58 



THE FAKMERS CABINET. 



VOL. I. 



7th. Before measuring and packing, are 

 they stripped of the floss, or are they sold 

 with that attached? 



8th. What amount of silk can an ordinary 

 reeler wind from the cocoons in a day] 



If it will not tax your jroodness too far, to 

 answer in the next number of the Culturist, 

 the above queries, you will, by so doing, 

 greatly oblige 



Your humble servant, 



William Imlay. 



Mlenlown, N.J. Feb. 20, 1836. 



P. S. From the inducements held forth in 

 your paper, I have purchased 7000 trees, to 

 be planted in the way stated in the 3d. query. 

 Three other gentlemen in our village, are 

 preparing to set out an equal number. 



Answers by the Editor. — 1st. It is the 

 opinion of the most experienced Culturists, 

 that trees two years old, may be stripped of 

 their foliage without injury, provided the 

 leaves on the extremities of the branches are 

 suffered to remain. It is, however, recom- 

 mended by some, to let the trees remain one 

 year after the first picking, in order that they 

 may recover from the loss of their foliage. 

 Trees of two and three years old, yield but 

 little foliage, and consequently, not much 

 profit must be expected from them. It is, 

 however, supposed that potatoes, beans, or 

 other low vegetables may be raised among 

 them, in suffi(;ient quantities to defray the 

 expense of their cultivation and give a small 

 profit. 



We have had no experience in feeding 

 from trees of this description; but a gentle- 

 man of this county informs us, that he fed, 

 the last season, 50,000 worms, on the foliage 

 of 50,000 white mulberry trees, on their third 

 years growth, and made at least ten pounds 

 of silk. The method he pursued, was by 

 pruning the trees, in such manner as would 

 best promote their growth and form, and 

 feedino- the worms on the boughs cut off. 

 These, with such other foliage as he could 

 gather from the remaining branches, furnish- 

 ed him with food sufficient for his family of 

 50,000 worms. By this experiment it will 

 be seen, that a tree on its third years growth, 

 sustained a worm, and enabled it to make its 

 cocoon. The Chinese mulberry at two and 

 three years old, will yield an abundance of 

 foliage, and much more than one hundred 

 dollars nett profit may be made from an acre 

 thickly set, and highly cultivated. 



2d. Trees should always remain in the seed 

 beds, or nurseries, until they are two or three 

 years old, if they are to be transported any 

 considerable distance for transplantation. 

 The last spring we transplanted 10,000 seed- 

 lings, about half of which died. They were, 

 however, transported about twenty miles, 

 and were some time out of the ground. 

 When trees are to be merely transplanted 



from the nursery to the plantation, it is con- 

 sidered by many, advisable to remove them 

 at one year old. They will put out more 

 branches, require more pruning, and conse- 

 quently, furnish more food for the worm, at 

 two and three years old. 



3d. It is impossible to answer this inquiry 

 with sufficient precision for any practical 

 purpose. — Much depends on soil, cultivation, 

 pruning, &c. 



4th. The weight of cocoons, and the num- 

 ber in a pound, varies according to their 

 quality, the time when they are weighed, &c. 

 We should think they would average from 

 250 to 300, to the pound, immediately after 

 the worm is destroyed, and before they are 

 thoroughly cured. As they become dry, 

 they lose their weight, and when perfectly 

 so, a pound, of some qualities, may require 

 the number stated by M. D'Homergue. 



5th. Cocoons are measured by putting 

 them gently into the measure and rounding 

 it. There is a difficulty in ascertaining their 

 actual measure or weight, as they vary ma- 

 terially, according to the manner of measur- 

 ing, or the time of weighing. — The most 

 equitable method of coming at their value, is 

 to weigh the silk after it is reeled, and for 

 this purpose, among others, should the grow- 

 er acquire the art of reeling. Until this is 

 done, the better way is to carry the cocoons 

 to the filature and have them reeled by a skil- 

 ful reeler. The silk can then be weighed, 

 and the expense of reeling deducted. — The 

 number in a bushel varies according to their 

 size, ranging from 2,500 to 3,000. 



6lh. There is no difficulty or danger in 

 packing, and transporting cocoons, provided 

 the directions for preserving and transporting 

 them, given in former numbers, are duly re- 

 garded. 



7th. The floss ought not to be taken from 

 the cocoons if they are to be sent to market. 

 It prevents their becoming indented which 

 materially injuries them. Some manufac- 

 turers prefer flossed cocoons on account of 

 the measure, but what they lose in measure, 

 is more than made up to them in their quality. 



8th. The quantity of silk which can be 

 reeled in a day, depends upon the quality of 

 the cocoons, the reel used, and the expe- 

 rience and dexterity of the reeler. JSome 

 reelers will reel a pound, but the average, 

 among ordinary reelers, would not much ex- 

 ceed half that quantity. — Silk Culturist. 



An English writer, in a treatise on milk, 

 states in his recommendation of it as an arti- 

 cle of diet, that the town of Hendall, in Eng- 

 land, where more milk is used, in proportion 

 to the number of inhabitants, than in any 

 other town in the kingdom, furnishes more 

 instances of longevity, and fewer deaths 

 I among children, than any other town. 



