Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1838-10-25

700 INV oeen several years since
snndly companies were chartered, in tn
Northern States, with large capitals, (no
minai or real. } for the purpose of prose
cutting the culture and manufacture O
silk. Many more such com panies hay
since been formed, aud have commence,
operations aud, lately, some have bee,
established even in the lethargic South
aud in the climate by far more prope
and suitable for this business than tha
enjoyed by our industrious Norther,
countrymen. The operations of thes,
large Joint stock companies are in add
ton to those of hundreds of individua
adventures. who have commenced. a,
tneir separate account, what is called tn,
SILK business The first object of al
efforts TO cultivate silk, is. NECESSARILY r.
raise mulberry trees, to furnish food 70,
the worms; and the kind planted ha,
been principally the Chinese mulberry.
or morus mutticaulis The facility OF
Propasating this variety, BY cuttings. is
SO great its growth SO rapid, the annual
multiplication OF plants so enormous. and
the maturity of each Ito the point Of
supposed fitness Tor feeding SO early
that two years time would suffice n
raise very large supply, from a COM
mencement with few hundred Young
trees; and. in three years, the number
might be made equal to aImos. anv de.
maud oil single silk establishment Of
no older standing. There are also DOW.
erui incentives to use these facilities. in
the liberal legislative boun,ies offered for
Inc production of silk, by at least six OF
the Northern and Middle States. Tn
Maine, the bounties paid from the treas.
ury ior this object. are $ cents pound
upon all cocoons grown. and 50 cents on
each pound Of silk reeled. In Vermont
bounty OF 10 cents is offered for every
pound OF cocoons. In Massachusetts
~ the pound is paid, as bounty. on ali
SILK grown. reeled, and throwed. in the
S'ate. which bounty alone is considered
oy SILK growers to be sufficient to defray
all expenses attending its growing. reel
Ing and throwing (Mr. Adams's Re.
porto Congress. See Farmers REGISTER
vol. Up Co., In Connecticut, (where
SIX mas been grown so or 90 wears,
without Legislative fostering J the Urea
sury pays bounty of ST. on every 100
Italian or Chinese mulberry trees of five
years old, and SO cents a pound ON all
silks reeled on an improved reel. All
ihese oounties were in operation as ear
ly as 1886. We do not know the rat.
OF bounty paid by Pennsylvania and N
Jersey; but they are SO high, las stated
IN previous selected article on page
900 OF this vol. as 10 "have been found
suiicieni to pay all the expense of pro.
ducing the cocoons and reeling the silk
making the whole produce clear profit. .
Inc Register states, however. that
very little has been yet accom- plished in
the production Of silk:
The only certain and direct evidence
OF the very small amount of silk We. nro,
auced' which has reached US, is in the
Statistical Tables formed and published
oy order OF the Government OF Massa.
chusetts. From this work it appears
'nat all tue silk factories of Massachu.
se'ts' (iour in NUMBER in the wear en-.
ding April, 1887, employed I25 hands
ana produced OF manufactured goods the
value OF 500. l50. This does not show
now much raw silk was produced bu,
The probability is, that these factories
worked up all the silk made in Massa.
chusetts, as the larger portion of their
raw material was certainly of foreign
growth. "
"a gentleman Of Virginia, who was
desirous of going into the silk culture
ana has since done SO, last year visited
the principal silk establishments in the
n orthern States. for the purpose of gam,
ing Information as to their onera1;ons
and the results. He told us tina, The
greatest annual product ofraw silk which
he could hear OF, at any one establish
meht, amounted to no more than forty
pounds. 1t was true, that at some ri
them silk manufactures were carried IN.
ana tnere had been at others, which had
suspended or stopped manufacturing. on
account OF Pecuniary difficulty; but the
materials for these manufactures were
mostly imported from foreign countries.
Ihe only inference which we can
ufaw IRON information before us. and
tue testimony above referred TO, positive
and negative, is, that most of the adyen.
iurers I'D the silk business $50 called)have
considered the making Of silk as a Sc
conaary' Interior, and perhaps contin-
gent OBJECT, and have been laboriDg and
sPecuiating in the culture of mulberry
p'an's, not TO feed silk worms, but to sell
70 newer adventures aud the vast oro.
nus 10 be derived from the maxine q,
si'k' were held up to the public prin.
cIpaily TO produce greater eso.rn.ss 4.
purchase the plants and cuttings of Chi.
nese and other varieties ofthe mulberry
at the enormous aud extortionate price,
al winch they have been sold"
but wi:houf the aJ,,