PRACTICAL FARMER. 



147 



considenition that in our own i-f|)ii])]ic ulone, tlie 

 consumption i)t' silk goods — tlic |'n-.)iliict of for- 

 eign wonijrf — aiuoiaits yearly lu i:i\lve miUwns 

 of dollars. 



The time will come, nnquestionably, when this 

 fact, now so notorious, wi'i seem more Jike f^ihjjj 

 — and when too, tnkinj^ into view our lUKloubtcd 

 resources and focilitics, it will l»c plnre*' amon'r 

 the-s;'V'orest reflections upon the character of the 

 age. Ignorance of tiie siiliject must tJien consti- 

 tute tlie only plea of those who would palliate the 

 negligence iiitlierto i)revailing. Or, if that excuse 



avail not, it must be said that a strange apathy 



an unaccountable indifterence — perhaps an un- 

 pardonable disregard of one of the highest and 

 most important of our interests, has pressed upon 

 the subject like an incubus, and preveute<l or pros- 

 trated evGTV eWon to arouse popular attention. 

 Eager, and wide awake, as we proverbiaLy are, 

 in all matters involving prospects of profit, itnjust 

 be confessed that in relation to the detaiLs connec- 

 ted with the growth and manufacture of this pre- 

 cious material, we have heretofore been — not 

 "slow and sure' — nor even 'slow and easy' — but 

 culpably tardy. 



According to an authentic estimate of tlie value 

 of silk goods imported into the United States, the 

 average aum of one dollar for every individual 

 population, is annually paid for articles which we 

 ourselves are capable of drawing from the very 

 earth — thus sending twelve millions of capital 

 umiecessarily out of the country, to reward the 

 industry and enrich the skill of other lands. The 

 ingenious cateridllar to wlioni we are rendering 

 this extravagant tribute, and the plant which con- 

 stitutes its food, maybe reared and made to thrive 

 ;n our own territory and upon spots otherwise 

 jseless, and even comparatively barren — in every 

 ■espect as advantageously as in the most favored 

 ilimate of the old world. 



Perhaps from the absence of practical informa- 

 ioa.touching the minutiae of this business—the 

 :onimon and erroneous impression that in the 

 •ulture of the tree, and in the management of the 

 ngect, as well as in the manufacture of the fila- 

 ment, there is much troublesome intricacy the 



atter notion a natural consequence of the former 

 vant of knowledge — these together have consti- 

 uted probably the most formidable obstacles to the 

 stablishment and progress of this great branch of 

 ational industry. Involuntary ignorance may be 

 ardoned but a wilful determination to remain so 

 1 relation to a matter of such acknowledged im- 

 ortance — when every temptation to inquiry is 

 resented and when that investigation requires so 

 ight an effort — amounts, in our view, to abso- 

 ite vvickedness. The smallest possible measure 

 : faith, exercised on this subject to a very limited 

 aent, will lead to the developement of facts and 



to the discovery of results satisfactory to every 

 candid niiud, and truly astonishing to all who 

 shall thoroughly pin-suu this inquiry. — .Yuntucket 

 Inq. 



Price or Making Cocoons, — In most of our 

 estimates of tlic profit of a mulberry plantation 

 we have put down the labor of making silk at 

 threo-fourihs nf its value, and in no instaiK-e loss 

 than one lialf. A few days since, a silk grower 

 from Mansfieltl informed us that he was ready to 

 contract for making cocoons at $1 a bushel, which 

 is one third of the price they are now selling at 

 the Silk Factory in this city. He remarked that 

 he could furnish the help and make a fair profit 

 at that price. From this statement it will l>e seen 

 that foliage siifficient to make a bushel of cocoons 

 is worth on the tree $2,00 and according to tlie 

 quantity ordinarily consumed in making a bushel, 

 1^ cents a pound. Taking this as a basis of a cal- 

 culation, a farmer niay readily ascertain the income 

 he may derive fioFn this source without interfer- 

 ing with his other agricultural operations. The 

 sale of mulberry foliage is a very imjjortant article 

 of traffic in Europe and Asia, and we have no 

 doubt will soon be in America. Every fanner 

 who sets out mulberry trees will very soon derive 

 a fair profit from them, though he may not be dis- 

 posed to engage in the culture of silk. We hope 

 no farmer will neglect to provide in this manner, 

 a fund from which both himself and his posterity- 

 may draw at pleasure. 



Sorting Cocoons. — Before commencing thfr 

 operation of reeling, the reeler should sort the co- 

 coons and place them in separate jjarcels, accord- 

 ing to their quality. The qualities of cocoons 

 admit of five varieties, and are knoAvn by the 

 names of double cocoons — the cAt^ues or skins 

 — the fine — the demi-fine, and the satin cocoons. 

 The double cocoons are those in which two or 

 three worms have worked and enclosed them- 

 selves. They are larger than the; single ones. 

 The chiques or skin cocoons are softer and resist 

 much less to pressure — the fine cocoons are tho?e 

 of which the surface presents a very fine and very 

 close grain. — the demi-fine are of a more loose 

 and larger grain — the satin cocoons are those of 

 a still inferior quality. Though cocoons are not 

 ordinarily so particularly sorted ; yet when it is 

 intended to reel silk of un extra nice fibre, it is de- 

 sirable they should be. 



Before reeling they should also be cleaned from 

 the floss and loose threads with which they are 

 enveloped. This is done by having them picked 

 ofTby children. 



In picking or flossing cocoons, care should be 

 taken that all the fJoss be preserved, as it may be 

 appropriated to many valuable purposes. Boiled 

 in soap and water, and afterwards cnrflpH wWK 



