No. 200.] 181 



part of the lime intense. They made me 40 lbs. of cocoons, weigl; 

 ing 250 to the pound. The mortality among my worms, I attribute( 

 to a natural imperfection of the egg, or injury sustained by placing 

 them in ice after the hatching process had commenced. Good atten- 

 tion, and thorough ventilation alone, saved many. 



I have this season tried an experiment on the raising of the multi- 

 caulus from the buds. About the middle of May I planted a small 

 patch of ground with multicaulus branches, which had been buried 

 during the winter in the open field. When I planted them, some of 

 the buds had grown an inch, so that in handling hundreds of them 

 broke off. Small fibres of roots had started opposite each bud. I 

 prepared and furrowed my ground, making the furrows two feet 

 apart, and laying in the branches without vacancy ; throughout the 

 whole length of the furrows, laying at least two branches side by side. 

 They came up directly, and grew most luxuriantly, notwithstanding 

 it was extremely dry. The frosts killed all up at the first of June. 

 Wishing to ascertain how many leaves I could gather from the patch, 

 I have just gathered them from one row. I found them to wbigh 31 

 lbs., which, being a fair average, the 40 rows (saved from the frost) 

 would produce 1240 lbs. of leaves ; 50 lbs. are allowed to subsist 

 1000 worms. According lo this calculation, the 40 rows would feed 

 25,000 worms, which should produce at least 6 lbs. reeled silk, and 

 possibly 8 lbs. I measured the ground carefully ; there were 30 

 square rods. At this rate I could produce from one acre 6613 lbs. of 

 leaves, silk worth $165, at $5 per lb. This is the product of one 

 acre of mullicaulis, of the first year's growth, from the beds. 



The land on which they were planted was thin, and had been but 

 slightly manured the last year for corn. 1 once almost doubted the 

 statement of Rev. Mr. Lane, that he had obtained 2,200 lbs. of leaves 

 from a quarter of an acre. I no longer doubt its correctness. I have, 

 in all, about two acres of trees, consisting of Canton and multicaulis, 

 half of them two and three years old. They occupy land which 

 would produce only 20 or 25 bushels of corn to the acre, and I can 

 now gather at least 4 tons of leaves." 



Mr. Barrett oflFered the following remarks on the potatoe crop ir 

 Virginia : 



The disease which appeared in New-England a year or two since 

 has this year reached us in Western Virginia. As far as I have read, 



