148 



RAWwSlLK. 



(K ) Dr. Lush further desires information from Ben- 



Rt^denTa" g^l on the following points : 



Warnooky. J ^as the Italian plan now following at 

 Poona, of setting cuttings from the standard 

 eight to twelve feet apart, to be trained up as 

 standard trees, the leaves of which it is pro- 

 posed not to gather for four years, been tried in 

 Bengal, and if it has, with what success ?" 



Aiuwer. Not in the aurungs of the Soonamooky 

 residency, which includes Gonatea, the general 

 name of all silk manufactured therein. I cannot 

 speak of others, though I have never heard that 

 such practice obtains elsewhere. 



2d. Will the leaves be improved, or otherwise, 

 as food for the worms in this climate, by being 

 produced from old trees?" 



Answer. The established practice, already fully 

 explained, seems to prove the contrary. 



3d. Provided the trees and leaves be hnproved 

 by age, and produce a larger crop as they grow 

 older, still will it be possible, with any supposable 

 rate of profit, to compensate for the capital of 

 a silk farm lying dead for four years, and in a 

 country where labour is dearer than in Bengal, 

 and irrigation necessary V 



Answer. With reference to the first and second 

 queries (10th paragraph of this), I think I may 

 safely add, that certain disappointment and loss of 

 capital would attend such speculations, contrary 



to 



