1837] 



FARMERS- KEGISrER, 



n 



luive satisfied many of the planters that the yoiin;^. 

 agod, aiul iiilii'm poriion ol" their slaves can be 

 lirofitably eaipkn ed in thecniture ol'silk ; and tlicre 

 IS little "dount ihat in a short time many ol' them 

 will make a silk as well as a cotton crop. 



In Florida and Alabama the tree grows luxnri- 

 antly, and produdes an abundance oflbliaij;e. Ex- 

 periments in rearinLT the worm have, also, been 

 attended with lavorable results; and a portion of 

 the inhabitants ;u-e convinced that silk will be the 

 most proiiiable crop they can make. At Pensa- 

 cola and Mobile are laro-e nundiers of mulberry 

 trees ; and arrangements are making by several 

 gentlemen to connnence tite business. At the lat- 

 ter place, Chester Root, Esq., is preparing for a 

 iatge plantation. The black mulberry is indigen- 

 ous, and its tbliage has been Ibund to make as 

 good silk as that of the Italian or Chinese. It is 

 also supposed the steril lands of West P''lorida 

 will become valuable on account of their adapta- 

 tion to the production of silk. 



JVesterii States. 



The soil and climate of the western states has 

 also been tbuiid to be peculiarly adapted to the 

 silk culture; and many larmers and others are 

 turning their attention to it. In Ohio, there are a 

 number of companies incorporated, with large ca- 

 pitals, and tinder the direction of skiH'ul m-anagers. 

 The Ohio Silk Company, at Columbus, has a large 

 plantation on the rich bottoms of the Scioto, which 

 IS fast stocking with both kinds of the mulberry : 

 30,000 Italian, four years old, and a large number 

 of the Chinese, have been set. The company 

 propose to extend their plantation of Italian to at 

 least one hundred acres, with one thousand trees 

 to the acre, and an equal number of acres with the 

 Chinese. It is also tlieir intention to add about fit- 

 ly acres in hedges of both kinds. 



A company has also been formed at Mount 

 Pleasant, in Jeiferson county, with a capital of 

 .^50,000. The Massillon Man'ulacturing Company 

 have had their capital extended to .fGOOjOOO, and 

 are determined to engage largely in the culture of 

 silk. Several other companies have been formed, 

 and many more have petitions before the Legis- 

 hiture for acts of incorporation. In the vicinity of 

 Canton, in Starke county, seventy families are said 

 to be engaged in makinir silk; and in Knox, 

 Cuyahoga, Jefferson, Belmont, Washington, 

 Brown, Hamilton, Montgomery, Highland, and 

 several other counties, many individuals are be- 

 ginninff. Several petitions are now beibre the 

 Legislature praying for public encouragennent ; 

 and it is expected something hberal will be 

 done. 



In Kentucky, a company has been incorporated 

 under the name of the ''Campbell County Silk Cul- 

 ture and 31anuficturing Comjiany," and has se- 

 lected a favorable location opposite Cincinnati. 

 The subject is new in this state, but it is attract- 

 ing attention, as is apparent ti'om the following 

 extract of a letter from a irentleman near Lexinij- 

 ton: "The first talk of silk-raising in this country 

 was about a year and a half since, when a friend 

 sent me the first co[)y of the Silk Culturist. So 

 great has been the increase of public sentiment, 

 that there appear but few of the rich farmers but 

 who are talking of it as a source of employment 

 for their weak force. There are a crreat manv 



Italian mulberries of one year's growth. I have; 

 near 100,000 in a nursery of five acres ; and there 

 is the produce of four pounds and a half of seed 

 more, raised by five oi'my immediate neighbors; 

 all of which will be planted out in the spring m 

 hedge rows. I calculate there will be over one 

 hundred acres planted. The six that are now 

 making experiments are all rich, and can bring into 

 the field one hundred and fifty hands of their own, 

 and as much land as is necessary: and our whole 

 energy will be turned to it." 



In Indiana, large quantities of seed have been 

 sown, and as|)iril of iiujuiry has been awakened, 

 particularly among the Quakers at Richmond. A 

 gentleman of that place says: "There has noth- 

 ing but the Italian been grown as yet, of vi/hich 

 there is, to my knowledge, only about 30,000 trees, 

 which are all seedlings. There will be some of 

 the real Chinese, and also of the maUicaidis, cul- 

 tivated, though to a limited extent. The busi- 

 ness cannot Hourish with us till our trees have 

 grown, though to a limited extent. The business 

 cannot flourish Aviih us till our trees have grown, 

 though our woods abound with the black mulber- 

 ry." There is a large nursery of both kinds at 

 Madison, and the state will gradually be furnished 

 with trees. 



In Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Tennessee,, 

 smnll beginnings have been made, and llie cou- 

 genialiiy of the sod and climate cannot, uiii- 

 rnately, fiail of making them great silk-growing 

 .slates. 



In looking at the vast amount of silk annually 

 imported and consumed in this country, and the fii- 

 cilities itfiirnishesfbr its production, the conviction 

 irresistibly forces itself upon the mind, that our 

 national interest, independence, and respectability,, 

 loudly call for such legislative aid and encourage- 

 ment as shall stimulate to activity and persever- 

 ance the efibrts which are making to introduce its 

 culture as a common branch of rural economy. 

 Hitherto, the work lias been carried forward by 

 individual exertions; and this is unquestionably 

 the true method, so far as individual interest is con- 

 cerned. Bat the nation has a irreat interest in- 

 volved in it; and it is its duty to foster it in such a 

 manner as will afford it protection and encourage- 

 ment. The public and individuals having a com- 

 mon interest in the object, may, by an eneiget- 

 ic co-operation in effort, secure its benefits to 

 both. 



The efforts which have been made by individu- 

 als, and the success which has thus li^r attended 

 tliem, seem to point out the course which should 

 be adopted by Congress. Enough has been done 

 already to enlighten the public, so far as its p.rac- 

 ticability and profit are concerned ; and nothing 

 more Is wanting to induce thousands of the enter- 

 prising and industrious to engage in it, but a tho- 

 rough knowleilge of its details. Could a general 

 diffiision of practical knowledize on the subject of 

 cultivating the tree and rearing the worm, be ef- 

 fected, I have no doubt the United States would 

 finally become one of the greatest silk-crowing 

 countries in the world. It is for the committee to 

 recommend the measures which ought to be taken 

 by Congress to j)romote this great object; and in 

 their hands I leave it, with one suguestion: if a 

 small and cheap manual on the subject could be 

 extensively circulated at the public expense, I 

 have no doubt it would be well received, and at the 



