132 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. [March, 



coons, one bushel produced one pound of reeled silk. This 

 shows an extraordinary difference. Mr. Haskell, of Harvard, 

 requires ten to twelve pounds of cocoons to make one pound of 

 silk. With Mr. McLean it rcquiied It) lbs. 10 oz. of cocoons 

 without flossing or sorting, and 10 lbs. 5 oz. after they were 

 flossed or sorted, to produce a pound of reeled silk. He found 

 likewise, that it required 19 to 20 lbs. of leaves to make 1 lb. 

 of cocoons. With Mr. Shepard 13 bushels of cocoons produc- 

 ed 9 lbs. of silk. In Mansfield it is considered a fair task for a 

 girl to pick 60 lbs. of leaves per day ; this, it is understood, is 

 from standard trees. From trees in a liedge row, or accessible 

 from the ground, a very much larger amount can be gathered. 



XI. Natural and Artificial Management. — We may yet 

 expect great improvements in the culture of silk. The method 

 of culture to which I have referred is denominated the natural 

 method. In Mansfield the fixtures are of the most simple char- 

 acter. A rough shed or barn is used for a cocoonery ; and no 

 provision is made for artificial heat beyond the closing of the 

 window shutters in damp weather. It has been said that elec- 

 tricity will sometimes destroy the worms. Mr. McLean in- 

 formed me that a heavy thunder storm occurred during his 

 feeding, and the lightning struck in the immediate neighbor- 

 hood of his cocoonery, but his worms experienced no injury. 

 In Mansfield the worms are ordinarily cleaned three times in 

 the course of feeding, and are fed three times a day. The 

 Mansfieldians are of opinion that a cold is more favorable to the 

 production of silk than a warm season. 



By what is called the artificial process, pursued with extra- 

 ordinary success at the experimental farm in France, under the 

 direction of M. Camille de Beauvais and with the patronage of 

 the government, the whole operation is much abriged in re- 

 spect to time, and the quantity of silk produced from the same 

 number of worms is considerably increased. The plan is to 

 keep up an even temperature in the cocoonery as high as 75° 

 Fahrenheit, and to feed the worms day and night to the full 

 extent which they can be made to consume. I shall sub- 



