmg and spinning of ends

'

comma — Ordinarily a family wou ld use at the most fourstraw-made sticks (called bhandwa by the people ) for the purpose of getting cocoons

,the

process adopted for which is as follows — Eight or ten pa irs of moths or ends fires called clam,

are placed oneach such stick, bound with strings , where they are kept withou t food for fouror five days, during which they lay eggs and die . Then the eggs are taken off the stickand kept covered in a piece of cloth for five or six days, after

.which larvae issu e from theeggs. They are then placed inside s. basket on that

.

cloth Wi th redi leaves over it,the

ba sket being changed twice a day , that used in day-time being changed for a fresh one atnight ; so also the leaves . This continu es for four or five da ys, after which the larvae fastand fa ll into a sta te of sleep for one day. When the sl eep is over they resume activity

,

and in this state four or five days pass. Then come two days of sleep, after which theyare aga in active for four or five days . Then aga in come three days of sleep , and inactivityfor the larvae, which are then removed to a room and placed ona mac/tan. This continu esfor five or six days , after which comes a day of fasting and sleep. Subsequently they are

removed to bamboo bars within the room with the mac/ran underneath. On these barsthey hang for ten or twelve 'days onredi lea ves onwhich they l ive . Then they spin cocoons ,some onthe mackans, onwhich they drop down. This sp inning is over in three or four days,after which they are sunned for three or four days. I may note here tha t the rearing ofcocoons in summer takes as described above one month and-a-half, whae in winter it wou ldtake double the time, the growth and development of the eggs be ing delayed in the la tterseason . Two or three per cent. (moths come ou t piercing through these seed-cocoons, andare util ised by being placed onthe stick called bhundra , as described in the beginn ing of

this report) are kept for seed, which, however, are not sunned like others. As regards thosewhich are sunned, they are boiled with ashes of plantain trees for anhour or two . Theyare

’then pressed against a bamboo stick, one foot high and half aninch indiameter, inorder that they may expand. When th is is over , theyare washed, kneaded and dried. Fibres are separated, spunand twisted by means of a takes

, (a ) the cocoons beingmoistened in wa ter all the while, then the yarns are reeled on1a j kz

’

la (b and sunned. Then they aremade over to a weaver.One bl ame/ta would yield caterpillars and one

pooak of thread (one-fourth of a. seer); two blmndias wou ld

yi eld yarn enough for a wearing cloth named fota 5 cubitsy 2} cubits ; three b/mnda

‘

as would yield three p oooka ofthread, fromwhich one sheet (o/zadar) 6 by 2§ cubits, mightbe made. To make one gu/s

'

of 12 by cubits,6 pooahs

ofthread will be required. n‘

a'

is seldom made. Fata isused by women, and wou ld last for two or two and-a-halfyears. Clzadar is used by males, and lasts for eight or

ten years .

To mainta in one bbundz‘

a of insects (moths) it wou ld cost one rupee if redi leavesare to be purchased from the [nit or villagers . Consequ ently one fota would costRs. 2a s well as annas 9 or 10 as cost for weaving. But it a pears that peopl e donot generallypu rchase redz' lea ves, the trees being grown by them in eir ownfields or houses, so tha tthey have only to pay annas 9 or 1 0 per fota that women wear. A fota wou ld sell forRs. 2 to Rs. 2 8. One claadar wou ld cost Re. 1 only (as cost for weaving) if redi leavesworth Rs . 3 canbe supplied from home. One chadar wou ld sell for Rs. 5 orR8. '6 in thebaz ar. To carry ona regular transaction , the cost ofspinning as well as other costs are to beconsidered. The cost of spinning is charged at 2 or 3 annas per b'lmwic'a or '

per'

pooalz ofthread ; consequently onefota would cost

Taku.

Jhila c d and d 0 representing theyarnreeled.

(a) For redo’ leaves

(b) For spinning(c) For weaving(d) For colouring the fringes(e) Two bhundr

'

as

Tota l cost

Similarly, one ckadar would cost

(a ) Redc' leaves

(b; Spinn ing(o) Weav ing(d) Colouring, no fringes or border being used(0) Three

‘

bkund‘as 0 0 0 cc.‘o

u .

3

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

( 144 )

Fig . 29.— End i s p inning a pp liances .

No . I. -Takuri.

No . 2 .— Nata i.

No . é.— C harki.

NO . 4 .—Wa ro ing of End i thread .

No . 5 .— Ta8a

b rush .

No . 6 .-Ras/z

reed .

Na 7 — Gondao r b eam.

NO . 8 .— 8a/ o r

reed protec

to r.

f 145

No . 9 .—Wooden

s huttle

No. lo.-Bow fo r

keep ing w e bt ig ht .

30 .—End i w eav ing loom.

CROSS

It has already been noted that the cndi cloths are not manufactured for trade. Theyare prepared for the persona l use ofthe families ofthe

people themselves, though a few pieces

cannow and then be obta ined from themby purchase.Mymensz

’

ngh.— The erz'

silk industry ofMymensingh is ofstil l less importance, and the following short account of i t has been furnished of it byBabu AshutoshDu tt , Depu ty Collector

Strictly speaking, there is no silk industry in this district. Only within the jurisdiction of the police-stations of Dewanganj and Madarganj , in the Jamalpur subdivision,anindustry in a coarse kind ofcloth, loca lly known as endas, but which is far difierent inqua lity from the well-known cradle ofAssam, is carr ied on.

These cloths are extensively u sed as wrappers by the lower class of people inthatsubdivision. They are used as warm clothing . When used singly, they are call ed tethz ,

and when used in pa irs they are known as gelaps. They are also used as waist-cloth by thewomen of the cultivating people. They sell ordinarily at Rs. 3-8 to Rs. 4 per piece whensingle, and atRs. 7 orRs . 8 when in pair.

They are prepared from a kind of worm which are fed by leaves of endia or

Bhemndas (Ricr'

nus Commums) . Th‘ese worms are reared in the house of Muhammadan cultivators by their women throughou t the year. Themother worm is kept ina kind ofstraw,where it lays eggs. The worms, got from these eggs , are nursed for 10 days or so. Theybecome gradual ly covered With a coating of ova l shape, abou t 15 inches long and about aninch incircumference. These egg-shaped coatings are then soaked in water for five or sixdays. These, when fully wet, become soft like a lump ofclay. This lump is then twinedround a bamboo piece call edAnti. Threads are spun from this lump with a talcua

, a diagramofwhich is given in the margin . Threads are spun. mostlyby women . The head of the takua is like tha t of a.

hook : the hooked portion is thrust in the lump and thendrawn : the thread comes out with it, and it is spun, andtwined round the rakua . A seer of this thread is sold for

a rupee. These threads are sold to Rui'

banais and Tantra who weave clothes popularly knownas enat

'

s from th is thread.

The number of women engaged in this indu stry in Dewanganj is abou t andthat in Madarganj is abou t ha lf tha t number . They b elong to low class Muhammadanfamilies. They carry onthe work ofrearing the worms at home in the midst oftheir hou sehold du ties. The threads, when ready, are sold by the ma le members of the family in thelocal markets . These cloth are sold a t Char Pakarda and Golabari . Abou t 300 menare

engaged in weaving these cloths. They are men ofno education, and weaving cloth is

their profession . These cloths cannot be ordinar ily had at ba z ar, but canbe got preparedto order .

No silk industry is carried onin the Sadar, Tangail andNetrokona subdivisions.

B ; S Pf38fi_ 2 -1903-w.Ms D'

CamdN0 00 R.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TH ICK S I LK KNEJUR CHHAR I 2 ! lMlTATION END!

d ( poor qu a lity)

22 mar/ArronEND! 23 mnnmonEND! 2 4 IM ITAT ION END I(better qu a

'

h ty ) (betler s tall) (good qu a li ty )Rs 7for 7yd: x 27 p iece

25 mnnmonanon as mucx S I LK our or answer: munrronEND!

(.Q OOd q u a lify) MATKA' S ILK ON LYRs 9for 73111: x 27 p recc

29 onecx mmm onenor so CH ECK rmnrrou END!

momMAW /KS ILK

S I DRESS PIEC E FROM 82 R EAL ASSAM OR 33 REAL ASSAM S ILKMKTKA

l

S iLK ONLY E ND I S ILK WASH ED

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

s a le) 3 7

6 5 H IGH-CO LOU RED REKH I64 DOUBLE REKHl(coloured)

est! ) PLA I N R EKH I

PLA I N REKH I S I. DHAR

53 . MFRJAPURCH ECK

so ( a d b / a re cuecx e MADE av MRITYUNJAY S I RKAR o r M IRJAPU R

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

7 1 10 01 . TWO STYLES OF MU RSH IDABAD PR I NTED S I LK H ANDKE RCH I EFS.

n MU RSH IDABAD S lLK minke /m

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

88 TUSSE R

as . annua l cueox macs.

86 MATKA' cuscx FOR eg o co vert

wATKAanon

on sup emonanon

(wa shed)

89 WASH ED EN D I

S amples Nos 84 to 89 a refromcloths wouénby the pup ils of the Rampu r B oa lia

S ervcu ltura l Schoo l, and samp le No 83 u from a p iece of Tusser wovenby S ontha l

childrena t the Pokhuma Indus tria l Schoo l (Manbhum)

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SKGIN OF B LEACHED S I LK

MuRS HlDABAO SILK DYEING .

06 SKE I N OF BlLK

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join