558 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



[No. 9 



well as at, the other, where tlie dike has just been 

 disc:overec]. 1 am tolJ moreover, that Cox, Mar- 

 shall & Co. North River, part proprietors of tke 

 United Slates Qaarry, have put u;) some forty 

 stores in different j)arts of New York this year, 

 and that they are now building a masnificent hotel 

 of the same. This is as it should be — but the 

 stone they have been able to set hiiherto, is alto- 

 gether inferior to that which they are (|uarryi«io: 

 now. With the resources oi" Maine, and the capi- 

 tal of New York, wiseJy and cautiougiy applied, 

 what may be done I - 



From the SUkwoffii.' 



THE MUtBERRY IPJPORTED FP-OiS FKAIVCE 

 BY MR. WHITMAKSil. 



[We cannot concur with tlie Ei.itor of the f)'ilk- 

 worm in admitting the least possible excuse for the 

 conduct which he exposes in the following statement. 

 A cheat has been perpetrated — most shameful in its 

 manner, and enormous in amount and possible ill con- 

 sequences to the new silk business o1 our country. 

 Even if it were credible that a person so well informed 

 as Mr. V/hitniarsh is said below to be, on this subject, 

 could have been so deceived by others, as sooii as he 

 knew of the fraud, he ought to have hastened to ex- 

 pose it fully, and to offer pecuniary compensation to 

 all purchasers, to the full amount to which he had prof • 

 ited by the fraud. By not doing .this — and still more 

 by continuing to maintain the value of his " Chinese 

 Mulberry" seeds and plants, by a new description, Mr. 

 W. has fully established his claim to the highest place 

 among tlie numerous tribe of u'oodm nutmeg venders. 

 Ed. Far. Reg.] 



Many persons have expressed their disappoint- 

 ment, and consequent dissatisfaction, respecting 

 the seed and trees purchased irom the stock import- 

 ed by Mr. Whitniarsh, and sold by him and his 

 agents, as the Chinese Mulberry; and several 

 have named it with angry feelings, as a fraud 

 which ought to be exposed. 



It is not the object of the "Silkworm" to inves:- 

 tigate the conduct or characters of persons, either 

 public or private ; ant it it were, it would be a 

 painhjl task to the editor: but justice to the little 

 insect whose name the publication bears, as well 

 as to those individuals who tire devoting their 

 lime and properly to its propagation, in the hon- 

 est hope of gain thereby, renders it the editor's 

 duty, as a (i^iiihlul purveyor, to omit no eWort con- 

 ducive of a supply of the best (bod, .and to expose 

 as far as possible, every attempt, from specula- 

 tion or any other motive, which may counleracl 

 that important object. 



Mr. Whifmareh is a gentleman whose charac- 

 ter, it is believed, stood fair helbrethe public, pre- 

 viously to this transaction ; and the deep interest 

 he has taken in the silk business has given his 

 name considerable celebrity. TlrU. celebrity, 

 while it serves justly as a shield from the imputn- 

 tion of an improper act, would also serve in an 

 Cfiual de<rree, it" lie were disposed to conniiit that 

 act, to increase his power to give it more extension, 

 ami consequently more injurious efliict. J']very 

 person should be considered innocent until proven 



to be guilty. If Mr. W. is innocent of the charges 

 against hi'm, it will be doing him a kindness to 

 give an explicit statement of the complaints, that 

 he may meet them with his deliiiice. At any 

 rate the great importance of the silk interest re- 

 quires that it be guarded against its imposition. 



The white Italian mujl)erry was of Chinese 

 origin, and is as well entitled to the appellation of 

 Chinese mulberry as the Moras PtiulULaulis. But 

 the recent arrival of the latter in tliis country, and 

 its annunciation, with all its blushing honors "thick 

 upon it," «s the Chinese M%dberiy,nt the most 

 critical moment hi the sJlk history, which can ever 

 occur, has identifijed the Ctilnese mulberry and 

 the Moms Multicaulis widi a kind of sacredncss 

 not to be vio!L!>otI without doing injustice to the 

 leeliijgs of every Iriei^ to the silk rnlCiresi in Ame- 

 ricPi, 



At the time of Blr. W.'s departure for France, 

 the seed of the Chinese Mulberry, vi-as a thing 

 sought after above all earthy treasures, so much 

 so, that ^500 per pound have been oliered lor it, 

 and the young trees were worth ^300 per thou- 

 sand; and their estimated value has rather in- 

 creased than diminished. -Rlr. W. must have 

 known these facts, both in reality and in prospect. 

 In the possession of this knowledge, he purchased 

 in France, or elsewhere,- a quantity of seed, and 

 oJ" young trees of some kind. The seeds were put 

 up in small papers of about one quarter of an 

 ounce each, and labelled m French as the Chinese 

 Mulberry. These trees and seeds were shipped 

 to New York and announced lor sale, by his agent 

 there, and b}^ others at Northampton. They were 

 sought, after, and bought with unexampled avidi- 

 ty. Whether the trees were of the true Morus 

 Mullicaulis or not, we have no means of deter- 

 mining. We procured a few of them, and set 

 them in our nursery, and many of our friends did 

 the same ; but as no one of them that we have 

 heard fiom, lived, Ave have no means of judging 

 to what species in the horticultural catalogue they 

 belonged. Fortunately, however, owing to some 

 seasonable caution, our investment in them was 

 small. But not exactly so with the seed. We 

 purchased fourteen papers, amounting to seventy 

 dollars. These were sowed in excellent land, 

 v.'iih every precaution which could ensure success. 

 The papers contained a little ai;er 2000 seeds each ; 

 of tliese seeds about 700 came up, which amount- 

 ed to one seed in forty of those sowed. Yiiih the 

 most carelul attendance soiiie of them have grown 

 to about a loot in height. They appear very sim- 

 ilar to the seedlings of the white mulberry grown 

 by the side of tlu-m, but show no reIatior:shi|) to 

 the Morus Mullicaulis. The same results have 

 followed in every instance we have heard from. 

 Not a sinixle tree has lived that we know of. 

 From the reports we have obtained ol' the seeds, 

 they have vegetated in about the same proportion 

 — one to forty, and the jiroduct is the same ; little, 

 if any, dissimilar to the common white mulberry 

 — altogether dilfi:^rent from the Morus iVIulticaulis. 

 The true measure of value in any commodity 

 is tlie mean rate in the estimation of its possessor, 

 and of those who may become so. The compar- 

 ative value of the Chitjose and white mulberries 

 differs as much in the public estimation, and pro- 

 l)ably in the ultimate es'iimation of truth, as gold 

 and copper — at any rale, more than co{)per and 

 silver. 



