VOI-. XV. KO. 13. 



AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



31 



SILK CULTURE. 



From the ccH-respondence of Gen. Tallmadge, it appears, 



1. That one great soiircu of national wealth of 

 France, is the proihict of the Vineyard, under the 

 culture of the hushandnian — and the Si k worm 

 under the fostering care of the wife. 



2. That in Italy, partiilly, and chiefly in France 

 the culture of Silk is carried on by private and in- 

 dividual industry. 



3. That a dam|i climate is injurious to the silk 

 worm — and that the culture of silk does not pros- 

 per near the ocean. 



4. That France does not produce one half of 

 the raw silk which she manufactures. Her |:op- 

 ulation is so flense that she cannot furnifh sufti- 

 cient space for mulberry trees. 



5. That the warm dry summers of the in'and 

 parts of the Unite*! States are admirably fitted for 

 tlie culture of silk in families, and that we shall 

 succeed in ii. That lohen the leaves of different 

 kinils of mulberri.s are mixed together, the tvorms 

 will select and gather the Chinese mulberry. 



6. ^1 hat in Europe the mulberry trees are cut 

 oft' and kept dwarfed, for the convenience ot gath- 

 ering leaves. 



7. That although the Chinese mulberry is 

 vastly superior to any other for feeding silk worms, 

 yet from the inaptitude of French farmers to 

 change habits, there are comparatively but few o! 

 the Chinese mulberry set out in France. At this 

 time there are probably growing in America more 

 Chinese mulberry than in all Europe. Even af- 

 ter the e.xperience of ages, Europeans are said to 

 act more from usage and habit, than skill and ex- 

 perience. The demand for mulberry in America 

 is so great, that the FreJich this year have sold us 

 100 trees where they have set out 10 for their 

 own use. 



Remarks 07i the foregoing : 

 If Silk is one of the greatest sources of national 

 wealth to France, and not land enough to grow its 

 mulberry, and are necessitated to import raw silk, 

 why cannot the culture become of equal impor- 

 tance to the wealth and jirospe-ily of these United 

 States, where we have land enough and to .spare ? 

 If in some parts of Euro|)e the I'ulture of silk 

 is chiefly done in families and by private individ- 

 uals, why cannot we do the same ourselves.' 

 " We can and we will do it." It has already been 

 done in iMansfield, Ct. ; tlioy have no special act 

 of government to enable them to do it, yet they 

 annually make and sell over 30,000 dollars worth 

 of silk, all made in families. Even the town of 

 Northampton, Mass., has one enterprising gentle- 

 man, who removed from Mansfield some lorty or 

 fifty years since and brought with him a portion 

 of the si.k habit, and has, as we are told, from 

 only h few trees manufactured annually for 40 

 years not less than 75 dollars worth of sewing 

 silk. This has been done in a silent and unosten- 

 tatious manner, like other domestic employments, 

 not sung in verse, or known scarcely a stone's 

 throw from bis residence. But how different at 

 this lime! Novv, Nortliampton takes a prcminenl 

 statid — is the very focus of silk culture, — possess- 

 ing the knowledge atid information necessary and 

 requisite to the prosperity of the silk business. 



II a damp location and the sea air be unfa- 

 vorable to the healtli of the silk worm, three is 

 plenty of room, high atid dry, in the interior sec- 

 tions of every State in the Union, exeiujit from that 

 evil. Where elevated dry soil and pure air 



abounds, therefore let not these advantages be neg- 

 lected. 



If the territory of France is so much covered 

 with inhabitants that there is not spare room for 

 mulberry trees sufficient for the silk manufactured 

 there, we trust that America can never urge that 

 as an apology why we should not raise all the silk 

 needed for our national use, but we hope the en- 

 terprising spirit of our people will yet enable 

 them to export many millions to other nations in- 

 stead of importing annually as we now do about 

 seventeeii millions worth of silk materials. Of 

 course, so much cash must be sent out of the 

 eountry every year to pay for it. Tiiatsilk worms 

 will select the Chinese in |;reference to any other 

 kind of mulberry, has been well attested, and from 

 its use more silk is obtained. 



Now if we have one of the most favcrable cli- 

 mates for the culture of silk, let us not sleep as do 

 others, but spread the mulberry throughout otir 

 fertile vallies, and cover our granite hills. Im- 

 prove thesa sources of wealth which are within 

 the grasp of yankee industry and perseverance, 

 and instead ■ of wandering to the ■' far west " in 

 pitrsiiit of what all cannot obtain, let us go ahead, 

 harnessed with silken core's, and raise an abun- 

 dance of that nourishment for the silk worm, the 

 Chinese mulberry, which is necessary to speed the 

 reel and shuttle, whether done in family or fac- 

 tories. 



It is a singitlar fact, that while in Europe, and 

 even in China the garden of silk, experience has 

 convinced cultivators of the expediency of head- 

 ing them down or cutting ofTtlio mulberry every 

 year, for the convenience of gathering fidiage, — 

 that, at the same time, we have adoj ted the same 

 method, not oidy for the same |)nrposes, but also 

 for augmenting the foliage, pro[)agating the trees, 

 and as a certain and sure protection from the se- 

 verity of the climate. 



MUL.BERRV TREES IN 9IAI1VS:. 



P. M. Wliitcomb, of Saco, is the only gentle- 

 inan, we have any knowledge of, that has cultiva- 

 ted the Mulberry to any extent in that State. 

 1 here is no doubt but that the climate of Maine 

 is equal. y adapted to the Culture of Silk, as any 

 in New England, and we want to see the farmers 

 there, embark in the business, experimentally at 

 least, — believing that they will find their profit 

 in it. We understaixl that Mr Whitcomb will 

 have for disposal this year 60 or 70,000 seedling 

 trees of the White Mulberry. 



Should some gentlemen form themselves into 

 a Silk Company, and purdiase those trees, they 

 would form a good business for themselves, and 

 lay the foundation fur the establishment of Silk 

 Culture in that quarter. 



The Messrs t;heney, of Manchester, two 

 enterprising gentlemen, who are devoting their 

 whole time to the culture of the Mulberry and of 

 Silk, and whose eminent success in cultivating the 

 Morus Miilticaulis trees this season was spoken of 

 in a late number of the Silk Culturist, — have 

 lelt at our office a simple and useful contrivance 

 for the worsiis to wind their cocoons upon. They 

 do not pretend that it is anything new, or original 

 but merely exhibit it for the advantage of those 

 who are raising Silk worms, and have no definite 

 idea of the most improved plan for their winding. 

 We think this method is preferable to any that we 

 have ever seen. 



American Bfet Root Sugar. — We have he- 

 fore us three samples of sugar, the first we believe 

 ever manufactured iti this country from the beet. 

 Dr. Sleigh, who has given attention to the sub- 

 ject, has mantifactured these samples from the 

 common pale red beet. The samples which we 

 have are in the raw state, not having been sub- 

 mitted to the refining process. 1 hey resemble 

 the common brown sugar of the groceries. 



Dr. Sleigh mentions that he has in the course 

 of the past s-uintuer, performed many experimentB, 

 at least an hundred, on various kinds of beets, and 

 on various quantities, varying from ten poiuids to 

 a thousand pounds, and he is satisfied that there 

 is an essential differeuce between the beets ot this 

 country, (not merely as to the quantity of sacch- 

 arine matter) and those of France, arid that the 

 operator must consequently regulate his chemical 

 agents accordingly. 



We may expect now, that the ability to manu- 

 facture beet sugar in the United States, will be 

 fairly tested. — U. S. Gaz. 



Sugar from Indian Corn. — M. Pallis lately 

 presented to the Academie des Sciences of Paris, 

 a sample of this snbst. nee, extracted from the 

 stem of the plant, which has been found to contain 

 nearly six per cent, of syrup boiled to forty de- 

 grees, a part of which will not crystal'ize before 

 fructification ; but it condenses and acquires more 

 consistency from that period to the state of coni- 

 pbte maturity. The most favorable time to ob- 

 tain the greatest quantity of sugar is immediately 

 after the maturity and gathering of the fruit. The 

 matter left after the extraction of sugar is capital 

 to feed cattle or to make packing paper. 



Selecting Seed Corn. — The season is ap- 

 proaching when farmers would <lo well to look out 

 for seed corn, to plant next Spring. Some are in 

 the habit of selecting their seed corn from the 

 crib, or, what is nearly as bad, from a smoking 

 heap while husking. It would seem that after so 

 much loss as has been experienced by the failure 

 of corn to germinate this season, but this injudi- 

 cious custoni would be laid entirely aside. Seed 

 corn shouhl always be selected in the field. This 

 may be done at a trifling expense, while the ad- 

 vanta;;es to be gained are great. The crop from 

 seed selected in the field will be earlier, ripen 

 more regularly, and it is said by first rate agricultu- 

 rists that ears selected from stalks that contain the 

 largest number, will produce a much increased 

 crop. — Hamp. Rep. 



The Pennsylvania Lyceum is prepared to de- 

 liver, gratuitously, an elementary set of specimens 

 in Geology and Mineralogy, to any an I every 

 County Lyceum which is, or may be formed in 

 the Union. 



The Quincy Railroad was the first one built, and 

 Middlesex Canal the first one cut, in America. So 

 Massacliusetts has the honor of having bui't the 

 first Railroad and cut the first Canal in the United 

 States. 



The real estate of the city of New York is as- 

 sessed at three hundred millions of dollars. 



Four hundred men are at work on the Railroad 

 between Salem and Boston. 



