vol-. XIII. NO. 49. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL, 



387 



Justices of Peace, when called on by any person 

 claiming any bonnty under this act, for reeling or 

 throwing silk within their county, shall carefully 

 examine such claims, aiul upon satisfactory proof 

 by oath or affirmation, that the same is well found- 

 ed, shall give a certificate thereof under their 

 hands, stating the method by which said silk has 

 been reeled or thrown, the number of pounds and 

 that the claimant is entitled to the bounty provid- 

 ed in this Act; and upon filing such certificate 

 in the office of the Secretary of this Comtnon- 

 wealth, the Governor, with advice of the Council 

 is authorized to draw his warrant upon the Treas- 

 urer therefor in favor of such persons. 



Sect. 3. Be it fuiiher enacted, That if any 

 person shall claim a bounty more than once for 

 the same silk so reeled or thrown, or obtain any 

 bounty under this Act, through fraud or deception 

 such persons shall forfeit to the use of the Com- 

 monwealth, a sum not less than twenty nor more 

 than one hundred dollars, in addition to the 

 amount of any bounty he may have received, to 

 be recovered by indictment, in any court proper to 

 try the same. 



Sect. 4. Be it fuiiher enacted. That this Act 

 shall take effect in thirty days from the time of 

 passing the same, and shall continue in force for 

 the term of two years. 



Culture of Silk in Ohio. — In reply to the 

 inquiry made in a late number of the Genesee 

 Farmer, res|)ecting the success which farmers 

 have met with during the past season in the cul- 

 ture of silk, it may be said so far as this State is 

 concerned, that the season has been very favora- 

 ble, although the occurrence of a severe frost late 

 in the spring rendered it awhile doubtful whether 

 any worms could bo saved. Our fruit was entirely 

 destroyed except in some very favorable situations, 

 and many fruit trees were unable to withstand its 

 withering effects. It is believed, too, that many 

 silk worms were destroyed for want of their 

 proper food : but generally the precaution is taken 

 to prevent the eggs fi-om hatching until the 

 danger from the frost is passed. 



A few of my worms, which were hatched be- 

 fore this frost, were only saved by feeding them 

 on the leaves of the common dandelion, (the Leon- 

 todon taraxacum of Botanists.) After being sus- 

 tained for three weeks on these leaves, they evin- 

 ced some reluctance to the change to white mul- 

 berry leaves, which were then given to them. 

 They had a whitish and unnatural appearance, 

 had grown but little, and it is believed that they 

 would not have come to maturity, and produced 

 silk, without their natural food. Their niou'ting 

 was considerably delayed, so that they occupied 

 about twice the usual time in coming to maturity ; 

 but they ultimately produced silk of a quality 

 equal to that made by the worms which were fed 

 entirely on the leaves of the white mulberry. 



It is gratifying to observe the increased attention 

 which is paid to this subject in Ohio. Many fann- 

 ers are providing themselves with orchards of 

 mulberry, and preparing themselves otherwise to 

 produce large quantities of silk whenever a mar- 

 ket shall be created for it. It is to be regretted, 

 however, that the Chinese mulberry is so scarce 

 and dear, that but few are able to obtain it ; al- 

 though all appear to be aware of its superiority 

 over the Italian. Would it not be a profitable busi- 

 ness for some of your gardeners and nursery- 



men, to send a few plants and cuttings to this 

 state during the present season ? 



Tiie usual method of tying together small bun- 

 dles of bushes for the worms to mount and spin 

 their cocoons upon, was found not to be so conve- 

 nient and useful as the following : Take a strip 

 of plank, say eighteen inches long, and three in- 

 ches wide, and set in it two rows of small light 

 sticks leaning outwards, like the two sides of the 

 letter V. Fill this rack loosely with dried oal> 

 leaves, and place it upon the table or shelf con- 

 taining the worms, and they will ])ass between the 

 sticks, and form other cocoons among the 

 leaves. 



As these leaves afford more places suitable for 

 the formation of cocoons, they are not so liable to 

 he double, and as there is a larger surface of the 

 apparatus in contact with the table, the worms can 

 more easily find it, and therefore do not waste 

 their strength in travelling around the table in 

 search of it. S. L. Champaigne co., Ohio, 

 December 1834. — Genesee Fanner. 



FACTS AND OBSERVATIONS RELiATIVE TO 

 THE CULTURE OP SILK. 



Varieties of Silkworms. — In our last we 

 made some remarks relative to the best and most 

 profitable food for Silk Worms. We will now 

 speak of the varieties of these insects, a consider- 

 ation of scarcely less importance than that of the 

 provision necessary for their support. If the Far- 

 mer finds his account in rearing no animals which 

 are not of a good breed as well as good samples of 

 their kind, the Silk Culturist will no doubt, be well 

 rewarded by his attention to the different varieties 

 and selection of the best races of the insects on 

 whose labors and qualities all his hopes of success 

 must be founded. 



The Hon. Richard Rush, while Secretary of 

 the Treasury, prejjared and transmitted to the 

 Speaker of the House of Representatives, a letter 

 on the growth and Manufacture of Silk, &c. 

 which is a very valuable, as well as able and elab- 

 orate document. In this the writer treats 



or SMALL WORMS OF THREE CASTS, OR MOULT- 

 INGS. 



The eggs of these worms may be found in sev- 

 eral parts of Lombard)'. The worms and co- 

 coons are two-fifths smaller than the common 

 sort. The worms consume, to form a pound of 

 cocoons, nearly as much leaves as the large spe- 

 cies; and, although smaller, when they have 

 reached their full growth, they devour more frag- 

 ments and shoots of leaves than the connnon sort. 

 Their cocoons are composed of finer and more 

 beautiful silk than the conmion cocoon ; they arc 

 also a better constructed, and to this is owing the 

 greater quantity of silk, which at equal weights, 

 is drawn from those cocoons, than from common 

 cocoons. This variety, in the opinion of Dandalo, 

 [an experienced silk culturist] should he infinitely 

 more cultivated than it hitherto has been ; for 



1. These silk worms require four days less of 

 care than the common silk worms. 



2. They atVord a saving of time, labor and 

 money. 



3. They are not so much exposed to accidents, 

 their life being shorter. 



Some imagine the species to be delicate, but 

 they appeared to Dandolo to be strong and vigo- 

 rous. Six hundred cocoons weigh a pound and 

 a half. 



« OF THE WORMS THAT PRODCCE WHITE SILK; 



" I have raised," says Daiulolo, " a large quantity 

 of these, andfouiul thi'm, in all respects, equal to 

 the common silk worms of foin- casts. If I rear- 

 ed silk worms for the jiurpose of spinning the silk 

 myself, I would cultivate only the silk worm of 

 three casts, and those that produce white silk, as 

 preferable to sU others ; and every year would 

 choose the very whitest cocoons, to prevent the 

 degeneration of the species.' 



This species, says Mr Rush, was introduced into 

 France about fortyfive years since, from China, 

 hut was not much cultivated until about seventeen 

 years past. It is now highly prized by the manu- 

 facturers. 



In Windham county, Connecticut, there is also 

 a small, pale, white worm, which eats but twenty 

 days, and ])roduiTs fine white silk, though in less 

 quantity than either the connnon large pale white, 

 or the dark colored worm : but it has the good 

 quality of retaining its clean white color, and does 

 not turn yellow by washing, or by exposure to the 

 sun and air. These worms produce also two 

 crops. It is highly probable that these white 

 worms are of the same species as that last men- 

 tioned. 



The dark drab colored worms, which are very 

 common in the United States, and called " black," 

 live longer, and make more silk than the large 

 white worms. 



SILKWORMS OF EIGHT CROPS. 



At the silk establishment of the British East In- 

 dia Company at Jungepore, Bengal, Lord Valencia, 

 besides the common annual silk worm which gave 

 but one crop, found two others ; the one com- 

 monly reared, and supposed indigenous, is called 

 Dacey, producing eight harvests. Another and 

 worst, the China, or Madrasia, also yields eight 

 times a year. This last may be the kind men- 

 tioned by Arthur Young, who sajs, he " obtained 

 a silk worm from China, which he reared, and in 

 Iwentyfive days had the cocoons in his basins, and 

 by the twentyniuth or thirtyfiist days, a new pro- 

 geny feeding in his trays." He justly remarks, that 

 "they would be a mine to whoever would culti- 

 vate them." The American who would intro- 

 duce any of the best of these silk worms into the 

 United States would render an essential service to 

 his country. If circumstances, however, should 

 prevent the importation of the species before men- 

 tioned, it is presumed there will be no difficulty in 

 procuring, from the Isle of France, the eggs of 

 those which came from Bengal in the year 1815, 

 and were reared under the direction of M.Chazel, 

 and which breed three times a year; or the 

 variety of Madrass, which, according to Dr Ander- 

 son, finish their course in forty days, viz : six days 

 in eggs, twentytwo a worm, eleven in the cocoon, 

 and one a moth. — Silk Manual. 



Silk Manufacture. — Mr Joseph Ripka, of 

 this city, has given notice in the public [lapers 

 that he has a flourishing plantation, containing ten 

 acres of mulberry trees, on the Point-no-Point 

 road, and he is trying the experiment of raising 

 silk worms on a large scale. As the attempt is 

 one of importance to the community, and the pro- 

 cess interesting to individuals, Mr R. has given 

 notice that visitors anxious for information will be 

 received by Mr John Ter Ilceven, on the premises 

 and may receive from him full explanation of its 

 process. — U. S. Gazette. 



