3. Grading and Quotations
Classification
Difficulties in Grading
The question of classification of raw silk for market and the various terms used for its purchase and sale is a complicated one. Standardization has been sought after for a good many years and committees both here and abroad have studied the problem on various occasions—but without entirely satisfactory results. The chief source of trouble appears to lie the many types of variation that may occur, not only on account of the great number of qualities required in the product, but also due to the varying conditions under which the silk is produced. In the early days of the industry, when farm production was the chief source of supply, particularly in Japan and China, satisfactory grading was almost an impossibility. However, now that sericulture and reeling has come more and more into the hands of the large companies and filatures, a greater degree of standardization can be reached.
Quotations
The following is an actual example of a recent quotation list in the New York market as it appeared in a commercial paper:—
JAPAN
(Ninety Days’ Basis, 13-15 Denies)
| Kansai | Double Extra Cracks | $6.15 @ | $6.20 |
| Kansai | Double Extra “A” | 6.05 @ | 6.10 |
| Kansai | Double Extra “B” | 6.00 @ | 6.07 |
| Kansai | Best Extra | 5.95 @ | 6.02 |
| Kansai | Extra | 5.90 @ | 5.97 |
| Kansai | Best No. 1 to Extra | 5.87 @ | 5.95 |
| Kansai | Best No. 1 | 5.85 @ | 5.92 |
| Kansai | No. 1 | 5.82 @ | 5.90 |
| Sinshiu | No. 1 | 5.77 @ | 5.85 |
CANTON
(Ninety Days’ Basis)
| King Seng gr. 14-16 | $6.40 |
| Favorite—Double Extra 20-22 | 6.00 |
| Favorite—Double Extra 22-26 | 5.90 |
SHANGHAI
(Ninety Days’ Basis)
| CHINA STEAM FILATURE | |
| Gold Double Deer, new crop | $7.50 |
| Geranium, new crop | 7.25 |
| Comet | 6.60 |
| Tsatless Blue Dragon and Flying Horse | 5.60 |
| Black Lion, No. 1-2 | 5.10 |
| Tussah—Best chops | 3.90 |
ITALIAN
| Grand Extra Classical | $7.00 |
| Extra Classical | 6.80 |
| Best Classical | 6.70 |
RAW SILK PRICES
NEW YORK MARKET
1913-1923
Courtesy of The Silk Association of America
Kansai and Sinshiu
In the Japanese classification, Kansai and Sinshiu originally indicated the section of Japan where the silk originated, but of recent years they have come to mean hard or soft natured silks respectively. The “Sinshiu No. 1” is usually considered the standard quotation to use in judging the market trend.
“Chops”
The Chinese quotations are probably the most difficult to understand since they go almost entirely by “chop”—that is, well-known brands which are marked in some distinctive way, as shown on the above list of quotations.
CHAPTER IV
MANUFACTURE OF THROWN AND SPUN SILK
We have covered in the preceding chapters the culture of raw silk, its reeling, and finally its marketing in the countries where it is to be manufactured into the finished textile. We now come to the mechanical phases of the industry, by which raw silk is made first into yarn and then into fabric. Whereas, in the case of cotton and wool, we have seen that yarn is manufactured by various modifications of the spinning process, this is not true in the case of silk. The spinning process is here supplanted by an operation known as “throwing,” and is resorted to only in the manufacture of yarn from the various kinds of silk waste.