278 HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 
who have as practical a knowledge of the handling and growth and 
reeling of silk as the Agricultural Department has—with all due defer- 
ence to the Department’s trained men. And it was only abandoned 
because it did not pay for the labor bestowed upon it. That was the 
reason for the abandonment of the sifk growth in New England. 
Labor was more profitable in other directions. The mulberry tree 
can be found scattered all over the Connecticut Valley. I have trees 
on my farm. In fact, there was an old cocoonery on it that 1 pulled 
down only a few years ago. 
Mr. Scorr. My observation has been that it has been carried on 
spasmodically, and, just as you state, it is due to the fact that it is not 
a profitable way to employ labor. 
Mr. Henry. The silk manufacturers in this country originated in 
American-grown silk, and all those manufacturers, like Chainey 
Brothers, who have millions of capital invested in the business, first 
bought their silk from local producers, in small quantities. 
Mr. Scorr. After once gaining a foothold, it has declined until it 
now amounts to little. 
Mr. Howarp. That discourages me more than anything else. 
Mr. Scott. The Secretary stated last year that he thinks there are 
sections in the South, remote sections, where it will be advantageous 
to the people, and where the labor problem is somewhat different. 
Mr. Bowir. Somewhat different. 
Mr. Apams. This silk production is undoubtedly profitable, to a cer- 
tain degree, in foreign countries. Why is that? 
Mr. Howarp. It is not more profitable there than it is here, but the 
people there are satisfied with less money. It is the well-to-do people 
who give this thing up, after trying it the first year. The very poor 
people, to whom $10 is a big thing, are the ones that keep it up. Those 
are the ones the Secretary tries to help. 
Mr. Apams. I confess I am dubious about the merits of a kind of 
business on the farm which will not pay to carry on on an extensive 
scale. I can not understand how a business can be profitable in a small 
way that will not be profitable in a large way. 
Mr. Howarp. If you raise silkworms on a large scale, they are 
pretty sure to become diseased and die, but if you raise them ina 
small way, as is the experience all over Europe, better results will be 
obtained. In Europe the very large cocooneries die off. The silk 
business is a household industry there. 
Mr. Bowir. Is that the experience in other countries? 
Mr. Howarp. Yes; it is the same way. 
Mr. Bowie. Can not you urge your scientific experts to find a 
remedy for the disease / 
Mr. Howarp. They have found it for certain diseases. The first 
thing that Pasteur did that gaye him a great reputation was to find a 
remedy for one of the silkworm diseases. The situation in regard to 
this thing is encouraging. Only recently a Syrian, an importer of 
certain grades of silk in New York City, came to me and told me that 
he could get, in the vicinity of New York, no less than 5,000 Syrians, 
experienced persons, who would be willing to work at 25 cents a day 
in this business. 
The Coarrman. Syrians? 
Mr. Howarp. Yes, sir; he said he could get them, and he says he 
