Published hi) John B. Russeil, at JVo. 5a .Vorth Marliet Street, (over the .Igiieulliiral irarehouse) Thomas G. Fessenbe.n, Editor. 



VOK. VI. 



BOSTON, FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 1828. 



No. 40. 



AGSIICULTURE. 



answer very well ; the doors nnd windows oiitrht 

 to be closed whenever a sudden transition to colJ, 



SILK. 



Coocluiied Jroin pa^t 305. 

 It is liiafhly important to feed tlio worms, in that 

 particular wwy, which experience has shown to bo 

 the mos >uitBble; the leaves, at all times, should 

 be dry when jriven to them, therefore when rain 

 is likely to fall, it is norcssary to ffather in a stock, 

 before they get wet : if the weather set in. to 

 steady rain, the le:tves shonld he spread in a sepa 



rate room, and rlried before they are ffiven to the ("'J when they are to be cleati^5ej\' leaves might 

 worms ; leavps wetted hy rain, or dew, will eithei "^ put in a fresh paper, and laid%lhe side ofth.it 

 kill them, or brintj on some bad disorder; from 'Vhich wants cleanino-; the wnrnrfl'-would lean' 

 their birth to the second sheddin?, they should be ■■ 'luicklv to go to the fresh leaves, 

 fed twice a day, morninir and evening, afterwards; '' '^''' ° necessary to appropriate a corner for 

 three times a '<ay to Ihe fourth sheddin?, and then '''f' "diseased worms; in the most favored crop, 

 until they ascend, four, five, or six times a day as iheie will be many, and they ought to be taken a- 

 they may seem to require it ; from the fonrth ^''.V immediately, from amonjr the rest, and 



Persons who intend In make a business o( rais 

 lUfT silk, shijuld raise their own seed ; it is tuoim- 



or daram takes place, or a thundtr .storm comes portai?f«(pa^t of the concern, to entrust to stran- 

 on, which o.>en times will prove jn injury to" these I gers; tHi-y sho'ild pay tlio most pa'ti. iilar iitten- 

 insccts ; shelves or hoards put up roimd the rooai, lion to the (.-hoico of the cocoon>, u iiich they se- 

 would be very convenient to keep the \yorni.s on. lect tbr see<C and to the preserval.on of that seed 

 and if requisite a frame in the centre of tlio rrfoui, through tlie'>i'ier. Tne French use stoves to 

 with shelves one over the otlier^ sheets of larijc | warm occaeioiially the rooms, where the worms 

 ttiff paper, or of paste board, w'ijh-tlie edges turn [are reared, «!iil thus securj them against any un- 

 ed up all round, and stitched at tJi~e corners, would expected rebirn of cold weather, and perhaps k. 

 ..inswcr very well to keep, anciiee.'.:Jlhe worms 



shedding until they ascend, their appetite is vo- 

 racious, and It .should be sati?fied by an abundance 

 of leaves of the best quality, tho.se from old tre->s 

 matured by age, should be reserved for this po ' 

 riod, and given to them fresh gathered and &\v. 

 'PI ' .. ^ . ... ...... -^ 



into the hospital to recover, otherwise the coula- 

 ;;ion may extend, and a great loss ensue. 



After the cocoons are made, the first care is to 

 take them down from the brush, clearing iway 

 the loose silk by which they are fastened, and se- 



The worms, tliruughoiit the nerioil of thei' ex- i lecting the best, those that feel hard and subs'an 

 istence, simuld be attended with great care, nnd j '■'''' ^^^ °^ ^he brightest colour, to keep for seed; 

 regularity ; they should be kept perfectly clean. I ^he most desirable are the worms, which, at the 

 clearing uway, often, the remains of the lesves, i hatching time, came to life first ; they prove, to 

 their own ordure, &.c., which otherwise woulrtcre- I ^e the most hardy, and will make the best stock ; 

 ate a disagreeable effluvia, and breed disord(*s a- I ■' '^ necessary to keep an equal number of each 

 mongthem; bad smells are very ohno^fiollg toj^'^''; the male cocoons are the longest and thin- 

 them, and no smoaking of tsbacco should hr ^1. ' lest, pointed at both ends ; the females are larger 

 lowed, where they are kept ; they should be fed f*"^ ''""nder, blunt at both ends, and resembling 

 early in the morning, and sood leaves should be ''°'"'^*''at in shape a hen's egg ; these chosen co- 

 given them regularly at the times appointed, that coons are to be threaded with a needle, in strings 

 no waste of food may take place : the leaves should i of fifty more or less, taking great care to run tlie 

 be fresh gathered, unless in rainy weather, and no "'''^'"^ slightly through the silk, without hurting 

 leaves oflored to them, that have been kept in the 'he chrysalis which is inside ; these strings are to 

 house until they have become yellow and sour, 'he hung against the wainscoat of the room, and 

 which will be the case, in general, after the third '" 'he course of from fifteen to twenty days, th 

 day; it is upon these attentions, that a wood crop niillers will come out males and females; th 

 depends; half starved, neglected worms, will o-ivei "'^'cs always come out first ; the females are the 

 light flimsy coiioons, whilst the diligent, w-ill get] *vhitest and the largest ; the males appear most 



them heavy, and rirh ; worms well attended to, 

 and generously fed, will complete the crop within 

 forty-five or fifty days, those that are neglected, 

 will languish over two months and yield a light 

 result. 



The French and Italian establishments, require 

 large premises and a great variety of utensils, 

 such as benches, baskets, boxes of various sizes, 

 and shapes, to suit their extensive concerns: in 

 the progress of time it will become advisable for 

 us to get acquainted, with the minutire of their 

 arrangements, hut at the present day, we shall nnly 

 point out such preparations as may be requisite, 

 to make a beginning, and which each individunl 

 concerned, may afterwards increase, and modify, 

 according to his own views and situation. 



Wherever silk worms are to be raised, in any 

 number, it is evident, that a room should be ap- 

 propriated solely for that purpose ; any aspect will 

 answer, except North ; the worms require heat, 

 but it must ho a free heat, that is with u sufficient 

 circulation of air ; a close sultry air, is very bad 

 for them, and so is a damp air ; we would much 

 prefer, on that account, a room up stairs, to one 

 on the ground floor; an unfinished room would 



active and shake their wings. It is necessary to 

 procure pieces of woollen cloth, (the Italians al- 

 ways use scarlet,) and to place the millers on 

 them in rows, male and female by the side of each 

 other; after pairing, the niale dies ; the female 

 soon lays her seed on the cloth ; it appears as if 

 glued on ; a female yields about 300 seeds ; they 

 are first white or yellow, and change to various 

 hues, and finally, if good, become and remain of a 

 dark grey. The Italians preserve the seed on 

 the pieces of scarlet cloth, and at the proper time 

 their women wear them in their bosoms, as oh 

 served before, to hatch it. The French are in, the 

 habit of scraping the seed off from the cloth, and 

 hy wetting slightly the back of the cloth, it will 

 come off easy, and witlont injury ; they put it up 

 then, in small bags, whether it is scraped from, or 

 left on the cloth, it should be packed carefully, 

 and preserved over the winter, in a dry place, 

 where it does not freeze, and ivhere it is not too hot ; 

 if it should freeze, the principle of life would be 

 destroyed, and if it should be too warm, the seed 

 would start for hatching, and would be lost ; one 

 hundred pair of cocoons will weigh about one 

 pound, and give about one ounce of seed. 



may be requisite louse that caption in siicli partK 

 of .New EhglEn , is are much to the north or west 

 of Boston ; iu )<:■. deiL'hborhood, and further south, 

 we believe tbu it would not be necessary, and 

 that the only c.iution requisite, would be the clo- 

 sing of doors ..nil windows, whenever a sudden 

 change in li." weather might require it; wc 

 ha' e observed before, that hot weather is favuriiblc 

 for the wor;. ^ and they can bear it to a high de- 

 gree, provic .t is not sultry and close; on that 

 account, the uin where they are kept, should be 

 so situated, i,l the ivindo*s so arranged, that 

 there may *^c> at any lime a thorough draft, when 

 wanted, so a- io prevent that deadness of lir, and 

 unpleasant ij.'ell, which woubJ greatly endanger 

 the health, md lues of the worms ; in extreme 

 cases of sul'riiicss, the French are in the habit of 

 burning a si. -till quantity of nitre, in an earthen 

 Hare dish, v l:ch greatly improves the atmosphere 

 of the prenii- 's; it may also answffr a good pur- 

 po..;e, in sucli case.^', to heat a brick, or a stone, and 

 throw on i" some vinegar. 



Respectir the hatching, from the information 

 we have c'lla'iieli i.t-ind; i iu:ils who have attended 

 to that business in our country, nothing is lequired, 

 when the proper time comes, but to place the seed 

 in a warmer room, but not to the sun, and it will 

 hatch naturally in the course of a short time ; it 

 will take several days and a longer time than when 

 assisted by human heat; but which is the best, 

 and preferable methort of the two, for our climate, 

 time and experience, must determine; the French, 

 and Italians think the finest crop, is generally se- 

 cured, by hastening the worms through the vari- 

 ous stages of their existence, from the hatching to 

 the ascending, and that any check, or delay, is to 

 be esteemed as unfavo able to the ultimate suc- 

 cess ; hence their vigilance, to secure an even 

 temperature in the apartments, an abundance of 

 food for the worms, adapted to their age, in its 

 quality, a perfect and consl.int cleanliness, and 

 such an arrangement of the windows, doors, 

 and traps in the floors as to insure a free 

 circulation of air, and to prevent that sufTo 

 eating and offensive atmosphere which would un 

 doubtedly occasion a great mortality among them. 

 The cocoons will not be of a uniform color, they 

 will heof various shades of yellow, and some white, 

 yet they all arc of one, ^nd the same species, anfl 

 may all be worked together; after the cocoons 

 are gathered, and cleared of the floss silk which 

 fastened them to the brush, they should be reeled 

 without delay, and before the millers come out, 

 for if the silk is left on until tiien, the quality is 

 thereby injured ; they should be thrown into a 

 kettle of hot water, a small quantity at a time, and 

 stirred with light clean rods, this will dissolve the 

 tenacious gum by which the threads adhere to- 



