52 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



AUG. 17, 184 3. 



From the Albany Cultivator. 



SILL CULTURE— REELS, REELING, Sic. 



The most difficult part of llic whole business of 

 silk making, is that of reeling the cocoons; with- 

 out which, all the previous operations will have 

 been fruitless. It is at tliis point, that thousands 

 of i)ersi)ns who have began the culture of silk, 

 under high hopes and expectations, have been ar- 

 rested in their progress by what they call insur- 

 mountable difficulties, and abandoned the whole 

 business in despair ; there being no market acces- 

 sible to them for the sale of the cocoons. In vain 

 have they been e.xhorted to persevere in the trial 

 with patience and industry for a few days — in vain 

 have they been told, that the devotion of one 

 week's time, and half a dozen pounds of cticoons, 

 would be sufficient to teach them the art. The 

 process seems so tedious, the result so trifling, 

 that, after a few hours trial, they give it up, and 

 thus ends their career in the silk culture. Thous- 

 ands of instances of this character have occurred ; 

 not more than one person out of every hundred 

 that have made the trial, has persevered to the end, 

 and really learned to reel silk. It is to this cause 

 that a large portion of the obstruction to the pro- 

 gress of the silk culture is to be attributed. 

 Thousands of bushels of cocoons are stowed away 

 in garrets and out-huuses, and eaten by roaches 

 and mice, in the United Slates, because the prodn. 

 cers had not perseverance enough to learn to reel. 

 Had each producer of cocoons learned to reel, and 

 reeled the cocoons he produced, he would not have 

 abandoned the business, but would the ne.\t sea- 

 son have commenced on a larger scale, and with 

 greatly increased prospects. For the encourage- 

 ment of those who wish to learn to reel, I can and 

 do assure them, that, when any intelligent person 

 has persevered for one week, he has invariably be- 

 come an expert reeler in that lime. Many have 

 become so in less. Any person, therefore, that 

 will devote one week and five or six pounds of 

 cocoons, steadily and perseveringly to the object, 

 will be certain of accomplishing it. It requires 

 almost Job-like patience, but patience has never 

 been better paid. Let this be an invariable rule 

 with all who would learn to reel : Take 5 or 6 

 pounds of cocoons, set apart one week of time, 

 with a determination to waste all the cocoons, if 

 necessary, and to allow of no interruption, during 

 the time, and then go ahead. If, in two or three 

 hours your find yourself making a good thread, all 

 the better : but don't be discouraged if you pre- 

 sently find that thread becoming worthless from 

 Borne causs or other, but take it off the reel and 

 begin anew. Who ever heard of a young woman 

 learning to spin cotton, wool or flax, even in one 

 week's trial, or in a month's .' Why, then expect 

 to perform a much nicer operation by iiiluition ? 

 Persevere, then, and you will learn. Lei me, for 

 further encouragement, inform young beginners, 

 that I have taught many persons to reel by writing 

 one letter to them, describing the process, which 

 forms the basis of the following instructions: 



The Silk Reel. — The substance of the fol- 

 lowing remarks have been published by me in va- 

 rious forms, at least twenty times, in the course of 

 the sixteen years 1 have devoted to the business, 

 and I have as yet seen no cause to change a sylla- 

 ble of them. Indeed, my opinion has been sus- 

 tained by the experience of every successive year, 

 and by every observation. The Reel most pro- 



per for the purpose, is the one established by the 

 Piedmontese government, and now well known here 

 by the name of the " Piedmontese Reel." Rea- 

 sons are as " thick as black-berries" for this opinion. 

 Its construction is peculiar, by which it secures 

 several important points in raw silk. By means 

 of its vibrating bar, it lays the threads obliquely 

 across in such manner as to prevent adhesion by 

 means of the still wet gum. It draws two threads 

 at a time, and they are wound around each other, 

 between the plate and the guide wires, on passing 

 up to the bars of the reel, in such a manner as 

 to compress the otherwise loose fibres of each other 

 into a solid cylindrical thread, without twisting, 

 which is important, as the raw-silk can then be 

 used as floss, or twisted more or less to suit the 

 various purposes for which it may be wanted.* 

 Our countrymen seem, however, disposed to reject 

 them ; or rather think that a compound machine, 

 that will reel and double and twist at the same 

 time, is belter, and hence there are various con- 

 trivances for this purpose. But I feel it incum- 

 bent upon me to urge again upon ailk cultiirists 

 the reasons that have actuated me in rejecting 

 everything of the kind. There is no principle bet- 

 ter established than that of the economy of the 

 division of labor. So well do manufacturers un- 

 derstand this, that they will not allow one machine 

 to spin a perfect thread — they first pass it through 

 one machine that forms it into a sort of loose rope, 

 and then through another to spin it into the thread. 

 As to reeling silk, the object is to produce raw 

 silk in the simplest possible form — that any sort of 

 goods may be made out of it afterwards. But even 

 supposing that simple sewing silk is ultimately in- 

 tended to be made, it is more economical then, to 

 reel it first, and double and twist with other ma- 

 chinery afterwards. For mere family purposes, 

 the reeling and twisting machines may do very 

 well ; but for commercial purposes, the silk must 

 be reeled in a manner similar to that produced by 

 the Piedmontese reel, and that, or some reel pro- 

 ducing the same results, must ultimately be adopt- 

 ed by us if ive ever become a silk growing people. 

 All staple articles of commerce must have some 

 fixed and uniform character as a standard, all de- 

 viations from which, deteriorate its quality. Why 

 does the raw silk of China sell for a less price 

 than that of Piedmont ? Simply, because it is 

 not reeled like the latter. Its ^fi.bre is every way 

 equal to that of Piedmont; but its reeling is so 

 slovenly, tiiat much of it is wasted in working it up. 

 [The pam)dilet from which Mr S. wishes us here 

 to make an extract, has not come to hand.] 



Waste Silk a.nd Pkrforated Cocoons, may 

 be worked up as follows. Put the cocoons into a 

 bag, put it into a boiler, with rain or river water 

 sufficient to cover the bag, put one quart of good 

 soil soap to every four pounds of cocoons ; boil 

 from one to four hours, depending on the age of 

 the cocoons. If they are fresh, one hour's boiling 

 will be enough — if a year old, four a five hours 

 will be required. Rinse them in clear water, hang 

 them up to drain. When well drained, they may 

 bo spun like flax on the flax wheel, by holding the 

 cocoon ill the hand, and spinning from the perfora- 

 ted end. The silk comes entirely off, leaving the 

 shell of the crysalis bare, and makes a most beauti- 

 ful article for stockings, inits, &.C. 



This concludes what I have to say on the sub- 

 ject, unless information be required on some par- 

 ticular point on which I have not been sufficiently' 

 explicit, in which case I shall, with much pleasure 

 answer any interrogatories that may be directed to 

 me either privately or publiclv. 



GIDEON B. SMITH. 



BaUiinore, July, 1842. 



TRANSPLANTING, CULTIVATION AND 

 PRUNING OF FRUIT TREES. 



David Thomas, Esq., in the Transactions of the 

 N. Y. Agricultural Society, says : — 



"Stunted trees always produce smaller frmt 

 than when the same kind grows on vigoroas branch 

 es ; but the fruit suffers in flavor as well as s'': 

 The trees therefore should be planted in deep bi ., 

 of fertile soil. In dry seasons more especially, 

 this provision is of great importance ; and young 

 trees treated in. this manner are not only more like- 

 ly to live, but grow much faster, bear sooner, and 

 bear much better fruit than on sterile land. AH 

 our observations go to justify these remarks. 



" When young trees are taken from the nursery, 

 inquiry is often made how soon will they come inlu 

 bearing.' It is a very proper question, and it 

 would be a proper answer to say : Very much ac- 

 cording to the treatment they shall get. W^Ih i: 

 they are set in holes cut out of a sod, just lar;^>' 

 enough to receive the roots with some crowding , 

 and are then left to take care of themselves, wl 

 have no right to expect them to come soon inu; 

 bearing, nor to bear much when they do. Neither 

 half starved cows, nor half starved trees will be 

 found profitable. In the latter case especially, the 

 interest on the purchase money is generally \r>l 

 some years, and not unfrcquently the purchase ton ; 

 but we hardly ever lose a tree in good condition, 

 set in mellow ground wliich is kept mellow. 



"The holes for tree^ should be not less than 

 four feet diameter and fifteen inches deep, but i 

 greater breadth and depth is desirable. Place tliu 

 soil round the brink of the hole, ready for filling 

 in again ; but scatter the harder subsoil back out 

 of the way. The hole should then be filled with 

 the best earth, and rise a few inches above the 

 general surface on account of its settling, first mix- 

 ing three or four shovelfuls of chip-dirt with the 

 part that is to come in immediate contact with the 

 roots. It helps to keep the ground loose and moist, 

 besides yielding much nutriment to the trees. 



" The roots of the trees when taken from the 

 nursery should be carefully guarded against dry- 

 i7ig ox freexing. If such care, however, lias nut 

 been taken, bury the frozen roots in the ground 

 before they can thaw, and plunge the dried roots 

 with several feet of the main stein in water, to soak 

 there from 12 to 24 hours, till the moisture is suf- 

 ficiently restored. 



'■ In planting, spread out the roots carefully, 

 and let the best point against tlie strongest winds. 

 Fine or ineKow earth should fill up all the spaces 

 between the roots, so that every fibre shall come 

 in contact with it on every side; and in order to 

 accomplish this intention more perfectly, throw in 

 a pailful of water when the roots are covered, to 

 wash the earth down, and to fill up every interstice.* 



*llfts our correspondent ever used Jones' Silk Reel .•' 

 It appears to us to possess all the advantages here attri- 

 buted to the Piedmontese Reel. — Eds. 



* An experienced horticullurist says, " Nine-lenths of j 

 the Oeaths from transplanting, arise from the hollows 

 left among the roots of trees by a careless and rapid mode 

 of shovellinjr the earth in about the roots." 



