FARMERS' REGISTER. 



105 



Now, having ascertained what were Dandoio's 

 prescribed spaces, let us state them in American 

 square feet, opposite the amount of square feet as 

 falsely rendered by his translators, and received, 

 and copied by the 'Manual' and its followers. 



Spaces required by the worms from an ounce of eggs. 



Braccia sq. in. so. ft. so. in, 

 In first age, 4 = 1936 = 13 64 

 second age, 8 3872 26 128 

 third age, 19 9196 63 24 

 fourth age, 45 21780 151 36 

 fifth age, 100 48-100 336 16 



English transla- 



lioii of Daiidolo 



aud American 



copyists. 



*7ft. 4 in.sq. 

 14 8 

 34 6 

 82 6 

 183 4 



Dandolo says that the number of eggs of the 

 common silk-worm in an ounce, is 39,168. (By 

 the \vay, the value of his ounce is made even 

 more uncertain than that of his foot measure.) 

 He elsewhere supposes that 120 lbs. of cocoons 

 from an ounce of eggs is a very good product, 

 though he also says that if all the eggs were to 

 produce cocoons, there would be 163 lbs. from the 

 ounce of eggs. This shows that he counts on a 

 loss of worms (or eggs) in the ratio of 10,288 to 

 the ounce, and leaving only 28,880 worms to 

 reach maturity Irom each ounce of eggs. There- 

 fore, upon these data, the number of worms to 

 each foot square would be as follows : 

 According to Dandoio's statement (as supposed to 



be restored above) if all the 39,168 worms lived, 



on 336 square feet = to the square 



foot ------ 116 worms. 



But if 28,880 only lived, then to the 



square loot - - - - - 92 

 According to correction of translators 



and copyists, if all lived, - - 214 

 And if 28,880 only lived, - - 158 



Thus, the generally received statements of 

 spaces, if explained to be in "square feet," would 

 be as ruinously small, as they are ridiculously 

 large, in "feet square," as worded. 



As we presume that none of the copyists of 

 Dandoio's translators, xvhen brought to the ques- 

 tion, will adhere to their spaces in "feet-square," 

 they must at least abide by the same numbers in 



length, of "about" 22 inches, agree very closely with 

 the translators' " 7 feet four inches," linear measure, 

 though not when squared. But for this autliority for, 

 and mode of estimating the value of the braccio, it 

 would be a difficult matter to fix it; as the braccio is 

 of ditferent length at Milan, Florence, Mantua, Reg- 

 gio and Rimini, and every one of them is different from 

 Murray's statement. See art. "Measures," in Rees' 

 Cyclopcedia. 



* The amounts stated in this column are as at page 

 203 of the English translation. Elsewhere, they are 

 given with slight differences, and so there are these 

 and sometimes other slight differences in American 

 treatises, but nothing that is material, or that shows 

 uny suspicion of the general and great error. 

 Vol. VIII— 14 



square-leet ; which will serve only for the num- 

 bers of worms stated above. It is manifest that, if 

 so crowded as either of the two last numbers re- 

 quire, all the worms would perish. We should 

 fear to crowd even as the correction of Dan- 

 doio's spaces allows. But those greatly exceed 

 the spaces received and repealed by the others. 

 Mr. McLean thinks thai 62 worms to the square 

 foot, in their last age, are as many as should be 

 suffered ; and Mr. G. B. Smith advises still fewer. 

 In the little treatise by the la(ter, which first ap- 

 peared in vol. 6 of Farmers' Register, he stated, 

 rather indefinitely indeed, that his hurdles " are 

 fi'om two and a half to three feet wide, and four 

 to five feet long," and that " the size mentioned 

 will accommodate 500 worms, when ready to spin 

 cocoons ;" and in his last number of the ' Journal 

 of the Silk Society,' (issued since this piece was 

 written) he states, precisely, that 1000 worms in 

 their last age require 18 square feet, which is 55 

 or 56 to the square foot. 



These writers are practical feeders, and neither 

 of them would have copied the estimate allowing 

 214 nor even 158 worms to the square foot, because 

 they so found it in the mistranslation of Dandolo. 

 A more fatal error could not be inculcated than this 

 one, which has passed, without correction or con- 

 sideration, from the first American treatise, the 

 Congress ' Manual,' to the latest, which Clarke 

 sent Ibrlh in the last year, and which is the most 

 voluminous, the most pretending, the most ambi- 

 tious and pedantic, and, for its pretensions, de- 

 cidedly the most empty of all. The author quotes 

 Latin, Greek and French, and it is a pity that his 

 learning did not extend to Italian ; for then, in- 

 stead of copying the errors of Dandoio's transla- 

 tor, he might have corrected the errors by reading 

 and quoting the original. 



Morin's French " Manuel,'''' from which was 

 translated the "Directions for feeding Silk-worms" 

 published in the 6th volume of Farmers' Register, 

 (commencing page 464,) like most other treatises, 

 is but Dandoio's in another form. This we did 

 not know when we made that translation, having 

 then never met with the translation of Dandolo. 

 Still, though having the same form of words to 

 follow, and to be misled by, in our translation, the 

 several measures of space first were rendered as 

 " square feet," and not as " feet square." This 

 was as near the truth as a mere translator could 

 approach — inasmuch as the author translated has 

 the general erroneously stated denomination of 

 feet and inches as well as of numbers. 



By the way, we were not aware, until after this 

 article had been written, that another American 

 translation of Morin's ' ManueV had been made, 

 and that too earlier than our own. It was pub- 

 lished in Boston in 1836. We have only exa- 

 mined it so far as to see that this also falls into the 



