CORRESP ONDENCE. 



841 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



SILK-CULTUKE IN THE UNITED STATES. 

 Editor Popular Science Monthly: 



Those who have watched with interest 

 the strugj^le to introduce the culture of silk- 

 into the United States, and noted the many 

 failures of those engaged in the work, must 

 feel that, if anything is to be done in silk- 

 culture in this country, new methods must be 

 tried. The old plan of urging women to un- 

 dertake the work in addition to whatever they 

 mav be doing seems in every way impractica- 

 ble! The " New York Tribune," in July, 1885, 

 in dealing with the subject, says : '• It is by no 

 means clear that silk-culture holds out any 

 trustworthy prospect to American women. 

 ... It has been tried pretty thoroughly in 

 California. At Sacramento and San Jose co- 

 cooneries were established, but, though the 

 experimenters in these places had the advan- 

 tages of an unequaled climate and Chinese 

 cheap labor, they failed, and failed signally. 

 At intervals similar attempts have been 

 made in other States, but the end has always 

 been the same. . . . The raising of silk- 

 worms involves a minute and incessant labor, 

 such as Orientals appear to be alone thor- 

 oughly fitted for, and it is not at all adapted 

 to the capacities of American women." 



Despite discouragements and failures the 

 Department of Agriculture at Washington 

 still continues to distribute silk-worm eggs, 

 and in the last annual report for the year 

 1887 it is suggested by Mr. Philip Walker, 

 the agent in charge, that neighbors might 

 save expense, and realize more for their 

 work, by joining together in the use of one 

 hibernating box, one incubator, and one sti- 

 fling apparatus. It is thought that the in- 

 terest has been more active this year in the 

 United States than in the year before, and 

 that progress has been made. The only in- 

 stance given, however, is that of a woman liv- 

 ing in Johnson County, Mo., who, assisted by 

 her mother and four children, tried the ex- 

 periment for two years, receiving for the 

 cocoons $77.90, which, after deducting her ex- 

 penses, which amounted to $20, left her $57.90 

 to show for the labor of six people for two 

 years ! Certainly not a very profitable occu- 

 pation, and, judging by this example alone, 

 not one that would offer special inducements 

 to any one that had the slightest idea of the 

 care and work required to raise even a few 

 ounces of eggs. To be sure, the actual time 

 consumed in the care of the worms could not 

 have been more than six weeks of each year ; 

 bat would not almost any other occupation 

 have paid better than this ? 



I am indebted to Mr. Edward Atkinson 

 for the fact that, in the year 1886 alone, the 

 United States imported 16,092,583 dozen 



eggs, amounting to $2,173,454, and the same 

 year imported 1,937,416 bushels of potatoes, 

 at the cost of $649,009. Now, when it is 

 considered that millions of dollars are ex- 

 pended every year for articles which might 

 as well be raised in this country, does it not 

 seem that it would be better for the Govern- 

 ment to help along the industries already 

 started here, and leave silk-culture in the 

 hands of those who have successfully carried 

 on the business for years, and who feel well 

 paid at receiving for their work what to an 

 American would seem only a mere pittance ? 



Mr. John D. Cutter writes in the "Boston 

 Post" for November 10, 1886, as follows: 

 " As an amusement, silk-culture is all right ; 

 as a business, it is impossible, for a genera- 

 tion or two to come, or until we are so crowd- 

 ed in the struggle for life that we can do no 

 better for ourselves than to compete with the 

 Chinese for bare existence. ... No occupa- 

 tion of any civilized or half-civilized people 

 pays its laborers so little as silk-culture. It 

 is the very last employment of humanity this 

 side of starvation. The reason is patent to 

 any one who will look for it ; viz., in this in- 

 dustry the competition is with the Chinese, 

 and the product is of such enormous value 

 in proportion to its bulk and weight that 

 distance is no protection to the producer, 

 because raw silk can be carried around the 

 world for one per cent of its value. . . . 

 Silk-culture is no experiment, even in this 

 country; it simply don't pay a people who 

 want to earn more than one cent per hour." 



Light and profitable as the work of rais- 

 ing silk-worms is said to be, there are from 

 the very outset risks connected with it. If 

 the eggs are hatched too early in the season, 

 there is danger of late frosts killing the mul- 

 berry-leaves, thereby depriving the worms of 

 their food ; the worms are easily affected by 

 changes in the atmosphere, and all through 

 the season there is danger of disease ; and 

 provided everything goes well, and one is 

 able to sell the cocoons, the price given for 

 them is small compensation for the time and 

 trouble expended, and if, as is so often the 

 case, the cocoons are pronoimced worthless, 

 there is nothing to show for the weeks of 

 incessant labor. Many other experiences 

 might be cited to show the absurdity of en- 

 couraging competition with the pauper labor 

 of other countries. 



SIargarette W. Brooks, 

 Salem, Mass., December, 26, ISSS. 



THE MENTAL FORCE OF WOMAN. 

 Editor Popv/ar Science Monthly ; 



No article, perhaps, that has lately ap- 

 peared in print has called out a more decided 

 difference of opinion than the one entitled 



