404 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



July 4, 1S32. 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE CULTIVATION 

 OF SILK. — No. 2. 



Concladeil from page 396. 



Having heretofore made some extracts, calcula- 

 tions and remarks, on the growth and mannfacture 

 of silk, in relation to its productiveness and rela- 

 tive value, I now make a few more, hoping that it 

 might be the means of exciting the agriculturalists 

 to a further consideration and examination of the 

 subject. The committee appointed by the Lefjis- 

 lature of Massachusetts, to consider the expediency 

 of encouraging the growth of the mulberry tree 

 and the culture of silk, in their report says, "they 

 have examined the subject attentively, and find it 

 to be of much greater importance than was at first 

 supposed ; and they are satisfied beyond a doidjt, 

 that we have the power to produce and manufac- 

 ture silk in this conmionwealth, to an immense ex- 

 tent ; and that no difficulty is to be encountered, 

 either from soil or climate ; that little capital is re- 

 quired to commence the culture of silk, except 

 that capital which consists in knowledge. The 

 culture of silk is important in relation to the 

 amount of silk imported and consumed in this 

 country, which exceeds .$7,000,000 ; while the 

 amount of bread stuff exported is on an average 

 less than $6,000,000. Tlie committee feel war- 

 ranted in saying, that as soon so the article can be 

 produced, a good home market will be found at 

 such prices as to atJord a profit on the expense and 

 labor bestowed upon it. 



The white mulberry tree is easily cidtivated, 

 does not require the best soil, and serves for a val- 

 uable purpose for hedges, and is highly ornamen- 

 tal." Mr Jonathan H. Cobb, in his Manual, says, 

 " the white mulberry tree forms an excellent live 

 fence, and when once established, is probably the 

 nnost permanent of any other; everything is usefid 

 in the mulberry tree, its leaves are valuable in the 

 silk which they produce by nourishing the silk 

 worm ; its fruit is excellent for poultry, and mixed 

 with currants to make i)ies ; the wood is useful 

 for joiners, for fuel, and for shij) timber; and the 

 bark of the root for medicine as a vermifuge ; that 

 exclusive of using the leaves for feeding of silk 

 worms, the cultivating the trees extensively by 

 farmers, where wood is becoming scarce, is 

 well worth their attention, for there cannot possi- 

 bly be any risk or loss in the business ; the leaves 

 if not used will enrich the land, and the trees are 

 easy to be obtained. Therefore, there is nothing 

 to retard commencing the business extensively. 



Dually, and France pays annually from fifteen to 

 twenty millions for raw silk, and prefers American 

 to any other, and the prospect of a market is im- 

 mense ; and let no one fear of interfering with 

 others in this In siness, for if there were one hiui- 

 dred where there is now one engaged in it, it would 

 be belter than it now is ; on every account, fila- 

 tures, thrbwsting mills, looms, and further infor- 

 mation in the business would be increased, and reg- 

 ular markets opened and established all over this 

 country. If any one is yet doubting as to the 

 utility and profitableness of the business, who have 

 help suitable and sufficient, let them read the 

 Franklin Journal, the Manual publL-ihed under the 

 authority of Congress, the first number of the Silk 

 Culturist, by Dr Felix Pascalis, of New York ; Mr 

 William H. Vernon's abridgement of the large 

 French work of M. de la Brousse ; Essays on 

 American silk, by Messrs D. Homergue and Du 

 Ponceau, of Philadelphia, and a pamphlet j)ublish- 

 ed l»y Gideon B. Smith, Esq., of Baltiniore ; Fes- 

 senden's New American Gardener; the several 

 volumes of the New England Farmer; and Jona- 

 than H. Cobb's Manual ; and I think they must be 

 convinced, tliat the silk business will in time be- 

 come a great source of wealth to America, and a 

 profitable and honorable employment for the fair 

 .sex, the aged and the infirm, as well as the youth ; 

 fi)r all the aforesaid wfiters agree in recommend- 

 ing it to be a healthy and profitablp business ; 

 though difierent writers make a difference in the 

 amount produced from an acre of mulberry trees, 

 hut none estimate it to be less than $200 worth 

 of sewing silk from an acre of about seventy trees, 

 and the net profit to be $86 ; and the highest cal- 

 culation from 3,000 trees on an acre, to be $1,87,5, 

 selling the cocoons at tweutyfive cents per jiound. 

 Now take the medium of those two, the produce 

 woidd be about .'jl,0.38 from an acre, and allow 

 three fourths for the labor, and there remains $259. 

 I further remark, that the education of youth is 

 of the uimost imi)ortance to the public. May I 

 be permitted to address the inhabitants of every 

 school district, that they would seriously and with- 

 out delay, consider the importance of connecting 

 the silk business with summer schools, by ])rocu- 

 rins two or three acres of suitable land near cndi 



feet above the groimd, and two and a half feet be- 

 tween them. At one end of the shed, four more 

 shelves the height of the others, thirteen feet long, 

 one foot and eight inches wide. These twelve 

 shelves will serve for one hundred thousand 

 worms, and will consume about twentyfive hun- 

 dred [lounds of leaves, previous to their si)inning 

 cocoons, after each hatching, and produce two 

 hundred and eight pounds of cocoons and make 

 twenlysix I'ounds of reeled silk, according to Messrs 

 Honjcrgue's and Cobb's calculations. And by 

 hatching the worms in succession for sixteen 

 weeks, the second hatching in fourteen days after 

 the first, and then in ten days, and then once in 

 eight days, until there is ten hatchings, which at 

 that rate will make two thousand and eighty 

 pounds of cocoons, and two hundred and sixty 

 pounds of reeled silk, which at the lowest price 

 that Mr Cobb has sold his for, $4 50 per pound, 

 amounts toSU/O, or selling the cocoons at 40 

 cents, the price at Philadelphia, they would amount 

 to $t32 ; or say 25 cents, the lowest price oflfered 

 anywhere, they amount to .$520. Then allowing 

 the unstress $20 per month, and the board of the 

 tweniyfonr scholars for sixteen weeks, each at $1 

 per week, it amounts to $404, which deducted 

 from $520, there remains $56 ; which allowing 

 three acres of land and the trees to cost $600, the 

 ,$56 will pay the interest of the money and $20 

 left to pay interest for two sheds, which will be 

 warned if the silk is reeled. Thus you have the 

 children schooled and boardeil without any ex- 

 pense to their parents or the town, and interest on 

 the capital in the bargain. What more do you 

 want, but faithful resolution. A. B. 



WesipoH, Oct., 18;)L 



[Cobb's Manual is publislied by direction of his 

 Excellency Gov. Lincoln, and luimbers of them 

 are to he distributed to every town in the Com- 

 monwealth, for the use of the inhabitants. It gives 

 very general and particular information in raising 

 the tree and silk worm.s, and reeling the silk, &c. 

 And is a very useful book to afl'ord correct inform- 

 ation in every branch of the business, though there 

 are some extracts taken from Me.«srs Parmentier, 

 Homergue, and Dandolo, in pages 2.3, 24, 40 and 



with sheds near the school-house, for feeding the 

 worms and reeling the silk ; and having a suitable 

 mistress and twentyfour scholars and over, to be 

 but negligence and unbelief, for says Mr Peter S. I employed in gathering leaves and feeding worms 

 Du Ponceau, " I see no more difficulty in cultiva- at times, not interfering with regular school hours, 

 ting the mulberry, than any other fruit tree ; and for the term of four months ; the silk worms to be 



(Ills i»»vj yji 1..1.-X, .....v.. w. .^.iiii»..i.. lull. I inrtii ,.<ii II i. t !• I . .• 1 



,■ , , , , , ,, , •■ 41, where some of the amounts mentioned are not 



school-house, and have them well covered with! •, 



mulberry trees and fenced with a nuilberry hedge, I "■' 



the art of raising silk worms seems to reduce it- 

 self to a few simple rules easy of observance." 

 And in his cominunication to the Speaker of the 

 House of Representatives in Congress, say.s, " that 

 the culture of the mulberry and the rearing of silk 

 worms, have considerably increased during the 

 past year in almost every State in the Union ; that 

 throwsting mills have been erected and are in op- 

 eration in many places ; that cocoons in Philadel- 

 phia sell for forty cents per pound, and that the 

 coarsest of reeled silk has been sent to Mexico and 

 sold for four dollars and seventyfive cents p«r 

 pound." 



And instead of the business being overdone, 

 during the present generation or for a century to 

 come, is not probable. Only consider that Ainer- 

 ioa now imports more than $7,000,000 worth an- 



hatched in succession, once in eight or ten months ; 

 and the produce of the silk will he more than 

 enough to pay the wages and hoard of the mis- 

 tress, at twenty dollars per month, and the board 

 of the scholars at one dollar per week, during that 

 time. This can be proved by actual experiment 

 .ind arithmetical demonstration, if we may believe 

 the testimony of all the silk growers and authors 

 on the silk business. 



A shed may be erected near a school-house, of 

 the following dimensions, viz. twenty feet Ion; 

 and sixteen feet wide, with nine feet posts, board 

 ed with square edged boards, the roof shingled, 

 but no floor, two small windows, one at each end ; 

 two frames made like ladders, for four tier of 



CULTIVATION OF ASPARAGUS. 



When I plained my asjiaragns bed,<it'o years ago 

 this month, (May,) I had a quantity of horn shav- 

 ings and chips. They were spread over the 

 ground, and njy gardener was directed to dig them 

 into the bed prepared for asparagus. He was an 

 Englishman, and the best man I ever saw handle 

 a spade. But he scolded bitterly about it ; he de- 

 clared it would never grow, and no doubt wished 

 in his heart it would [)rove so. 



For the first year no (fleet at all was observa- 

 ble ; last year tlie plants were tolerably thrifty ; 

 and for two weeks past, this spring. I have been 

 daily cutting large quantities of the finest aspara- 

 gus, half an inch in diameter. These shavings 

 have begun to decompose, and their fertilizing 

 power is enormous. They contain a quantity of 

 ammonia. 



Last spring, a year ago, I spaded up a piece of 



shelves, fifteen feet long and four and a half wide, ground with a good supply of horn shavings on it. 

 the lower ends of the ladder to be two and a half j It had been manured with nothing else. I sowed 



