124 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 2 



" I do not think the Farmers' Register is taking 

 the right attitude in this matter. Why does not 

 the editor give his subscribers at least one essay 

 from his own pen, of no equivocal character, in 

 favor of going directly into silk-culture7— of our 

 giving up at least a portion of the cultivalion of 

 tobacco, and eubstitutina the growing of the ?no- 

 rus, anil the actual makino: of silk? I think that 

 an article of tliis kind from his pen has been look- 

 ed for by many, and would iiroduce efiect. But 

 instead ul this he seems inclined to accord in sen- 

 timent with that most excellent man ; ^ — . 



who, for some time past, has been making for him- 

 self a hobby, out of the exposure of the hobby- 

 riding of others. Now, my opinion is this : If the 

 mulberry speculation be a mania, every man ought 

 to do his utmost in giving to that mania the hap- 

 piest direction. Urge it — urge it onward to the 

 making of silk." 



The writer of this remonstrance is a gentleman 

 for whose talents, virtues, and patriotism, we en- 

 tertain great respect, and whose censure, there- 

 fore, we are very unwilling to bear. And as the 

 opinions of one so intelligent may also be enter- 

 tained (and indeed vve have had sundry such 

 intimations from other quarters,) by others of our 

 readers, we shall beg leave to prove that the}' 

 are mistaken, by quotations from the words, or 

 reference to the substance of what vve have said, 

 and in language ''of no equivocal character, " to 

 iirge the adoption of silk-cuhure in Virginia ; and 

 that not only recently, since the mulberry specu- 

 lation has given a very general direction of our 

 countrymen's views to silk-culture, but for years 

 before, when no one else in V^irginia had rais- 

 ed a voice in fiivor of its adoption, and when 

 for years thereafter, there was no echo, or fivor- 

 able response to our own expressions, which 

 probably then passed unheeded by our friendly 

 censor, because he then felt no interest in the sub- 

 ject. We beg of liim now, and our readers in 

 general, to read again the passages quoted or re- 

 ferred to, which are liastily selected by glancing 

 over the "editorial remarks" in tlie index of each 

 volume. Every person who has the volumes in 

 possession may resort to the same sources of infor- 

 mation, and may read many later editorial opinions 

 more fully stated, and more strong, than any we will 

 here quote ; and may also see wliether we have 

 omitted any thing ofopposite tendency. Rut we rea- 

 dily admit this — that wecautiouslij.and but slowly 

 at first, became convinced of the absolute and cer- 

 tain and remarkable fitness of Virginia, and a large 

 portion of the United States for silk-culture— and 

 we have not on this, or any other proposed im- 

 provement, expressed conviction, and certain as- 

 surance, before being truly and entirely convinced 

 and assured of its value. If that degree of cau- 

 tion — which we deem due, both to truth and to the 

 claims and mterests of our readers — has subjected 

 our words to the charge of being "equivocal," then 



we must be content to bear it, as unpalatable as 

 that word may be. But except that vve have not 

 "run riot" in setting forth and exaggerating the 

 benefits and supposed profits of silk-culture, and 

 have not guarantied the truth of the very common 

 estimates of enormous conjectural profits, (which 

 course would perhaps have satisfied the most san- 

 guine projectors — and would have displeased no 

 one — ) a fair review of all that we have said on 

 this subject, will show, at first, a reasonable and 

 sufficient support of the introduction of silk-culture, 

 gradually increasing to the conviction and certain 

 assurance of its very great value for Virginia. 

 Readers are apt to notice verj' slightly, if at all, 

 opinions on subjects in which they feel no interest ; 

 and also, opinions which are much more moderate 

 than their own, on subjects in which they feel 

 even great interest. We infer that to one of these 

 two causes must be ascribed our friend's finding 

 cur praise of silk-culture either too faint or "equi- 

 vocal." But if he were as warmly enlisted in feel- 

 ing on the other side, and deemed the business 

 altogether unsuitable to this country, we suspect 

 that he would have seen, in sufficiently bold relief, 

 and would have strongly condemned, our long 

 continued, frequent, and xmequivocal recommen- 

 dations of a new culture, deemed by the censor as 

 likely to injure, and in no way to benefit, the agri- 

 cultural interests of this country. 



The first volume of this journal (commenced in 

 1833.) contains no editorial writings in recommen- 

 dation of this business ; but sundry selected articles, 

 eitherinstruclingasto the management, or showing 

 the progress made in silk-culture in remote parts of 

 the United States. In the second volume com- 

 menced sundry translations made for this journal, 

 fi'om recent French publications imported special- 

 ly lor the purpose, and which constituted the only, 

 and yet a very valuable source of supply of such 

 information on silk-culture to this country. In 

 presenting these translations, vve were in advance 

 of the interest and demand of the public ; and 

 hence they were then but little noticed or prized. 

 In the publication of our third volume, (at which 

 time the subject was attracting more general at- 

 tention in the northern states, though still almost 

 none in Virginia,) and more and more smce, our 

 extracts and translations increased, with the sup- 

 ply of materials, and with the increase of interest 

 evinced by the public; and latterly we have feared 

 that we had urged the importance of the subject 

 of silk-culture on our readers to the degree of sati- 

 ety, if not of disgust, to those who are not as zealous 

 and as sanguine on the subject as our friend is, 

 and as we claim to be. We proceed to present 

 the extracts of editorial remarks. 



In vol. iii, Farmers' Register, (1835) page 433, 



