Maumee City express. [volume] (Maumee City, Ohio) 1838-184?, 1838-08-25
Etom the Buckeue Plolpbou.

MR. EDiToR:--I have observed IN the pre-
ceding numbers of your paper an occasional ar
ticle upon the cultivation ofthe mulberry and
the growing of silk. 1t is subject to which
my attention was incidentally drawn some
years since, and have been SO situated that
most of what has been written on the subject
has come into my hands. have also, myself
seen something of silk making. Now the
more have read and seen, the more interest
have felt in it, and more thoroughly have
been convinced of the correctness of the urI-
form opinion of those who are acquainted with
the matter, that no other subject connected
with agricultural pursuits presents any thing
like equal claims to the attention Of the farmer
who desires to realise larger profit from his
land and a higher compensation for his labor.
Every farmer may be silk grower, and .nat
quite extensive, without materially interfering
with, or lessening the productions and profits
of his farm from his usual crops. The wife and
children, if he have children, say from eight
to fourteen years of age, with such assistance
as he may render them, morning and evening,
will earn more from an acre set out with the
Chinese Mulberrb than he can upon fifty acres
of land Experience proves it. And if you
take into account the increase and sale Of
trees, as the price has been for years past, and
as 1T slikely to be for some years to come, the
product Of the acre will bring in Thousand doi~
lars as often as the other fifty acres bring IN
hundred. For several of the past years the
proportion has been vastly greater in favor OF
the acre of mulberry. For years to come It is
not likely to be less. This is the unaninoug
opinion of all who understand the subJecf--of
thousands of the most intelligent men in tho
country. But if the profits Of mulberry should
be reduced to one half, or three fourths, they
would still be very great.
Does not, then, this business present strong
claim to the attention of farmers? 1t is no lon-
ger matter of experiment whether silk can be-
made, and to advantage IN this country. 1t
has been placed beyond controversy. No
state is more favorable for than northern Ohio.
An intelligent committee ,of, our Legislature
after examining the subject and considering
the facts presented to them, reported that SILK
is likely soon to be the great staple ofthis state,
as cotton is of the southern states. The le-
gisatures of the eastern and middle states have
Welded to the force of the facts brought before
them, and voted bounties upon silk raised in
order to turn the attention of their people to
its production. The Governors of several
states have introduced 1t into their annual meg
sapes, The Senate Of the United States has
had the same under consideration, and it has
there met with great favor. Those who are
throughout the country engaged in it are gen.
orally of the most enlightened class. 1t has
unquestionably passed under the review OF the
best minds, and been brought to the test OF ex-
perience by the,most intelligent practical men
| in the country, and but one opinion prevails
that to the farmer--to every man who owns, or
can rent few acres ofland, the raising of the
mulberry and the making of silk holds out the
sure prospect Of a very rich reward. 1t is IN
credible that there should be any thing vlsiona-
ry in this new pursuit. The cool and cau-
.tious calculators of the east are found to be
most sanguine and most excited upon 1t. Al
ready fortunes have there been realized from it'
| All apree that it is not a mere temporary OBJ
ioot Of profitable attention and pursuit p ut
must be permanently so. Many, very many
years must pass before the country can supply
| itself with silk. Those who first engage in it
They will have not only the profit from silk raj
which the country has yet mainly to be sup
piled. There is no manner ofdi6fculfy in the
business. The Chinese mulberry-beyond all
comparisons tine best-isa as easily grown as the
currant bush. The care Of worms is as simple
as the care of chickens, the silk is as easily
wound off as ball Of yarn, andas easily made
into thread as wool or fax.
In several respects the introduction of the
silk culture exhibits benevolent aspect. 1t
will supply an innocent quiet and healthiui en-
ployment for manv who must otherwise be IN
great measure without occupation, or with
out such as would bring an adequate compen-
sltion. The aged and in6rm poor may in this
way sustain themselves and surround their
dwellings with comfort. Children that would
be brought up in idleness, or separated from
their parents and made to earn their bread In
situations where their morals may be ruined,
perhaps can be kept at home and made to con-
tribute largely to the family maintenance.--
What day aborer SO poor that he cannotSbuy
or rent an acre of land for trees, and afford q
shed or room for the silk worm? Deprived Of
their stay and staff, the widow, the fatherless
may thus live in independence, supporting
themselves from little spot of land. There
are instances of this kind even now, and where
the culture Of silk is generally introduced they
will abound. 1t has been said, and justly, that
the promoters Of the silk culture are to be
counted among,the benefactors oftheir country.
intend from time to time to supply you with
facts and statements from practical silk grow
ers which will abundantly sustain the views pre-
sented in this paper. -. - Z. t
A NOBLE FELLow.--During the FIRE in New
York on Wednesday last, female was disco
vered making her way through the famesinto
house. The fremen detained her with
difficulty, aud to their interrogations she only
exclaimed, "My child! my chldw A noble
hearted fireman rushed to where she pointed,
and was soon seen issuing from the burning
building with the infant in his arms. The