THE NEW GENESEE FARMER, 



'S'^OL. 3 



Silk Culture in New England. 



from Caiman's fourth Report. 



I hnve the greniesi pleasuio in luying before my 

 readura the annexed comnuinicationson the tulture .if 

 Bilk, from my reepectud fiiend James Deane, M. D., 

 of Greenfield, Mn=a. 



Theynie ixnct, peispicuous, dirict, onu conclu- 

 eWe. It woidd be difficult to ntk more in order to 

 de ermine the question of ibe profit and success of 

 tbis branch of domestic economy or household hus 

 bandry, if 80 it may be cnlled. I cannot persuade 

 myself that, now ihe paroxysm of the nniltiraulis in- 

 sanity 18 over, they will not attract that attention 

 from the farmers, which their intrinsic importance 

 cliims ; and from the admirable manner in which 

 th *y are drawn up, tbey cannot fail to be read with 

 interest. 1 commend them especially to the farmers' 

 wived and daiigliters, if 1 am not presuming too much 

 in ibinliing they will honor any poriion ol my pages 

 with n perusal. Will not tbey take an interest in the 

 hisiory of the wonderful and disinterested Inbnrs oi 

 ihose humble operatives, to whom they owe so much 

 thai is useful and beautiful, ornamental to their per- 

 sons and gratifying to their taste,— those delicate and 

 exquisite fabrics which were once the exclusive prop, 

 eriy of the palace, "but are now within the reach of 

 the humblest cottager? 

 Mr. Col man,— 



DtAB Sir,— The past summer, remarkable lor 

 tlie duration and uniformity of its high temperature, 

 has been favorable to the cultivation of the mnlberry 

 tree, but from causes not sufficiently investigated, the 

 rearing "f silk worms has been attended, all over the 

 country, with a succeseiiin of mishaps and disasters. 

 Toe la:vie composing my own stock were perfectly 

 healthy, and commenced winding their cocoons on the 

 twenty-eighth day, and as in the experiment 1 deem 

 myself to have been successful, it is with true pleas- 

 nre that I am enabled to present you a detailed state- 

 ment of operntioos,' together with some reflcciions 

 naturally suggested by an ocquainiance with this great 



There are several absolute changes in the life of the 

 precious silk worm, which require for their complete 

 developement just one year, and as each change is 

 regulated by peculiar principles, a thorough under 

 Bta'nding of ihcm all is cs ential to the snccess of those 

 who undertake its artificial management. '1 bese 

 changes embrace four distinct periods, the last termi 

 natiug where the first b«gan, to wit: the quiescent 

 8tate,°or that ol the egg ; the stale of ihe larva, or of 

 nutrition and the Ibrmation of the cocoon ; the ehry- 

 talis state, or that intervening between the worm and 

 moth ; and finally the state of the moth, or that of 

 reproduction. Th^ se divisions are natural bounda- 

 ries, and they cannot be too well understood. 



The period occupied by the egg is about ten months, 

 and whrti. left to the action of natural causis, termi- 

 nates ill the spcmtaueous production of the young in- 

 snct, reciprocallv with the first growth of its appro- 

 priate leaf, when spring has far advanced. Hut to 

 render exotic mulbcnys which have been retarded by 

 annual transplantation, available, it has been neccssniy 

 to retard in a corresponding degree the hatching o' 

 the egg. This can only he nccnmplished by subject- 

 ing it W the continued action of low temp-^ralure, 

 somewhere between ihe freezing point and the 4.')'^ of 

 the thermometer. This .'Jtnle should commence be- 

 fore the egg has felt the slight- st influence of the ver- 

 nal bent, and the method I adopt is to deposite early in 

 March a tin box, containing the eggs, in cuntiict isith 

 iec, and so k' ep them until wanted. In this way ihty 

 have been known to keep two years nnd hatch well. 



The eggs employed in niy experiment were remov- 

 el from the ice-house on the 20ib day of July, and as 

 an intermediate state between a low and high degree 

 of lemneratuie. tiiey were placed in a cool cellar for 

 a few dayi, and then subjected to ihe 



TEMPER.'iTURE OF THE HATCHI.VG-ROOM. 



l-O ^ O «3 00 -.1 03 m rf^ W K) ^ 1 



t» t- — c ; 



Nearly the entire amount hatched vigorously on the 

 tenth and eleventh dnys, and all others were rejected. 

 It will be noticed that the temperature was gradually 

 elevated about one degree each day during the hatch, 

 in^ process, and was maintained as nearly as poss ble 

 10 77*^ during tiie subcequent feeding stale, the tssen- 

 tial features of which are presented in the following 

 table. 



The silkworm being a cold blooded insect, receiv- 

 ing its temperature from the atmosphere, the necessity 

 of keeping up a suitable degree of vvarnnli will at 

 once be perceived. The de^'ree ol temperature has 

 lieen found by experience to he not far from the num- 

 bers indicated in the table, and it muot be maintained 

 not only through the feeding and spinning state, but 

 also through those of the chrysalis and moth. It is 

 indispensable, for in all the mysterious changes of ihe 

 silk worm heat is the exciting agent ; it is nearly in a 

 state of torpor between 50^ and 60", yet it wiil spin, 

 but the time lequirtd will be twice as long, and the 

 amount of silk not half so much, as when slimtilaied 

 by a congenial deg 



of 77°, under active management, it completes its 

 feeding state in 24 to 3)1 days, its spinning state in 5 or 

 6 more ; it is n chrysalis ali-iut two weeks, and a moth 

 one, during which time the sexes unite, and ihe fe 

 male laying two or three hundred eggs, the circle of 

 transformation is lor the first time broken bv doalh. 



French writers c:> > putean ounce of eggs to con- 

 tain 40 000, but from numerous calculations 1 have 

 never found the nnmber to exceed 2.5,000. In this 

 experiment I hatched an ounce, and the number of 

 worms was not greater than set down in the table. 

 The nnviee is always overestimating numbers. I 

 stifled the chrysales with camphor, and approve of the 

 method as being cheap, expeditious, and perfectly effi- 

 cacious, and at the same time not hardening the gum 

 of the cocoon, which consequently reels with uninter- 

 rupted freedom. Miss Barton, who reeled my silk 

 excellently, i referred cocoons tiented with camphor 

 to those not stifled, because the dead chrysalides gave 

 her much less annoyance in the heated water of the 



basin. Reeling silk is a beautiful process that never 

 fails to excite admiration, yet it is accomplished with 

 ease, and with a little practice and sieady perseverance, 

 a young woman will reel a bushel of cocoons, yielding 

 a pound or more of silk, in a day. T!ie art is net 

 however, yet carried to such perfection as to enable us 

 to make the most of our materials, for all but cxpejt 

 rcelers waste a considerable portion. 



The actual amount of labor required in the first 

 ages of the silk worm is very small, it is an agreeable 

 pastime. But whep immense numbers pass into the 

 fifth age, the labor, difficulties and cares become great 

 and incessantly greater, ami for the first time we aio 

 of heat. Near the temperature ' sensible of the enormous service which the establieh- 

 ment demands. Then we discover the obstacle, and 

 it is like a mountain ; we suddenly find ourselves sur- 

 rounded by myriads of voracious insects that double 

 their dimensions daily. Dirt and filth rapidl) accu- 

 mulate, signs ol putrescent decomposition begin to 

 appear, the weather is perhaps moist and sultry, and 

 finally wo perceive iudications.of disease and confu- 

 sion. These considerations teach us the necessity of 

 preparation, and of peifecting .>ur system with prudent 

 forecast. 



The sudden and enormous demand of labor in the 

 filth age, is the ureal barrier to an unlimited produc 

 tiiin of silk. It in a great degree prohibits the appli- 

 colion of capital, and the culture of silk naturally be- 

 comes an incidental branch of agriculture. Whoever 

 discovers the method of di.-pensiiig with the tediona 

 labor of this age, will confer everlasting obligationa 

 upon his country. That it will be systematized, and 

 even in a great degree abolished, I think no one who 

 is acLpiainied with the subject can reasonably doubt. 



