338] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



429 



n a rapid irrowtli tlie first liill altor it sproulod. 

 riiiis a few minutes in a year devoted (o a tree will 

 irolect it against this cause of decay — a very tri- 

 lioir expeiipc ooni|)ared with the value oC this 

 leaithy and delicious fruil. 



•loNATIIAN BuACi:, 



John f. Wklls, 



Wm. II. IlMLAY. 



Harflbrd, Conn. Sep. S, 1S30. — Ci)nn. Paper nf 

 1830. 



For the FariDcrs' Ri'gistcr. 

 TREATISE ON TIIK CULTURE OF SILK.* 



BY GIDEON B. SMITH. 



Prefatory Pcmarks. 



The introduction of the culture of silk in 

 the United States has been an object of (jreat 

 interest for some years past, and has been 

 steadily on the increase, until it has now be- 

 come almost, if not quite, a mania. In 1826, a 

 silk- worm was a curiosity in most of the state.« of 

 the union; and but little was known or said about 

 it. At that time the writer of these remarks com- 

 menced calling public attention to the subject, and 

 for seven years kept a laboratory expressly for the 

 purpose of obtaining and diffusing information. 

 He had access to all the books then extant on the 

 subject, but they afforded little practical informa- 

 tion. Every thing was new to him, and every 

 thing consequently was to be learned from experi- 

 ment. Happily, the simplicity of the whole routine 

 was such, that careful observation and diligence 

 enabled him to acquire the information he sought 

 without material difficulty. From time to time he 

 has published the result of his experience, on the 

 subject generally, and on particular branches; but 

 as the public feeling has now become more gene- 

 rally enlisted in its tiivor, the demand for informa- 

 tion has increased. The writer is almost daily 

 applied to for his opinions and the result of his ex- 

 perience. He has therefore determined to publish 

 the following treatise. 



The subject conveniently divides itself into three 



* This new treatise, furnished from a source of sucii 

 high authority, would, under any circumstances, con- 

 stitute a very valuable portion of the original matter 

 of the Farmers' Register; but more especially inter- 

 esting, and useful for practical instruction, will it be at 

 this particular juncture, when so many persons, who 

 are totally unacquainted with the business, are about to 

 commence the planting of the Chinese mulberry tree, 

 and expect to commence the rearing of silk-vv'orms. 

 To supply the manifest want of such a manual of in- 

 struction as could be relied on for truth, and sound 

 views, from a writer having much practical expe- 

 rience, as well as knowledge of all that has been pub- 

 lished in this country on the subject, was the object 

 which induced our request to Mr. Smith to write a 

 treatise on silk-culture, as much in detail as his ardu- 

 ous engagements would permit him to prepare. This 

 iirst number of the proposed series, is the commence- 

 ment of his fulfilment of our request. — Ed. Far. Reg. 



parts, viz. : The culture of the niulhcmj, rearing 

 the. silk-inorm, and reeling., tujisting, and prepara- 

 tion (f raw silk. And these three division.'' can 

 convenientlv be discussed in three numbers of the 

 l""'armers' Register. The lljllowing pa<;<;s com- 

 |)lete the first part, the culture of the mulherry, aiiJ 

 it is hoped with sullicient clearness to enable any 

 one to understand the subject distinctly. On the 

 whole subject we shall endeavor to avoid disputa- 

 tions, entering into no critical discussions or con- 

 troversies on disputed points; but giving our own 

 of)inions freely. If we describe one practice and 

 say nothini; of another, it is because wc know the 

 one to be the right one, and therefore say nothing 

 of the other; for why should we take up our own 

 and the reader's time in describing that which we 

 know to be useless? With these introductory re- 

 marks we submit the first number to the public. 



The Mulberry^ Multicaulis Culture, Sfc. 



The first thing to be done in the commencement 

 of the culture of silk, is, of course, to provide a 

 full supply of mulberry leaves. The leaves must 

 be abundant, that no stinting of the worms may 

 occur liom any cause, at a moment when the 

 wiiole crop depends upon a full and ample supply 

 of food, which is during the last ten dajs of their 

 feeding. The mulijerry orchard must be conve- 

 nient to the laboratory, that the expense of attend- 

 ants for gathering leaves may be as small as pos- 

 sible. There are many accidents that may cause 

 the loss of leaves; during rainy weather it is ne- 

 cessary to gather a supply for a lew days ahead, 

 that they may be dried before feedin<; them to the 

 worms;* these may become spoiled, and thus 

 lost. Therefore we siiould generally make provi- 

 sion for double the quantity of leaves that we ex- 

 pect to consume; for if wc lose none, the cost of 

 tills extra provision will be trifling, con)pared to 

 that of a whole crop of worms, li'om a deficiency. 

 This is the only mode by which we can efi'ect an 

 insurance against such foss. 



The kind of mulberry to be employed, is the 

 next object of attention. When I published my 

 'Treatise on the Culture of Silk' in 1830, I had 

 very little experience with the new Chinese varie- 

 ty, the moras multicaulis. It had at that time 

 been but three or lour years in the country, was 

 not known at all except to very few individuals, 

 and had of course not been propagated to any ex- 

 tent. It is true, I had the tree in my possession, 

 and knew its value from a brief experiment in 

 1828 and 1829; but my supply of leaves from it 



* I have seen with much surprise a statement in the 

 newspapers that a gentleman had made experiments 

 in feeding silk-worms with wet leaves, and that the 

 result was very favorable, the cocoons made by worms 

 thus fed containing 800 yards of fibre, &c. If the state- 

 ment be not a hoax, and one calculated and intended 

 to do injury, by causing the destruction of whole crops 

 of silk-worms, it must have been founded upon a veiy 

 insufficient scale to test its merits. I have seen the 

 evil not only of feeding with wet leaves, but even 

 with leaves too succulent. I would therefore caution 

 silk-growers against such statements; and advise, that, 

 if they wish to try the experiment of feeding with 

 wet leaves, to do so with a single hurdle, and not risk 

 the loss of the whole crop; for be it known that the 

 tripes, the disease usually produced by wet leaves, will 

 generally spread over and destroy all the worms in the 

 largest establishment, in a very few hours from its 

 first appearance. 



