Silk Manufacture. 147 



I'ougher than those of the white elm, and emit an agreeable odor. 

 It blooms in the month of April. The flowers are aggregated at 

 the extremity of the young shoots. The scales which surround 

 the bunches of flowers, are downy like the buds. The flowers 

 and seeds differ from those of the wahoo; the calyx is downy and 

 sessile, and the stamens are short, and of a pale-rose color; the 

 seeds are larger, destitute of fringe, round, and very similar to 

 those of the European elms; they are ripe about the last of May. 

 The bark upon the trunk is brown; the heart is coarse-grained 

 and less compact than that of the white elm, and of a dull-red, 

 tinge. The wood, even in branches of one or two inches in di- 

 ameter, consists principally of alburnum or sap. This species is 

 stronger, more durable, when exposed to the weather, and of a 

 better quality than the white elm; hence in the Western States it 

 is employed with greater advantage in the construction of houses, 

 and sometimes of vessels on the banks of the Ohio. It is said to 

 be the best wood in the United States for blocks, and its scarce- 

 ness in the Atlantic States is the only cause of its limited con- 

 sumption in the ports. It makes excellent rails, which are of long 

 duration, and are formed with little labor, as the trunk divides it- 

 self easily and regularly : this is probably the reason that it is nev- 

 er employed for the naves of wheels. This tree bears a strong 

 resemblance to a species or a variety in Europe, known by the 

 name of Dutch Elm; the bark of which is very mucilaginous and 

 also contains sugar, a httle galhc acid and super-tartrate of potass. 

 Medicinally it is said to be alternative, tonic and diuretic, and to 

 be useful for herpetic and leprous eruptions. If it ever do good 

 in such cases, it must be from its mucilage sheathing the acid or 

 acrid substances of the primce vilce^ from which they arise. The 

 leaves and the bark of the branches, macerated in water, yield a 

 thick and abundant mucilage, which is used for a refreshing drink 

 in colds. The bark, when reduced to flour, is said to make ex- 

 cellent puddings. Sylva Jimericana. 



CABINET CYCLOP yEDT A. 



SILK MANUFACTURE. 

 f NO. V. 



Mode of rearing Silk Worms in Europe. ^ The various 

 operations of an establishment for the production of silk are, ordi- 

 narily, all begun and concluded in the course of a few weeks; yet 



