1838] 



FARMERS' RKGISTER. 



753 



Ihe tobacco retrion of Virsinia. " We are told 

 by a ireiiileman of ijood intelliffence that the 

 whole charire of makinir a pound of silk in China 

 does not exceed more than five shillinnrs, and al- 

 most everj' person, man, woman or child, may 

 work at it, and a man or woman with a child to 

 assist in directinjr the thread of the silk mav with 

 a proper machine reel from the cocoon or silk bas, 

 1 lb. in a day." " Now I should think the labor 

 of slaves employed in this work would produce 

 above twice as much as those that are employed 

 in makinir either sup^ar, tobacco, or cotton." I 

 wish it to be borne in mind the culture of silk in 

 America first had its oriffin in V'ir<rinia, the atten- 

 tion of the colony was called to the subiect by the 

 British orovernment early in the sixteenth century, 

 and it is worthy of remark that (he connoisseurs 

 of Europe pronounced Virginia silk to be the best 

 in the world ; more sylossy. soft and of a better sta- 

 ple than the silks of Europe or Asia. 



"Mulberry trees, and printed directions were 

 early sent to Virginia, to encourase the silk cul- 

 ture, and as the kins, James I. had 'understood 

 that the soil naturally yielded stores of excellent 

 mulberries,' he save special instructions to the 

 Earl of Southampton to urge the cultivation of 

 silk in the colonies in preference to tobacco 'which 

 brings with it many disorders and inconveniences.' 

 In accordance to which the earl wrote a I'fter on 

 the subject to the governor and council of Virgi- 

 nia, in which he desirea them to comopl the colo- 

 nists to plant mulberry trees. In 1623, the colo- 

 nial assembly directed that thpv should be planted, 

 and in 1656 the culture of silk is described as the 

 most profitable commodity for the country, and a 

 penalty of three lbs. of tobacco is imposed uf)on 

 every planter who should fail to plant at least ten 

 mulberry trees for every hundred acres of land in 

 his possession. A premium also of four thousand 

 pounds of tobacco was at the same time ffiven to 

 a person as an inducement to remain in the coun- 

 try, and prosecute the trade in silk, and the follow- 

 ing year a premium was offered of 10,000 lbs. of 

 tobacco to any one who should export two hun- 

 dred poimds worth of the raw material of silk, and 

 five thousand pounds of the same article to any 

 one who should produce one thousand pounds of 

 wound silk in one year. The act coercmg the 

 plan'inir o!" a wiven number of trees was repealed 

 in 1656, and renewed two years thereatler; but the 

 system of bount'es and penalties was continued 

 until 1666, when, owing to the success of the cul- 

 ture, they were deemed imnecessarv. While 

 Sir William Berkley was in Enirland on the occa- 

 sion of his re-appointment as trovernor, in conver- 

 sation with the kintr, his majesty stronsjlv recom- 

 mended the cull lire of silk, and as an inducement 

 to ihe colonists to attend to his advice, m'^ntioned 

 that he had formerly worn some of the silk of V ir- 

 ginia, which he (bund not inferior to that raised in 

 other countries. The encouragement s'wen by 

 the colonial legislature had the d".-i'ed effect, a 

 spirit of generous enterprise and emii'ation was 

 infused into the minds of the anrriculiurists of the 

 old Domiuion, mulberrv trees were senerally 

 planted and the raisinu of silk worms was made a 

 part of the business of many of the farmers. In- 

 deed so zealously did the larger planters and farm- 

 ers enter into it, that many were found to come 

 forward and claim the premium offered by the le- 

 gislature; and among them was a Major Walker, 

 Voj.. VI.— 95 



a member of that body, who produced satisfacto- 

 ry testimony of haviucr seventy thousand trees 

 growing in the year 1664. Tlie eastern part of 

 "he state abounds with white mulberry trees at 

 present, thus affording the inhabitants the meana 

 of promptly taking tjp the silk culture as a portion 

 of their system of husbandry." 



Silk has been cultivated more or less in every 

 slate in the union (except Mame.) Early in the 

 seventeenth century, silk was exported to Europe 

 from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 

 Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and the New 

 England states, and in 1750, two thousand five 

 hundred lbs. of silk were raised in the neigborhood 

 of Philadelphia. 



In conclusion, I would respectfully suggest the 

 following, for the consideration of the cultivators 

 of tobacco in eastern Virginia— viz. : Curtail the 

 tobacco crop one-third in 1839, two-thirds in 1840, 

 and continue one-third for the purpose of paying 

 (or taxes, smiths' bills, iron, salt, sugar, coffee, &c. 

 Let each tobacco culturist purchase 1000 cuttinga 

 of the Chinese mulberry (morus multicaulis) 

 which will cost S40, to be planted as we do corn, 

 Ihe 1st of March, in good ground, and as there 

 are two eyes to each cutting, under the most fa- 

 vorable circumstances, those cuttinus will becon)e 

 2000 trees from 4 to 6 feet high in xNovember fol- 

 lowing, yielding 20 cuttings to each tree, amount- 

 injr lo"46,000; and if planted in like manner in 

 March, 1840, there will be an ample supply of 

 mulberry trees for the purpose of feeding arid rais- 

 ing silk worms. Go into the silk culture in 1839 

 with the native mulberry (morus rubra,) which 

 will give the young tyro a useliil lesson in the 

 management of silk worms. In 1840 the leaves 

 fi-om the scions of 2000 roots with the leaves of 

 the native mulberry, will irive a yod crop of silk. 

 In 1841 the supply of leaves will feed millions of 

 worms and the cul'.urist may go largely into the 

 silk business. 



MORE OF THE INTRODUCTlOiV OF THE MO- 

 RUS MUJLTICAULIS. 



To tlie Editor of tlie Farmer's Register. 



Linnaaii Garden and Nurseries, 

 Flushing, Nov. 1, 1838. 



My attention has been this day called to an ar- 

 ticle in the Richmond Enquirer, of the 12lh insf., 

 on the introduction and ditseminalion of the mo- 

 rus multicaulis. 



My father, Mr. Wm. Prince, mere tlran half a 

 century ago, devoted great attention to the silk 

 culture, and havinir, at that early period, reared 

 many bushels of cocoons — a pair of gloves manu- 

 lactured from which he still possesses — and, on 

 my parr, having imported the morus multicaulis 

 before it hod a name, and having urged the subject 

 of the silk-culiure (or the last fourteen years— com- 

 batted its revilers in every stage, and contested for 

 its adoption as part of the true ^'Imerlcan system. 

 besides losing about ^5,000, in one importation of 

 the morus multicaulis trees, I am not content to 1< t 

 such flimsy statements as the one refiirred to, pa^a 

 without a suitable rebuke ; and you may calcula e 

 on receiving, in due course, a full and explicit 

 communication on the subject. 



Yours, most reepeclfljlly. 



Wm. R. Pkikce. 



