-its 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. t 



ihe p;iriigraph just quotcil. If I believed this to i erifraireil in lis culture, whether liirrner or shop- 



be the true dociriue, 1 elioulu not regard the "two 

 rroj) wiiite,'* as truly a "Iwo-crop" variety. I be- 

 lieve that in fzivinji; two yield? earh season, it 

 obeys the lawstanijied upon it by its Creator, and 

 not an accid- ntal habit [iroduced by a warm eh- 

 niate. In some small parcels tliere nd<flit oeeur 



keeper, lias a lot of worms whieh he attends with 

 I he jireateet care. The demand lor silk- worms' 

 eir<£K, particularly the "two-crop," has been and 

 contiiuies to be, very great. They readi'y com- 

 mand at ihis time, twenty to Iwiit) five dollars 

 per ounce. One individual near Biiriinfjton, who 



an occasional alierration; but the main body ol has already raised two considerable crops during 



this variety (if ke|)t Irom mingling with other va- ihe iiresent season, has realized .several thousand 



rieiies,) will transmit its distinclive character to j dollars from the sale oleiTirs aloiie. French eggs 



the latest generation. In China, they have a I have aUo been imported in large nuntbers ; and 



worm that moults lour times, and gives two crops; 



and another variety that yields lour times; but of 



the thirteen varieties enumerated, nothing is said 



about a ciiange of natural liabils produced by a 



variation in climate. — (Sec Chinese Treatise pp. 



9Gand98.) 



I once heard of a lot of thn common variety 

 (spinning white, orange and pea-green cocoons,) 

 having contracted the Iiabit of ha'ching two and 

 three times; but this jiarcel expired by forming 

 cocoons from which the perlect insects never 

 emerged. That the "two-crop white," (ilie term 

 white relers to the color of ihe cocoun, and not to 

 that of the worm,) will lose the habii of hatch- 

 ing twice by mixing wiih other varieties, I know 

 from two careful experiments; and if minirled 



the whole of last year's slock has gone oH'at high 

 prices. From these liicts, some idea may be 

 ibrmed of the zeal with which the good people of 

 N'.nv Jersey have taken hold ol' the business. In 

 the neighborhood of Philadelphia there are eight 

 or ten cocooneries erected ; some ot them on quite 

 a large scale. The most noted of these is the 

 Highfield cocoonery at Germantovvn, belonging to 

 Mr. Physic. Nearly all the leaders of agricultural 

 papers must have seen some account ol this build- 

 ing, which has been described as a model of its 

 kind. It stands on an elevated situation, overlook- 

 ing much of the surrounding country. The exte- 

 rior has a beaut il'ul appearaiice ; and it is obvious 

 that a great deal of money has been expended ir» 

 fiiliiiff it up. It may well be doubted, however, 



with worms spinning yellow cocoons, the colors whether it will, in its present state, fully answer the 



will mingle. White worms desiendfrom thoac that 

 arc gray, but if white cocoons are chosen for seed, 

 no other color will be Ibund in the next croj), ami 

 so with all other cuhiis. The cultunst may select 

 his color and have it perpetuated and unmixed, by 

 selecting cocoons of unilorm color. 1 hold with 

 you, that there is no "two-crop mammoth" in the 

 United Staicfi; and until the claimants of such a 

 worm prove it to be really a "two-crop" variety by 

 the experience of ten successive years, I shall re- 

 main, as your Fairlax friend, says "Thomas O' 

 Dedunue." By the way, I will say, that I have 



ends (()r which it was desiirned. Every thing is 

 crowded to excess, as if the ot'jt»ct had been to 

 rear the largest possible number of worms in the 

 smallest space. The shelves are so wide, (not 

 less than five teet,) and so close to each other, and 

 the passnaes are so narrow, that there must be 

 great di(Iicu!ty in effecting a perlect ventilation. 

 The dimensions of the room are about 100 liy 32 

 leet ; and it is the intention of the proprietor to leed 

 a million and a half of worms as soon as the leaves 

 are larire enough. Sliould he succeed in carrying 

 them through, it will be tlie greatest triumjih that 



the highest confidence in "marling" and "liming," j has yet been recorded in the history of silk-culture 



because I know that it will conduct those of us 

 that dwell on poor land, into clover to the knees. 



We now have theory against theory — let time, 

 and a sufTicient nund)er of adequately tried expe- 

 riments, terminate the conflict. 



Jjayton y. Atkins. 



Stafford co., Fa., July 1839. 



PROGRKSS OF SlI.K-CULTUnr:, AND NEW IM- 

 PROVEMENTS IN THE rili:)l)I.E STATES. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



During a recent visit to Philadelphia and Bur- 

 lington, and some other places in the vicinity of 

 those cities, I had an o|>portunity of observing the 

 state of eilk-culture, and of contrasting it with what 

 it was twelve months ago. The advancement has 

 been evident an<l decided ; and the foundation ap- 

 pears to bo laid lor the general adoption of the bu- 

 eincss in tlie contiguous portions ol' Pennsylvania 

 and New Jersey. In New Jersey especially, the 

 soil is of a quality aiitl composition admirably 

 adapted to Ihe multicaulis. It is light, sandy and 

 deep ; not ri<di, but (luickand lively enough to en- 

 cure a healthy and lapid growth of the plant, and 

 to furnish (blilige of the beet kind. There is pro- 

 bably more muliicanlis growing in that state, than 

 any other in Ihe union ; SMrtt] nimos* everj' person 



in this country. At present the multicaulis on the 

 western side of the Delaware are much smaller 

 than they are on the Jersey side. The river forms 

 the boundary between two formations totally dif- 

 ferent from each other. At Wilmington there is 

 a silk larm and cocoonery belonging to a company, 

 which appears to be under excellent management. 

 They have already fed 400,000 worms on the wild 

 mulberry — a number sufficient to exhaust the fo- 

 liage to a considerable distance round ; but by 

 great exertions they were able to obtain a tolerable 

 supply. Perhaps the largest cocoonery erected lor 

 the present year's operations, is that belonging to 

 an incorporated company at Burlington. This 

 ancient city, recently in rather a decaying, cer- 

 tainly not in an improving condition, has put on a 

 new aspect, since its inhabitants have been so ex- 

 tensively engaged in the culture of the multicaulis. 

 From its early adoption of this culture, and the 

 spirit with wliich it has been prosecuted, it has 

 taken the lead of all other places, and has been 

 able to give the law in every thing pertaining to 

 multicaulis. The slock of the Burlington cocoon- 

 ery is taken by persons who are growing the trees, 

 each of whom is to furnish his proportion of Ibliage; 

 the company having no plantation attached to 

 their buildings. The house is two stories high, 

 and 117 feet in length. From the great number 

 of trees grown in the vicinity, and Irom the judg- 

 ment and igxperiencc of the directors, «hc most 



