18 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



greater quantity of silk, which at equal weights, ' 

 is drawn from those cocoons, than from common 

 cocoons. This variety, in the opinion of Dandalo, 

 [an experienced silk culturist] should be infinitely 

 more cultivated than it hitherto has been ; for 



1. These silk worms require four days less of 

 care than the common silk worms. 



2. They afford a saving of time, labor and 

 money. 



' 3. They are not so much exposed to accidents, 

 their life being shorter. 



Some imagine the species to be delicate, but 

 they appeared to Dandolo to be strong and vigo- 

 rous. Six hundred cocoons weigh a pound and 

 a half 



OF THE WORMS THAT PRODUCE WHITE SILK. 



" I have raised," says Dandolo, " a large quantity 

 of these, and found them, in all respects, equal to 

 the common silk worms of four casts. If I rear- 

 ed silk worms for the purpose of spinning the silk 

 myself, I would cultivate only the silk worm of 

 three casts, and those that produce white silk, as 

 preferable to all others ; and every year would 

 choose the very v^hitest cocoons, to prevent the 

 degeneration of the species." 



This species, says Mr Rush, was'introduced into 

 France about fortyfive years since, from China, 

 but was not much cultivated until about seventeen 

 years past. It is now highly prized by the manu- 

 facturers. 



In Windham county, Connecticut, there is also 

 a small, pale, white worm, which eats but twenty 

 days, and produces fine white silk, though in less 

 quantity than either the common large pale white, 

 or the dark colored worm : but it has the good 

 quality of retaining its clean white color, and does 

 not turn yellow by washing, or by exposure to the 

 sun and air. These worms produce also two 

 crops. It is highly j-.robable that these white 

 worms are of the same s])ecies as that last men- 

 tioned. 



The dark drab colored worms, which are very 

 common in the Unit ed States, and called " black," 

 live longer, and make more silk than the large 

 white worms. 



SILKWORMS OF EIGHT CROPS. 



At the silk establishment of the British East In- 

 dia Company at Jungepore, Bengal, Lord Valencia, 



besides the common annual silk worm which gave 

 but one crop, found two others; the one com- 

 monly reared, and supposed indigenous, is called 

 Dacey, producing eight harvests. Another and 

 worst, the China, or Madrasia, also yields eight 

 times a year. This last may be the kind men- 

 tioned by Arthur Young, who says, he " obtained 

 a silk worm from China, which he reared, and in 

 twentyfive days had the cocoons in his basins, and 

 by the twentyninth or thirtyfirst days, a new pro- 

 geny feeding in his trays." He justly remarks, that 

 "they would be a mine to whoever would culti- 

 vate them." The American who would intro- 

 duce any of the best of these silk worms into the 

 United States would render an essential service to 

 his country. If circumstances, however, should 

 prevent the importation of the species before men- 

 tioned, it is presumed there will be no difficulty in 

 i:.rocuring, from the Isle of France, the eggs of 

 those which came from Bengal in the year 1815, 

 and were reared under the direction of M.ChazeJ, 

 and which breed three times a year; or the 

 variety of Madrass, which, according to Dr Ander- 

 son, finish their course in forty days, viz : six days 

 in eggs, twentytwo a worm, eleven in the cocoon, 

 and one a moth. 



[To be continued. 1 



[From the New England Farmer.] 

 SIIiK COMPANIES. 



The Editor of the Cultivator, I think, wrongly esti- 

 mates the effects of associations for carrying on the silk 

 business. He says, " We are afraid that latge establish- 

 ments with corporate powers, will tend rather to retard 

 than to encourage this branch of rural labor, except in 

 their immediate neighborhood, where it can be made 

 subservient to their cupidity." 



These remarks might be applicable to some branches 

 of business, but are dangerous and discouraging 

 to the success of the silk manufacture in this country. 

 1 believe that " associated capitalists" cannot invest 

 their money to better account, for the benefit of the 

 community than to erect manufactories of silk, and es- 

 tablish plantations of mulberry trees in order to supply 

 tJiose manufactories. The branches of domestic indus- 

 try, which are preparatory and indispensable to the suc- 

 cessful prosecution of the concerns of large silk 

 manufactories, will give support to thousands of chil- 

 dren, infirm persons, «&c., who would otherwise be 

 without employment. The field is large enough for 

 individuals to labor in without interfering with, or being 

 incommoded by those who work in companies. There 



