lsr,T] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



69 



iuitl many 01 her towns; aiul i!ir nsulis have sat- 

 isiieii the experiiiuMitors tliat llie l)iiyiiu'ss is bolli 

 praciicahlc ami |nu(ilable. 



Tho li>o;isla*iirt' of Vernmnt, by an aot passed 

 on the lOili of November, 1835, have aiuhoiizetl 

 anil iliroi'tod ihe slate treasuiTr to pay a bounty of 

 ten cents on e\"ery pouml ol" coeocjiip yrown with- 

 in the siaie. 'i'liis boniity, and a iroud degree of 

 niterest whieh previously was awakened, has piven 

 the business a good befj;innin<if. In most parts of 

 the state seed has been sown, trees planted, and 

 siTiail quantities of silk have been made. In Bur- 

 lin<rton, Bratlleboro', VV^ooilstock, Aliddleburir, 

 Uenninuton, South Hero, Montpelier, Orwell, 

 Slioreham, Guill()rd, Putney, and many other 

 places, the subject is receivinix attention, and pre- 

 parations are making lor operations on a large 

 scale. 



The lesiislation of Massachusetts, for the en- 

 couragement of the growih of silk, is of the most 

 liberal character. The bounty on all silk grown, 

 reeled, and throvved in the commonwealth, is $2 

 a pound, which is considered by silk growers to be 

 sufficient to defray all expenses attending iis grow- 

 ing, reeling, and throwing. Before the passage 

 of this law, extensive nurseries and plantations 

 were commenced or projected; but the business 

 has sii!ce assumed a more general character. The 

 interest which is felt in this state is attributable, 

 in a great degree, to the elibrls of Jonathan 11. 

 Cobb, Esq., of Dedham. Tliis gentleman has 

 been several years engaged in the business, and 

 the success he has had has inspired others with 

 confidence in it. There are several incorporated 

 coiupanies formed, some of which have commen- 

 ced operations. Among them is the Nevv England 

 Silk Company, at Dedham, nuder the superinten- 

 dence of Mr. Cobh. This company has a capital 

 of A50,000, with liberty to extend it to ^100,000. 

 It has already about twenty acres planted with the 

 mulberry, and about thirty more in preparation. 

 In relation to the present .state of the manufactur- 

 ing department, Mr. Cobb says : "We have sixteen 

 sewing silk machines, some of which have been in 

 operation, and others are nearly completed for run- 

 ning. But a small quantity ol sewing silk has 

 been made as yet. We have found organzine and 

 tram, or warp and filling, to be in greater demand 

 than heretofore; but, in consequence of the 40 per 

 cent, protection on sewing silk held out by gov- 

 ernment, we have been buildinir a large millthis 

 season, and are now about ready to manufacture 

 200 lbs. per week of sewing silk, which, at present 

 prices, will fetch -^^.OOO; and should the tariff re- 

 main, and the price keep up as it now is, we shall 

 make a heavy business of it. About )tf: 10,000 

 worth of silk goods, part with a mixture of cotton, 

 have been manufiictured here the year past; about 

 one-half from foreign, the rest from domestic silk. 

 We shall continue to furnish, as we have in years 

 past, the warp and filling for looms in diftcMent 

 parts of the country. Tlie Tuscan loom was first 

 started here, and we have supplied many hundreds 

 of them with warps, for two or three years past." 

 The Atlantic Silk Company, at Nantucket,' has a 

 capital of ••§40,000. The object of the company is 

 the growth and manufacture of silk. The factory 

 is already in operation, and the fabrics which have 

 been made are hiffhly creditable to the manufac- 

 turers. William H. Gardner, Esq., ol' Nantuck- 

 et, is president of the company. 



The Northampton Silk Company has a capital 

 of .*100,000, with lil)erty to extend it to !p'150,()()0, 

 and is under the superintendence of Samuel VS'liit- 

 niarsh, Esq., who is also president. The object 

 of the company is both the culture and manidiic- 

 Hire of silk; and for this purpose, they have a 

 plantation of about three hundred acres, and suita- 

 ble buildings. The plantation is being slocked 

 with the monis vivlluaulis ; and another variety of 

 Chinese mulberry, which, on many accounts, they 

 think prele-rable. Their manufiiciiirc, at present, 

 is principally confined to sewing silk, the qualiiy 

 of which is said, by competent judges, to be eiiual 

 to the best Italian. The company have also im- 

 ported large quantities of mulberry trees, wiih 

 which they are stocking their own plantation, and 

 in part supplying the great demand lor that arti- 

 cle. 



The Massachusetts Silk Company has a capital 

 of 8150,000, and a plantation of 160 acres at Fra- 

 mingham. They have now growini' 78,000 Ital- 

 ian, and 7,360 Chinese mulberry trees, besides a 

 seed-bed of two acres. There are a'so in this 

 state tlte Boston Silk Company, the Roxbury Silk 

 Company, ami the Newburyport Silk Company, all 

 with large ca[:itals. Besides these incorporated 

 companies, individuals are engaging in the busi- 

 ness, in most parts of the state, with very promis- 

 ing prospects. 



In Rhode Island, where the manufacture of cot- 

 ton has been long and profitably prosecuted, the 

 manufacture of' silk is commencing. There is one 

 incorporated company by the name of the Valen- 

 tine or Rhode Island Silk Company. This compa- 

 ny has a capital of .$100,000. The fiictory is in 

 Providence, and ihe plantation in the neighbor- 

 hood. It has been in operation some time, and has 

 manufactured some very beautiful and durable ar 

 tides. 



In Connecticut, silk has been grown inconsider- 

 able quantities for filiy or sixty years, particularly 

 in the counties of Windham and Tolland. As an 

 encouragement to the silk grower, the slate pays 

 a bounty of one dollar on every hundred Iialianor 

 Chinese mulbeny trees, set out at such distances 

 fi-om each other as will best favor their full crrowih 

 and the collection of their leaves, and cultivated 

 until they are five years old. The state also pays 

 a bounty of fifty cents on every pound of silk reeled 

 on an improved reel. 



There are two incorporated companies in the 

 state — the Mansfield and the Connecticut silk ma- 

 nufacturing companies. The former is located at 

 Mansfield, and has a capital of ^20.000 ; the latter 

 at Hartford, with a capital of .«:30,000. Both these 

 companies have been beneficiaries of a bank. The 

 business of the latter has hitherto been principally 

 limited to the manufacture of Tuscan straw for la- 

 dies' bonnets ; but it has lately commenced the 

 manufiicture of sewing silk in large quantities and 

 of a good quality. There is also a small silk fac- 

 tory at Lisbon, which has been in operation for 

 several years, and is said to be doing a good busi- 

 ness. 



Individuals, also, in all parts of the state, are en- 

 gaging in the culture ; several of whom are plant- 

 ing large tracts with the mulberry. The Messrs. 

 Cheney, at Manchester, have been engaged the 

 past season in cultivating the mnrtis multicai/lis, 

 and have been very successful. They intend stock- 

 ing a large plantation of this variety of the mulber- 



