JONATHAN COBB'S PROPHECIES 145 



any way, and prove it, to the satisfaction of the Legis- 

 lature or Agricultural Society, I think he would merit 

 a great reward. But this business may be particularly 

 recommended to overseers of the poor in every town, 

 who have a farm and every town ought to have one 

 to keep their paupers ; for if one -half their paupers 

 are able to gather leaves and feed the worms five weeks, 

 this business would support all of them a year, exclu- 

 sive of the cost of an overseer. Permit me to suggest 

 one consideration more, if all the highways in country 

 towns were ornamented with a row of mulberry trees, 

 on each side, half a rod apart, each mile would con- 

 tain 1380 trees, the income of which, after seven 

 years, would probably pay for repairing all the high- 

 ways and the expenses of the public schools, if the 

 inhabitants would restrain their cattle and sheep from 

 going at large. There is another method of producing 

 silk from mulberry trees, one year after transplanting 

 them; which is, to plant them in rows 3 feet by 

 2 apart, which would give about 7000 to an acre, and 

 every other year with a sharp instrument to cut them 

 off within three or four inches of the ground, and 

 feed them out or cut off every year. But whether this 

 method will produce as much or more silk than to 

 omit picking the leaves for seven years, I have not 

 obtained information sufficient to decide. 



T 'I further remark, that the education of youth is 

 of the utmost importance to the public. May I be 

 permitted to address the inhabitants of every school 

 district, that they would seriously and without delay, 

 consider the importance of connecting the silk business 

 with summer schools, by procuring two or three acres 

 of suitable land near each school house, and hare 



