No. 124.J 279 



the fact that there were then some fifty families in New-Haven en^ 

 gaged in the business, and now the fact that we have discovered a 

 connecting link between that generation of silk growers and the 

 present — more especially to preserve and bring into use the good 

 lady's plan of winding; — all this must be my apology, if the case 

 needs one. — J. R. B.] 



"At New-Haven I called on the lady of Judge Baldwin, who fed 

 ■worms at the time of Pres. Styles, who daily visited her, and them. 

 She had good success and was as enthusiastic as the President himself. 

 She was the daughter of the great Roger Sherman. She is (^as the 

 ■Judge said,) in favor of shelf feeding; but on explaining to her the 

 cradle system of Mr. Gill, she acceded to its surperiority. She was 

 greatly in favor of her own plan of a winding aparatus, viz: to fold 

 paper like a fan. She said the worms would readily ascend and form 

 cocoons close to each other, from top to bottom in each fold. This 

 fan must be suspended over the worms — the wide-spread part within 

 their reach — a good contrivance, I was delighted with the good lady's 

 description of olden time," &c. 



John W, Avery, Morrisville, Madison Co., N. Y. — 1 have been 

 engaged in a small way in the silk business for about four years ; the 

 ■first two years experimenting on the cultivation of the mulberry, the 

 <lifferent varieties, being doubtful at first whether the soil and climate 

 where I reside would suit that shrub, and at the same time we fed a few 

 worms. The results satisfied me that the silk culture is practicable in 

 this region; and accordingly I made my calculations to go ahead in 

 the business. Last year we (that is, my family) started with what we 

 estimated to be about 20,000 worms of the grey sulphur variety, fed 

 them on shelves in the chamber of our dweUing-house. The worms were 

 healthy and made good cocoons ; sixty-two and a half pounds was the 

 weight, from which v/as reeled six and one-fourth pounds. We fed 

 from the white mulberry at first, and closed up with the multicaulis, 

 used no lime. Manufactured the silk into sewings. It was said to be 

 equal to the imported; the manufacturer obtained the first premium at 

 the county fair. We had to go two miles for most of our leaves. 



This season we concluded to feed what we could from our own stock 

 of mulberry, which was small. We therefore commenced with about 

 eight or ten thousand worms, which were hatched about the 18th of 

 July. 



The worms soon discovered signs of disease, and we dajly lost some 

 of them, notwithstanding we made a free use of lime, and other reme- 

 dies, such as vinegar and water, with tansy and wormwood soaked 

 therein, sprinkled upon the worms, and the herbs laid about upon the 

 shelves, until after the fourth moulting. From that time they had a 

 better appearance, and made good cocoons, which weighed eighteen and 

 a half pounds, from which was reeled two pounds, besides some saved 

 for seed. These were fed in the chamber and shelves, as the former, 

 and mostly on the multicaulis. I have enlarged my stock of mulberiy 

 this season, so that I shall have about three-fourths of an acre to use 



