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Value of the above product: 
ma DOMES TEGO Alin BU GO.U- . 5 ase ganceien's vip din aan as eters incece $6, 600, 00 
300 pounds waste silk, at 9 ea Bate AE AOR ps 300. 00 
2 CON ES sth OTe ppt 5S Se Oe at ee ee. Se 6, 900, 00 
In studying these estimates the reader must, as I have said, bear in 
mind that the silk industry, like all industries. will have its ups and 
_downs—its periods of buoyancy and depression. Tor the past few years 
it has been going through one of the latter. But late last fall an up- 
ward tendency was shown in prices for raw silk, which, if they remain 
firm, can not but influence for the better the value of cocoons. 
In the preface to the second edition I mentioned the advantages to be 
- gained by raising Silk-worm eggs, though I called attention to the fact 
that the market for them was in its nature limited and transient, and 
that European merchants were again producing their own seed by the 
aid of the improved Pasteur system of selection. Notwithstanding the 
facts there stated as to the limited nature of the egg market, silk-raisers 
_ have been disappointed, after having produced large quantities of eggs, 
in not finding a ready sale for them. But though the egg market is 
important in its place, it will readily be seen that it can be, when ina 
healthy state, no more extensive than is necessary to supply each season 
the wants of silk growers. In 1884, in France, about 24 per cent. of 
q the total crop was employed in the production ofeggs. These figures, 
from a country where silk culture is established, furnish a foundation 
upon which to estimate. Every pound of cocoons which is sold at the 
filature puts money into the pockets of the silk-raising class; while 
every pound used in the production of eggs in excess of the amount 
actually required robs it of the money that it would otherwise receive. 
~The only way to build up the industry, then, is, as I have so often in- 
sisted, to create, by the establishment of filatures, a durable and profit- 
able market for cocoons. The production of eggs is simply an incident 
_ of comparatively little importance. 
— Ihave shown in said preface that silk-raising on an extensive seale 
is fraught with so many dangers that it is inadvisable to invest capital 
‘in such an enterprise. This is partly due to the fact that a large crop 
- Inust necessarily be raised with the aid of hired labor, and a consequent 
investment of cash capital. A large rearing requires a large and (for 
success) a specially constructed building, Which must necessarily lie 
dle for the greater part of the year. It has been found, too, that the 
average production of cocoons, per ounce of eggs, is much less for large 
than for smaller crops. Thus one ounce of eggs of good race will pro- 
duce one hundred pounds of fresh cocoons; while for every additional 
ounce the percentage is reduced if the worms are all raised together, 
until for twenty ounces the average may not exceed 25 pounds of co- 
—coons per ounce. Such is the general experience throughout France, 
according to Guérin-Méneville, and it shows the importance of keeping 
the worm in small broods, or of rearing on a moderate scale. As a re- 
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