1 836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



571 



they were hatched, might be-maintained through 

 the cold season, at the proper point, tliough not 

 without much care and cost; hut tlie worm cannot 

 exist wiiiiout Ibod as weil as warmth, antl a con- 

 stant supply ofgreeii leaves is ahsolutely necessriry 

 for its sustenance. Although attempts have been 

 made to subsiitute other vegetables, I believe none 

 have been lound to succeed on a large scale hut 

 the mulberry; some varieties of which are said to 

 be much preferable toothers. The mulberry being 

 a deciiluous tree, can afi'ord no sup|>ly oi' Ibod 

 durinflc the cold season, as indeed, is the case with 

 all other trees or plants, that have been recom- 

 mended as substitutes. It is true, that the insect 

 while in the egg;, or in the chrysalis state, does nol 

 consume any, and it may be possible to preserve 

 the eiigs unhatched during the winter in a north- 

 ern climate, and indeed, it must be so to a certain 

 deijree, or the cidture of silk would tail entirely in 

 Connecticut. But on the other hand, its want of 

 success in a sufficient degree to make it an object in 

 the south of Germany, the climate of'which is not 

 much colder than ours — in England, where it is 

 milder, and this with the advantage of direct en- 

 couragement from the public authorities, by high 

 premiums, &c. and in the more northern part oi 

 France, while it succeeds farther south^eads to a 

 strong, 1 may say a necessary presumption, that 

 silk cannot be produced as a general object of cul- 

 tivation in the northern states, or even so far north 

 as Viriiinia. You will readily suppose that these 

 views are not ori<rinal. If they were, their value 

 would be less. They are the result of intbrmation 

 that I have collected li'om various respectable 

 sources, and among others, from Young's Travels \ 

 in France, a work of great and acknowledged 

 merit, which is probably in your possession, or 

 witliin yoiH- reach. If not, you may find it re- 

 printed in Pinkerton's Voyages, &c. published by 

 subscription in Philadelphia, about 1811, in six 

 quarto volumes, of which there are many copies in 

 the country. In chapter 23rd, '• Of ike cidture of 

 silk in France,'''' Pinkinton, vol. 4, p. 569 to 580, are 

 notes on the cultivation of silk in difi'erent locali- 

 ties, generally in the south of France. The whole 

 might take up too much space in your Register, 

 but if you can find room for the passage " on Nor- 

 mandy,^'' in pages 571, 572, and for the latter part 

 of the chapter beginning at page 577, '■'■ Langxie- 

 doc,''^ &c. both you and your readers will find a 

 detail of it in facts, I doubt not, an accurate one, 

 relating to this question, and a course of clear and 

 forcible argument that will deserve your conside- 

 ration, and I think, satisfy j^ou, that silk can never 

 become an object of general cultivation in Virgi- 

 nia. For myselfj I am fully persuaded, that it 

 would never answer on a large scale in our climate, 

 even if the wages of labor were not so high as 

 they now are, or are likely to be, for generations 

 to come. Still, it is probable, that in one state of 

 society, there are members of a large class of our 

 population that might be employed in this way, 

 without loss to the community, and with some ad- 

 vantage to themselves. 



Throughout the continent of Europe, except 

 some of the richer countries, such as Holland, a 

 large proportion of the whole population is occu- 

 pied in the culture of the soil, 'i'iiis is more or 

 less the case in different parts of Ireland and Scot- 

 land, but not in England. On the other hand, 

 great numbers of females are engaged in English 



manufactures. In this country, much field labor 

 is perf^jrmed by lemale slaves, but it is unknown 

 to white lemales from north to south. The won- 

 derlully rapid increase of our population, necessa- 

 "rily furnishes occupation to a great proportion of 

 them, but there are many of the middling and 

 pooi_er classes that want employment, while their 

 male con.nections arc laboriously engaged in pro- 

 viding the mem^.s of support for themselves and 

 their fanrilies. It is true, that a number of flimi- 

 lies are employed in manufactories, but they bear 

 a very small proportion to the whole, and we must 

 take into account the comparative cheapness of 

 manufiiciures produced by machinery, which has 

 greatly diminished the amnunt of domestic manu- 

 tactures, so that on the whole, there are not near 

 so many females employed in tliis way as ibrm- 

 erly. 



It is neither to be expected nor desired, that the 

 wives and daughters of our more independent 

 classes of industrious men, who draw good in- 

 comes from their talents and application to busi- 

 ness, should lead a life of toil ; but if some new 

 and useful employment suited to females in more 

 limited circumstances, could be found I'brthe num- 

 bers among them whose time is' not taken up by 

 domestic concerns, it would add much to their real 

 comfort, and indeed, be a public benefit, greater, I 

 think, in the northern states, but not to be disre- 

 garded in the southern. None occurs to me, at 

 present, as being likely to answer this purpose 

 better, than the culture of silk, though, I believe, 

 the profit would be very moderate indeed — still it 

 would be preferable^to idleness. Occupation they 

 must have, and the munufacture of domestic 

 silks, is certainly better suited to them, than the 

 wearing of foreign, in visits or excursions more or 

 less expensive, far or near. It is but justice to 

 add my belief, that it is not I heir fault that they 

 cannot, at all times, find useful and suitable em 

 plovment. 



These remarks having been drawn out to a 

 much greater length than I had thought of, when 

 I began them, it.might be better to stop here; but 

 I will venture to add a few words on a topic which 

 is thought a very important one, by many improv- 

 ing farmers throughout the United States — the im- 

 provement of our stock of cattle, by importations 

 li'orn the best Englisli breeds. It ceriainl}' de- 

 serves attention, but is, perhaps, of less conse- 

 quence in our southern grain and tobacco country, 

 than further north, or among our mountains. 

 Large sums have been expended in the importa- 

 tion of English cattle, and handsome profits have 

 been realized by sales of their produce. The pref- 

 erence, I believe, has settled down in favor of the 

 Durham short-horns ; the bulls of that stock, com 

 manding the highest prices in England. Much 

 has been urged in their favor, in print and in con- 

 versation, and they are always mentioned as being 

 emphatically a good breed ; but the question, 

 ^'- good for whatV seems never to have occurred 

 among us in regard to them. Most, if not all 

 English writers on the subject speak highlv of 

 them, and among others, the last and probably 

 tie best work, the Treatise on. Cattle, published un- 

 der the direction of the Society lor the difi'usion of 

 Useful Knowledge — but never in the abstract. 

 They seem not to have gained a footing in the 

 highlands of Scotland, the mountains of Wales, 

 or the less fertile landa of these countries, nor 



