146 



SILK MANUAL AND 



TO FARMERS AND MECHANICS. 



It is well known that the readiest way to kill 

 trees by girdling, is to make the cutting high up 

 the tree. But in cutting over timber iand, if the 

 intention is to have another speedy and thrifty 

 growth of timber, the trees should be cut close 

 to the ground, and then vigorous sprouts will 

 start in abundance, and not be likely to bt; broken 

 by winds or by cattle browsing, as when cut in 

 the usual height of 10 or 12 inches. The sprouts 

 can be thinned out to any desirable distance, to 

 admit the air and sun. The best time to cut for 

 timber is when the sap is down, in mid winter, 

 say December and January. Timber for fencing 

 posts will last much longer by setting that end in 

 the ground which was ujipermost as it grew. 

 Trees growing on high, dry and open land are 

 tough — have less saj), and are more solid than 

 such as grow on moist la^d or swamps. Elm 

 «nd beech are good and durable timber to be laid 

 under water, and the elm is said to hold a nail 

 under water better than any other timber. Some 

 timber, as the oak, chesnut, and maple decay first 

 internally or at the heart. Not so with the yellow 

 locust, red cedar or white mulberry. These are 

 probably the best timber known for fencing posts. 

 In the scale of durability the yellow locust has 

 the precedence — red cedar the second, and 

 white mulberry the third. Yet many contend 

 that the white mulberry, for fencing posts, are in- 

 ferior only to the yellow locust. • Aside therefore 

 from feeding silk worms with the foliage of the 

 white mulberry, the attention of the farmer is di- 

 rected to set the white mulberry around the bor- 

 ders of his pasture and other lands, and to cover 

 some of his waste places with the yellow locust, 

 not only for fencing posts but for ship timber. 

 White wood and walnut are tough, and useful for 

 many purposes, but the heart will be brittle. 



In order to preserve timber from cracking 

 while seasoning, it is recommended to hew or satv 

 out the timber for the particular purposes wanted, 

 and laid in the hay moiv when the hay is carted 

 in, and as the hay is fed out, the timber will be 

 found better seasoned than by any process of sea- 

 soning by steam, or heat in a dry house, and to 

 prevent cracks. This mode of seasoning is re- 

 commended to carriage makers when they wish 

 to have a little timber seasoned for some choice 

 work. House joiners also would find it conven- 

 ient to ensure some seasoned stuff for early 

 spring work. But no mechanic could be mere 

 benefitted than the cabinet maker. — jYorthampton 

 Courier. 



GREAT MEETING IN PIIILADELPHTA. 



We have with pleasure examined the Report 

 made at the meeting in Phiiadel()hia, on the sub- 

 ject of silk culture. The committee have no 



hesitation in saying that the Silk Culture in the 

 middle and northern States at no distant period 

 will rival the cotton and rice crops of the South — 



That the quality of silk obtained from American 

 cocoons is equal to that of Italy, and that it can 

 be be made at less ex[)ense in Europe, and that a 

 large profit may be realised , even at the low price 

 of Lhree dollars per pound — 



That 310 good cocoons will weigh a pound — 



That when cocoons shall be raised in abun- 

 dance, they may be afforded at 12 1-2 cents per 

 pound, and that the raising of them even at that 

 price, will be a profitable concern, and as lucra- 

 tive to our farmers as the growing of cotttm by 

 the southern planters at 19 cents per pound — 



That the present price or value of foreign raw 

 silk is for 



Bengal, - - $4 25 to 6. 



China, - - $5 40 to 6. 



Italian, - - $6 to 7. 



That although labor in American is much 

 higher than in Europe — yet, when American in- 

 geuijity shall be as faithfully apjdied to the struc- 

 ture and improvement of silk machinery as it 

 has been to the construction of cotton and wool- 

 len m chinery, then we shall more than compete 

 with or rival European maimt'acturfes, ep|)ecially 

 as the articles we shall first bring into market will 

 principally consist of plain> staple goods, such as 

 stuCs for vestings, sewing silk, plain ribbons, 

 pocket handkerchiefs — the machinery for which 

 need not cost over one eighth the expense of ma- 

 chinery for a cotton factory, to turn out the value 

 of goods producing an equal or even greater 

 |)rofit. And vvhen made by power loom, and of 

 American silk, may yield a profit of 25 to 30 per 

 cent. 



The amount of sewing silk used annually in 

 the United States is amazing ; and to manufac- 

 ture even enough of this article to siipjdy the de- 

 mand, capital to almost any amount could be pro- 

 fitably employed, ann with only little expense of 

 machinery. 



Remarks. — We give our unqualified approba- 

 tion of the sentiments embodied in the Commit- 

 tee's Report. It is worthy of the perusal of every 

 silk grower in the United States and every friend 

 to its prosperity. 'J'hat the manufacture of silk 

 at the North will yet become as iujportant to ns, 

 as the cotton and rice at the south, we verily 

 believe. 



The superiority of American silk is acknow- 

 ledged by the bostjudges. Silk made in a 

 high, northern latitude is always considered 

 superior to that grown in southern climes. This 

 fact is well established in China. The dealers 

 say that in Canton, silk grown in the northern' 

 districts is uniformly 20 per cent higher than that, 

 grown in the most southern districts. 



