FIGHTING THE INSECTS 



himself with the different aspects o£ agriculture over the coun- 

 try, he travelled extensively, and was much struck by the con- 

 ditions that existed in the Southern States. He realized the 

 defects of the one-crop system that then prevailed and thought 

 much about the possibility of introducing household industries 

 that would help. He thought of poultry, bee culture, and silk 

 culture, and when he returned to Washington he consulted me 

 about the latter project. We had already started bee culture 

 work on an intelligent basis under Frank Benton, and I argued 

 the silk matter with the secretary. He was quite firm in his 

 opinion that it should be tried again. The white mulberry, he 

 said, is widely distributed in the United States, and the Osage 

 orange is largely grown both as a hedge plant and as a wind- 

 break in the Far West. He felt sure that the reeling difficulty 

 could be overcome. I assured him that the difficulty was so 

 great that with the machinery then existing it would be im- 

 possible profitably to reel cocoons here on a large scale, even if the 

 cocoons were presented gratuitously to the reeling establishments. 

 He, however, did not believe this, and asked Congress for a 

 small appropriation (ten thousand dollars, I think). 



We decided to buy healthy eggs in quantity from one of the 

 reliable Italian dealers, to distribute them gratuitously to all 

 correspondents who wished to raise cocoons, and to accompany 

 each shipment with The Sil\ Culture Manual, which had been 

 revised by Walker and republished. Then the plan was to set 

 up a small reeling establishment in Washington, to buy the 

 cocoons from our correspondents at standard European prices, 

 and to reel them, selling the resulting raw silk to American 

 manufacturers. 



This seemed a very logical plan, and it was carried out. 



About this time a very competent lady of Charleston, South 

 Carolina, Miss Henrietta Aiken Kelly, who had been the head 



[146] 



