290 [Senate 



placing a layer of trees, and then a slight layer of dirt, and so on 

 until the heap was raised as high as we wishetl ; and our crop of 

 young trees this y^ar is as gooi! as when we have planted root and 

 body both. We find our account in cultivaling well through the 

 season, in the increased amount of leaf and growth of the tree. 



We have fed worms early and late, and are altogether in favor of 

 early feeding, our early crops uniformly doing from 25 to 50 per 

 cent better than the late ones. Tliere are several persons in this 

 county tiat have commenced the silk culture on a small scale, and 

 have liad uniform success, except in late feeding. 



Our experience is, that the silk culture is much the most profita- 

 ble of any branch of husbandry in this section of country, and we 

 feel confident that it will ere long spread through the Union, and be- 

 come second to none, except the cotton growing interest, even if it 

 does not take the lead of that also. 



It would have given us great pleasure to attend your convention, 

 but poverty prevents, and we must be contented with this method of 

 casting our mite into the treasury of useful knowledge and experi- 

 ence on this truly interesting subject. 



EpHRAiM Montague, Belchertown Massachusetts. — I have receiv- 

 ed the Circular to silk growers, and heartily approve of the proposed 

 convention, and thir.k it may accomplish much. I hope to be able 

 to meet with you. I feel a lively interest in the silk business, and 

 for a number of years past I have had a good degree of confidence 

 that it will ultimately succeed, and be a rich and permanent blessing 

 to this country. I have been engaged more or less for nine years 

 past. I commenced on a small scale, and as my trees multiplied, I 

 enlarged my operations. 



In the spring of 1840, the last week in May, I planted 3,000 roots 

 of the multicaulis and Canton varieties, on one-fourth of an acre of 

 land ; and although the trees were very small and backward the fore 

 part of summer, still I was able, during the feeding season, to pick 

 from them upwards of 1,300 pounds of leaves, with which I fed 40,- 

 000 worms, which made 126 pounds of cocoons and uj)wards of ten 

 pounds of raw silk, worth $51 .50. Cost of producing it $36, leav- 

 ing more than $60 nett profit to the acre the past year. With the 

 Slate bounty, I realized more than this. In 1841 I produced in all 

 over 600 pounds of cocoons, and had pretty good success, except 

 losing some bushels of cocoons by curing them with camphor, the 

 quantity used being too small. The millers would come out and 

 spoil the cocoons. We reeled but 27 or 28 pounds. In 1842 I pro- 

 duced but 245 pounds of cocoons, and reeled 13 pounds of silk, al- 

 though I hatched more worms and bestowed upon them more labor 

 than I did the year previous to get 600 pounds of cocoons ; but the 

 late frosts in the spring destroyed the early feed, and the unusually 

 cold nights and heavy rains in August destroyed our last crop, so 

 that the result of that year's effort was, on the whole, rather un- 

 profitable. Still I was not discouraged, although sadly disappointed; 

 and as ray trees were a part of them growing on my neighbor's land, 

 for which I had been paying tea to fifteen, and even twenty dollars 



