SILK. 



According to Dr. Sinitli, each worm 

 consunics an ounce of leaf; 120 fe- 

 males yield an ounce of eggs, con- 

 taining 39,000 eggs. 



7th. The nature and quality of the 

 staple obtained are thus described by 

 an able weaver and judge of silk from 

 Spitaltields : 



" I am qualified to a!ffirm, from va- 

 rious experiments I have tried, that 

 the silk is superior to any I have seen 

 from Italy, China, France, Piedmont, 

 or Valencia, where the worms are 

 fed upon multicaulis, or Italian ; its 

 brilliancy, strength, and scent are su- 

 perior. I am aware that an exposure 

 to tlie saline air, in the passage across 

 the ocean, may be the cause of the 

 loss of fragrance to imported silk ; 

 but the brilliancy is peculiar to Amer- 

 ican silk, if reeled in a proper man- 

 ner, with cleanliness. 



" I am confident that the mammoth 

 sulphur worm is the pure Fossam 

 hrown. To try this, I had about 

 three pounds of silk reeled, and en- 

 closed it in an air-tight box lor three 

 weeks. \Mien I took it out it had 

 the fragrance of the Fossam brown 

 stronger than any that I eversmelled 

 in England, which convinced me that 

 the mammoth sulphur is the identical 

 silk which is always from five to eight 

 shilhngs per pound higher than ordi- 

 nary silk. The mammoth white and 

 the pea-nut white are Novi, and su- 

 perior to any I have seen in England. 

 The yellow, or orange, I cannot, sat- 

 isfactorily to my own mind, yet de- 

 tine, but am trying experiments in 

 order to ascertain. I am strongly 

 persuaded it is a Bergam ; should 

 this be the case, it will prove a great 

 accjuisition to manufacturers of silk 

 velvet. Some have supposed the 

 pea-nut white is the Piedmont, but 

 they are mistaken ; the Piedmont 

 cocoon is lily-white, very diminutive, 

 with a sharp point." 



Mr. Young, a dyer of Detroit, also 

 remarks, concerning the cleansing of 

 silk : " Most people clean the silk 

 with soft soap, destroying the native 

 gloss in freeing it of its gum, owing 

 to the vegetable allvali the soap con- 

 tains, the silk being animal substance ; 

 720 



it v/ill completely dissolve wool, if 

 applied strong enough, forming a soap 

 of itself Many dyers use nothing 

 but the best white soap ; being made 

 from mineral alkali, soda acts gently 

 on animal substances ; nor does it 

 give that yehow tinge the vegeta- 

 ble alkali produces. It is even ne- 

 cessary to bleach silk for certain 

 shades, to give them a clear bloom. 

 About 25 pounds good white soap, 

 dissolved in sufficient clean, soft wa- 

 ter, for 100 pounds silk ; put the silk 

 loosely in their bags ; boil gently, 

 say 2| hours; cool and wash well in 

 a running stream : beat occasionally, 

 to free it from all impurity. This I 

 know by practice." 



We shall conclude by offering sev- 

 eral letters from the ablest raisers of 

 silk, addressed to the convention held 

 at the American Institute in 1843 : 



Mr. GilVs Letter. 



" Mt. Pleasant, Jefferson Co., Ohio. 



" 1. I have fed worms for five years 

 past : results various, owing to the va- 

 rious fixtures used, and experiments 

 tried, attention or neglect of the feed- 

 er. / never had a lot of worms diseas- 

 ed, or die, if from a hcallhy stock of 

 well-kept eggs, without being able to 

 trace the cause, which was always local, 

 and easily remedied. 



"2. I have used both one and two 

 story buildings, built of brick and of 

 wood ; have used stoves, and also 

 fireplaces with chimneys : prefer fire- 

 places on account of their drawing 

 off impure air. I think artificial heat 

 beneficial in cold, damp weather, es- 

 pecially when worms are spinning. 

 My cocooneries are ventilated by 

 openings, with shutters near the floor, 

 with ventilators from each story 

 through the roof. 



" 3. I have fed in open sheds and 

 tents with complete success. I fed this 

 year four several successive lots, 

 and gathered the cocoons from the 

 same cradles. The first was fed in 

 June, the last in September, both per- 

 fectly healthy : they made superior 

 cocaons. 



"4. The salmon pea-nut is the best ; 

 white pea-nut next ; gold pea-nut 3d ; 



