•i56 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 6 



licular estimates made by Sig. Modena, of his 

 operations in 1778 and 1780, in the one year it took 

 only 6 lb. of cocoons, and in the other 7^- lb. to 

 niaite a pound ofgood sillt, besides all the inlerior, 

 (or refuse.) which was very considerable in amount. 

 These are such unusual products, that they may 

 well be distrusted, although stated with great ap- 

 pearance olaccuracy. (See F. R. p. 274, 5, vol. 

 vii.) It has been ascertained in this country, even 

 north of Virginia, that 8 lb. of good cocoons will 

 make a pound of silk. The difTerence, then, be- 

 tween 8 and 10 lb. of cocoons being required to 

 make the same amount of silk is of itself more than 

 20 per cent, added to the gross product (and per- 

 haps 50 per cent, to the net product) of the cullu- 

 rist who reaches the highest of the two grades of 

 product. 



The price stated for raw silk (^3 the pot>nd,) is 

 much too low for the European, of good quality, 

 at this time; and it is understood that American 

 silk has recently been tested in Europe, and is 

 admitted by competent judges to be worth more 

 than the European by ^1 in the pound. The mar- 

 ket value therefore may be comjjuted at nearly 

 double the sum supposed by Dr. Perrine — which 

 of course, shows another very large percentage 

 lo be added to the net profit of the culture. 



The valuation of mulberry leaves, (25 cents the 

 100 lb. on the tree, and 50 cents, if gathered and 

 delivered at the cocoonry,) is also much too low. 

 M. Carrier states that for the preceding 20 years 

 in the Cevennes, (which may therefore be sup- 

 posed to be similar in demand to France in gene- 

 ral,) the price had been 5 francs the quintal, or 

 93 cents the 100 lb.; and, as it may be fairly as- 

 sumed, without a particular estimate, that the 

 leaves will be worth as much for feeding worms 

 here, as in France, if the general returns of silk- 

 culture are here as great as there; and if greater 

 here, the leaves of course will be worth so much 

 the more. 



In making the foregoing corrections we have 

 abstained from referring to any doubtful authority, 

 or using any of the abundant, available and recent 

 testimony, which might possibly be suspected of 

 being influenced by the mulberry speculaton, or 

 any other bias of self-interest, or of delusion. It 

 is therefore that we have appealed principally to 

 authorities so remote, in point of time or of posi- 

 tion, as to be free from all such objection. 



It may be objected to these corrections of Dr. 

 Perren's premises, that he speaks of "common 

 management," and that it might, and probably 

 would, require good management lo obtain the 

 above products from the silk-worms. Admitted; 

 but it should be also considered, that "common 

 management" in Europe is decidedly "bad man- 

 agement;" and that bad management, in this bu- 



siness, is always more cosily and less profitable 

 than good management. In most cases of "com- 

 mon management," it is computed that half the 

 worms perish by disease, or yield litile or nothing. 

 In Virginia, even t>pyn first trial?, and in ignoranit 

 hands, it is clearly seen that 5 per cent would be 

 an unusual and unnecessary \oi^s.. 



Though uninformed as to the product of leaves 

 from any particular quality of land, whether the 

 best, the middling, or the worst, we are induceed to 

 believe that Dr. Perrine has atlowed too much, 

 (5000 lb.,) as the product to be expected from the 

 "poorest soils." This admission, whether proper- 

 ly made or not, should however exempt us from 

 the charge of wishing to m-ake the most of bia 

 estimates, for the purpose of exaggerating the pro- 

 fits of mulberry or silk-culture. If taking as cor- 

 rect Dr. Pcrrine's own estimate of the crop of 

 leaves, and also his manifestly too low valuation, 

 (25 cents the 100 pounds,) it will make the amount 

 $12 50 per acre, annually, for the value of the 

 leaves, as standing on the tree; and every cultiva- 

 tor In Virginia knows that this is a much better 

 profit than is obtained, not only from the poorest, 

 but li'om those much better than the poorest soils 

 — perhaps from half of all the land now cultiva- 

 ted in grain. For, after a lew years' growth, mul- 

 berry plantations will need but little tillage or 

 other expense, and the value ol" two-thirds of the 

 crops of leaves, as they stand on the trees, must 

 be clear profit. This would be, say, ^8 clear an- 

 nual profit iiom the poorest soils. Deduct one- 

 hall the crop, lor supposed over-estimate, and 

 still there would be !2!4a year, per acre of clear pro- 

 fit. This product alone, contemptible as Dr. Per- 

 rine may consider it, if derived from all the "poor- 

 est soils" in the southern slates, and which now 

 yield no clear profit whatever, would be an im- ■ 

 mensely profitable change from the present state 

 of things, both to the individual proprietors, and 

 !o public interests. 



If then we should take Dr. Perrine's estimates 

 without abatement or correction, they will go to 

 prove the great profits which invite all southern 

 cultivators to mulberry and silk-culture; and the 

 deduction is so much the more valuable, as com- 

 ing from facts and reasoning designed to show dif- 

 ferent results. And ifthepropercorrectionsbemade 

 in the three items — of product of cocoons from a 

 certain quantity of leaves, of silk from the cocoons, 

 and of the price of the silk — then I he whole amount 

 of profit will be much higher. It will then not ap- 

 pear so strange that, taken in either way, we con- 

 sider Dr. Perrine's estimates as decidedly in sup- 

 port of the position that silk-culture must be high- 

 ly profitable. 



But we are not arguing for victory, but to ar- 



