shore  with  foamiiig  fury. 
A  neat  little  steamer,  ca- 
|.voimlr  t(je  |lr|nililir, 
WILD  SCENEBY  OF  THE  FAR  WEST. 
The  Far  West — now  termed  the  Rocky  Moun¬ 
tains  and  Pacific  Slope — is  ii  regioji  of  country 
of  which  we  knew  very  little  a  quoi’ter  of  a  cen¬ 
tury  ago.  But  tho  disoovery  of  the  rich  uiineral 
!  •easurcs  buried  therein  has  attracted  thousands 
to  -i-tiilorc  this  hitherto  almost  unknown  land, 
these  again  being  followed  by  greater  numbers 
of  curiosity-hunters  and  pleasure- seekers.  There 
is  probably  no  region  of  country  of  the  same  ex¬ 
tent  which  furnishes  such  an  abundance  of  ma¬ 
terials  worthy  of  investigation,  or  that  i.s  richer 
in  natural  scenery  than  tlie  ranges  of  mountains 
beginning  in  Colorado  and  Wyoming  audexttmd- 
ing  westward  to  California. 
It  may  ho  a  littlo  more  fashionable  to  \'iBit 
Europo  and  explore  tbe  Alps  than  it  is  to  cross 
tho  Plains  and  view  our  own  grand  monntaiJis, 
with  their  stupendous  peaks,  covered  with  per¬ 
petual  snow,  or  deep  canons,  extensive  parks, 
beautiful  water-falls  and  crystal  lakes,  bat  we 
maintain  that  for  grandeur  of  .scenery  and  all 
that  goes  to  make  a  country  worth  seeing, 
whether  for  health  or  pleasiu'e,  this  continent 
cannot  bt)  forjiassed..  Of  coiurso  it  1.  not  every 
ono  whosO  ciroimistances  will  permit  tliom  to 
visit  those  (of  lahi)  much  -  admired  and  fre¬ 
quented  regions,  still  those  who  are  compelled  to 
stay  at  home  can  now  got  a  gllmpso  of  the  Oreat 
West  through  the  many  excellent  skotches  of  our 
artists,  and  perhaps  none  are  presented  in  a  more 
convenient  form,  or  are  more  truthful  than  those 
given  in  tho  “  Pacific  Tourist  and  Guide,”  by  II, 
T.  WxLLiAais,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the 
accompanying  view  of  Lake  Tahoe. 
This  beautiful  sheet  of  fresh  water  is  22  miles 
long  and  10  wide,  on  an  average,  and  about 
three-fourths  of  it  lies  iu  California  and  one- 
fourth  in  Nevada.  It  has  an  elevation  above  the 
sea  of  a  mile  and  a  quarter  and  has  been  sounded 
to  tho  depth  of  1,645  foet. 
Through  glacial  action  in 
past  ages,  ico  must  have 
been  piled  to  the  Light  of  i 
3,400  foet  in  tbe  valley  of 
this  lake.  Tho  water  in  £ ‘ 
Lake  Tahoe  never  freezes  ^ - 
and  is  generally  as  smooth 
as  glass  and  clear ^as  crys- 
tal,  permitting  trout  to  be  ^ 
seen  and  pebbles  counted  - 
at  a  depth  of  50  feet.  Its 
water  changes  color  to  a 
beautiful  emerald  or  indi-  ^ 
go  blue,  according  to  the 
depth,  ami  when  disturbed 
by  tbe  fierce  moiintain 
winds,  its  waves  lash  the 
“Big- Water,”  the  Samoa  applied  to  the  ocean. 
There  are  many  points  of  interest  in  the  vicinity, 
notably  Shakespeare  Rock  and  Cave  Rock.  '^Hie 
only  drive  of  any  note  in  the  neighborhood  is 
from  Tahoe  City  to  Sugar  Point — the  coat  of 
making  l  oads  in  that  rogiou  being  in  most  in- 
staniies  enormous. 
Those  of  our  readers  seeking  plcasiue  in  travel 
should  riot  omit  a  journey  to  this  lake  of  the 
inountahis,  situated  as  it  is  among  some  of  tho 
grandest  scenery  on  this  continent. 
FRENCH  SILK  -  WORMS  ON  THE  OSAGE 
ORANGE, 
Ai.tiiocoii  an  enterjiriso  both  feasible  and 
promising,  sericulture  has,  up  to  the  present 
time,  met  with  but  little  oncourngement  in  the 
United  States.  With  ttm  exception  of  what  is 
known  as  “tho  Morers  MullicoiUia  fever"  of 
forty  years  ago,  and  the  equally  profitless  Cali¬ 
fornian  excitement  of  more  recent  date,  the 
subject  has  never  received  any  general  attention, 
II  ud  as  a  national  indasti-y  has  never  Ijeen  fah  ly 
tested. 
Among  the  obstacles  fn  the  way  of  roaring  the 
silk-worm  is  the  delay  necessary  to  grow  the 
sireoies  of  Mulberry  upon  which  it  feeds,  I  have 
tliought,  therefore,  that  wore  it  generally  known 
that  the  Osage  Orange — of  whioh  almost  every 
Western  farm  boasts  its  hedge— is  almost,  if  not 
quite,  o<]ual  to  the  M  ulberry  as  silk-wonn  food, 
this  neglected  industry  might  receive  a  fresh 
impulse  and  our  Ameriean  silk  factories  be  able 
in  time  to  obtain  their  supplies  of  raw  silk  at 
homo,  instead  of  importing,  as  at  present,  from 
France  and  Italy. 
The  discovery  that  the  worms  will  feed  upon 
the  Osage  Orange  {Matiura  aiirantiaca)  is  no 
new  thing.  It  was  made  many  years  ago  in 
Franco,  bui  as  there  was  at  that  lime  and  in  that 
country  no  advantage  to  lie  gained  liy  the  substi- 
tntiim  of  the  Osage  Orange  for  the  Mulhorry, 
but  littlo  impoitauce  was  attached  lo  tho  experi¬ 
ment. 
A  few  ywu-s  since  Mr.  Hajiuet,  Oeoveu  of  the 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  and  a  Mr. 
Hamiiei,  Cornary  of  Utah  published  accounts  of 
tho  successful  rearing  of  silkworms  on  the  Osage 
Orange.  Tlieso  exjieriments  attracted  tho  atten¬ 
tion  of  onr  State  Entomologist,  Prof.  Rn.EY, 
wlio,  the  following  sjiring,  procured  eggs  from 
Uiali,  and,  assisted  by  tho  writer,  roared  a  large 
number  of  the  worms  upon  the  new  kind  of 
food. 
The  worms  exporimonti>d  with  proved,  how¬ 
ever,  to  be  of  the  Syrian  race,  which  are  ex¬ 
tremely  hardy,  but  whoso  cocoons,  tliongh  of  a 
1  boantifnl  glo.ss  and  strong  fiber,  are  novertholess 
vahudesH  for  reeling,  on  account  of  their  loose 
and  flossy  texture.  It  still  remained  lo  bo  seen 
wliotlier  tljo  French  and  Chinese  varieties  would 
thrive  upon  Uie  unaccustomed  food.  Accord¬ 
ingly,  at  tho  suggestion  of  Prof.  Rir.r.y,  I  began, 
iu  tho  spring  of  1872,  a  series  of  exiierinicnts 
with  the  best  French  and  Japanese  varieties, 
with  tho  view  of  testing  tho  matter  thorongliJy. 
Tho  worms  hatched  about  tho  middle  of  April 
and  werii^^  .  wl  at  ouee  ujsjn  the  opening  buds 
of  the  Osago  Orange,  wliicb  they  ate  with  avid¬ 
ity.  They  continued  to  thrive  until  the  third 
molt,  when  symptoms  of  1‘obrinG,  or  Silk-Worm 
Cholera,  which  has  been  such  a  sconrgo  in  Eu¬ 
rope,  manifested  itself  among  the  French 
varieties.  Tbe  disease  soon  became  so  malig¬ 
nant  that  by  tbo  time  the  worms  were  ready  to 
spin  ninc-tcntliH  or  more  bad  perished.  Pebrine 
is  contagious,  and  was  soon  communicated  to  the 
Japanese  worms,  and  they,  together  with  a  few 
of  tire  Syrian  variety  that  were  kept  in  the  same 
room,  died  in  great  numbers.  A  few  cocoons, 
however,  of  each  variety  were  obtained.  These 
were  large  and  firm  and  iu  no  wise  inferior  to 
those  of  Mulberry-fed  worms.  The  moths  were 
alloived  to  is.suQ  aud  gave  a  plentiful  siqiply  of 
E,  ' 
ui  accoinmoaaung 
200  passengers,  is  provi¬ 
ded  to  take  tourists 
around  tbe  lake. 
Glenhrook  is  tire  name 
of  the  village  which  is  the 
busiuesB  center  of  this 
region,  and  the  accommo¬ 
dations  for  toiu’ist.s  are 
ample  and  excellent. 
It  is  the  busiuess  center 
of  the  whole  region  that 
borders  the  lake.  There 
ai-e  t\^o  hotels,  the  Glen- 
brook  and  Lake  House, 
with  excellent  accommo¬ 
dations  at  very  reasonable 
rates.  The  name  Tahoe, 
given  to  tiie  lake,  signifies 
in  the  Indian  Language 
eggs,  which  wore  placed  in  a  cool,  dry  cellna-  for 
preservation. 
In  tho  spring  of  ’73  tho  worms  hatclied  several 
days  later  than  those  of  the  jirevious  year,  but 
the  season  being  unusually  coM  and  backward, 
their  growth  was  retarded  by  a  scant  supply  of 
food  for  till.)  first  ton  days.  The  di.soiiso  did  not 
attack  them  until  about  tho  time  of  the  last 
molt,  and  by  carefully  separating  tho  infected 
from  tbo  healthy,  upon  tho  first  appearance  of 
siekiioss  but  few  foil  victims.  Tim  cocoons  were 
of  good  quality,  though  not  so  large  as  those  of 
tho  preceding  year. 
.Since  that  time  1  have  regiilarly  raised  a  small 
number  of  tho  worms  every  spring,  and  not  a 
trace  of  their  pocnliiir  di.seaso  has  maiiifosted 
itself.  Tho  worms  have  boon  imlformly  healthy 
and  hardy,  and  have  produced  good  cocoons, 
those  of  the  French  and  Jn|mnoso  Wlnto  Annu¬ 
als  being  firmest  and  strongest. 
These  experiments  cortainly  prove  tlio  entire 
practicability  of  rearing  tho  finest  varioUcs  of 
silk-worms  upon  tho  Osage  Orange— a  discovery 
of  importance,  not  only  to  the  future  silk-grow¬ 
ers  of  this  country,  but  possibly  to  tliose  of  Eu¬ 
rope,  where  the  dccadonce  of  the  Mulberry  is 
already  causing  some  anxiety,  They  would  also 
seem  to  Indicate  Unit  -a  change  to  tho  new  food 
plant  is  a  reruedy  for  tho  droailnd  diseasu  which 
has  dui-ing  somo  years  throatenoil  tho  entire  silk 
crop  of  P.iiropo.  Whether  a  change  of  food 
simply  would  elToct  a  cure,  or  whether,  in  the 
case  of  my  worms,  climatic  influences  operated 
largely  in  Ihoir  favor  remains,  of  course,  to  bo 
proven. 
An  uxporiinont  in  the  production  aud  manu- 
facturo  of  silk  which  is  now  in  progress  in  Kan¬ 
sas  is  worthy  of  general  interest.  About  eight 
years  ago  Mr.  E.  V.  Boisrieiie,  a  French  capital¬ 
ist,  came  to  this  country  with  a  colony  of  his 
people  and  established  himself  in  Franklin  Co. , 
Kan.,  laying  tho  fonmlations  of  the  town  of 
Silkville.  Here  ho  erected  a  factoiy  for  the 
maunfacturo  of  velvet  and  other  ribbons,  pro¬ 
curing  his  supplies  of  silk  from  his  native  land, 
but  designing  ovontnally 
out  at  once  over  ten  ihou- 
feeding  a  vast  number  of 
lievc,  that  was  ever  intro- 
duced  into  this  country. 
Mulberry,  a  new  and  im- 
tlioBC  who  have  upon  their 
farms^  hedges  of  Osage 
ia  but  sliglit,  and  uiay  cua- 
I /  \  children  and  doiicato  wo- 
would  nut,  there- 
,'•5^' V '  y  fore,  iuterofere  with  tho 
- - liulias  of  ordinary  farm 
laborers. 
NEW  YORK  CITY,  JULY  P2,  1876. 
(Kntered  aocordinir  to  Act  of  Congroaa.  In  the  yoir  lS7rt.  by  tho  Hural  Publlshlnit  Company.  In  tho  office  of  tho  Librarian  of  Conirross  at  WashlnKton.i 
VOl,.  .XXXIV.  No.  I.) 
'.VUOLE  No.  138‘J.  f 
j  PKICE  SI3C*  CENTS. 
I  iS‘2.«5  PER  YEAR. 
