AND GARDENER'S JOURNAL. 



PUHLISIir.l> BY JOSEI'H IJKKCK & CO., NO. 5t NOKTII MARKET SI'IIEET, (Aoricultural \Vabkhouse.)-T. G. FEbSENDEN, EDITOR. 



VOL. XV. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 7, 1837. 



NO. 48./ 



^^aa-^^is*^?^^^^^.^ 



SILK. 



In the House of Representatives of the United 

 States, Pel). 25, 1837,— .Mr .^dams of Massachu- 

 setts, from the Coiiirnittee on Maiiufactiires, to 

 which tlie «iihject lia.t heen referred, made the 

 following 



R i; PORT: 



The Committee on Manufactures, to whom, at the 

 last session of Congress, was referred a resolu- 

 tion of the House, instructing them to inquire 

 into the expeflieiiry of (jromoiing the culture 

 and mnnuractiirc of Silli in the United fatutes, 

 respectfully report : 



ihat in fultihiient of the in.struction of the 

 House, Mr Andrew T. Judson, rif Conecticiit, then 

 a mendier of the House, and of the Comnnltee, 

 was authorized and requested hy the Committee, 

 to continue and pursue the inquiries which, for 

 some tii.ne before, he had already commenced, to 

 ohtain froui various parts of the United Stales the 

 information respecling the actual condition and 

 prospects of those important ariicfes of cultiva- 

 tion which inijiht most effectively promote the 

 pnrimses of the resolution of the llnnse ; that those 

 inquiries were nreordingly pursued with equal 

 I)prseverance and intelligence hy Mr Judson, hut 

 without his heiug ahle to complete them before 

 the close of that session of Congress ; that, pre- 

 vious to tluit time, his services being required^ in 

 another department, he resigned his seat a's a 

 metnber of the House. 



But Mr Judson did not, on tliat account, inter- 

 mit or rela.K llie researches upon which he had 

 devoted his time and attention, in relation to the 

 cultivation and manufactm-e of silk. He obtained 

 the assistance and co-operation, in the prosecu- 

 tion of his inquiries, of F. G. (^omstock, Secreta- 

 ry of the Hartford County Silk .Society, and edi- 

 tor of the Silk Cuhurisl, a periodical journal pub- 

 lished at Hartfiu-il, ami specially devoted to this 

 interesting cultivation. Tvventytwo nurrdiers of 

 this valuable work have been transmitted by Mr 

 Comstockto the Committee, together with a prac- 

 tical treatise hy him on the culture ef silk, ada|)- 

 ted to the soil and din'.ate of the U. S. 



A letter from flir Judson of the 21st of Jan- 

 uary last, to the chairman of the Committee on 

 Manufactures, contains a concise summary of the 

 information collected by him, pursuant to the 

 charge of the Committee, and in furtherance of 

 the views indicated by the resolution of the House. 

 The Chairman is instructfid, by the Committee, 

 to present that letter to the House, and to move 

 that it be received as a part of their report. 



JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

 House of Representalives, U. S. 

 February 25, 1837. 



the Committee on Manufactures at the last session 

 of Congress, when that Coi!uniitee was instructed, 

 hy a resolution of the House, "to inquire into the 

 culture and manufacture of Silk in the U. States," 

 and having been directed by the committee to 

 make the report, I have devoted that attention to 

 the subject whicli its nature, and my other duties, 

 would allow ; and now have the honor of (com- 

 municating to you the result of my investigations, 

 that it may be submitted to the members now 

 composing the Committee on Manufactures. 



It was my intention to have pre|)ared a report 

 at the last session, hut the time intervening be- 

 tween the assignment of the duty, anil the close 

 of the session, rendered it utterly impracticable. 

 The gentlemcu who had engaged, and were en- 

 gaging, in the business, were scattered throughout 

 the whole t.Ment of the country, and it was i:n- 

 possihle to ascertain what progress they had made 

 in the short time allotted me. The want of this 

 information, and the suggestion of a gentleman, 

 whose time is exclusively devoted to theii.troduc 

 tion of the business, and who has kindly proffered 

 me the use of his extensive correspondence, and 

 the aid of his personal services, in collecting the 

 facts during the recess, iniluced me to defer it till 

 the present session. Under these circumstances, 

 I have thought the subsequent resignation of my 

 seat in Congress would not exonerate me from the 

 discharge of the duty thus imposed, or furnish an 

 apology for neglecting it. in addition to this, I 

 was aware the brief period prescribed by the con- 

 stitution for the present session would be inade- 

 quate to a thorough investigation, should the duty 

 he assigned to another memher of the committee, 

 and the expectations of the House, and the puldic 

 must, at least for a time, be drs;f))pointed. This 

 explanation will, 1 trust, exempt me from what 

 otherwise might appear to he an officious inter- 

 fereiice with the business and duties of the com- 

 mittee. 



It is already known to the committee, tliat the 

 cnhure of silk has been attempted in this country 

 at diiTerent periods of time ; the principal, how- 

 ever, of which, fall within the last century. It 

 would be interesting, ami probably useful to trace 

 the history of this bi^nch of rural economy, 

 from the lirst attempt to introduce it in Virginia, 

 in 1623, by James 1., to tlie present time ; but, as 

 it has been compiled and embodied in a niBnual 

 prepared under the direction of tlie Secretary of 

 the Treasury, in pursuance of a resolution of the 

 House passed on tlie lllh of May, 1826, I have 

 deemed it ndvisable to confine my inquiries to the 

 present state of the culture and manufacture of 

 silk, and the more immediate causes which have 

 produced it. 



The present state of these branches of Ameri- 

 can iiHlustry, and the interest which is so exten- 

 sively felt in relation to them, owe their origin 

 principally to the efforts of a lew patriotic gentle- 

 men of the County of Hartford, in Connecticut. 

 In the year 1834, they formed an association uii- 



Canterburt, Conn. \ 



Jan. 21, 1837. ) In me year l>j;}4, iney lormeu mi associuiion un 



giR: Having had the honor to be a nieinher of der the name of the "Hartford County Silk So 



ciety," for the purpose of colle<ting and dissemi- 

 nating practical information relating to the best 

 methods of cullivatingthe various species and va- 

 rieties of the mulberry, and rearing the silkworm. 

 I'o facilitate tlitir operations, and open a channel 

 of commuuicalion with the public, they immedi- 

 ately commenced the publication of a monthly 

 (leriodical, under the significant name of " Silk 

 Ciilturist and Farmers' Manual," and placed it 

 under the editorial charge of the secretary of the 

 society. The editor immediately entered upon 

 the discharge of his duties, and has since devoted 

 his whole time and attention to the subject. The 

 officers ami mend)ers of the society, paiticniarly 

 the president and secretary, being practical men, 

 and ardently devoted to the cause as a great n:i- 

 lional object, have been incessant and unwearied 

 in their exertions to accomplish it.s general intro- 

 duction, in their endeavors to draw the atten- 

 tion of the public, and particularly agrii ulturisl.s, 

 to the subject, and .-stimulate them to engage in it 

 as an iiup<irtant and lucrative braii'-h of rural 

 economy, they have cautiously, and I think wise- 

 ly, passed over the ingenious theories of foreign 

 writers, and confined themselves to the results of 

 experiments fairly and faithfully made, and the 

 sim])le statement of facts. This course will ap- 

 prove itself to the understanding of every individ- 

 ual of reflection, especially when the variation of 

 soil and climate of different countries, and the dis- 

 similarity in tlie habits and pursuits of their in. 

 habitants, are taken into consideration. 



The anticipation of a sudden transition' f'rotti 

 poverty to competence, or from competence to 

 wealth, is, of itseU' a powerful incentive to em- 

 bark in any new project which presents itself to 

 the mind ; but the disappointment and mortifica- 

 tion consequent upon it, wlien iihtsory, are as 

 painful as rfie success is gratifying, when real. — 

 The pro-irHiess of man to "air-castle building," 

 needs no etwouragcment, hut requires restraint ; 

 and the individual, or individuals, who take XU^ 

 responsibility of cecomrrjending to the farmer e^ 

 deviation from his ordinary r.of^tine of husbandry, 

 must be careful that the advantuge.^ |»roj>osed are 

 real rather than imaginary, pr they wil ultimate- 

 ly awaken in their owi\ bosoms, painful instead 

 of pleasurable sensfttiops, These jirinciples seent 

 to be the cardinal points in the faith of the Harlv 

 ford County Silk Society, and hy them liie nient- 

 hei-s appear to have scrupulously governed thor^^^ 

 selves, in promoting the great objecf of their g^^^_ 

 elation. 



The publication of the Silk Cu1tuiriist,at a mere- 

 ly nominal price, and on the jiersontl responsibil- 

 ity of the secretary, has exerted a jiowerful influ- 

 ence in awakening a deej) interest in these new 

 branches of American enterjirise. The extent of 

 this interest may be judged of by the fact, that 

 most of the political, commerfial, and literary piib„ 

 lications of the day, conta n paragrajdis wro-ino' 

 farmers and others to engage in them, and assur- 

 ing them of their jiraclicuhility and profit. These 

 show the lij;ht in which the subject '\i^ viewed by 



