Chinese Agricultural and Rural Scenes

29. Processing Silk Cocoons

Here the silkworm cocoons have arrived at the factory to be made into silk thread. First they are sorted and checked for defects. Next they are boiled to kill the worm inside. If the worm progresses too far it will eat its way out of the cocoon and ruin the thread. After boiling the end of the thread on the cocoon is found and attached to a spool and then unwound onto a bobbin.