S80 



F A R M i: K s ' 11 1: c; r s v i: n 



[No. 6 



lions of worms ; and other? are in coniemplrt'ion. | 

 Ooe establishment near Philadelpii i raised nr-nr 

 70') ounces ol' engs last season, which pold iapt j 

 fiill at ten dollari^ per ounce; and the balance 

 which remained on hand this f=pring sold readily 

 at from twenty to twenty- five dollars per ounce, 

 and the demand was active enoiirrh to have ab- 

 sorbed lliree times the quaniity. The whole cost 

 of f)rodiicin<T this 700 ounces did not exceed 

 £i]200, while !hey sold fir not les^= than 812,000. 

 All these esfirs vvere purchased fir actual feeding, 

 and have been distributed throuiihfint the country, 

 there to be propagateil, and to add fresh stimulus 

 to the business." Besides these, many hundred 

 ounces have been in) ported from France, and have 

 Kiet with seady sale at $20 per ounce, even when 

 purchased in quantities amaunling to ,^1000 at a 

 time. This article is in so crrcat demand, that 

 holders consider it no objest to abate the price to 

 secure a large sale. Still there i.^ a scarcity ol 

 eggs, and the demand of this spring cannot be 

 supplied. It is doubled whether the supply pro- 

 duced in 1S39, from domestic increase and foreign 

 importations united, will be sufficient to meet the 

 deniand l()r 1840. It is believed that not less than 

 Uventy millions of worms will be fed on the mul- 

 tieaulis this summer, within thirty miles round 

 iphiladelphia. At Burlington, a large company 

 has gone into operation, with the sole view of 

 raising si!k. 'J'hey do not own a single tree, and 

 have (hereiore no stake in what is called the tree 

 speculation. Their intention is to use the large 

 amount of leaves that will be produced the pre- 

 uant summer at Burlington, and to convince the in- 

 credulous that silk- can be raised to great profit, on 

 a scale of the greatest magnituife. 



In addition to these facts, of which many similar 

 might 1)6 readily adduced, there is a demand for 

 aiik reels, and p-.ilk machinery generally, which is 

 astonishing even to those best acquainted with 

 the business. These reels are furnisheil by the 

 makers at a cheap rate, wiih'n the means of every 

 small farmer, and are sold as fast as they can be 

 manuliictured. A manufactory of the celebrated 

 Piedmontese reel has been established at German- 

 lovvn, where the article is suppli^-d at a low price. 

 A knovvlediJte of the art of reeling is thus being 

 rapiilly and extensively ditTused over the country — 

 as rapidly as any man ought to expect a new bu- 

 siness to extend itself — and quite as much so as 

 any otlier new enterprise within the reader's recol- 

 tection. Such is the bcLdnniiiir of the silk business 

 in Pennsvlvaiiia and New .lersey. That there is 

 a solid foundation iur it, the legislatures of jiine 

 Slates have em()haiically asserted, by giving noble 

 liouniies to stimulate and sustain it, 



yHOGRCSS OF SILK-CULTUKK IN VIRGINIA, 



To the foregoing article we are rejoiced to be 

 able to add, that in Virginia the culture of silk 

 has already been commenced by so many indivi- 

 duals, as to warrant the confident expectation that, 

 V)y next season, it will be a regular and established 

 business with liuiidreds who are now but novices 

 and expermioiiiers ; and that their successful ex- 

 ample will be soon followed by thousands of other 

 beginners. 



In the neighborhoods of Fredericksburg, Rich- 

 mond, Petersburg, and in Brunswick county, this 

 spirit is most extended and active. In and near 

 Fredericksburg, are the oldest as well as among 

 the most coniplele cocooneries — those of Messrs. 

 W. K. Su->ith, and L. Y. Atkins. Near Richmond, 

 Mr. Curtis Carter is one of those who are now 

 feeding eilk-worms to as great extent as temjiorary 

 accommodations permit ; and he is now erecting 

 a new building for a cocoonery, 110 feet long by 

 30 in Vv'idih, and two stories high. Mr. John 

 Carter is also feeding to considerable extent ; and 

 Mr. Staples on quite a large scale. Sundry others, 

 in and near Richmond, have experimented to 

 less extent, and with results satisfactory to 'hem- 

 selves under the existing circumstances. 



In Brunswick, Mr. Thomas Hicks has enlarged 

 and improved his facilities, first used last year, 

 and will feed more largely. A joint-stock com- 

 pany is there also extensively engaged in feeding ; 

 and, as we have lieard, perhaps a hundred separate 

 individuals on a small scale of experiment. 



In and near Petersburg, no one has yet pre- 

 pared complete fixtures and accommodations, but 

 several persons have commenced, or have deter- 

 mined to prepare for the regular business; and 

 many have fed silk-worms this sjiring, under every 

 variety of disadvantage, and yet generally widi 

 successful results, and fair products. 



Lastly, though aniong the first in operation, in 

 zeal, and, we doubt not, in iiilure valuable results, 

 are the occupiers of Bellona in Chesterfield ; where 

 no care is spared to acquire and to apply the best 

 information on silk-culture ; and whence, we trust, 

 it will be diffused, for tlie instruction and profit of 

 the whole commonwealth. 



ll would be unreasonable for any one of these new 

 experimenters to expect net profit upon his first 

 adventure. Of" course, every such first trial must 

 be made at loss. But it is a gratifying fxct that very 

 lew persons have been discouraged by this price 

 necessarily paid in advance (ijr experience, and that 

 nearly all whom we have heard li'om will continue 

 the business, with greatly increased confidence and 

 energy. The pioneers have, in effect, taxed them- 

 selves to pay a bounty lor introducing and es- 

 tablishing silk-culture in V'irginla ; and thus, while 

 the most zealous and public-spirited will bear all 

 the burden of the lax, and first cost, they will but 

 share with all their fellow citizens in the eventual 

 benefits. 



We trust ihiit no'hing now can obstruct the 

 progress of this important new culture, and prevent 

 its becoming a great business in the United 

 States, and especially in Virginia and the other 

 southern states. The establishment and diffusion 

 of silk-culture will be the greatest agricultural and 

 economical benefit ever gained by this great region, 



