Textiles: Cotton and Silk

 Silk

Sericulture is said to have originated in China some 5,000 years ago; its popularity has spread the world over and has not ceased to this day. The silkworm is a caterpillar which feeds on the foliage of trees and shrubs. Its favourite is mulberry, so it is quite common for mulberry plantation to go side by side with silkworm cultivation. 

The silkworm's life cycle comprises of three stages egg,
larva and chrysalis. During the last stage the insect stops teeding and begins its spinning process which is first to make an outer network called the floss, then to wind the silk continuously around its body into a cocoon. The glossy strong silk thread from this cocoon is the raw material for human silk
weaving. 

Three types of silkworm are raised in Thailand:
1. Local species
This kind of silkworm makes a rather small cocoon with pointed tips like a shuttle, yielding short but strong thread, generally of yellowish or off-white colour. Rural people prefer it for their home weaving.

2.Thai hybrid
This is a cross between the local and foreign species giving a large cocoon of yellow thread which is commercially speaking better than the local species.

3. Foreign hybrid
A cross between the Japanese and Chinese species, this type of silkworm produces very large oval shaped cocoon, yielding long white silk. It is the favourite among reeling factories and naturally the best commercially.