52 



Silk production in Europe. — In the report for 1872, of the Com- 

 mission des Soies. read before the Societe d^ Agriculture^ Ilistoire naturelle et 

 A7'ts utiles, of Lyons, is found a summary of the status of silk-culture in 

 France and other x^arts of the workl. During 1871, in France, 100,000 

 ounces of silk-worms' eggs, treated according to Pasteur's method, 

 averaged 30 kilograjus, or OH pounds of cocoons per ounce, the best results 

 indicating double the average. The aggregate product of eggs treated 

 by this process was 6,600,000 pounds of cocoons, representing a value 

 of 18,000,000 to 20,000,000 of francs. It was used on a large scale and 

 with great success in Italy and Austria. During 1871 silk production, 

 as a whole, indicated superior crops both in quantity and quality in 

 France, Spain, and the Levant, equaling the results of 1800, with, per- 

 haps, a slight depreciation in quality. Japanese eggs w^ere the most reli- 

 able, but native eggs were produced in such quantity as to revive the 

 hope of reproducing the old French worms in a healthy and robust con- 

 dition. In the seven leading silk-producing departments of France 

 505,290 ounces or cards of eggs had been hatched during the year, of 

 which 328,790 were Japanese and 176,600 were native-bred. The gross 

 product of cocoons was 16,217,411 pounds, averaging 32 pounds per ounce 

 of eggs. In ten departments, including the above, the average of the 

 whole was reduced to 28.6 pounds, but about one-third failed to germinate, 

 otherwise the average would have been 43 pounds. The most satis- 

 factory results for native eggs were obtained in the departments of Var, 

 the Alps, and the Eastern Pyrenees. The native eggs also were less 

 costly than the Japanese. Official statistics gave the aggregate num- 

 ber of silk-growers at 139,922, of which 103,621 were operating in a small 

 way and the remainder on a large scale. These ten departments pro- 

 duced nine-tenths of the entire yield of France, which was estimated at 

 over 23,000,000 of pounds. 



The Chamber of Commerce of Turin estimated the crop of Italy at 

 about 43,827,000 pounds. In spite of the intelligent eftbrts devoted to 

 native insects, but partial success had been realized, the best results 

 having been obtained with Japanese eggs — especially the green varie- 

 ties. 



The statistics of 1872 embrace twenty departments of France, in which 

 807,261 cards of eggs were placed to hatch, but not over half germinated. 

 Of the eggs used 61 per cent, were Japanese, 29 per cent, native, and 

 10 per cent from other countries. The greatest success in hatching was 

 found in Var and the Basses Alpes. The loss from failure to hatch was 

 there about 50 per cent, greater than in 1871. The principal causes of 

 this failure were defective hibernation, cold and rain at the commence- 

 ment of the hatching period, bad selection of eggs, &c. The largest loss 

 was in the Japanese eggs. The total product was 22,070,384 pounds of 

 cocoons, averaging about 26 pounds per ounce of eggs hatched. The 

 averages ranged from 80.5 pounds in Hautes Alpes to less than 10 pounds 

 in Loire. The product of raw silk was estimated at over 1,400,000 

 pounds. Of the cocoon product, about 246,727 pounds were devoted to 

 the reproduction of eggs, yielding not quite an ounce of eggs to the 

 pound of cocoons, or 231,350 ounces on the whole. Most of this branch 

 of reproduction was in the Basses Alpes, Gard, Drome, Ardeche, and 

 Vaucluse. The market price of Japanese cocoons was from 2.8 francs 

 to 2.9 francs per pound ; native, from 3.4 francs to 3.8 francs. The aver- 

 age price of eggs was 14 francs to 16 francs per ounce. The cocoons 

 were jierceptibly dearer in 1872 than in 1871, though the eggs were 

 cheaper. Mulberry leaves were sold at about 1 franc for 220 pounds. 

 The official census returned 199,306 silk-producers, of which 35,766 



