8 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



operative is only necessary, that a new era may 

 commence in the management of silk worms.* 



However, gentlemen, if the important fact 

 which has just been accomplished near the capi- 

 tal, seems to support the hopes which many 

 enlightened men have entertained, it m.ust be said, 

 it must be repeated, for the cause of truth itself, 

 which would repel an equivocal triumph ; that 

 whatever confidence this remarkable experiment 

 merits, and has already obtained, it presents itself 

 yet, as only one isolated fact, entirely recent, at 

 present deprived of the weight which it can only 

 obtain by a repetition of it, performed by different 

 persons under other circumstances, and in other 

 places, and which must thus receive the sanction 

 of time. 



The author of this experiment, without doubt, 

 merits encouragement ; the attention of those 

 which it interests must be at once awakened, and 

 perhaps continued ; new essays appear to be desi- 

 rable to the real friends of our prosperity ; and it 

 is of great importance that these essays should be 

 continued ; for that which has excited your atten- 

 tion, has excited that of the skilful cultivators of 

 the South ; strangers as they are to undue pre- 

 possession, and superior to prejudice. They will 

 wait these new attempts with eagerness, the more 

 reasonably, because they well know that whatever 

 experiments are now making in the North, can 

 only turn to the jirofit of the South, ready to seize 

 with gratitude new methods which shall appear to 

 them sufficiently tested ; they know that the 

 branch of industry by which great fortunes have 

 been founded in the South, will be able, without 

 injuring them, to create in the North similar for- 

 tunes, in gradually relieving our common country 

 from the tribute of 43 millions which it pays at 

 this time to" foreigners, and which the cultivators 

 of the North, in future emulous, but not rivals, 

 of those of the South, will be able, in a quarter 

 of a century, to share with them as brethren, with 

 ;Ponstantly increasing benefits. 



From these various considerations, gentlemen, 

 your committee of agriculture have directed me 

 Jo propose to you to insert the j)resent report in 

 your Bulletin, and to refer it to the Conmiission 

 on Medals. (Signed) Soulange Bodin, 



Reporter. 



WHITE AJVD OTHER TITASHES, 

 PAINTS, &c. 



CHEAP 



"The price current for grege silk is at this moment 

 25 fr. the demi-kilogr. M. Beauvais sells his at 50 fr. 

 It ie of that beautiful kind called Slna (used in the man- 

 ufacture of gauze), which Louis XVI. imported from 

 Canton, in 1784, which has been gradually deteriorated 

 in quality, from the negligence and avarice of its origi- 

 nal producers ; which M. Poidebard has, by long and 

 assiduous exertions, regenerated in a remarkable de- 



Sree, and which M. Beauvais is endeavoring to repro- 

 uce in all its primitive beauty. 



As this is the month when the cleanly, prudent 

 farmer should be giving his barn, stables, and 

 other out-houses, garden and other fences, a coat 

 of wash of some kind ; and above all, as it is the 

 period when the frugal housewife, by the aid of a 

 coat or two of white wash, makes old things look 

 new, and cleanses and ]»urifies her kitchen, pan- 

 tries, and cellars, we take pleasure in annexing 

 the following recipes from which each may select 

 such as may suit his or her taste best. — Yan. Far 



To 7nake a beautiful and lasting white loash. 



Take one fourth peck unslaked lime, pour on 

 it a kettle of boiling water ; while the lime is 

 slaking, add half a gallon of stale chamber-lie ; 

 when the lime is perfectly slaked dilute it with 

 water to the proper consistence, and add to this 

 mixture one fourth of an ounce of Prussian blue. 

 This will give you a beautiful and lasting wash 

 that will neither peel ofl^, nor turn yellow, and will 

 look nearly as well as white paint. By increasing 

 the quantity of blue you may make either a pale 

 or dark blue, as best suits your taste ; or if you 

 prefer it, by adding yellow or red ochre, you may 

 impart either of these tints to your wash. 



To make a cheap Paint, or white wash. 

 Take 2 quarts skimmed milk ; 2 ounces fresh 

 slaked lime ; 5 pounds whiting. Ptit the lime 

 into a stone vessel, pour upon it a sufficient quan- 

 tity of miik to make a mixture resembling cream, 

 then add the remainder of the milk. \S hen this 

 is done, crumble and spread the whiting on the 

 surface of the fluid, in which it will gradually 

 sink. It must, after all the whiting has been pre- 

 cipitated, be well stirred, or ground as you would 

 other paint, when it will be fit for use. By the 

 addition of any coloring matter you may make it 

 suit your fancy. It should be put on with a paint 

 brush, and when dry a second coat should be 

 given it. The quantity above .mentioned is suf- 

 ficient for 27 square yards. 



Incombustible tvash and Stticco ivhile. 

 The basis for each is lime, which must be fi^t 

 slaked with hot water in a small tub or piggiu, 

 and covered to keep in the steam ; it then should 

 be passed in a fluid form through a fine sieve to 

 obtain the flour of the same. It must be put on 

 with a painter's brush ; two coats are best for 

 outside work. 



First. To make a fluid for the roof and other 

 parts of wooden houses, to render them incom- 

 bustible ; and coating for brick, tile, stone-work, 

 and rough-cast, to render them impervious to 

 water, and give them a durable and handsome 

 appearance. 



