Silk-Producing Fish
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A two-page article from The Penny Magazine (1840) on the pinna, a large Mediterranean bivalve that produces a silky fibre called byssus. It describes how the animal forms and uses the fibres, how Sicilians gather the byssus, spin it, and weave or knit it into light, warm gloves, stockings and caps, and compares it to the threads of the common mussel. It also recounts ancient and later naturalists' accounts of the pinna's crab companion and quotes proposals to farm pinnae in ponds to increase byssus production.
- Type
- Article
- Date
- February 1, 1840
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 2
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From Ralph Griswold's Digital Archive, delivered by the University of Arizona.
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