24 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



France is considered a silk growing country, 

 yet she does not grow sufficient for her own man- 

 ufactures, and it is said, annually imports raw Siik 

 to the amount of $6,000,000 



England, owing to the humidity of her climate, 

 cannot raise the worms to advantage, and for her 

 numerous manufacturers is obliged annually to 

 import the raw material from other countries to 

 the amount of $17,000,000. It is stated that we 

 import annually of Raw Silk to the amount of 

 about $10,000,000 and of the manufactured over 

 sixteen millions. 



Unless the United States push the culture of 

 the Mulberry and raising of Cocoons, beyond any 

 thing now in operation, many long years must in- 

 tervene, before we can supply the demand of our 

 own markets. Inhabiting as we do one of the 

 1 est climates in the world for manufacturing silk 

 of the best quality, instead of paying ten niillions 

 of dollars annually to other nations for the raw 

 material, we ought to export two or three times 

 that amount. 



It is said our imports of Silk stuffs exceed our 

 export of Bread stuffs — why is this? Only be- 

 cause we do not duly appreciate and improve the 

 means we have. Let our intelligent Farmers be 

 convinced that the silk business is profitable, and 

 then we can hope that every exertion will be made 

 to extend the cultivation of the mulberry and 

 raising of Cocoons. 



It is a matter of regret, that any one should view 

 the subject as a wild project, and say, tl at al- 

 though it may be a good business for a few years, 

 if found lucrative, every body will engage in it, 

 and glut and ruin the market. We wish the sub- 

 ject could be so presented to our fellow citizens, 

 as to impress them with the importance of examin- 

 ing the subject, on the broad scale of greater na- 

 tional importance than any agricultural subject ever 

 yet pursued. 



But if doubts and fears shall remain, we only 

 ask them to commence the culture of the mulberry 

 on a limited scale for a few years, not to interfere 

 with any other agricultural pursuit. Let the ex- 

 periment be made upon some of our almost bar- 

 ren and useless portions of poor, dry, stony and 

 gravelly soil. 



It may be asked, if the silk business can be 

 made more profitable than any crop, why not take 

 the best and richest land ? a fair question indeed, 

 but such land is not best for the Chinese inulber- 

 ry, and it would be desirable to have every patch 

 of poor, waste, dry land devoted to some useful 

 purpose. — J^orthampton Cour. 



(From the Silk Culturist.) 



RoxBURY, March 5th, 1836. 

 Mr Comstock: — Understanding that commu- 

 nications directed to you, on the culture of silk, 

 will be acceptable, I offer a statement of my short 

 experience in the business, and should it prove 

 that I have done anything to advance the cause, 

 I shall be amply paid for my pains. I have 1500 

 trees, fron) two to six years old, in a healthy con- 

 dition, and have fed a small number of worms for 

 three seasons past ; and, after having constructed 

 a reel expressly for the purpose, have overcome, 

 to us, the great difficulty of reeling the silk from 

 the cocoons, and manufacturing it into sewing 

 silk, to our great satisfaction. 



The manner in which we manage is this. We 

 reel from twelve to twenty cocoons at a time, and 

 put five or six skeins on the reel at once, as required 

 for the size of the thread — from ten to twenty 

 knots to a skein. We then take the reel from the 

 frame and place it in a jack, in order to double it 

 without disturbing the skeins. We then take a 

 common quill-wheel and spool, and secure the 

 ends from five skeins, bringing them together into 

 one. After wetting with suds, we proceed to 

 spool, which, when done, it is ready for spinning, 

 &c. I am satisfied we can make a run of sewing 

 thread from the cocoons with about the same labor 

 as from flax. 



I also constructed a box stove of sheet iron, and 

 another of*boards sufficiently large, after putting 

 the iron one into it, to leave a space each side and 

 bottom, of about one inch — I then filled the 

 space with clay mortar — being a non-conductor 

 of heat, one could set by it in the warmest weather 

 without inconvenience. The stove-pipe to j)ass 

 through a window or chimney, as most convenient. 

 I have also invented a spinning-jenny, for the 

 purpose of spinning, doubling, and twisting under 

 one operation, either by hand or any other power, 

 which I calculate to put in operation next season. 

 1 am, &c. 



Isaac G. Botsford. 



P. S. The inquiry has been made, what shall 

 be done to prevent the siik worm from being 

 destroyed by ants? Sus[iend the shelves from 

 above with wires, so that they cannot come in 

 contact with the walls of the building, and a sure 

 remedy may be found. I. G. B. 



The population of Paris has quadrupled since 

 the reign of Louis Xill. Land which was then 

 worth 200 francs the acre, is now 1000 francs the 

 yard. 



The last Albany Cultivator, says — " Mr Asa 

 Carter, of Champion, Jefferson Co. has shown us 

 a specimen of silk manufactured by his daughter, 

 who never saw a silk worm, nor a silk reel until 

 lastsummer. This is pretty good-evidence that 

 there is no great art or mystery in managing silk 

 worms." 



