450 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 8 



both in the village and in the neighborhood, in the 

 way of feedintr worms. I saw one cocoonery, in 

 which perhaps filiy thousand worms had just 

 completed their labors; and another, erected on a 

 large scale, in which nearly a miliion of eggs were 

 in the act of being hatched. But ihere was a 

 great scarcity of food ; and liberal prices had to be 

 oH'ered to the owners of such plantations as were 

 situated in the vicinity of the village, for whate- 

 ver amount of foliage they could supply. So great 

 has been the trade at Northampton, in mulberry 

 trees, that out of the hundreds of thousands of 

 seedlings which have been grown there within the 

 last few years, the number of those planted ex- 

 pressly for fee(ling worms is very inconsiderable. 

 Perhaps no place has dealt more largely in the 

 article ; and the practice of selling off so close as 

 to leave none for feeding worms, has been the 

 subject of considerable censure. A reformation 

 has been promised in this respect; and I was as- 

 sured by a prominent and enterprising cuiturisr, 

 that he was determined hereafter to retain the 

 greater part of his trees for permanent plantations 

 on his own grounds. Should he devote his ener- 

 gies to the silk culture, I know of none whose in- 

 telligence and qualifications are better calculated to 

 insure success. 



It is not my intention to charge either individu- 

 als or associations with a design to delude the pub- 

 lic. On the contrary, I have no doubt that most 

 of them were influenced by as correct motives, in 

 advocating the adoption of the silk-culture, as 

 generally govern the actions of men, willinff to 

 instruct others and promote their interests at the 

 same time that they can do it with advantage to 

 themselves. Neither do I believe that the silk 

 culture is intended or expected to turn out a mere 

 delusion. If companies have fliiled, individuals 

 have been eminently successful; in a smaller way, 

 it is true, but on a scale large enough to prove 

 that the culture is both practicable and advantage- 

 ous. A number of instances might be adduced 

 to establish the fact that worms may be fed in this 

 country, and carried through their various ages 

 in perfect health; that the' climate is admirably 

 adapted to their welfare; and that silk of the best 

 quality may be readily produced. The reason, 

 therefore, that so little actual progress has been 

 made, considerin<r the much that has been said 

 and written, and the great degree of public atten- 

 tion and even excitement that has been elicited in 

 its behalf, is to be found in causes sufficiently obvi- 

 ous, and which have already been adverted to. The 

 wonderful demand for the moms muUicaulis and 

 other valuable species of the mulberry, renders the 

 cultivation of these plants the most profitable 

 agricultural occupation that ever was followed in 

 this country. A greater profit is to be derived 

 from a few acres of land under this culture, than 

 from large fields of wheat or corn, or even cotton 

 or tobacco. As long as men will consult their 

 interest, it is not to be supposed that the slow and 

 tedious process of rearing silk-worms and reelino' 

 silk, however profitable it may be. compared with 

 most other agricultural pursuits, will be prosecuted 

 with full vigor, while the profit to be derived from 

 the sale of the plant which constitutes the food of 

 the worm, transcends in value that of the silk to 

 be derived from it. While the demand for the 

 mulberry continues to be extensive, and the prices 

 bigh, it will be idle to expect that silk will be pro- 



duced in large quantities. But in a few years, 

 when the country comes to be well stocked, and 

 the prices decline so much that sales can with dif- 

 ficultj^^ be effected, a new state of things may be 

 anticipated. There will then be no other resource 

 but to appropriate the mulberry to its lejj'itimate 

 use; the community at large will be compelled by 

 the force of circumstances to engage in the culture 

 of silk, and we may then expect to see the busi- 

 ness extensively flourish. In the mean time, 

 the experiments that are making will lead to im- 

 provements in the management of the worm ; 

 every year will be adding something to the stock 

 of knowledge, and contributing to ultimate suc- 

 cess. The mulberry will shortly be in the posses- 

 sion of every family, or readily accessible to all ; 

 and no longer, as at present, capable of being 

 monopolized by speculators, who having no inte- 

 rest in [he establishment of the silk culture farther 

 than to supply the plants, and never intending to 

 follow it as a branch of industry, are intent only 

 on deriving a heavy profit from them. 



I am not one of those that object to seeing the 

 mulberry sell at fair prices. If there was no de- 

 mand for them, all attempts to extend the silk cul- 

 ture would fail. But I do object to making the 

 mulberry culture and silk culture two distinct 

 branches of business; and, above all, to the prac- 

 tice which many persons follow, of calling them- 

 selves silk-cuUurists, when they are only specu- 

 lators in the plants, or growers of them for the 

 market. None talk more largely of the benefits 

 of making this a si!k-growing country — none dis- 

 course more eloquently on the advantages to be 

 derived from adopting the culture — while the main 

 object is to create a demand lor their trees. The 

 press teems with "silk-growers' guides," and 

 other publications, from the fertile pens of mulberry 

 growers, demonstrating in glowing language the 

 enormous profits of the silk culture. It would be 

 desirable if public opinion could be brought to bear 

 upon such persons, and compel them — a reasona- 

 ble compidsion it would be — to appropriate some of 

 their profits to the construction of cocooneries, in 

 order to prove to those whom they are persuading 

 to purchase, that silk may be profitably produced ; 

 and give them ocular demonstration that their 

 trees are worth what is demanded for them. By 

 this mode, the sale of trees might not be diminish- 

 ed ; it would probably be promoted ; but at the 

 same time, every person would purchase with a 

 knowledge of what he was doing; and the trees 

 would fall info the hands of those who would en- 

 deavor to convert a portion of them into silk. Had 

 this system been pursued, and light shed amongst 

 the people, even the present high prices for the 

 mulberry might not be above their value : at any 

 rates, the demand would not be a factitious one. 

 It is in truth a most valuable plant, if the silk 

 culture is practicable, and deserving of higher ap- 

 preciation, from the fact that it is reproduced with 

 so much facility. Although the actual cost and 

 labor of propagation are inconsiderable, yet its in- 

 trinsic merits so far surpass those of any other 

 mulberry, that for an outlay of five dollars, a stock 

 of plants may be obtained, in four or five years, 

 capable of sustaining millions of worms. It would 

 therefore be better to give even a dollar a piece 

 for a few plants, than to give a dollar a thousand 

 for the old white mulberry, which would only be 

 fit to feed from, at six years of age, with a scanty 



