78 



SILK iMvVNUAL, AND 



I am perfectly aware, that the excellent Dr 

 Pascalis, at the time he published his work on 

 silk, at New York, in 1829, endeavored to explode 

 the idea of attempting to raise numereus crops, 

 or even two successive crops of silk in a season. 

 He states some plausible reasons for his objec- 

 tions, particularly the record of the failure of an 

 attempt near Lyons, about 1820 — and also the 

 failure of the attempts at the Isle of Bourbon, 

 situated beneatJi a fiery sun, and within the burn- 

 ing zone. In the next year, and in No. 2 of his 

 valuable work, '-The Silk Culturist," for .January, 

 1830, iir Pascalis has recorded the successful in- 

 troduction of the siik culture to the jiorth of France, 

 a thing which had been d;;emed at least, equally 

 as problematical thirty years before. Also that 

 Dr Deslongchamps had even succeeded in raising 

 a second crop of cocoons from the eggs of the 

 first. Dr Deslongchamps was one of a society of 

 savans at Paris who had performed many exper- 

 iments to prove that this bnuich of industry can 

 be successfully carried on through all the northern 

 departments of France. He also had ascertained 

 by experiments at Paris, that the cocoons which 

 were produced by siik worms fed exclusively on 

 the Morus MulticauHs, were even rather heavier 

 than other cocoons. The more com])iete and 

 effectual conversion of Dr Pascalis to the system, 

 does not appear so fully until afterwards, when 

 sj>eaking of the M. MulticauHs which he had re- 

 ceived from France, he says, "after the discovery 

 of tliis plant, a doubt no lon^^er exists, that two 

 crops of silk may be produced in a single season." 



To Housewives. — In this day of improvements, 

 few have been suggested of more iinportance, es- 

 pecially to females, than the new mode of wash- 

 ing clothes, which has recently been introduced 

 into this town [Newijuryport] through the agency 

 of two benevolent individuals, now residing at a 

 distance from us. It has been tried by quite a 

 number of families with complete success, and 

 those who have tried it are desirous of communi- 

 cating it extensively, that others may r:ap the 

 same benefit which has accrued to them. It is to 

 be used only for white clothes. It does not an- 

 swer the purpose in case of calicoes and woollens. 



1. Mixture. — Five gallons soft water, add half 

 a gallon of lime water, a pint and a half of soft 

 soap, or a pound of hard soap, and two ounces of 

 carbonate of soda. 



2. Method of Washing. — Soak the clothes over 

 night if very dirty, at any rate wet them thorough- 

 ly before putting them into the mixture. When 

 the above mixture is at boiling heat, put in the 

 clothes that have been soaked or wet, merely rub- 

 bing such parts with a little soap that are unusu- 

 ally soiled. Boil them one hour. They are then 

 to be taken out and drained, and thoroughly rinsed 



in warm water, then in the indigo water as usual, 

 and they are fit for drying. The lime water may 

 be pi-epared and kept on hand — the scda, sub car- 

 bonate, (be sure to get the right kind) may be pro- 

 cured cheap, by purchasing it in a large quantity. 

 Let all who feel that washing-day is a day of hard 

 work and weariness, cease to complain, until they 

 are willing to try this safe, easy and expeditious 

 mode of lightening their burdens. — Essex J^orth 

 Register. 



COMMUMICATION FROM THE HON. A. 

 SPENCER. 



Mr Blydenburgh^ — I cannot repress the ex- 

 pression of the satisfaction I derived from the 

 perusal of the first number of " The Silkworm," 

 conducted by. you. Others, many others, may 

 prefer reading political and partisan newspapers, 

 but to me there is more pleasure in reading and 

 contemplating on the bounties of a munificent 

 Providence in providing so lavishly for the com- 

 foi'ts and enjoyments of man. This remark is 

 illustrated and enforced by contemplating the silk- 

 worm, in its birth, its various changes, its nurture, 

 and finally its fabrication of the cocoon, which 

 yields the finest known materials for fabrics, al- 

 most indispensable to the embellishment and com- 

 fort of the human race. 



1 am not one of those who believe that we arc 

 the most virtuous and best informed people on 

 the face of the earth ; nevertheless I do believe 

 that we' have among us many, very many, ingeni- 

 ous and inventive men, capable, with proper 

 inducements, of carrying to high perfection, and 

 in the simplest manner, the discoveries of past 

 times. We have also an intelligent population, 

 ready and zealous in seizing on any new sources 

 of industry which shall promise an adequate 

 rewai'd for their toil and labor. I think it then 

 only necessary to satisfy our agriculturists that 

 the culture of silk will be attended with a hand- 

 some profit, to insure its general adoption. I feel 

 an entire confidence that you will be able to con- 

 vince the most sceptical that the culture of silk 

 will afford to our farmers a richer reward than 

 any other crop they can raise, and that ten acres 

 devoted to the mulberry, and the rearing of the 

 silk- worm, in a farm of one hundred acres, will at 

 the end of five years produce a greater profit than 

 the remaining ninety, however skilfully cultivated. 

 This profit will keep increasing from year to year, 

 in proportion to the growth of the trees ; and 

 when we add to this the fact, that the tending of 

 the worms will require only the labor of women, 

 children and feeble persons, that it interferes not 

 at all with the labor of those who cultivate the 

 ninety acres, and that therefore it is all clear gain, 

 who can doubt of the result? 



The genera] substitution of cotton for linen 



