1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
201 
thrown aside, because they always yield an inferior 
article. 
Verona is the great depot for sewing silk 
Padua and Rovigo furnish twisted silk, (tortigli- 
ata,) of which cords of all colors are made for the 
Levant market. 
Vicenza and Bassano’s principal products are dou¬ 
ble thread Tram silk; it is rather heavy and not ve¬ 
ry supple, which is ascribed to the hard water used 
in reeling; it seems that that operation is not well 
attended to, and the careful removal of the coarser 
threads on the outside of the cocoon is much neglect¬ 
ed, which makes the thread less uniform and pure. 
The silk of Tyrol has a fine appearance, and it 
would be still more even if the maestras would pay 
more attention to cross the thread properly in reel- 
ing. 
The silk commerce of Italy has its principal seat 
in Lombardy. It has undergone great changes du¬ 
ring the last forty years, and Italy now produces the 
best silk, and much more than any other country in 
Europe. 
The facility with which silk is grown and the 
great profits it yields,, induced the silk growers to 
extend this branch of industry as much as possible. 
In the year 1800, the total amount of silk grown 
in Lombardy alone, was estimated at 1,800,000 lbs. 
which has since increased to 4,000,000 lbs.; it may 
perhaps, in the next twenty years, runup to 6,000,- 
000 lbs. 
The political difficulties with which Italy has had 
to contend since the beginning of this century, have 
much impeded the development of the culture of 
silk. Napoleon’s policy of the continental system 
closed the English market to the Italians. The 
East India Company brought to England, Bengal 
silk as a substitute for the Italian silk; though of an 
inferior quality, it answered very well for certain 
articles. 
In the years 1800—1802,.... 
do 1803—1805, 
do 1806—1808,..., 
do 1809—1811, 
do 1812—1814, 
Suma,. 
Mean average, ..., 
But in the years 1815—1817, 
1818—1820,, 
1821—1823,, 
1824—1826,, 
1827—1829, 
1830-1832,, 
In the year 1833,. 
do do 1834,. 
Suma,. 
Average,. 
Italian Silk. 
Asiatic Silk. 
Pounds. 
2,011,680 
2,437,160 
1,917,080 
2,280,740 
3,147,540 
Pounds. 
1,350.870 
1,306,580 
1,704,390 
1,198,710 
2,516,690 
11,794,200 
786,280 
8,077.240 
538,483 
1,281,280 
3,633.000 
4,024,500 
5,144,000 
6,024,600 
5,308,500 
1,883,400 
1,631,095 
2,903,600 
2,497,140 
4,432,780 
4,689,640 
5,857,880 
6,138,750 
1,794,100 
3,143,127 
28,930.375 
1,446,519 
31,457,017 
1,572,851 
The foregoing tables show that in former periods, 
the quantity of Italian silk brought into the market, 
over reached the quantity of Asiatic silk nearly 50 
per cent. 
In the second period, the importation of Asiatic 
silk increased considerably; the Italian silk enjoyed 
an equal share of increase. Of late, a considera¬ 
ble quantity of silk goes to Germany and Switzer¬ 
land, and the average exports of Austria, are— 
To London,.. 1,330, 100 lbs. 
To Lyons,. 1,695,000 “ 
To Germany and Switzerland,. 2,552,500 li 
To Russia,. 169'600 “ 
According to the official reports, the quantity of 
silk in Lombardy has increased three-fold within 40 
years, and the price doubled; consequently, the in¬ 
come from silk has increased six-fold in forty years 
The same official reports estimate the value of ex¬ 
ported silk to 30,446,640 florins; the amount con¬ 
sumed in the Empire to 12,000,000 fl.; together, to 
42,446,640 florins. 
To raise 438,000 cwt. of cocoons, requires, 8,760,- 
000 cwt. of leaves; calculating that one man can ga¬ 
ther 50 centners in 40 days, employs 175,200 hands 
in gathering leaves. To every f metric ounces of 
eggs,—the labor of one woman is calculated to 
raise the worms, yielding about 100 lbs. of cocoons, 
which requires 438,000 hands. 
Reeling 6,386,000 lbs., employs for 50 days, .... 150,000 hands. 
To twist 4.56S.OOO lbs., requires, during 200 days, 20,000 u 
The preparation and manufacture of stuffs from 
the offals,... 13,000 “ 
Together,. 796,200 Individuals 
About one-sixth of the whole population of the 
Lombardy and Venetian kingdoms is thus engaged 
in this branch of industry. C. L. Fleischman. 
IRRIGATION. 
Editors of The Cultivator —While in Wor¬ 
cester, Mass., a few days since, I was invited by 
Col. J. W. Lincoln to examine his system of irriga¬ 
tion, and to accompany him down the Blackstone 
river into Rhode Island, to look at the watered mea¬ 
dows which so frequently occur on that stream. I 
was agreeably surprised to find such an extensive 
and systematic use of water for the purpose of irri¬ 
gation ; and feeling quite an interest in the general 
subject of watering land by artificial means, I will 
attempt a description of what I saw in my recent 
journey, and state some of the principles of the ac¬ 
tion of the water of irrigation. 
Col. Lincoln has 30 acres of interval land, situa¬ 
ted on the margin of the Blackstone river, which 
he has been watering from that stream, for twenty 
years. A portion of the land had been imperfectly 
irrigated by a previous owner; but when the Colo¬ 
nel took possession of the land, he found the ditches 
in so bad a state, and so poorly arranged, that he 
commenced entirely anew with a thorough and sys¬ 
tematic process. The surface of the meadow is 
considerbly uneven, and it required some skill and 
care in laying out the ditches so as to conduct the 
water over the meadow. He thinks that if the thing 
were to be done again, he should first graduate the 
surface so as to get the water over the land with 
greater facility. As it is, however, every part is 
well watered. 
The ground is, as is usual with alluvial lands, 
highest near the stream , descending thence towards 
the foot of the uplands, and also descending with 
the river. On the side of the meadow joining the 
higher lands, there is a hollow, running through the 
entire length of the junction, with branches diver¬ 
ging, and some of them extending across the inter¬ 
val ; and these hollows are very convenient for 
draining off the surplus water of irrigation. Where- 
ever it is necessary to convey the water across these 
hollows in order to distribute over land beyond them, 
an embankment is raised, with the carrier ditch in 
the top, and thus the water is conducted over at the 
proper level. Cheap stone culverts are constructed 
in these embankments, in order that the trench 
drains may not be interrupted in their work of drain¬ 
age. A thorough dam is thrown across the river, a 
little way above the meadow; in it are strongly se¬ 
cured gates, easily opened or shut, as more or less 
water may be required; a stone flume receives the 
water from the dam, and passes it into a main car¬ 
rier ditch, running from thence through the entire 
length of the meadow on the highest ground. Small- 
