Vol. X No. 10 



AND HOliTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



77 



8il8i ansi ^b!!»; Womsis. 



SILK MAN n K A C T U II E . 



Ml. IV. 



Cottons and Wdollt'ii^; rii:iy jnslly be consul ered, 

 in !i ffi'eat msasun', as iirticliis of neccesity, and 

 lieiicttit is not lo he wonilrieil iit, tliiit tntmy should 

 be of o|i'tniun tliiit tlie United Stiiles slionld not 

 be de|)eiiilent fur tliein on lln'ir coninitTre with 

 foreign nutioiis, liiilde to he intcrrnpteil liy wars, 

 and liy viiiions oilier circnnisiaMces. But silk can 

 never be consiilcTi-d in that |ioiiit of view ; it is an 

 article of mere Inxnry, wliieli g^overnnients have 

 eoniKtinies found it |irn(lt-nl to |iroliiiiit alloj;etlicr. 



It is certain thai the American ladies would he 

 as liundsonie and as lovely in their innslius and 

 chintzes as they were some years a>!;o, or as when 

 chid ill the lutestring's, lloreiitiiies, and Gros de Na- 

 ples of Iliily and p^rjiicre. 'I'lie in>'ii use hnl li'.llo 

 silk in their vestmeols, and for articles of furni- 

 ture, silk tni;.'ht lie eiisily sn|ierseded by otherstufFs 

 rot less elegant. It is therefore greatly to he la- 

 iiienied, that America should anmiMlly incur an 

 eiiormons deht for .-in article of merchandize, that 

 liii^lit he so easily dis|)enscd with. Uiit as that 

 cannot be avoided, there is no other remedy than 

 to find thi- means of discharging it. It is always 

 alarming when there is a great e.xeess of importa- 

 tions from liu'eign countries over eX|iortatioiis ; an 

 e.\CHSs which must lie ii.'iid for, either in articles 

 of value, or bankru|itcies. The hitter mode of 

 |iaynient never takes plai-c till the former is ex- 

 haus ed ; and it cannot he denied tlie.t it is as ruin- 

 ous to nntions as to indivi-lunls. It destroys credit, 

 vvliicli of all articles ol' eoinmerce is the most val- 

 tialde. 



If a ricli tmd growing article of exportation may 

 lie |i(iiiiicd out as an annual set-off to the excess 

 of im|;ortatioiis, a real service will he rendel•el^ to 

 the United States. Tliis article is at hand, and 

 is American silk. 



It appears by the report made to Connress hy 

 their Committee on Ai;ricultnre, on the 22d M.iy, 

 1826, that ill 1821 the iiiiporiations of manufac- 

 tured silks into the IJniieil Slates timoiiuted to $4,- 

 488,924 ; of which Sl,0.i7,233 were exported ; 

 and by a gradual ini:re»se in the course of four 

 years, the importiilion auiounied to $10,271,527 ; 

 of wliichonly .■t;2,5r>5,742 were exported, leaving 

 a balance of"S7,70.5,78.5 to be paid for. It has 

 gradually increased, and the consumption of the 

 present year may be fairly estimated at 10,000,000. 



Fortunately for iho United Slates the nations 

 that supply us with mauulactured silks are as inmli 

 in want of the raw article, a-i their c'jstomers are 

 of their fabrics. Frain-e imports annually, to the 

 amount of thirty uiillimi of francs, of raw silks ; 

 which Great Britain puri:hases annually to the 

 amount of one million eight hundred thousand 

 pounds sterling. These two sums exceed fourteen 

 million of American dollars. 



Here then are two rich and increasing markets 

 offered lo the indnsiry of the Americ-an people 

 for the sale of their raw silk. They must ex- 

 pect lo meet competition with other nations; but 

 the superiority of the Americau silk will insure 

 them a preference. 



The Bengal silk, which England imports to the 

 •mount of one half of her whole stock, is defec- 

 tive in its preparation. But for that objf-ct, it is 

 probable England would supply herself entirely 



niiuioiis ; of course her BciilmI silk <-an only he 

 employed in the coarser inamifictures, while those 

 of Italy are used for the finer and more delicate 

 stuffs. 



I conclude from these premises, that the United 

 States have a fair prospect of enriching themselves 

 by ihe sale of raw silk, if they will raise it ii 

 sufficient quantities, and prepare il lu the niamiri 

 required by the European mannfaclurers. V. 



From the Voniioiil Chronicle. 



THE SILK WORM. 



This useful little animal, the author of so inncji 



(iiry and magnificence, is one of the most inter- 

 esting objects in nature. In its disposition il is per- 

 fectly gentle and inoffensive, afTniling boh in- 

 struction and reproof, lo all who may behold them, 

 nd withal rii-hly compensating the owner for all 

 the care bestowed upon them. 



The egg which produces the worm is smaller 

 than a common sized pin-head, of a bright yellow, 

 which in process of time becomes oP a br.iwnlsh 

 cast. After the niulherry leaf has attained to a 

 soffii-ieut size, the eggs are placed in a room, whore 

 ifthe temperature ranges between seventy andeinh- 

 ly, they will hatch in three or four days. — When 

 they first make their appearance, they are diminutive 

 in size as scarcely to be perceptible, of a blackish 

 hue, varying in complexion as they increase in age. 



The process of castini: off their skins, which it i^ 

 said they do four times, is slow, and to aii[iearance 

 souT^what painful. The time of this change ta- 

 king place may be known hy their refusing to eat, 

 rearing their heads, and remaining .stationary near- 

 ly four lioni-s. They then fasten the extremity <i( 

 llieir covering to the table and commence their 

 onward march, the skin separaling from about the 

 neck, jiffording them egress without difficulty. 



Each time ihey appear in a new dress their ap- 

 petites are sensibly increased, until they attain 

 onto a perfect worm, which will take place at the 

 end of five or six weeks, when they become al- 

 intist transparent — of a liuflit cream color, hand- 

 somely variegated wiji dark spots. Nearly the 

 whole length upon the back, may be seen at this 

 period, what is thought by some to be a large 

 blood vessel, expanding and contracting at inter- 

 vals. When the lime for winding arrives, they 

 raise their heads and look around for a suitable 

 place to suspend their cocoons, (which, however, is 

 generally made for them by jilacing n-'ar them oak 

 branches or a suitable frame) upon whi<di lliey 

 commence their task, by fastening on all sides with- 

 in their reach, a coarse web of silk, to contain 

 ocoon, which in size and proportion resem- 

 bles a pigeon's egir, in which they inclose them- 

 elves, leaving sufii ieiit space for the free moiion 

 of the body in arranging the silk in regular layers 

 of an uniform thickness, which can be seen by cut- 

 ting the cocoons in pieces. The length of time 

 o(-cnpied in its forinaiion is four or five days of 

 unceasing tod ; and from the beginning of its labors 

 until the close of life, a period of lour or five weeks 

 it abstains icholly from food of any kind. At the ex- 

 piration of fifteen or twenty days, the worm has 

 been converted into a chrysalis, and from the latter 

 to a beautiful white miller. In that stale it is very 

 active, although unable to mount into the air. It 

 moves about upon its feet in small circles, its wings 

 in rapid motion, and after few inore days of eii- 

 joyiiient in its new state of existence, it deposits 



The Prospects of the Season. — We have convers- 

 ed with a geiitlemini who has recently made a tour 

 of sevenil hundred miles in this State, and into 

 Vermont, lie represents the prospect of crops as 

 very proitiising. Hay has been as abundant ihrough 

 ihe inti'rior of the S:ate as It has been in Kockinj,*- 

 liani county. Corn never looiied more promising 

 than at the present time : it is about a fortnight 

 '•arlier than common. Rye has been somewhat 

 blighted, and the crop is small. In our vicinity, 

 apples are very scarce — hut fiirty miles to the norili 

 of Its they are abiiiidaiit. Potatoes are gemrally 

 not so iibniidant as last year. The season has 

 been such as will not fail to exiute in the fiiinier, 

 feelings of gratitude lo Ilim who gives the early 

 and Ihe latter rain. — Portsmouth Journrd. 



In Plymoulh county a di.sea.se ctilled the ' blind 

 sliif;gers,' is prevailing to a considerable extent 

 among the horse.", and large nnnibers have died 

 within & short period. In the town ofMiddlebnro 

 ihe number that have died is estimated from 70 

 to 100. 



Six large Watermelmis were gathered from one 

 vine, on Mrs Dudley's farm, Roxbury — the ag- 

 ^'logale weight of the six was one hundred and 

 eiglityseven pounds. 



A Pennsylvania paper contains a number of se- 

 vere strictures upon the wanton praciice of shoo»- 

 iiig small birds, not usually eaten, such as swal- 

 lows, lomliis, pewees, &c. These birds are useful 

 in destroying insects, and should not be wantonly 

 killed. 



its eggs, to the number of four or five hundred, and 

 from that quarter, as Bengal is a part of her do- closes its eventful life. 



Amongst the many adv.iiitages which the coin- 

 iiiunity have derived from the perscwcring and 

 well directed industry of the late Mr Paiineniier, 

 perhaps the most prominent is the introduction by 

 liim in this country of the Morus multicnutis, or 

 true Chinese Mulberry Tree ; it is the tree from 

 Ihe leaves of which the Chinese feed Ihe silku'cuiii, 

 and which is preferred in France, to any otherj/ot 

 iliat purpose. His widow, atthe Horticultural Gar- 

 den near Prooklyii,has succeeded in propagating a 

 huge niimbiT of tlieni, many of the leaves mi-asiire 

 13 inches in breadih, which saves much labor in 

 plucking them ; and, besides, the worms fttil with 

 them are foninl to make silk of a stronger and more 

 even texture than those fed on ordinary Mulberry 

 leaf. — J\/'. Y. Inquirer. 



Lowell Rnilway. — lis proposed course may now 

 be traced by the slakes which have been set, from 

 the borders of Charlestown and Medfm-d to its tei- 

 minatlon at the basin oflhe canal in Lowell ; frora 

 thence it is understood there are to be branches 

 alcmg the several canals to the Factories. The 

 work it is stated will be commenced this Iall..i^- 

 Lotvetl Joiirnnl. 



Harvard College. — The Corporation and ovc». 

 seers have appointed Thadueus Wii,lia,m Habkie, 

 M. D. of Milton to be Librarian of Harvard Collejre 

 in place oflhe lamented Hon. Benj. Pierce, and 

 he has accepted the appoiiitmeiit. Mr Harris' fatlw 

 cr received the appointment to the same office forty 

 years ago. 



Rabbits. — It l)as been said that rabbits nwy lie 

 fed through the summer, with weeds from the 

 garden, and one would judge from the ajipenrauce 

 of many of the gardens in this village, that the 

 owners were making calculations for raising these 

 animals. — Gen. Far. 



