ven.

Supply of Eggs for 1842.

So

Let J. W

To Correspondents.

tax on manufactured silks. There can be little doubt We announced in former numbers of the Record that that both provisions will be enacted. We hope sincereit was our intention to systematize the business of sup-ly that among the few good things which we ever look plying Eggs to the silk growing public, and to keep on to Congress to do, this wholesome tariff will be passed. hand a supply of them at all times, which the buyer might depend upon as being of the very best varieties, as well as of the choicest quality, and by such a course breaking up the business of cheating the community with damaged, sickly, or otherwise worthless eggs. far our efforts have given general satisfaction: our eggs have not been complained of in a single instance; and we have delivered them during the summer on the days appointed by the purchaser, in the best condition. The same arrangements will be continued for 1842; and we shall be glad to receive the patronage of our readers abroad. The season for making eggs is now upon us. Many gentlemen contemplate embarking largely in the silk culture, and will require a supply of eggs. If their orders are sent in now, while the season lasts, we are willing to make and supply them with our choicest Peanuts at $2,50 per ounce, deliverable at any time next year that may suit their convenience, if satisfactory arrangements for payment are made when the order is giWhen the season for producing eggs shall have gone, we shall not sell at the same price. It must be apparent to every one that there is not only a considerable expense encountered by us in keeping a large quantity of eggs at the proper temperature during the hot months, but a great deal of anxious solicitude to keep all safe. With us, this anxiety is strong enough to require a personal examination of the eggs once every day. Beside these considerations, there is a great risk in making a large quantity of eggs for sale, without being previously ordered. Gentlemen who may order eggs for 1842, will be required to give an approved note or acceptance for the amount, payable six months from the time the order is given. All payments to be in funds at par in Philadelphia. Without good eggs it is folly for any person to commence the rearing of silk worms. The Peanut has been found to be preferable to any other kind, as it affords 25 per cent more silk than any other, reels freely, while fewer defective cocoons are found in any crop that is tolerably well attended to, than in crops produced by any other kind of worm. Our eggs will all be laid on small sheets of very thin but strong paper, and will be crowded close together, so as to be calculated for mail conveyance. Orders for next year's eggs, to be supplied at the above price, must be received during the months of August and September.

-n go on-we have no doubt the reason of his ill luck could all be clearly pointed out, if detailed to us. But we know not if he fed on shelves or otherwise-if on the shelves, it is cause enough; nothing from his New York friend.

The correspondent who remits us five dollars for eggs, "on condition that they produce worms which will be healthy and spin all up," will find his money returned to him by mail. We guarantee no such thing. We know our eggs to be GOOD, and that they will hatch. But after that we have done with them. It would be a fine business indeed, for us to stand sponsor and father the effects of every man's carelessness, just as if the best eggs in the world could not be turned into the worst worms in the world, by lazy, careless, slovenly feeders. Why, the mere fact of a man's offering to guarantee such an absurdity, would convict him of being as barefaced an impostor as ever breathed. If we sell good eggs that hatch well, we perform our part. Let the silk grower do his; and because his laziness or inattention causes his worms to die, let him curse nothing but his own folly, and not seek to escape from the reproaches of his conscience by unjustly charging his failure to eggs that were of the very best quality and condition when he received them.

Duty on Foreign Silks.

From a document recently laid before Congress, we gather the following interesting items. Value of manufactured silks imported in 1840,

66

Silk and worsted goods,
Raw silk,

From the Mount Pleasant, Penn., Register.

Progress of Silk Growing.

We spent a day or two recently in glancing at the family Cocooneries of some of our friends and neighbors, in the town and vicinity. The largest number of Worms fed at one time and place, are at Mr. Samuel Landis's. He has chartered and fitted up an old school house for the purpose, and we venture the opinion that his classes are the most quiet and laborious that ever graced the school room. They were a little "too thick to thrive," however, and some of them were sickly. His only mistake appears to be in commencing operations upon shelves and hurdles. Morris's Frame would have preserved the health of his worms. John Lloyd, in town, has the next largest number. He has adopted the Frame, and has a healthy stock of worms. His room, being the second story of the store house, is large, airy, and appropriate.

Mr.

Several other persons are feeding, with delightful success, in this rieighborhood. The worms are healthy and vigorous, whether fed upon the Multicaulis, the White, $10,288,958 or the Native Mulberry. Most persons are now using 1,729,792 the latter, but complain of the difficulty of gathering 234,235 leaves, and are gradually introducing the Multicaulis. No one who has adopted the BURLINGTON FRAME $12,252,985 has been pestered with sick worms! It thus appears that notwithstanding the unexampled prostration of business, during the past year, the scarcity of currency and the wide spread bankruptcy of the people, the silks imported during that year reached the enormous sum of twelve and a quarter millions of dollars. Worse than all, the whole amount, except the small sum of $234,235 for raw silk, was imported free of duty! The raw silk paid a duty of only 15 per cent. By the revenue bill now before Congress, it is proposed to increase this duty to 20 per cent, and to impose the same

Mrs. Margaret Hall, of Armstrong county, procured a small lot of Multicaulis Trees and Silk Worm Eggs in April, 1840, and is progressing satisfactorily in her laudable enterprise. She writes that some of the worms commenced spinning this season, in 18 days after they were hatched. She writes for eggs for another crop. These are not now to be had.

Mr. J. Armel, Jr., has just shown us a beautiful lot of cocoons, the product of worms fed by him-also a specimen of reeled silk from Mr. Landes's new reel.

BURLINGTON, NEW JERSEY, SEPTEMBER, 1811.-No. 10.

of the Silk Culture in the United States. It will be sent by mail to such as write on crows, and in anticipation of the State be

ness in my family, that I have not got my co- | first of June, when a small lot began to hatch, coons reeled.

Yours respectfully,

DANIEL SPAULDING.

which had been exposed all the spring; these were fed in bulk until passed the third moulting, when they were placed on your Frame, fed with white mulberry twigs, and began to wind in 26 days without changing.

(which were retarded by putting the eggs in the well) commenced hatching the 5th July, and in three days were all out; supposed to be 100,000; began to wind in 35 days, and are now in the spinning roofs, ready to take down.

Putney, Vt., Aug. 21, 1841. Mr. Morris-Dear Sir-With my feeble health and pressure of business, I hardly can find an opOur first principal crop of 100,000 or over, portunity to gratify your wishes or my own; I began to hatch the 4th of June, and in five days will, however, in substance, comply with your were all out. This lot were the white peanut, reasonable request. It has not been in my power fed in the same way as the first small lot; began to make all the experiments which would have to wind at 31 days old. Second crop came out been pleasant to myself and gratifying to others; the 15th to 19th June, sulphur worms, wound up but I can comply with the substance of your re-in 35 days. Third crop, of the sulphur kind quest. I have had what I call good success in feeding this season, quite beyond my expectations. I attribute, sir, a large portion of my success, to the use of your Silk Worm Frame, which, as it relates to economy in labor, to ventilation and cleanliness, (the great desideratum in the Silk business,) I am satisfied, so far as my experience and knowledge extends, exceeds in utility by far, all the fixtures now in use. I have taken from the frames more than 300 pounds, weighed as taken off, besides a lot of at least 150,000, a large portion of which have just commenced winding. Most of the cocoons now made, I call first quality. I have not placed the worms upon the frames until the 3rd, and some to the 4th moulting, and have done but very little at cleaning after placing them upon the frames generally fed with dry leaves, as the season thus far has not prevented, sometimes with branches and sometimes with leaves, using the Morus Multicaulis, the Canton, the Alpine, Asiatic and some other hardy varieties. Those I have had wound were mostly fed from what are called the hardy kinds of Mulberry. My success this season is additional encouragement to persevere. I shall with pleasure do all I can to introduce your Frame into these parts, but as I have always had to do, I shall have to beat hard against wind and tide. This will not always be the case, unless I greatly misjudge. The light approaches, the day dawns, success must attend the enterprise, and nearly immortal honors shall crown the pioneers of such a cause. I shall be understood to mean comparatively, for no earthly enterprise can equal that of the Gospel, the salvation of You will excuse me for not adding more at this time.

men.

Wishing you continued success, 1 subscribe myself, respectfully yours, FORRIS MOORE.

Adams's Basin, Monroe Co., N. Y. 2 August 21st, 1841. S Mr. E. Morris, Dear Sir-We hasten to comply with your request. Owing to the lateness of the spring, our eggs were kept back until the

The actual amount of labor in feeding and gathering has been $90.00. The amount of cocoons gathered and weighed off is 293 lbs.— The supposed weight now in the roofs is 200 lbs., making 493 lbs. The State bounty on the above amount is $74.95. Deducting the bounty from the labor will leave a balance against us of $15.05, the cost of our cocoons. The amount of worms hatched is supposed to be 300,000— our loss has been between 10 and 15,000. Our loss may be attributed to the season, as we have had very warm days and uncommon cool nights, or to the building not being plastered, heating quick and cooling quick; or to having to remove our worms some 12 rods from one building to another, or from the fact that our last crop were not put upon the frames until they had passed the 4th moulting, as our loss has been far the greatest in our last crop. We wish information upon these points, so that we may avoid them in future.

We are now prepared to answer your inquiry as to your Frames, having used 70 the present season, and also the flat surface or shelves: and our decided opinion is that the Burlington Silk Worm Frame is the cheapest and far the best of any fixing that can be erected; saving of labor, securing the health and success of the worm and the silk business. We have had no occasion to clean or change our worms after they were put upon the Frame. We have fed fresh and wet branches as often as we have had showers of rain. We should be ungrateful and unthankful indeed if we were now discouraged. On the contrary, we are amply rewarded for all our labor, and are encouraged to go forward, believing that the business will succeed, other peoples' opinion to the contrary notwithstanding. have reeled of our cocoons, and have now on hand 10 lbs. raw silk, which we shall manufacture into sewing silk, and as soon as we can

We

avail ourselves of information upon the weaving that quantity in such a building the present seaprocess, shall manufacture some silk goods.

Yours in haste,

ADAMS & STANLEY.

son. For a particular description of it the reader is referred to the fifth number of the Record. For such a house, at least eight ounces of eggs should be hatched, so as to allow all the worms which are slow and lagging at moulting time, to be thrown away. By adopting that plan the crop will go on vigorously to the termination,

In reply to the question in the foregoing let. ter, as to the comparative advantage of putting the worms on the frames after the third or fourth moulting, we can only say that we have discov-being purged from time to time of those worms ered no difference in that respect in our worms. which from some cause that cannot be satisfactoWe should however be inclined to keep them off rily explained, are too long in moulting. The the frames until they came out of the last moult-slow worms are waited for and added to the spinning will be more simultaneous, than if the ing. But this cannot be done by any but very careful feeders, such as give no more food than they will actually consume. Excessive feeding, previous to the third moulting, together with neglecting to thin out the worms as they increase in size, will compel the feeder to clean his worms or place them on the frames-or, to throw them away.

Our own Operations.

In the August Record we stated that our third crop of worms would be spinning before that number could be distributed. It is now spun up, and the cocoons are of excellent quality. Our fourth crop has disappointed us-it was however, the smallest of all. The fifth had begun to spin, and had produced a quantity of cocoons of most superior quality, when the weather changed on the night of the 26th of August, and was severely cold. We were absent from Burlington, and on our return to the Cocoonery next morning, found that unfortunately no fire had been raised during the night. The furnace was immediately heated and the building warmed. But the damage had been done: for at this most critical period, spinning time, a single night of severe cold will in most cases produce irreparable injury. The crop has not done winding, but we shall lose a large portion of it. This, from the superior character of the cocoons already produced, is a source of extreme regret. The last crop is now ten days old, and being young, experiences no injury from the cold above referred to.

Facts in the Silk Culture.

COCOONERIES.-A building 32 by 20 feet, with two stories and a large airy garret, in which to bring on the young worms, will produce 50 pounds of silk at one crop. We have produced

others as they moult. Or if they cannot be spared, then let them be preserved and joined to those which are two or three days younger. It is better to have too many worms than too few, as it is much easier to throw them away than to create them. Cocooneries should be plastered, and be well supplied with doors and windows. A cellar should also be provided, to store the foliage in extremely hot weather. Mice must be carefully guarded against, as they are surprisingly destructive. One mouse will demolish a vast number of worms in a single night. In this latitude, six crops of worms may be fed in one season.

EGGS.-An ounce of eggs ought to produce, with good management, seven to ten bushels of cocoons. It has always been found that small crops of one to three ounces afford a larger proportionate product of cocoons than where eight ounces or more are reared. The cause of this is believed to be the superior care which is generally bestowed on a small brood. It would follow then, that a silk grower on a large scale would find it more to his advantage to have several small cocooneries than one or two very large ones, and of this we entertain no doubt. Eggs may be preserved for any length of time by the aid of ice, for the production of successive crops much as possible, and the air must not be wholly of worms. Dampness should be avoided as excluded from them. We generally examined our eggs every morning, throwing the cover of the box entirely off, so as to allow fresh air to enter: yet eggs taken thence on the 11th of August for our last crop, did not hatch until the 21st. There is a great deal to be learned by all of us in relation to eggs, and there are many things already known, which every silk grower is not acquainted with. Worms proceeding from a most healthy stock of eggs, may be rendered sickly and turn out good for nothing by bad management in various ways. On the contrary, some of our correspondents assure us they have raised beautiful crops of cocoons, the worms entirely healthy, although proceeding from eggs which were deposited the season previously by