Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1839-05-23
miscellaneous.
From the Charleston Mercury.
on THE INTRODUCTION OF THE
t.

ON THT. In L hoDOC 11OtN Of I 21E
SILK CULTURE.
Nsssrs. EditorS.-Will the making Of
Silk prove sufficiently profitable to insure
its general introduction, as branch of as-
ricuIturaI labor! This is indeed the basis
on which the success or failure of The Silk
Culture must and will depend. 1t will Of
course avail nothing TO show, that we
possess climate and soil every way pro-
propitious for making Silk, and that there
will be ready marker for il when made
irit cannot also be shown that il will prove
profitable branch Of industry.
We NAV start then with the general.
bu well known fact, THAT all countries that
have cultivated Silk 10 any extent. have
found il an extensively profitable business.
y ould China and Italy-countries blessed
by nature with soil and climate highly
favorable 10 all the productions Of all The
most valuable staples Of agriculture, so
long have made Silk the most extensive
staple. had il nni been found profitable?
In italy and France. the profits on labor
and capital invested, are estimated from
80 10 100 per cent. II will he more easy
and more 10 the point, 10 ascertain what
are The profits Of Silk growing in the. u.
Stares. from the common Mulberry, aud if
it can be shown that Silk can be made
profilabIv from the common Mulberry, the
introduction of the Nnrus flulIcaulis or
China Mulberry. has produced a new era
in The culture OF silk. In the Silk Manu-
al. prepared by Richard Rush, Secretary
Of the Treasury of the United States, in
obedience to a Resolution of Congress III
1928. there is statement Of the profits
FROM all acre planted with the Whiie Null
berry. TIE estimate is made by John
Fitch, Of Mansfield, Connecticut, q town
where there has probably been more Silk
raised than any other in the Union. MIR.
Fitch states that an acre Of full grown
trees of The common Mulberry, II rods
apart, will produce 40 lbs Of Silk. de
estimates The labor as fellows: For the
first three weeks, one woman, or children
whose services would he equal 10 such
person. For tine next j or IL days, FIVE
hands, or what would be equal TO five IF
done by children. for picking of the balls
and reeling the Silk. Aboul the same a.
mount of labor for the same time for spin
ins The Silk labor to the amount Of S34;
the 40 lbs. Of Silk, at the lowest cash
price, would now bring $500. Labor
and board he estimates at SSO, spinning
S34-lhat would leave S206 clear profits
on an acre. If the Silk should not be
spun but orly reeleti, the labor would cost
$50, and the silk in that stale brings SIS
rer lb. At Silk Meeting held al New
Brighton, Pennsylvania. on the 18th Feb
ruary, there was submitted by DR.. Cham
berlain, statement from r. L. Baker. in
relation to the Silk business, al Economy,
Beaver countv, Pennsylvania. Nr. Ba-
ker il appears was the business represent
ative of the society al Economy. There
were exhibited at the meeting several spe-
cimens Of Silk manufactured from the
trees al Economy such as Sewing Silk,
Handkerchief. Ladies Dresses, plain and
figured Satin Ves,ings, Silk Velvet. &c.
The samples were afterwards placed iu
the hands of Gideon B. Smith, of Balti-
more. He states tha, they are ''pro-
nounced by good judges frs, rate goods of
their kind, and far superior in web and
texture TO goods usually imported" The
estimate does mol state the number Of a
cres on which; the trees were planted, and
from which The quantity was made; there
were about Is, 600 trees, principally oflhe
White M uIherry; that number Of The Chi
ma Mulberry would have required three
acres. The raw Silk made per year from
the $1,000 trees was $50 lbs, this is stated
10 produce 303l yards Of dress Silk, al 81
per yard, equal to 303l dollars. The
whole expense of feeding the worms, reel
ing, spinning. weaving. dyeing, interest on
investment, etc. Si479 so; this leaves a
clear profit of 1852 so. This was the
amount cleared in lS33,-certainly a
splendid profit. As slhe Morus Mnllicaulis
is likely 10 come into general use for Silk
Culture. it will be more to the purpose to
ascertain, if possible. the profit that may
be expected from making Silk from il. Its
reputation is now Sc firmly established by
long continued and rigid experiment, that
there is no ground for doubling its supe-
riority; it has been ascertained from ex-
periments, that an acre planted in the cut
tings Of the Chinese Mulberry, will feed