AGRICULTURE. 



ALABAMA. 



15 



shoulders wide, and the hams fall. The Jersey 

 Reds originated in New Jersey, and are largely 

 bred in the southern part of that State. They 

 age large-framed, with a reddish coat, tall, 

 with large lop ears, and vigorous constitution. 

 They belong decidedly to the class of large 

 hogs, and are capable of being fattened to 

 almost any weight from 1,000 pounds down. 

 Their flesh ia rather coarse-grained. The 

 Duroa, a breed originating in Saratoga Coun- 

 ty, X. Y., are reddish in color, and of large 

 size, but of finer grain than the Jersey Reds, 

 and equally hardy. Of the foreign breeds now 

 naturalized here, those which attracted the 

 greatest attention from the convention were 

 the Berkhire, Sujfolks, Ewex, Neapolitan, 

 Yorkshires, and Lancathiret. 



Much attention has been paid during the 

 year to silk-culture, and, as the result of care- 

 ful and extended investigation in all the silk- 

 growing countries, it has been settled that the 

 only successful method of producing silk is by 

 what is called household culture; that it is 

 impossible to carry it on upon an extensive 

 scale, as the worms become diseased and die in 

 large numbers, and the silk they produce is of 

 poor quality. Sixty pounds of silk, the product 

 of 50,000 worms, and worth, in cocoons, about 

 $180, is all that should be attempted at a time. 

 In some climates two broods may be success- 

 fully raised in a single season, but generally it 

 is better 'to be contented with a single crop. 

 The care of these is light and pleasant work 

 for children, and, during the thirty-five or 

 thirty-eight days which it occupies, will give 

 them sufficient employment. The leaves of 

 the mulberry-trees or shrubs (and in California 

 the white, the black, and the multicaulis are 

 nsed indiscriminately) are not fit for food for 

 the worms till the end of the second year of 

 their growth. An acre of the plants, set in 

 rows, at such .distance from each other that 

 there is ample room to pass between them for 

 cultivation and picking, and for the sun to 

 shine upon the leaves, the rows being ten feet 

 apart, will bo sufficient for feeding 50,000 

 worms and should furnish 5,000 to 6,000 pounds 

 of leaves. Care must bo taken that the leaves 

 are not too soft and juicy. There are three 

 kinds of silk-worms reared in California an- 

 nuals, bivoltins, and trivoltins producing re- 

 spectively one, two, and three broods a year. 

 The annuals are preferred as healthier and more 

 vigorous. Of these there are three varieties, 

 the Japanese white nnd green, and the Chinese 

 white. They are named from the color of their 

 cocoons. About an ounce and a half of the 

 eggs is required to produce the requisite num- 

 ber of wonni, and these must bo purchased in 

 the first instance. The eggs should be kept at 

 a temperature of about 40 Fahr. until the mul- 

 berries begin to put forth their leaves; they 

 are then to be brought into the feeding-room 

 and maintained at a temperature of 75, grad- 

 ually increasing to 83, the floor of the feeding- 

 room being moistened occasionally to enable 



the worm to free itself from the shell. The 

 feeding-season is about thirty-five days, and 

 the life of the silk-worm from thirty-eight to 

 fifty days. During the feeding-season it moults 

 or casts off its skin about once in six or eight 

 days. While moulting, the worm must not be 

 disturbed in any way, not even by feeding. 

 The worms hatch on successive days, and as 

 those hatched on the same day moult at the 

 same time, it is better to spread each day a 

 covering of mosquito netting over the eggs 

 and strew young, tender leaves of the mulberry 

 upon it. The young worms will come through 

 the netting for food and cannot go back. Re- 

 moving this netting at night to a feeding-shelf, 

 put another over the eggs with leaves, and so 

 on till all the eggs are hatched. The worms 

 are to be fed twice a day. In California the 

 feeding-times are at 5 A. M. and 10 p. M. The 

 feeding-shed must be kept as nearly as possible 

 at a uniform temperature, and excessive heat or 

 cold prevented. Before the first moulting, 15 

 pounds of leaves a day are enough for 50,000 

 worms ; between the first and second moultings, 

 80 pounds ; between the second and third, 60 ; 

 between the third and fourth, 140 ; between 

 the fourth and fifth, and after the fifth, 300 

 pounds per day, making altogether 5,070 

 pounds. The net is the best method for 

 separating the worms, though some use mul- 

 berry-branches. After the fourth moulting, 

 preparation must be made for their spin- 

 ning, by putting twigs of willow, osier, etc., 

 across each other, to which they may attach 

 the cocoons. As soon as the spinning-sound 

 in the cocoons ceases, the cocoons should be 

 taken off, assorted, and those not intended for 

 breeding-purposes should be plunged in boil- 

 ing water or subjected to steam of the heat of 

 212. Then after two months of careful dry- 

 inn they are ready for the market or for reeling. 

 Silk-culture may be carried on in almost every 

 State, but it will bo most likely to be successful 

 in California, the southern portions of Colorado, 

 New Mexico, Kansfls, Missouri, Arkansas, and 

 those Southern States which are not liable to 

 sudden and violent storms in the summer 

 months. A severe thunder-storm occurring 

 when the worms are moulting will often kill 

 the entire brood. Over $30,000,000 worth of 

 silk goods are now manufactured in the United 

 States, and our country should supply the silk 

 for this purpose, instead of importing it from 

 Europe, China and Japan. 



ALABAMA. The Legislature of Alabama, 

 which was to convene on November 18, 1872, 

 did not complete its regular organization and 

 commence proceedings in a harmonious man- 

 ner until February. The terms of compromise 

 proposed by the Attorney-General of the 

 United States to the two legislative bodies 

 assembled, one in the Court-House and the 

 other in the Capitol at Montgomery, were 

 ostensibly accepted, and the 18th of December, 

 1872, fixed as the day for the combined organ- 

 ization (see ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA, 1872, ALA- 



