58 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



Sept. 10,1830. 



coons' raised by silk worms on the leaves of the 

 wild or red American mulberry, but I have not 

 been tible to procure a sufficient quantity lor that 

 purpose. In general, 1 have found it difficult to 

 obtain cocoons ; because their vaUie is not yet 

 fixed, and the profit tu be made by the sale of 

 them not suffi<'iently ascertained. Therefore I 

 sliall not be able to carry my experiments to the 

 extent I had at first contemplated. But this dif- 

 ficulty will vanish in the course of another year. 

 A great impulse has been given, and I have no 

 doubt that more cocoons will be raised next sum- 

 mer than will be wanted for any object that this 

 country will be able to compass. 



In the recess of my filatures, occasioned by a 

 temporary deficiency of cocoons, desirous of 

 doing everything in my power to show what 

 miglit be done with American silk, I have pre- 

 vailed on fllr D'Homergue, out of the silk that he 

 has reeled and prepared, to weave the flag of tlie 

 United States, and he is now engaged in the work, 

 which is expected to be finished in about a fort- 

 night. The warp is already fixed upon the loom, 

 the silk is dyed, and next week the weaving of 

 the webb will begin. The flag will be twelve 

 feet long by six feet wide, and so fine will be the 

 texture of the stuff, that it is expected that it will 

 not weigh more than twenty ounces. This flag 

 is intended to be presented to the House of Rep- 

 resentatives of the United States, as a beautiful 

 specimen of the first result of real value, wliich 

 the impulse which they have given has produced. 

 It will show that tire finest of silk stuffs may be 

 made in this country. 



It has not been an easy task to produce this re- 

 sult. Evei-ything, even the loom, has had to be 

 made new and for that only purpose. The ma- 

 chine, too, occasioned much difficulty — there are 

 implements necessary for weaving silk, difterent 

 from those employed in weaving other substances. 

 Despairing of obtaining them in this country, I 

 bad written to France for them, and they are not 

 yet arrived. When I least expected it, fortune 

 threw in my way a young emigrant from Europe, 

 who has made these tools in the highest perfec- 

 tiqn. The dying also embarrassed me. It was 

 generally understood that the beautiful colors of 

 the French silks could not be imitated here. 

 What was my delight when I discovered two 

 other emigrants, a Frenchman and German, just 

 set up in the dying business, and who have dyed 

 our silk with the tuost brilliant red and blue, (the 

 colors of our flag) so that nothing can surpass 

 that beautifid coloring ! 



I have also discovered that we have in this 

 country, from England, France, Germany and 

 other places, pianufacturers of silk of almost every 

 description. We have silk throwsters, silk dyers, 

 silk weavers, silk manufacturers, all but good recl- 

 ers, without which the labor of the others must 

 be at a stand. These then are all waiting for em- 

 ployment, some of them being in very poor cir- 

 cumstances. All we want is the art of reeling, 

 and everything else will follow. As to mulberry 

 trees and silk worms, let but a good price be given 

 for the cocoons, and they will be produced in 

 quantities as if by magic. Evenjlldng, as the 

 silk broker says, depends upon good reeling. 



Having spoken of silk throwsters, I ought to 

 say that the operation of throwsting will be the 

 only one that our flag will not receive. Throwst- 

 ing consists in uniting and twisting together by 

 means of machinery, several threads of silk, so 



as to give them the required r.ize and strength, " 

 throwsting mill, as it is called, is a very costly 

 article, and cannot be had in this city. — Mr D'Ho- 

 mergue asserts that no other but American silk 

 (such is its nerve and strength) could be wove with- 

 out undergoing that operation. What succedaneum 

 he will emj)loy for it I do not know ; but I think 

 I may safely say, that tb.e flag will be as beauti- 

 ful a web of silk as can be produced anywhere. 

 As I havethnuglit. Sir, that it would be agreeable 

 to you to know the progress that we are making 

 in this City in the important business of Ameri-> 

 can silk, I have taken the liberty of extending 

 this letter to its present enormous length, for 

 which I shall make only theconimon apology, that 

 ' I could not make it shorter.' 



As in your article in the New England Farmer, 

 you have noticed citizens of different states who 

 have exerted themselves in the cause of Ameri- 

 can silk, I have been not a little astonished that 

 you have left out the men of New England, and 

 (larticularly William H. Vernon, Esq. of Newiwrt, 

 R. I. and Jonathan H. Cobb, Esq. of Dodhair, in 

 your own state. I ho|)c the proverb does not lold 

 with you, that, no man is a prophet ' in his own 

 country ;' at any rate, it will not be unbecoiring 

 in a Pennsylvanian to give due credit to the merito- 

 rious efforts of those two sons of the renowied 

 pilgrims. 



1 am with great respect, dear sir. 



Your most ob't, humble servant, 



PETER S. DU PONCEAU. 



PROFITABLENESS OF BEES. 



Ma Fessenden — Noticing the account in the 

 last New England Farmer of the produce of ftir 

 D'Wolf's Bees in Bristol, (R. I.) I am induced to 

 offer you the following statement of the prodjce 

 of three hives, on the farm of Mr Parker at 

 Charlestown Neck, — the Bees were under my 

 care a part of the summer. 



The three hives of Bees in question produced 

 six swarms^ from two of which, placed in Beard's 

 Patent Hives, was produced 40 lbs. of pure honey, 

 besides leaving enough in those hives for winter- 

 ing the Bees — the 40 lbs. of honey were sold at 

 wholesale at 25 cts per lb. producing $10,00 — and 

 leaving the whole stock of nine swarms on hand ; 

 (seven of which, unfortunately are in the common 

 old fashioned hives which can give no return of 

 honey this year, excepting the usual supply for 

 breeders another season.) The above nine swarms 

 will now sell readily at an average of §8,00 each, 

 producing $72,00, which, with $10,00 for the 

 honey, is equal to $82,00 — the produce of the 

 three original hives of Bees, in one season. 



EBENEZER BEARD. 



Charlestown, Mass, Sept. 7, 1830. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



HONEY AND SILK. 



Mr Fessenden — Having little to do, I wander 

 for my amusement on foot or otherwise, as occa- 

 sion or circumstances happen. 



In August, being on an excursion, I stopped at 

 the house of a farmer, and entered into conversa- 

 tion with him. 



He took me to his Bees. He had in the spring, 

 he said, one hive only. There were now five I 

 This diligent swarm had sent out four colonies. 

 The season, he said, had been favorable, and the 

 hives were weighty. Here was little expense and 

 a good encouragement to farmers, thought I, as I 

 passed along. 



I entered into conversation with the next I met 

 and was invited to walk in and look at his silk 

 worms ; (for our country folk are a social people 

 1 found the worms were winding themselves U| 

 (or spinning.) There were many of them at work 

 and but little attendance. I was shown a vast 

 many cocoons of the last year, and some easy 

 modes of management, such as placing the legt 

 of the table in vessels of water to prevent the 

 ants troubling them, &c. 



As I left my very observing friend, I thought 

 again ' here was but little expense and good en 

 couragcment to the farmer.' 



27ie hand of industry, thought I, maketh rich 

 But as your paper is valuable, I shall defer othei 

 incidents of my excursion and wait to see how 

 our country folk look in print. 



Yours, &c, A WANDERER 



THE GREAT CORNFIELD. 



Mr Printer — Having heard a great deal sale 

 concerning the great cornfield on Turkey Bog, I 

 resolved to visit it in person. I there foinid 2( 

 acres of good corn growing, and promising ai 

 abimdant harvest to its enterprising cidtivators 

 This bog is extensive, and we may expect to se( 

 in a few years, instead of twenty, himdreds o 

 acres growing on this bog, which, muil recently 

 has yielded nothing but alders. But few mead- 

 ows can compare with this in richness of soil oi 

 extent of territory. I hope this experiment wil 

 serve to turn the attention of our farmers to thei 

 bogs and meadows, as I believe they may bf 

 made the most productive parts of a farm when 

 they exist. — If our farmers would make a practi 

 cal use of the hint contained in the toast of Hon 

 Roger Vose, delivered at a celebration of thi 

 Cheshire Agricultural Society, a few years since 

 viz. ' May there he more draining of sivamps, ani 

 less draining of the hotlle,' we should hear ver; 

 little about hard times and a scarcity of money t 

 pay taxes, or to pay for the newspaper. W. 



Concord, .dug. 27, 1830. 



Progress of the Silk Culture. — An incident oc 

 cured in our office a day or two since, which w 

 wish all the people of the United States couli 

 have witnessed. It was the exhibition of a spec! 

 men of American silk. Mr Rapp, the reppectabli 

 head of the society at Economy, in Pennsylvania 

 paid us a visit, wearing a most beautiful figurei 

 black silk vest, and black silk handkerchief, thi 

 material of which was made, from the worm t( 

 the loom, by his society. In a conversation witl 

 him he remarked, (what he had stated before in I 

 letter to the Editor, published in a late numbft | ' 

 of the Farmer,) that they found no difficulty ii " ' 

 any branch of the silk culture ; that it was iic 

 more difficult than raising wheat, and much le; 

 laborious; and that he had little doubt that wi ^ 



should export silk in ten years. We feel assured 

 that no person who saw the vest and handkerchief 

 and heard Mr Rapp's remarks upon the subject 

 could have harbored a doubt for another nioinen 

 of the practicabihrj' of cultivating silk, as a stapk 

 in the United States. We shall, probably, shortly 

 have a specimen of this silk in the office, and shal 

 gratify our own feelings by exhibiting it to all 



who may find it convenient to call Americm 



Farmer. 



One of a quantity of apples lately sold it 

 Portland, by Capt. J. Hutchings, of Pownal, mca^ 

 ured 13i inches round. 



k 



