120 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



farmers in endeavoring lo improve llie condilion ol 

 our agriculture. The cotton planters ol'lhe south, 

 too, have learned from recent experience, the dan- 

 ger of neglecting the culture of corn, and they 

 will no doubt profit by it. 



I will now take up a question relative to silk- 

 culture, which is ol' the first imporiance, viz., can 

 the citizens of Virginia and the old southern states 

 compete successl'ufly with France and Italy, in the 

 production of raw silk? That we can compete 

 with China and Turkey is proved from the fact 

 that American silk sells for. SI to ,^2 per pound 

 higher than that of China or Turkey. 



The subject of manufactures, I am not prepared 

 to examine; and I shall not attempt to show tliat 

 we can compete with other nations in that branch 

 of the silk business. Let us produce raw silk in 

 abundance, and profitably, and we may safely 

 leave the competition with Ibreigners, in the manu- 

 facture of silk, to our northern brethren. Tht-y 

 will in due time adjust that matter with other na- 

 tions, and become the purchasers of a larije por- 

 tion, and perhaps all the raw silk raised in the 

 United Slates. 



In the extracts from Younir's Notes on the Ag- 

 riculture of Lombardy, published in the Regisiex, 

 (Vol. 7, page 274,) there is a siatement which I 

 have found difficult to reconcile wiih other facts 

 Rtated by Young; but as I think I have solved the 

 difficulty. I will first give t!ie exirjict to which I 

 reler, and then my explanation, and if n>y version 

 shall appear to you erroneou?^, I shall be pleased 

 if you will correct it. 



The extract from Young is as follows: 



'' The Ibllowing is the account of the profit and 

 loss of six ounces of seed, lor three years, at Vi- 

 cenza, by Si<x. Carlo Modena. 



I shall only quote the account ihr the year 177S, 

 (hat being all that is necessary for my purpose. 



Expenses. 



Semenza — seed, 6 oz. 



/^ogZm— leaves, 26,475 lb. - 



Spesa — gathering leaves and at- 

 tendance, . . - _ 



Filare — spinninir 992 lb. cocoons, 

 which give 159 lb. 5 oz. silk, - 



Produce. 



159 lb. 5 oz. of silk 

 Refuse ditto, 41 lb. 

 Seed, 55 oz. 



Expense, 



Profit, 



liv. s. den. 

 86 

 1545 4 



868 16 



557 18 



3007 18 



4144 15 



102 10 



330 



4577 5 



3007 18 



1509 7 0" 



1. The 6 ounces of seed is one-ha'f of the 

 large Italian pound of 28 ounces, or 14 ounces 

 avoirdupois. Without this inferpretaiion, the 

 statement is utterly irreconcilable wiih other facts 

 detailed by Young, and it is also rendorpd neces- 

 sary by the product in silk, that beinjr 106 pounds 

 of 16 ounces, or about 7.^ pounds of 16 ounces to 

 rnch ounce of seed, which is a fair average of the 

 silk crop in Ilaiv. 



2. The quantity of leaves consumed, was 26.- 

 475 pounds of 12 ounces, or 19,857 pounds of 16 



ounces, the 14 ounces of eggs producing 400,000 

 silk-worms, which consumed about 50 poulids of 

 leaves per thousand. 



3. The consumption of leaves (19,857 pounds,) 

 cost a^289 69, or rather more than a cent and a 

 quarter jier pound. Now, if Young reported correct- 

 ly, and if the printer has not made a mistake, and 

 further, if Sig. Carlo Modena did not make a false 

 and wicked siatement, (and self-interest did not 

 call for it, but rather the reverse,) the culture of 

 silk, v.'ith ordinary management, will prove nearly 

 as profitable in Virginia, as in Italy, under the 

 supervision of Modena and with a regulate. 1 tem- 

 perature, and I predict that you will not sell 3200 

 pounds of mulberry leaves for .^4, unless you do 

 it pro bono publico.^ 



4. The filare, cr spinning, includes with the 

 reeling on the Piedmontese reel, twisting by the 

 throwsting mi'l, lo reduce the silk to what is called 

 organzinc. Both of these operations cost in Ita- 

 ly (according to my understanding of Modena's 

 account) one dollar, to one dollar and sixiy cents 

 per pound, of 16 ounces, the expense varying 

 with the qudlity of the cocoons. For example, 

 the reeling of 90 pounds ol" silk (16 ounces,) in 

 1780, COS! .'S53, or about 60 cents per pound, and 

 reducing the same quantity to organzine, cost ^85 

 or about 95 cents per pound. This operation is 

 more expensive than reeling, but not only the ac- 

 tual expense of the operaiion, but a fair profit is 

 added to the price of ihe silk. That the 106 

 pounds of silk. (16 ounces,) or 159 pounds (12 

 ounces, wa.~ organzine, is evident fi-om the price 

 named, "which is equivalent lo $7yjg per pound 

 of 16 ounces. 



The price of reeled silk or raw silk at that pe- 

 riod in Italy, according to Young, was about ^6 

 per poimd of 16 ounces. 



5. The cost of gnthering leaves and attendance 

 was $162 or about ^11 50 per ounce of seed. 

 For i$11 50 per ounce of seed, silk-worms can be 

 raised in Virijinia with hired labor, and using the 

 moru- multicaulis in the hedare form, or about $1 

 40 for each pound of silk. Now, if we will take 

 an acre of poor land that will sustain the worms 

 fr-om 2 ounces of eggs, and produce 16 pounds of 

 silk worth .§80, and deduct ,923 for rearing the 

 worms, .9 16 for reeling cocoons, and $10 per acre 

 for cultivation, it will leave a net profit of $31 per 

 acre. The expenses named, are larger than ne- 

 cessary, especially the cultivation of the trees, and 

 the product moderate, and yet it shows a profit 

 sufficienily large, to prove that this culture would 

 enrich Virginia if pursued by our farmers on a 

 small scale, and in subordination to crops of griiin, 

 hay, &c., which are indispensable. 



6. Sig. Cnrlo Modena paid for seed $7; for 

 leaves, $289 ; for sf.inniiig or reelinir, and redu- 

 cinir to organzine. .9103; for gathering leaves 

 nml at1en(hmcp, $162 ; and yet realized a profit of 

 ,$294 from 14 ounces of seed, or $21 per ounce. If 

 this is not a fiihle, (and who will show that it is?) 

 ilie culture of silk is of incalculable importance to 

 Virginia, and the old southern stales. There is 

 no need of retreating from poor lands any longer; 

 and I say to all farmers who can conveniently 

 spare land and labor, plant mulberry trees of the 

 best varieties, and take care of them. The lime 

 is near at hand when it will be seen that they con- 

 stitute valuable property. The country will not 

 he overstocked with lliem for years to come, if 



