Vol. IX.— No. 2:5. 



AND HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



179 



wliich may he ocoiipieil witli mulberry orcliarils, 

 ami llU]» iTiiHeroil iirofiti\l)lo. There ran be iiu 

 doubt, tlieri-tore, of llie policy of intr»<liiciiig the 

 culture of silk. 



Much has been said ami i)uhlishctl relative to 

 the policy of the gDvoriimeiit ciicouragiiig the silk 

 culture, luili'cd, we fear that individual enterprise 

 has been weakened in this way ; for there is noth- 

 ing in political economy clearer than the policy of 

 leaving to iiidiviilual enter|U-i/.e, that which it is 

 capable of accomplishing ; and extending the strong 

 arm of the government to the aid of that only which 

 requires the assistance of Hercides. Any prospect 

 of aid from government before individuals have 

 tried their strength, is sure to encourage a depen- 

 dence upon govermnent and thence a relaxation 

 of individual energy. In the matter before us we 

 Iiave no doubt of the competency of individual 

 enterprise to the ititroduction of the silk culture 

 to the fullest desirable extent in the cour.se of 

 time; and with a trifling aid from government, 

 in a few years. But on the mode by which this 

 aid is to be given depends all its efficiency. We 

 have reflected long and deeply upon this subject ; 

 we have investigated it in all its hearings ; added 

 experiment to theory, and broug-ht to bear on these 

 the li"lits of history. If we have read of govern- 

 ments engaged in establishing silk factories, we 

 have found them so in times and under circum- 

 stances far different from om-s — when art was 

 mystery ; when the light of science was mere 

 « mooushine on a blasted heath ;' when tlie people 

 served goverimients ; and when nothing less than 

 the purse of a government could purchase the 

 secrets of an art. We could not cite precedents 

 like tliese of our own times and especially our 

 own country. Here the arts are at the command 

 of all, and all are capable of applying them to the 

 great purposes of their existence. Here govern- 

 ments are instituted for the service of the govern- 

 ed, and the people are the recipients of every pub- 

 "1 lie food. The art of silk-making is not now a 

 secret which one king must purchase of another ; 

 but a simple process susceptible of acquirement 

 by every human being of common intelligence. 

 Hence the power of government is not now neces- 

 sary to the introduction of the silk culture, whatever 

 it may have been in the times and under the cir- 

 cumstances alluded to. And yet, a judicious ex- 

 tension of governmental aid would facilitate anil 

 hasten the object. But, we repeat, on the mode 

 of this aid must depend its efficiency, and proba- 

 bly the question whether it will not prove positively 

 detrimental, by causing a relaxation of individual 

 exertion. 



We think the proposition at the last session of 

 Congress, to give to an individual forty thousand 

 dollars to instruct sixty young men in the art of 

 reeling silk, the most injudicious mode that could 

 be adopted for the attainment of the object. It 

 would paralyse all other individual effi>rts — first by 

 discouraging them, and secondly by creating a 

 monopoly against which no other establishment 

 could contend. It would fail of its object, because 

 flo young men in the difterent states, would be 

 if* Kbund able, or if aide, willing, to incur the expense 

 nf travelling to and fro, board, &c, to attend two 

 annual courses of tuition of five months each in a 

 iistant city, for an object so easily attainable at 

 lome. It would be impolitic and unjust, because 

 I excludes competition in the pursuit of its advan- 

 :ages, confining them to a single individual. But 

 if in no other respect objectionable, it is untimely, 





and will utterly fail of its object ; on this account 

 it would be like a farmer preparing to make cider 

 before ho had planted his Achard. There is an 

 abundance of knowledge or the silk business in 

 the United States to work all the raw material that 

 can 1)0 produced by our present supply of nud- 

 berry trees, and by the time the orchards now 

 planting shall come into use, our knowledge of the 

 art will become sufficiently extended for their 

 use. 



The only mode of government patronage which 

 we thiidc at all admissible, in addition to that now 

 otiered by the duties on the imported article, is 

 that of bjunty. Let government appropriate the 

 forty thousand dollars as a bounty fund, to be 

 paid for the cultivation of nuilberry trees and the 

 production of sdk, and it will call into action more 

 silk reels than five hundred such appropriations 

 where individual competition is excluded. The 

 details of such a mode of encouragement are 

 simple. To every iiulividual who should prove 

 to tlie satisfaction of the govermnent, that he had 

 planted out an orchard of one thousand nmlberry 

 trees with a view to the cultivation of silk, let a 

 bounty of fifty dollars be given, and to him who shall 

 l)rove in like manner that he had made one or 

 more pounds of merchantable silk, let five dol- 

 lars for every pound be paid, or a sum in propor- 

 tion to the value of the kind of silk produced. 

 This woidd be real encouragement to the silk cul- 

 ture and would facilitate its introduction. Besides 

 all who have contributed to the support of the 

 government, would have a chance for the enjoy- 

 ment of its advantages in this respect. 



There is another plan of encouraging the silk 

 culture which we have long intended to recom- 

 mend, and which we think betterof, even than 

 the last suggested — it is in its detail the same as 

 the above, but a measure of the individual states. 

 Some state legislatures have had the subject be- 

 fore them, but none have acted upon it with 

 sufficient energy to lead to any efficient result, 

 Maryland and Delaware, above all, should act 

 upon it without delay. But let them and all other 

 states beware of any other mode than that of 

 bounty, above suggested ; for they may be assured 

 that any money given for this object in any other 

 way than that of bounty will be absolutely thrown 

 away, and probably act detrimentally, by causing 

 a relaxation of individual exertion, on which 

 alone all enterprises of this kind must in the na- 

 ture of things depend. — Jim. Farmer. 



CULTURE OF SILK. 



We have had the pleasure of attending an in- 

 teresting course of Lectures in this town, during 

 the past week, by J. II. Cobb, Esq. of Dedham, 

 Mass. on subjects connected with this valuable 

 produce. 



The course consisted of four lectures, which 

 were given in four successive evenings, as follows : 



1. On the history of silk and the importance 

 of its culture in the United States. 



2. Oil Silk Worms, and the art of rearing 

 them. 



3. On the culture of the Mulberry Tree. 



4. On the art of Reeling and Manufacturing 

 Silk. 



These Lectures were accompanied by an ex- 

 hibition of Silk, in its various stages of prepar- 

 ation, raised in this country : the eggs of the Silk 

 Worms were distributed gratuitously. There was 

 also exhibited, the Improved Silk Reel, by meaue 



of which, silk was extracted from tho cocoons 

 with great ease and despatch, and which was of 

 excellent (piality, the thread being even and uni- 

 form. The iiremium of the Ma.ssachnsetts Agri- 

 cultural Society, was awarded to the Proprietor 

 of this reel. 



Mr C. demonstrated witii great clearness and 

 accuracy, the jirofits which had been and might 

 be derived from this business, and made it very 

 apparent, that if the While Mulberry should be 

 cultivated on the sides of the streets ami lanes in 

 this town, the leaves of the trees with little care 

 and attention on the ])art of the inhabitants, might 

 in a few year.', yield more profits than would be 

 sufficient to pay the whole town expenses. 



Wo understand that a nmnbcr of our enter- 

 prising citizens are about engaging in the above 

 business. — Warren R. 1. Star. 



Freezing of Water. — The expansion of water in 

 freezing has often split rocks and trees. Accord- 

 ing tc^some calculations, a spherule of water 1 inch 

 in diameter, expands in freezing with a force equal 

 to the resistance of 13J tons weight. Fresh water 

 freezes at 32 deg. salt water at 28 Fahren. 



An animal might be frozen to death in the heat 

 of sunmier, when exposed to the rays of the sun, 

 or in the shade by repeatedly sprinkling ether upon 

 it. Its evaporation would soon carry off the vital 

 heat and produce death. Water thrown on hot iron, 

 acts in tlie same way; it becomes instantaneously 

 converted into vapor, and this deprives the iron of a 

 great portion of the caloric it contains. We cannot 

 increase the heat of boiling water, for when it reach- 

 es that point, the vapor or steam absorbs the heat, 

 and carries it off as fast as it is generated. Sub- 

 stances usually become more dense by the loss of 

 caloric, but the freezing of the water is a striking 

 exce])tion to this law of nature, showing the prov- 

 ident care of the Almighty, when he established 

 the laws of matter. 



Ice Boxes, made with strong double casing at 

 the sides and bottom, leaving an opening of three 

 quarters of an inch in width, all the way roimd, to 

 be filled with powdered charcoal rammed in tight, 

 the bottom sloping so as to let the water run ofT 

 through a small aperture, and the top made very 

 tight, to shut down close, with an intermediate or 

 middle shelf, is a great preserver of ice and provis- 

 ions. 



Economical Lamp. — In the absence of lamp oil, 

 you will find that hogslard, which isalvvays at hand, 

 will serve as a make shift, if you insert a piece of 

 knitting needle alongside of the wick, that shall 

 extend from the bottom of the lamp to the flame. 

 The heat of the wire will preserve the fluidity of 

 the lard. 



Diseased Sheep. — The quantity of sheep affected 

 with the rot in the west of England is unparal- 

 leled. In Scotland, too, the disease has become 

 very prevalent. Formerly the mutton from the 

 Highlands was probably the best in the world ; all 

 that is fed in the cultivated lands now is diseased. 



ffool. — There was a great deal of animation 

 evinced yesterday evening at the sales of Spanish, 

 Australian, and other wool. The attendance of 

 manfacturers and others from Yorkshire and tha 

 West of England was very numerous, and thft 

 wools went off very briskly. — London paper^ 



