20 



N E W ENGLAND FAR M E R 



JULY aJ, 1840. 



From ihe Tliinl L<e|)oit on the Agriculture of Massachusetts. 



S!LK CULi URE— MANAGKMEN!' OF JO- 

 SEPH FIELD. 

 The Commissioner lias the ploasiire of subjoin- 

 ing rhe ;icoonnt ffiven by the Rfv. Mr Field, of 

 Charlernoiit, Franklin county, Mass., ofliis silk cul- 

 ture. His intelligence anil excellence of cliaracter 

 entitle liitj slalenients to t'ltlire respect. 



Leifcr I. 



Mb CoLMAiv — Sir — I will, by your snifoostioii, 

 submit a few hints, as the result of si.v or seven 

 years expeiience in the production of silk, in the 

 town of Cliarlcmont, Franklin county, Mass. One 

 who has tested the art of manairinn- the silk wr m 

 only by experimenting upon a thousand or twot a 

 time, has no high claim to he looked to for instruc- 

 tion, where large establishments are in operation. 

 In small parcels none of the principal ditficuUies 

 present themselves which are to be encountered by 

 the cultivator who, in one season, rears his hundreds 

 of thousands in a single laboratory. My experi- 

 ence has been within the range of from 10,000 to 

 50,000 per annuiri. 'I'o carry on tJie business to a 

 much larger extent, with equal success, propoition- 

 al caution and care will be required. Jn this com- 

 njunication I will consider the evils and liazards to 

 be guarded against, and the process by which the 

 desired end ntay be insured. 



Well made, perfect cocoons are as essential to 

 profit in this branch of industry, as full plump grain 

 in wheat and other bread stuff's, instead of that 

 which is blighted and shrivelled. To accomplish 

 this, nothing is wanted but a vigorous and healthy 

 worm. Tiie art to be ma.stered and slndied, is such 

 a treatment of the worm, commencing at its earli- 

 est existence and continuing to the end, as is found 

 to be the surest preservative from feebleness and 

 disease. The difference of skill orassiduity, (mak- 

 ing allowance for the difference of temperature in 

 the seasons,) with which this husbandry is manag- 

 ed, will be apparent from the proportion of worms 

 that fail, either wholly or in part, of yielding a per- 

 fect and sound product. It can never be safely 

 calculated that a whole brood will go through with- 

 out loss, under the best rcguncn that prudence can 

 adopt. Hut when (there being nothing peculiarly 

 adverse in the season) the labor bestowed ends, as 

 sometimes, in the entire loss of one quarter or more, 

 dying when they ought to be spinning their cocoons, 

 or the scarcely less revolting spectacle of cocoons 

 scarcely begun and there left for want of power to 

 do more, others half finished, and the rest, though 

 somewhat nearer to perfection, barely worth reel- 

 ing ; it may be (iresumed that the undertaker of the 

 enter|)rise began without being sufficiently aware 

 of the nature of his task. '1 he rearing of silk worms 

 differs from many other employments which, in the 

 last result, do not materially suffer by occasional 

 errors or neglects, they being susceptible of reme- 

 dy in some after stages of the process. The worms 

 that suffer by bad treatment or unfortunate circum- 

 stances, at any period o( their existence before their 

 work is done, are liable, more or less, to disappoint 

 the hopes of a satisfactory return ; and among oth- 

 er considerations not to be overlooked, there is that 

 which relates to atmospheric temjiorature. Al. 

 though considerable changes may he endured with- 

 out proving fatal, yet the loss of time which is una- 

 voidable so long as the niPrcury stands luuch be- 

 low 70°, is not the worst ellect produced by such 

 an occurrence. 



By some, the necessity, or even usefulness of 

 an apartment impervious to cold air, as a place for 

 feeding the worms, is disregarded. Experience, 

 however, during the late cold summers, has made 

 it certain to my mind, that he is not prepared to 

 prosecute this business under the most proiuising 

 auspices, who h.is not a dwelling place for these 

 tender objects of his charge, in which he can raise 

 the temperature of the air to the necessary point, 

 when it has fallen below ; and thus keep the wheels 

 in motion, or restore at once to vivacity the torpid 

 animals who.'^e faculiies are henuiubcd and labors 

 suspended by cold. Stove he-it is perfectly ade- 

 quate to this want. 



Being prepared with a proper receptacle for the 

 young c iterpillar, when it shall bre:ik its shell and 

 vegetation having advanced far enough to furnish 

 the needed nutriment, the little embryos are to be 

 called forth by exposure to the iiiHuence of a sum- 

 mer atmosphere. The process of hatching in the 

 warmth of early June, out of the sun's direct rays, 

 is ordinarily effected within from five to ten days. 

 Then coinmcnces the business which may not be 

 intrusted with inifiunity to truant or slack hands ; 

 but for the encuuragement of promptness, industry, 

 and attention, will find its reward at the end of 

 twenty, thirty or forty days. Tender leaves should 

 be laid for the worms as soon as they appear, and 

 that will be in the morning, for two or three suc- 

 cessive days. The product nf each day should be 

 kept by itself, if convenient, that there be no un- 

 necessary assemblage of those f:f different ages. — 

 The expenditure of feed is very small during the 

 first days of the worm; but care must be taken to 

 serve them with fresh leaves as often as they need, 

 and to see that none of them lose their chance of 

 thriving by being buried in rubbish, or retarded in 

 growth by being crowded out of their right through 

 the greater strength and activity of their fellows. 

 Chopping the leaves puts them in a good condition 

 for the worm, until its powers and voracity give it 

 an easy mastery of any thing that contains the ma- 

 terial of silk fibre. 



Through the successive ages of the worm, an 

 eye is constantly to be had to the convenient ar- 

 rangement of hurdles or shelves on which the worms 

 are placed: the seasonable and judicious distribu- 

 tion of feed ; thc'ir preservation from unwholesome 

 etHuvia, and from suffocation in their own litter; 

 and other useful matters essential to their cleanli- 

 ness, and such purity of air as health requires, 

 wliether in men, beasts or reptiles. As to the kind j 

 of platform upon which a discreet cultivator should i 

 deposite his little passive animals, to receive their ' 

 daily sustenance, and go through their successive 

 ages, to the production and maturity of the golden 

 apple, every man's ingenuity will decide. Fresh, 

 pure air, circulating freely about the bed on which 

 the worm reposes, and which he never leaves at 

 his own choice, is always important; and provis- 

 ion should be made acc(,rdingly, for ventilation, es- 

 pecially where the atmosphere becomes hot and 

 sultry. I 



In their food, consisting of clean mulberry leaves, i 

 not too much withered and shrivelled by drying, [ 

 two cautions arc to be observed, relating to time i 

 and quantity. Some contend that they should he I 

 served by weight, according to a prescribed rule, 

 varying the quantity from time to lime. My prac- 

 tice has been to do by them as I myself like to be 

 done by; that is, to measure out a portion suited 

 to the deumnds of appetite, studiously avoiding ir- 

 regularity and unseasonableness in the mini.-tration. 



They should be fed early and late, not unnecessa- 

 I rily subjecting them to long intervals of fasting.' 

 Five meals a day, at least when they are in a mood: 

 promptly to dispatch what is set before them, or i 

 laid upon them, are not too much. T'hey are not 

 to be urged to gluttony beyond their inclination, 

 and thus obliging them to leave a residuum to be 

 wallowed upon rather than devoured. 'I here are 

 whole days when they do not eat at all, at the pe- 

 riods of moulting, or casting the skin, when they 

 should not be disturbed until they have disencum- 

 bered themselves, and their appetite returns. Much 

 depends, unquesticmably, on preserving the silk 

 worm in all its stages, from tiie deadly influence of 

 sickly, unwholesome air, arising, it may be, from a 

 variety of causes, one of which is likely to be the 

 accumulation of litter on the shelves, if care be not 

 taken to remove it before moisture and decomposi- 

 tion render it pestiferous. Another evil, from per- 

 mitting litter to grow into a pile, is often the loss 

 of worms buried in their own rubbish, whicli, if ex- 

 tricated, can never be restored to vigor sufficient to 

 finish their task and produce a crop. Sickness and 

 death may come in consequence of a culpable inat- 

 tention to cleanliness. The sick should be remov- 

 ed to some sequestered spot, where they may be re- 

 stored by sweet air and tender nursing, and the 

 dead thrown away. In removing worms to give 

 them a clean bed, unnecessary handling of them 

 should be avoided. While their size will admit of 

 it, they may be removed by branches laid down, on 

 which they readily fasten. 



After nearly attaining their size, it will be found 

 necessary to use the fingers, which should be done 

 with gentleness. Rcuigh handling does not com- 

 port with their soft texture. Peculiar care to keep 

 them from falling to the floor from the hurdle is im- 

 portant. When they manifest a disposition to spin 

 their cocoons, which some ordinarily do in about 

 thirty days, no time should be lost in freeing them 

 from all the filth and rubbish remaining under them. 

 This being done, preparation must be made for 

 their accommodation, with a convenient and eligi- 

 ble cabin, in which they may accomplish their last 

 labor and house themselves in their silken tissue, 

 until a mysterious metamorphosis shall enable them 

 to emerge into the light of day, [irepared for pro- 

 creation ; and to leave behind them at their death 

 not many days afterwards, the foundation of a pro- 

 geny, to be the subject and hope of another year's 

 culture. 



Various articles are used for a refuge to the 

 worm where it may build its cell. Oak branches 

 answer well; but rye straw set up at convenient 

 distances among them, in small handfulls tied, is 

 as good and on some accounts better than any otli- 

 er arrangements. Cocoons being perfectly formed 

 and ripe, which is effected in tJiree or four days, 

 are to be gathered and stripped of their floss or 

 loose silk, preparatory to reeling. If there be oc- 

 casion to delay this operation more than eio-ht or 

 ten days, the chrysalis within the cocoon must be 

 stifled with heat, by being baked in a moderately 

 heated oven, or by the action of steam ; and the 

 cocoons spread out iu a safe place to dry until 

 wanted for reeling or sale. 



The cultivator may now wish to order things the 

 most wisely for the ensuing season. To keep on 

 the ground of experience, I state my own mode of 

 doing the business. The best cocoons for seed, all 

 scientific and practical men will say, is a rational 

 maxim. Shall we therefore take the best part of 

 our crop, cocoons yielding the most to the reeler, 



