138 THE CALIFORNIA 



quets of cocoons and silk to about every "Fair all over 

 our State ; they attracted the attention of visitors, but 

 I received no encouragement. On the contrary, I 

 heard many say that this culture could not be pursued 

 profitably in California, on account of the high price of 

 labor. I was aware of the apparent truth of this be- 

 fore I attempted the production of silk, but I thought 

 for this kind of labor Chinese might be employed, who 

 are used to the work ; and, beside that, I knew that 

 the price for buying three or four acres of land here 

 does not exceed the price of renting one acre in Eu- 

 rope, where silk is raised in large quantities. This 

 advantage, I expected, would more than compensate 

 for the difference between the price of labor in Europe, 

 and Chinese labor here, because the silk grower in Eu- 

 rope has to deduct from his profits the rent of the land 

 every year. But the question of labor is now fully set- 

 tled, and silk can be raised in California with great 

 profit. Calculating on the great superiority of our cli- 

 mate, I thought to try to take advantage of it, and I 

 have succeeded in simplifying that culture even beyond 

 my expectation. One man here can raise and take 

 care of as many silkworms as eight men can do in Eu- 

 rope. As my mode of culture is adapted to the climate 

 of California, I propose to call it California Silk Cul- 

 ture. It could by no means be employed either in 

 France or Italy, where they have rains during the sea- 

 son of feeding, but might be used in any place where 

 there is a climate similar to this. 



The culture of silk in California is so simple that any 



