322 [Senate 



profitable than the usual crops ; this is confirmed by the returns made 

 to the New-England Silk Convention. 



Taking into view the whole circumstance and condition of the coun- 

 try, does not the cultureofsilk merit the attention of the public, not only 

 as a source of private emolument but of great public utilit}', to raise and 

 manufacture our own silk as well as wool and cotton ? That the cul- 

 ture of silk has been remunerating and profitable, is evident from the 

 great length of time it has been cultivated, and we are not entirely de- 

 stitute of encouraging evidences at home. As well attested facts are 

 desirable, I venture to mention the following among the testimonials of 

 recent occurrence. 



A gentleman of undoubted veracity and high standing, wrote me, in 

 substance, that he had a lot of mulberries, two years old, set upon two 

 acres of land : that the land would not ordinarily yield over 40 bushels 

 of corn to the acre : that he had kept an accurate registry of expenses : 

 that after feeding the worms and reeling the silk, he had a nett profit 

 of hoo hundred dollars: that each tree had yielded him an income 

 equal to that of 30 cents placed at annual interest. This lesult evidently 

 shows, that there is an intrinsic value in the mulberry tree for growing 

 silk, without taking into consideration the possible value of the after fo- 

 liage or bark of the trees for important uses, which it is hoped another 

 year's experiments may demonstrate. 



Some mulberry trees, when the roots have attained 5or 6 years. yield 

 abundance of good seed. Several pounds have been saved for future 

 use, and some fine plants from seed sown last spring have been raised, 

 which develop a leaf like the original. 



That there is a diflference in the quality of foliage for producing silk, 

 results from two experiments which came under my observation — one 

 of which was purposely made by Mr. Theodore Bartlett, of Northamp- 

 ton, to ascertain the difference of quality, if any. 



The worms fed were of the same kind and hatching ; all fed w ith 

 equal attention ; one parcel was fed exclusively upon the foliage of one 

 variety of mulberry, and the worms were of larger size, and the cocoons 

 adjudged to be one-third larger or heavier than the cocoons made by the 

 worms fed exclusively on the foliage of another variety. 



The other experiment was the result, without design, merely to 

 gratify the request of the feeders, because, as thoy said, they found 

 that the worms were evidently more fond of one kind thai the others. 

 In this experiment also the worms were much larger than usual, so 

 much so that visitors said it ought to be made public. The difference 

 of size was so evident, that in another crop I beg;m to ie^d a parcel 

 of one anil the same hatching, each upon a separate variety of i:uil- 

 berry. The season of the year was ton late, and the experiment has 

 not been resumed, having sufficient evidence by the cocoons already 

 marlf, that there was a manifest difference. The examination was 

 made by a large and respectable number of gentlemen, and the clerk 

 of the court was selected to make the test, who after trying several 

 experiments with the scales, found that five of the cocoons of the 

 worms fed upon one variety of the mulberry, would balance eight 

 cocoons made by worms fed from the other variety of mulberries, 



