183G] 



FARJMERS' REGISTER 



169 



agricultural and other interests of the stnte, will 

 show that we are not mistaken in our ideas con- 

 cernino; it. 



The culture and manufiicture of silk has f^)r a 

 time been engrossing the attention of most of the 

 Slates in the imion, several ol" wiiich have been 

 enileavorinir to introduce and Ibster it by legisla- 

 tive bounties. In this new enterprise Connecti- 

 cut led off, by otfering a bounty of !§! on every 

 hundred mulberry trees, and 50 cents on every 

 pound of reeled silk. This gave the business a 

 little start, and made Connecticut the most Ijivora- 

 ble State lor engaging in it, on account of the 

 bounty, all other advantages being equal. Mas- 

 sachrisctts ibllowcd, by offering the same bounty 

 on every pound ol" reeled or thrown ^ilk. Ver- 

 mont, seeing Connecticut imd Massachusetts fill- 

 ing up with mulberry trees, and inviting the grow- 

 ers of silk to settle within their limits and avail 

 themselves of their liberality, endeavored to at- 

 tract their attention towards her genial soil and 

 climate, by olFering them a still more munificent 

 bounty. An act giving a bounty of 10 cents on 

 every pound of cocoons made within the State, 

 was passed at the last session of the legislature. 

 r»laine, also, finding that her soil and climate 

 were adapted to the cultivation of the mulberry, 

 and rearing of the silk worm, and not being con- 

 tent with the avails of her hmibcr and granite, in- 

 vited the silk grower to visit her, and as an induce- 

 ment, in addition to the low price of lands, offered 

 him a bounty of 5 cents a pound upon cocoons. 

 New York was also enticing the Yankees to leave 

 New England and settle in some part of her vast 

 dominions. Wiih theseotfers befijreihem the silk 

 grjwers were balancing in their minds the com- 

 parative advantagt's and disadvantages of these 

 respective States, when Massachusetts magnani- 

 mo isly comes forward, and offers them ^2 a pound 

 for every pound of silk they will grow, reel and 

 throw, within her jurisdiction, during a period of 

 seven years. 



This ofi'er v/ill settle the question, unless the 

 other States pursue a policy equally liberal, and 

 present inducements equally flattering. Without 

 these, Massachusetts will become the great silk 

 growing and manufacturing district of the United 

 States, ajid wealth will flow in upon her with a 

 flood tide. The bounty will pay all the expense of 

 making the cocoons and reeling the silk, and leave 

 the S-i 01" 8-5 a pound, for which it is readily sold, 

 nett profit to theo;rov/er and reeler. With this en- 

 couragement in Massachusetts, what company or 

 individual will even think of purchasing land in 

 atiy other State for a plantation ? But the conse- 

 quences will be favorable in other respects. In 

 the first place it will enhance the value of real es- 

 tate. All lands exclusively devoted to the culture 

 of silk, will be so nmidi withdrawn from other ag- 

 ricultural purposes, and leave the remainder at a 

 proportionably increased value. The manufacture 

 ing popniaiio'n of Massachusetts is sustained, at 

 least in part, by the products of her soil; and as 

 this is circumscribed in its limits, its value per acre 

 must rise in the same proportion; and hence 

 every farmer will leel the beneficial influence of 

 the law, though he may never engage in the cul- 

 ture of silk. 



In the second place it will increase the popula- 

 tion of the State. The liberal provisions of tlie 

 law will have an irresislable tendency to call in 



Vol. IV— 22 



silk growers and manufacturers from States that 

 pursue a more penurious policy. These emi- 

 irrants will be found of a very different character 

 from tho=e fi-om the "Emerald Isle." They will 

 bring wuh them a spirit of industry and enterprise 

 — habits of teinpetance and economy, and a love 

 of morality and good order — they will cheerfully 

 contribute their proj)orlions of money for the sup- 

 port of the government, and deposite their influ- 

 ence in the common stock in support of the laws 

 and institutions of the State. 



THE HKSSIAN FLY SUPPOSED TO HAVE EXIST- 

 ED IN FRANCE. 



To the Editof of the Fanners' Register. 



A \'e\w days ago, I accidentally found an extract, 

 which, twenty years affo I had made ii'oin an ag- 

 ricultural work which I happened to open. Ii ig 

 as follows : 



"There is a small kind of worm, which gets into 

 the roots, chiefly of oats, and, working upwards, de- 

 stroys all the inside of the plant, v/hich perishes soOn 

 after. I suspect it to have been an insect of this kind 

 that destroyed so much wheat ni the neighborhood of 

 Geneva, and which M. de Chateau-vieux describes 

 thus: 'Our wheat, in the month of May, 1755, sus- 

 ' tainea a loss, which, even that cultivated" according to 

 'the new husbandry, tlid not escape. We found in it 

 ' many little white worms, which afterwards became 

 ' of" a chesnut color. They post themselves between 

 ' the blades, and eat the stems. They are usually found 

 ' between the first joint and the roots. Every stalk 

 ' which they attacked, grevi^ no more, but became yel- 

 ' low, and withered. The same misfortune happened 

 ' to us in the year 1732. These insects appeared about 

 ' the middle of JMay, and made such havoc, that the 

 ' crop was almost destroyed.' " 



[Duhamefs Husbandry, page 86. 



Sow, sir, was this insect the Hessian fly I If 

 ii clearly was not, please throw this communica- 

 tion into the fire. But if it is either certain, or 

 probable that it was, the publication of my extract 

 may be valuable. In the first place, it seems to 

 me'important to preserve every liict illustrating the 

 history of this scourge ol American agriculture. 

 To ascertain and record facts as to the history, na- 

 ture, and habits of this insect, would probably af- 

 ford to some inquiring mind, a hint which might 

 lead to the discovery of some means for its extir- 

 pation. But, in the second place, if the Geneva 

 insect be the Hessian fly, should not our intelli- 

 irent agriculturists seek for a more full and de- 

 railed account of the facts stated by M. de Cha- 

 teau-vieux ? Might not such an inquiry result in 

 bringing to light the usual modes of agriculture, 

 or the sT)ecial means used on those occasions, by 

 virtue of which, the visits of the insect in ques- 

 tion were -so pronq:)lly arrested? Could not the 

 Editor of the Farmers' lleaister avail himself of 

 his correspondence with French agriculturists to 

 cram this information? Or, if that correspondence 

 is not yet sufficiently general, might not the dis- 

 tinguished Viririnian who represented our country 

 at tiie French court, and who has in the incjuiry, 

 not only the general interest ol an American 

 patriot, hut the more special and persona! interest 

 of an Albemarle liirmer — might not heinstitute 

 that inquiry with as bright a prospect of success 

 as would be open to any one at this late day? If 

 in this way the interests of American agriculture 



