No. 85. J 489 



performed by manual labor — before Whitney's improvement for sep- 

 arating the seed from the cotton. This machine I saw placed at the 

 head of Long Wharf, in New-Haven, in gone-by days, while a stu- 

 dent in Yale college ; with the cotton between cylinders, to show the 

 operation, and with what facility it could do the business. What 

 Whitney's machine then was to encourage the growth of cotton, our 

 inventions and improvements may be to promote the culture of silk. 

 By uninterrupted perseverance in the culture of cotton, some sixty 

 millions of that article is said to be annually exported, exclusive of j 

 the immense quantity manufactured at home for our own and foreign 

 markets ; and why may not the same perseverance in the silk cause, 

 be attended with corresponding success, and become a great national 

 staple 1 We have every facility requisite to diversify labor, and 

 give employment to our increasing population. 



It has been estimated that two-thirds of the exports of Italy consist 

 of silks ; and in France, silk manufactures are among the most pro- 

 ductive sources of national wealth. Our habits of industry, perse- 

 verance, and mechanical tact, are in our favor, and we entertain the 

 opinion that there is no country where silk can be made of better 

 quality, and probably at less actual expense than in America. Among 

 the objections to our successful operations in the silk culture, is the 

 sickness of worms, which occasionally occurred ; but it is thought 

 that this may be obviated by the recent improvements recommended 

 in the manner and time of feeding. A few years since, an Italian, 

 conversant with the Italian mode of feeding, was employed in this 

 town to feed worms. He took the business in hand in a spirited man- 

 ner ; kept the cocoonery at a certain temperature by artificial heat. 

 His employer, however, took a part of the worms and placed them in 

 a separate room, kept the windows open day and night, (used no arti- 

 ficial heat,) fed wholly with branches, and cleaned the litter but once 

 during the whole time, and the worms wound their cocoons one whole 

 week earlier than those fed by the Italian, to his utter astonishment, 

 and who probably thought this a queer country. 



It is recorded that from time immemorial, until within a few years, 

 in Europe, nearly one-half of the worms have annually perished, from 

 causes, although not fully developed, yet from the mode of feeding, 

 we can readily conjecture them. 



Aside from this, the culture of silk in Europe has been considered a 

 lucrative business. Having had the perusal of President Styles' Silk 

 Journal, and that of Joseph Clark, of olden time, it appears that the 

 general loss of worms was estimated at about one-third. We antici- 

 pate that this will be very much diminished by the adoption of open 

 feeding, according to the Chinese method. This is emphatically a 

 year of experiments, commenced but not completed. Let us hope 

 for the best results another and another year. 



DANIEL STEBBINS. 

 J^orthampton, Oct. Istj 1843. 



