1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



2G7 



discovered in Valy in 1815, of great promise, and 

 is probably identical with the Italian of Sweet, 

 (No. 8,) and possibly with those ti-om Constanti- 

 nople, &c. Its qualities lljrsilk arc not fully known; 

 but we believe it to be more hardy than even the 

 common white, if, as we suspect, we have a plant 

 of it in our grounds. 



5. The nrulticaulis, we are obliged to persist in 

 saying, is too tender lor our climate, north ol 42'-'. 

 We believe all attempts to cultivate it here, will 

 end in disappointment. The white and the black 

 suffice in the great silk countries of Europe. Gen. 

 Tallmadge tells us, after he had traversed Italy 

 and France, and made silk the subject of special 

 observ^ation and inquiry, that "we have more of 

 the Chmese (multicaulis,) growing than France 

 and Italy together;" and that though the silk trom 

 the multicaulis was finer and more delicate, it re- 

 quired more skilful and delicate work to wind and 

 work it. 



6. and 8. Of these we know very little, except 

 the latter should be the Dandolo; and? is emplo}-- 

 ed merely as a dye-wood. 



9. We believe to be the same as the Brussa, 

 which is cuhivated in Asia Minor, and seeds of 

 which have recently been introduced from Constan- 

 tinople, by Mr. Rand. Great hopes are enter- 

 tained that it vvill be found useful and hardy, 

 though these hopes remain to be confirmed — 

 the seed not having been sown, we believe, till 

 1S34. '' 



The next three named, (10, 11, 12,) which pur- 

 port to be American species, are not recognized, 

 as we have before observed, by American bota- 

 nists; and yet we think that on examination, it 

 will be found, that we have more than one indi- 

 genous species. 



Having alluded to the letters of Gen. Tall- 

 madge, we make from them the following extract, 

 tor the benefit of our silk growers: — 



"Finizio is an extensive manufacturer of sew- 

 ing silk; he makes about 3,000 pounds a week, 

 which is mostly sent to the New York market. 

 He is an mtelligent man, and I found him willing 

 to answer my inquiries; as also were several other 

 establishments, and which mostly confirmed his 

 statement. The sewing silks of Naplesare mostly 

 made from the silk grown in Calabria, where the 

 worm is fed principally upon the black mulberry, 

 and which makes the strongest and best for sew- 

 ing silk. Finizio stated that the worm fed on the 

 black mulberry made the strongest thread; that on 

 the lohite mulberry, finer and better for fabrics; 

 that on the Chinese mulberry still finer and more 

 delicate. When asked if the cocoon from the 

 Chinese mulberry required more skilfid and deli- 

 cate work to wind and work it, he said it did, and 

 immediately produced two skeins, one of which 

 he said was from the black mulberry (from a bush, 

 perhaps, eight or ten feet in circumference,) the 

 other from a bush about four feet. The lesser 

 bush, he said, was less liable to break the thread 

 in winding from the cocoonj and was used in finer 

 silks for fabrics. The black mulberry produced a 

 stronger thread, and would bear the larger reel, 

 and was prmcipally used in that business. The 

 silk here is mostly made in the country by fami- 

 lies in detail, and much of it reeled there, and in 

 this condition it is brought to market. For sew- 

 ing silk it is doubled as often as required, and 

 twisted as much. This process is wholly in a 



dark room. The silk is worked wet, and for this 

 purpose, to preserve a uniformity, the atmosphere 

 is kept damp, the day-light excluded, and the 

 work carried on with small hand lamps. The 

 machine was turned by men harnessed like mules. 

 I have since been out about twenty mileis to the 

 silk factory of the king, wliich is worked by water 

 power, and by which the cocoons are also reeled. 

 I stated to Finizio, as also the king's factory, that 

 the Italian sewing silk was sold in the American 

 markets by its weight, while the American sew- 

 ing silk was sold by the skein; and that one pound 

 of the Italian would have perhaps 250 skeins, 

 while one of the American silk would have about 

 350 skein.s. The cause of this difliercnce of 

 weight, or why the American sewing silk has a 

 tendency to curl or knot, they could not explain 

 without a sample, but said the weight of sewing 

 silk could be diminished or very considerably 

 augmented in the dyeing, and that good dyeing 

 required the silk to be well bailed in soap, alter 

 which it was put into an acid, and was there, pre- 

 pared for the process of" the dj'e, according to the 

 color, as desired. The gloss, or dressing, seems 

 to be produced by beating and twisting on a post, 

 which, with the manual labor put upon its finish, 

 it is supposed, prevents its tendency to knot. 



"I asked if the color of the cocoon, yellow or 

 white, gave any difference of value, or indicated 

 a sickly worm, and the answer was that the color 

 was casual, and the value the same; that a selec- 

 tion of white or yellow cocoons from which to get 

 eggs would probably produce a like color; and 

 Mr. Finizio, said he had some customers who had 

 so selected and brought him cocoons entirely ?«/t(7ey 

 and that for white ribbands or fabrics, they com- 

 manded a greater price of from three to five per 

 cent, though otherwise of equal value." 



While on the subject of the mulberry, we will 

 mention a new mode of profiagating or growing 

 it, related to us by a gentleman from Michigan. 

 It is to lay the entire plant, while a seedling, in the 

 fiirrow, lengthwise, at a proper distance, and to 

 cover them with the plough. The plant sends up 

 a number of shoots, and if lett to grow, forms 

 what is technically called a stool. We understood 

 our informant to say, that he nad eight acres 

 growing in this way. The advantages which this 

 mode promises, are, first, the plant is rapidly mul- 

 ti|)lied; second, the leaves are gathered with 

 greater facility, from the dwarfish habits of the 

 plant; and third, and we deem this a very impor- 

 tant advantage, if the wood is killed by the win- 

 ter, and this is sometimes the case, even in Michi- 

 ijan, and often here, the roots are preserved, the 

 dead wood may be readily cut off with a bush 

 hook, and new and vigorous shoots, spring up 

 from the base. We believe this mode of growing 

 might be profitably adopted in regard to the mul- 

 ticaulis. 



From tlie Transactions of tho Massachusetts Agricultural Soci- 

 ety. 



EEET ROOT SUGAR. 



Roxbury, June 15, 1S36. 

 The Hon. Thomas L. Winthrop, 



Sir — INlr. Isnard put into my hands a fi^w days 

 since a memoir "On Indigenous Sugar, and the 



