Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1836-01-22
THE PRODUCT OF sILKWORMs

The PRODUCT OF SlLkWORMS
SIIkwOrms were first known in Ameri
! ca about the year 1920. In the reign of
hng James |. Of England, eggs Of the
sllkworm and mulberry seed were sent to
the southern section of North America
then called Virginia. TO encourage the
culture Of the mulberry, grants ofland we're
made to settlers in Georgia, on condition of
setting out or planting 100 white mulberry
trees TO every ten acres of cleared land.
and considerable silk was made from heavy
cocoons, 200 of which were SAID to weiuh
pound. The morus muticauls was then
unknown in Europe and America: but the
white mulberry was cultivated, and silk
made north Of the Potomac, long before
he revolution; and many aides manniac.
tured and wore dresses Of American silk.
In the year 100, Susanna Ulight. of
Lancaster County; Pa, made a piece of
SILK from her own cocoons, measuring sixty
yards, which IN tina, day was highly com
mcnded ;-slnce which time, the manulac-
tnre has been gradually, but slowly pro.
crossing TO the present time, and has now
we trust, received such an impulse tia, our
granite nils and pine plains shall, in due
Tune. rival even the celestial kingdom If
CANA. in the product of silk and with the
intelligence Industry and aid Of yankee ma.
chInery combined. not many years hence
leave Chinese enterprise far in the rear.
But IN return and IN exchange for the plant
ana seed OF the murus nultlcaulis, we wi
send TO China the SEEDS Of moral culture
and the Tree Of life, which sha make wise
into Salcahon.
AT the suggestion of Presiden, Stiles. of
Yale College, DR.. Aspinwall introduced
The mulberry aud uanufncture OF sill; into
New Eng land, and established the culture
OF the mulberry at Mansfield and New
Haven, and some SO or 60 years since pre-.
scented PreNdentShtes with a torn or scbo,.
astic gown, the product of American silk.
which the President delgted to wear and
exhibited as specimen ofthe rising man>
fracture OF our country, ami which at some
future day, he ioresaw would become
staple manufacture Of New England that
day noc begins to dawn upon the Con-
nec,icui.
.Northamton for more than half a cen.
iury has been known to have pa,ronized the
culture Of the white mulberry and manufoc
turc of silk on limited scale under the
un'Ired eXortons of the late Joseph Clark
deceased who from year TO wear fed
ana nurtured the sllkworm and mama
featured silk, in anticipation of its future
success.
President SiIrs, AspinwaIl, Clark and
lew choice spirits Of New England, were
bnt pioneers Of the silk cause, which soon.
or later must. extend over our belovede
Country. There is lady now liyinc in
IN" town, who assisted Mr.. Clark in the
process OF manufacturing silk, and within
lew days presented a sample, and exhlb |
ted garment of silk, which she spun n,
he house ofMr. Clark, some 40 or 50 vcors
'lnce. The garment like the Vicar oil
tray IN the song, has been made to con-
orln to the fashion of different AGES, and
oorn under different coiors. The silk was
irst made into an eiegaa, cloak and thus
worn during the fashion of the day it then
received different color and was altered to
4 petiSSe and worn As such during the rare
If the fashion; and then again, altered into
1 cl0ak aud is now worn as such bv the
,ery lady who spun the silk of which it is
made, and Is yet firm and stout article
appearing capable Of being worn another
iaD century-a sample Of which may be
cen at the office Of DIS.
Northampton. Nov, 1885.