SILK. 
declined, and the project does not appear 
to have been renewed, on an extensive 
scale, till many years after. 
In 1718, a patent was granted to John 
Appletree, Esq. for producing raw silk of 
the growth of England, and for raising a 
fund for carrying on the same. The capital 
of the nndertaking was divided into shares 
of 51. each ; a deed of trust was executed 
and enrolled in Chancery ; Directors were 
chosen by the subscribers for managing the 
affairs of the company ; and, Chelsea-Park 
being thought a proper soil for the purpose, 
and in a convenient situation, a lease was 
taken of it for 122 years. Here upwards of 
2000 young mulberry trees were soon plant- 
ed, and extensive edifices were erected for 
carrying on the work ; this number of trees 
was, however, but a small part of what the 
company intended to plant, if they were 
successful. 
In 1719, Mr. Henry Barham, who w'as 
probably a member of this company, pub- 
lished “ An Essay upon the Silk-Worm,” 
in which he thinks all objections and diffi- 
culties against this “ glorious undertaking ” 
are shown to be mere, phantoms and trifles ; 
the event, however, proved that the company 
met with difficulties of a real and formidable 
nature ; for though the expectation of Mr. 
Barham, who questioned^not that in the en- 
suing year they should produce a consider- 
able quantity of raw silk, may have been 
partly accomplished :’the violent stock-job- 
bing speculations of that period, which in- 
volved the shares of all projects of this 
nature, must have produced many chatiges 
among the proprietors, and deranged the 
original design, in consequence of which it 
soon went to decay. From that time there 
has been no public undertaking of the kind ; 
but individuals have continued to rear the 
silk-worm as an object of curiosity, and 
have generally been successful, as it is easy 
to bestow a degree of care and attention 
on a small number, which could not be ex- 
tended to a large concern. The insurmount- 
able obstacle to raising silk in Great Britain 
is the climate, which is too cold and wet ; 
and though expedients might be adopted to 
obviate these inconveniences, they would 
render the culture of the article, on a large 
scale, by far too expensive. 
As the mulberry tree is scarce in some 
parts of this country, attempts have been 
made to feed the worms on other plants. 
Miss Croft of York, in 1792, sent to the 
Society for the encouragement of Arts, 
Manutactures, and Commerce, a specimen 
VOL. vr. 
of silk produced by W'orms fed entirety 
upon lettuce leaves. The respectable so- 
ciety just mentioned, continue to oflfer pre- 
miums for the production of silk in this 
country ; but as all former attempts, made 
at a time when land and labour were much 
cheaper than at present, have turned out 
unprofitable, and consequently been aban- 
doned, there can be little ground for hope 
that better success would attend future 
trials. 
King James the First, whose zeal for rais- 
ing silk in this country has been noticed, 
at the same time, extended his views to the 
American colonies. He several times urged 
the Virginia Company to promote the 
cultivation of mulberry trees, and the breed- 
ing of silk- worms, particularly by a letter 
addressed to them, in 1622, expressly on 
this subject, in which he charged and re- 
quired them to see that the people there 
used all possible diligence in breeding of 
silk-worms, and erecting of silk-works, and 
that they bestowed their labour in pro- 
ducing this rich and solid commodity in 
preference to tobacco, an article to which 
he had a violent aversion. The company 
appear to have been determined not to be 
outdone by the King, in zeal for the ac- 
complishment of this object, and accord- 
ingly transmitted his Majesty’s letter to the 
Governor and Council of Virginia, with 
very particular instructions to employ all 
their endeavours for establishing the staple 
commodities of silk and wine ; for the bet- 
ter accomplishment of which they sent a 
number of copies of a book on the subject, 
written by Mr. John Bonoeil, a member of 
the company, who engaged earnestly in the 
attempt, and was so fully convinced of its 
practicability, that he says, such quantities 
of silk might easily be made in Virginia, if 
there were a sufficient number of hands, as 
in a very short time would serve all Chris- 
tendom. The misfortunes which the colony 
of Virginia experienced, and the dissolution 
of the company soon after, must have 
checked the execution of this project very 
materially ; and though a considerable num- 
ber of trees w’ere planted, and were found 
to flourish, but little silk appears to have 
been produced. 
In 1654, it apjjeared that the culture of 
silk had been revived in Virginia, by Mr. 
Edward Diggs, who was confident that he 
had conquered all the principal difficulties 
respecting this commodity, and made its 
profit so evident to all the Virginians, that 
in a short time there would be great quan- 
I, 
