30 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



of mine must go back nearly to the peace of 

 1783. The important point however is, that as 

 they stated, the whole process — raising, reeling, 

 dyeing and weaving — was so very easy, that a 

 young woman could make herself a silk gown as 

 easily as one of linen or flannel ; (cotton was not 

 then in domestic use,) and that the young women 

 of that part of Connecticut where silk was raised, 

 were often dressed in those times, in silks which 

 were, throughout, of their own manufacture. In 

 mentioning this to Mr Loomis, (to whom I have 

 before referred.) he confirmed the fact from his 

 own recollection, and added that whenever they 

 made sewing silk, it was eagerly bought up in 

 preference to any other. When now we consider 

 that according to Mr D'llomergue, the jiroduct 

 might be doubled in amount by skilful reelmg, the 

 real cheapness of the article becomes quite aston- 

 ishing. What then shall we say to the additional 

 fact, to which you have referred in your publish- 

 ed papers, that almost all the work may be done 

 ])y hands not capable of hard labor ; by women, 

 children, persons in weak health ; by female and 

 other feeble convicts in prison .'' In some papers 

 Avhich I published in 1830, on State Prisons, &c., 

 the subject was referred to as means of employ- 

 ment at Sing Sing, and as having been suggested 

 by an intelligent assistant keeper there. 



I have today conversed with an intelligent 

 neighbor, who has both lately and formerly seen 

 the mulberry cultivated in hedges, slashed dowa 

 and kept so low that the leaves may be plucked 

 by persons standing on the ground. Another of 

 my neighbors has a small nursery, consisting 

 wholly of young trees produced from cuttings ; 

 and from those young trees he has again given 

 me many hundred cuttings, which I have set with 

 a view to a nursery of my own. Allow me to 

 close this letter by stating summarily from known 

 facts, (though not exactly from my personal expe- ' 

 rience)the great advantages of such hedges. 



1. The young mulberry sends out side and bot- 

 tom shoots very beautifully. 



2. The pruningsof those, will furnish cuttings 

 or scions for hedges ; and those hedges will fur- 

 nish a considerable supply of leaves the next year 

 and in three or four years be as high as a man can 

 reach. The more they are topped down, the more 

 side shoots. 



3. I am assured that a thick set hedge of mul- 

 berry will effectually turn large cattle ; though I 

 doubt whether it will, when old, be thick enough at 

 bottom to prevent small animals from passing 

 through it. 



4. By planting hedges six or eight feet apart 

 and keeping them not more than six or seven feet 

 high, I think it plain that the ground Will produce 

 vastly more leaves than could be got from large 

 trees set orchard-wise. 



5. In this way the rearing of a few worms may 

 be begun the second year, and be most rapidly in- 

 creased subsequently. I suppose, too, the leaves 

 of these young branches must be the most juicy, 

 and tender. 



6. If the hedges, when they become old, are 

 liable to any objections whatever, new ones can be 

 made with vast ease between the old rows, which 

 then may be rooted up. 



I am, dear Sir, with great respect and 

 friendship, yours, &c. 



Sam. M. Hopkins. 



SIIiK WORMS. 



The eggs kept open in a warm room will hatch 

 themselves at about the time the mulberry tree 

 shoots its leaves. If the young worms happen to 

 come out too soon, they may be kept alive a few 

 days upon lettuce. As soon as they begin to 

 hatch apply to them the tender mulberry leaves. 

 They will soon attach themselves to the leaves 

 and begin to eat ; when they have eaten or ex- 

 tracted the moisture from the first leaves fresh 

 ones must be added ; when the old leaves become 

 thick, take off the top laying with the worms, and 

 remove the others ; do this eight or ten times 

 during the first three weeks ; then spread the 

 worms on shelves, allowing about a square 

 inch of space tp each worm. Continue to feed 

 them until they wind their balls, which will be 

 from forty to sixty days. They are perfectly harm- 

 less. Prepare some dry bushes and spread over 

 the worms or set them up near them when they 

 begin to wind ; after they have ceased winding, in 

 two or three days, pick off the cocoons and strip 

 off the loose tow — the balls must be reeled or 

 baked in a few days to prevent their eating out. 

 Bake them in an oven moderately heated; let the' 

 oven be as warm as it commonly is when bread 

 is done baking, and let them be in the oven an 

 hour, then taken out and dried. 



Spiders, ants, mice, cats, fowls, &c. must be 

 kept from the worms. Wet leaves must not be 

 given them. When the worms are shedding their 

 coats which they do four times they should not be 

 disturbed by feeding. At other times they 

 should have as much as they will eat. The sun 

 should not shine on them. 



The reeling is performed by putting the balls 

 into hot water, gathering the fibres and running 

 them off on the reel. J. H. Cobb. 



The Maine Farmer, says, C&yX. John Haines of 

 Readfield, has discovered that a little tar, laid on 

 the backs of cattle in spots will kill or drive off 

 all lice. If so, this is much better than unguen- 

 tum, or other mercurial ointments, or tobacco 

 juice, which will injure the cattle. 



