THE SILK BUSINESS, ANT) RAISING- WORMS. 
107 
the steers will come to market equally quick and 
heavy. At all events, I am willing to test the 
matter. 
Here endeth the first chapter; you will hear 
from me on Cotswolds in your next. 
Wm. H. Sotham. 
P. S. The bull “ Sir George” was the sire of my 
Sir George, but I think the latter equally as good 
a bull of his age, and very much resembles him. 
The former was an aged bull, bred by Mr. John 
Hewer, near Hereford, whose pedigree and portrait 
were given in the Farmers’ Magazine, and the Cul¬ 
tivator. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
THE SILK BUSINESS, AND REARING WORMS. 
Mr. Editor : It is with the greatest pleasure 
that I send you the following letter received a few 
days since. Mr. Gill, the author, is a gentleman 
of the highest character as a man, and as a busi¬ 
ness man. The document is, in my opinion, more 
important than anything that has appeared in rela¬ 
tion to the silk culture in this country. The letter 
was written in answer to one from me, stating 
some facts and reasonings in favor of open feeding, 
and inquiring in regard to his experience on the 
same subject. Yours truly, 
J. R. Barbour. 
Oxford, Mass., June 1th, 1843. 
Mount Pleasant, \ 
Jefferson Co., Ohio, April 1 , 1843. J 
J. R. Barbour, Esq. — Dear Sir: I received 
your circular some months since, and sent you a 
report of the select committee of Ohio Legislature, 
containing a great mass of valuable information 
relative to the progress of the silk business in this 
region. Also, a letter from myself. I presume 
they did not reach you, as you do not mention them 
in your favor of March 24, and pamphlet, which I 
have received. Your views relative to thorough 
ventilation are in accordance with my own experi¬ 
ence—having been engaged for the past five years 
in all the departments, both growing and manufac¬ 
turing. It gives me pleasure to announce to you, 
that I shall continue to> prosecute my labors as 
heretofore. 
During the past year, I have much enlarged my 
operations, both feeding and manufacturing, and 
have furnished employment to about fifty hands on 
an average, the year round ; and have manufactu¬ 
red upward of $9,000 worth of silk goods, consist¬ 
ing of all the varieties of staple silk in demand, 
equal to any imported, and sold them readily as 
made, at a reasonable advance on their cost of pro¬ 
duction and manufacture. In fact, my efforts have 
been crowned with complete success, and I am 
rapidly and permanently enlarging my operations 
in all the various departments. In the past five 
years of my feeding operations, I have frequently 
met with partial failures, and occasionally entire 
loss of lots of worms from extremely warm, close, 
and confined weather, but never from cold. I have 
tried all the plans of feeding and ventilating cocoon¬ 
eries used or known in the United States. 1 found 
they were very deficient in accomplishing the ob¬ 
jects desired, viz., cheapness and simplicity of con¬ 
struction, proper ventilation, cleanliness, and econo¬ 
my in feeding. These objects are essential to the 
success of the business. After testing all the vari¬ 
ous methods and recommendations for feeding and 
studying the nature, habits, and wants of the worms 
thoroughly, I finally studied out and adopted the 
following plan, which meets all of these important 
objects. I have sent a model and description to 
the Patent Office, and expect a patent therefor in a 
few days. I shall feed extensively on this plan the 
coming season. I fully believe my invention will 
work as complete a revolution in the growing of 
silk as the discovery of the gin did in that of cot¬ 
ton. I have named it Gill’s Patent Feeding Tent, 
and Silkworm Ventilating Cradle. Description 
The tents and cradles may be constructed of any 
size and of any materials suitable, keeping in view 
the principles of construction. I adopt as a con¬ 
venient size, a tent 15 feet wide, 50 feet long; side 
posts 4 feet apart, driven in the ground and standing 
above ground 6 feet high each side ; for centre posts 
8 feet apart, driven in the ground, and standing 9 feet 
above ground ; ridge and eave poles to be fastened 
along the top of each of those three ranges of posts * 
or stakes—the tent-cloth to be of linen or any other 
fabric suitable. It may otherwise be impregnated 
with paint, tar, or other substance as desired, to 
give protection from the weather, and to extend 
from the bottom on one side, over the top and 
down to the bottom on the other side, with weight 
poles, or rollers at the bottom on each side, so that 
the tent-cloth may be rolled up or let down, to give 
free circulation of air, or exclude the same, rain or 
sunshine at pleasure. The canvass is most conve¬ 
nient in strips 10 feet wide, and side rollers same 
length. These, when down, to rest against a plank 
fastened along the two outsides of upright posts. 
The rollers of cloth, when down, should reach 
within 6 inches of the ground, and a drain under 
them to carry off the water. I use the ground for 
the floor. 
The feeding ventilating-cradles are constructed 
to embrace the following principles, and of sizes to 
suit the breadth of tents, leaving an aisle along one 
side, and between each cradle. To furnish a tent 
15 feet wide, the cradle should have three rockers 
4 feet long, made of plank, 15 to 18 inches broad, 
and about 1 1-2 inch thick, a trough resting across 
their centres, let in by a notch in the rockers 12 
feet long, 1 foot wide, and one end closed,—from 
the points of the rockers, attach upright posts, 30 
inches long, inclined out, and a cap attached to 
their tops on each side, and parallel with the 
trough,—to this cap and side of the trough, fasten 
lath 1-8 of an inch apart, whole length of trough 
on both sides,—forming when done a rack about 
2 1-2 feet deep, and 5 feet wide at the top. Across 
the trough fasten slats about 1 foot apart, on which 
to lay mulberry-branches, and on these branches 
put the worms after their second moulting, or when 
about half grown, and feed them until they spin, 
with branches cut about one foot long, with their 
leaves on. Suspended over each cradle have a fan 
made of bonnet-boards or any other thing suitable, 
with a pendulum coming down from the shaft 
which is across the tent, in two of the upright 
