70 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept.2a, 183o. 



The only apology I hav 

 good offices of your Excellency upon this occasion 

 is, that it is one of public concern, and that what- 

 ever liglit and information may be shed upon the 

 subject of tlie resolution of the House, by the 

 course of inquiry adopted, will, in the end, be 

 made known to our couunou country, for the com- 

 mon benefit. 



Permit me, in conclusion, to add, that whatever 

 returns I may be favoured with to this letter, will 

 be in season if they reach the Department by the 

 first of December, a limit of time the furthest that 

 can be given, but which is rather fixed upon, as it 

 may increase the opportunities of making there- 

 turns acceptable. 



I have the honour to reninin, with great res- 

 pect, your obdt. servant, 



RICHARD RUSH. 



His Excellency Governor of 



QUERIES. 

 The Plouse of Representatives having, at the 

 last Session of Congress, passed a Resolution that 

 "the Secretary of the Treasury cause to be pre- 

 " pared a well digested Manual, containing the 

 " best practical information that can be collected, 

 " on the growth and manufacture of Silk, adapted 

 " to the difterent parts of the Union, containing 

 " such facts and observations in regard to the 

 " growth and manufacture of silk in other coun- 

 " tries, as may be useful, and that the same be 

 " laid before Congress at the commencement of 

 " the next Session ;" the following Queries have 

 been prepared, with a view to aid in obtaining, in 

 part, the means of complying vi^ith the resolution. 

 Answers to all, or any of them, are respectfully 

 invited from such enlightened and patriotic citi- 

 zens as may have it in their power to furnish thoni. 

 The answers to be transmitted to the Secretary 

 of the Treasury, on or before the first of Decem- 

 ber. 



1. What efforts have been made in the State of 

 -, if any, and at what periods of time 



oa"cr for askino- the I berry, for the purpose of feeding the Worm, in jing, furniture, or any other purpose ? If within! 

 the form of a bush or shrub ? | your po-.v^r .and convenience to add a sketch or I 



fi. What quantity of raw Silk ought to be pro- 1 drawing of any or all of the above machinery, it J 

 duced from an acre of full-grown Mulberry trees, | would be acceptable. j 



planted and roared in the best manner? Howl 1-J- Describe tlie difference in the quality of thel 

 many Silk-worms are required to produce a pound silk produced from all the different varieties of the ' 

 of raw Silk ? What quantity of raw Silk can be silk-worm, and annox, if in your power, a drawing' 

 produced from an acre of Mulberry trees by other i (coloured) of all the varieties of this insect in its, 

 modes of cultivation than the full grown tree ? i moth and other states. Is the insect brouglit from' 

 7. Be pleased to state, as much in detail as may i abroad supposed to degenerate in the United States,) 

 be in your power, the methods of treating the Silk- ^ and if so, to what causes is it imputed, how are" 

 worm, with a view to raising the best Silk, and in i they best to be obviated .' What are the proper 

 the greatest quantity ; embracing, particularly, i rules to be observed in the choice of eggs, in thi 

 the habits of the insect, as to appetite, cleanliness, ! choice of cocoons for seed, and in the choice 

 position, or accommodations, whilst the cocoon is jthe insect for laying eggs ? 



forming; the species of twig or branch on which I"- If silk has been raised at any periods hcre- 

 it is best that it should be spun ; temperature, and j tofore in but not at present, what are sup 



degree of light most ftivourable to the insect, and j posed to be the causes that have led to its discon- 

 all other circumstances which may affect its health tinuance 



and strength, and its oapacity to yield a perfect 

 cocoon ; also, a description of the process of form- 

 ing the Silk by the insect until the cocoon is com- 



17. Please to state any other facts or rircuin- 

 stancos that may bear upon the objects or spirit of 

 the resolution above referred to of the House of 



pleted ; the best mode of treating the cocoon, and [Representatives of the United States, though not 

 of obtaining the Silk; and how far ihe labor of | specially comprehended under any of the forego, 

 females, children and old men, maybe usefully I ing inquiries. RICHARD RUSH 



employed in the culture of Silk ? 



8. What difference, if any, exists between the 

 Chinese and Italian or Spanish Worm ; which 

 country is reputed to produce the best insect, and 

 what particular part of the country ? 



9. Does tlie climate of admit of raising 



Silk with full advantage in the open air, or is it 

 best that the insects should always be housed ? if 



to raise silk ? 



2. Whence was the 

 insect a native of- 



ilk worm obtained ? Is this 

 -, and if so, in what res- 



NEW ENGLAND FAR MER. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, SEPT. 23, 1826. H 



^-:rr-^l 



LEAVES OF TREES FOR FODDER. ^ 



Evelyn, in his Sylva, says the Roman hiisbantii 

 men fed their cattle with the leaves of trees, but 

 the preference was given to those of the elm. The 

 husbandman, who lives in the neighbourhood of 

 extensive woods, would do well to attend to this 

 branch of rural economy. When hay is dear, drieA- 

 leaves (of all kinds) arc highly valuable. Columel- 

 la considers twenty pecks of dried leaves equal to 

 thirty pounds of hay. 



pects does it differ, if in any, from the oriental or 

 foreign silk worm ? — Are there any varieties of 



this insect known in Please to describe 



whatever kinds there may be ? 



3. Does the Mulberry flourish in in its 



different varieties ; what soil suits it best ; is tlie 



White Mulberry an indigenous tree ? If not, has 

 it been found to thrive as well in the United States 

 as the Red and Black Mulberry? Which of the 

 latter is indigenous, or arc both ? 



4. Does the Silk worui feed as well upon the 

 Red and Black Mulberry as upon the White ? Is 

 there any other leaf or plant known in this country 

 upon which it does feed ; and, above all, will it 

 yield Silk of equal quality when fed upon any 

 other leaf or food, as upon that of the White Mul- 

 berry. 



.5. Be pleased to state the beat methods of rais- 

 ing and multiplying the several species of the 

 Mulberry tree ; how it is propagated ; how old it 

 should be before transplanting, what particular 

 modes of treating it are required ; the age at which 

 it should begin to furnish food for the worm ; 

 whence trees or cuttings can be obtained for trans- 

 plantation ; the price per hundred ; how many 

 trees should be planted on an acre ; and would it, 

 or would it not, be profitable to cultivate the Mul- 



tlie latter, what size and form pf building or apart- 

 ment is best fitted to its operations ? If the Silk 

 be raised in the open air, is any shelter, and of 

 what kind, required, as well from the rays of the 

 sun as from wet, and to protect the insects from 

 birds and other animals that prey upon them ? 



10. Is there reasons to suppose that, in some 

 parts of the United States, the climate may admit 

 of more than one crop of Silk being raised from 

 the Silk-worm, in the course of the year, as in 

 Asia ? How will this inquiry apply to ? 



11. Have lii'htning and thunder been found to , , , . ,, , . .. , , ,, ^ ,, 



11. jia%c „ 1, f 1 od ; but the destruction made by the field-mouse 

 affect the Silk-worm in our climate, and how far ; ' , i i n . .i, .■ »- . 



„ ,, V^ T. ■ . r r . , .upon those seeds, both at the tune ot sowiiio- anc 



fat all? Has any insect of our clim,-ite, or animal I , ■ ^, • . , . , , -r 



„ , • , ,_ r 1 . ■ • ■» during the winter, has induced many gent emeu 



ofanvkind, been found to prev upon or iniure it, i , % . . . ^, . , 



, ^, , ' ., , , , 1 ■ vi , 1 to prefer spring sowing to the autumnal one.— 



bevond those that are known to do so m other ; ..' .' "^ . = . 



j " V i-u"=c i When spring sowing 13 determined on, the acorm 



climates. 1 and other seeds must be carefully preserved durinjl 



12. What IS the greatest quantity of bilk that ., . , i • r • .i ■ " 



■ , ■ J? ^,, , r ■ ' the winter ; and, in forming the magazines, care 



has been raised in the State of in any one ^ » ' 



\ PROPAGATING roKEST TREES. 



[ Sowing acorns, beach-mast, ash-keys, &.c. in the 

 i autun»n, when those seeds fall spontaneously from 

 1 the trees, appears by much the most natural nieth' 



year ; into what articles or forms has it been 

 manufactured — and have the manufactured arti- 

 cles been consumed at home or sent abroad — and 

 where ; — v>hcre has the raw silk been sent when 

 not wrought into manufactures ? 



13. What prices have the raw or manufactured 

 silks commanded in the market of the U. States, 

 as compared with similar articles imported from 

 Europe, China, or the East Indies ? What pro- 

 gress has been made in the drawing, spinning, and 



twisting of sewing silk in any part of ? Have 



its strength and evenness been equal to the French, 

 English, or Italian sewing silk ? How have we 

 succeeded in the colouring or dying ? All infor- 

 mation on this head will be acceptable. 



14 Will you be pleased to describe, with as.o'' any provision suspended in a flannel bag «-„- 

 much particularity as mav he, the machinery most keep sweet much longer tlianby most of the mode, 

 approved for windino- off the Silk from the co- , commonly practised. The cooler and dryer the 

 .-oon ;— for tormina it into organzine or thrown i '"eat is when the flannel is put round it the better 

 silk ; and for manufacturing silk into all its differ- , '^"^ t'"' fl*""^! should be perfectly clean. Fr sli 

 ent forms, (including velvets,) whether for cloth- ! meat put in a close vessel contaimng vinegar, wil. 



must be taken to keep the different sorts apart 

 from each other. — Evelyn. ,/ 



PLOUGHING. f 



It is best that most tillage land should be plough- 

 ed in autumn. Fall ploughing saves time and la^ 

 hour in the spring ; a season of the year wlieB 

 cattle are commonly weak, and the hurry of busi- 

 ness presses on the farmer. But a soil which U 

 sandy and light should not be disturbed by (tSi 

 ploughing, but lie to settle down and consolidatj 

 through the winter. 



rUESERVATION OK MEAT. 



Meat may be preserved fresh many montlis By 

 keeping it immersed in molasses. A joint of meat 



n 



