The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-08-12
From The NJ o. Commercial Bulletin.


We regret TO observe thai great apathy has taken place
oil the ormer excitement relative TO the culture Of
American silk. IL is impossible lament that the
fefvor upon this subject, like vaulng ambition"
overeaped itself and fell " on the other side" Four
years ago, there prospect, that another would
have been added 10 the rich staples of this country
and that by It's manufacture, increased wealth and adj
ditlonal independence would have been lot. The
experiments of those days proved several things
They settled mems minds into the conviction that our
soil in thousand parts of the country is fit and pro-
per for the growth of the muberry-that our citizens
generally possess the ability raise and tend the
skworm in excellent sort-that We can produce CO.
coons large and perfect France can show, ana
that in the process of winding and reeling Yankee
Invention has compassed improvements that may well
asonish veterans in the culture of silk. Duponceau,
OF Phliadelphia-a man Of science, PRACTICAL withali
and fully acquainted with the manufacture of silk,
from the raw fibre TO the embroidered shawl declared
himself surprised at the inventions appropriated 10 use
by the Messrs. Cheney, of New Jersey.
IL is unpleasant to reflect that these prospects OF
success have been swept away by imprudence. In
place of large groves OF mulberry, and piles of rich
cocoons, we have only ragged patches of and heaps
OF ruins One can easily discover where the fault eX
listed 1t took its avarice-increased its bulk
by Jolly and fell, like most other things into the
chasms opened by speculation We may be aston
ished, but we must pity the errors of those who fan
ced that We were to become cultuIers of silk, by sim
ply setting out Inorus mutcauis." The same ma
ma seized property holders, who made towns without
houses, and built edices without lumber.
We do not know that the reaction consequent up
.on wild schemes and money bubbles has been more
srikngly shown than in the stagnaton of this culture
| of silk. The very name of morus multicaulis is
term of reproach and sha ne, and of less
| value than cucumbers. Once IN a while, though we
are cheered by some paper, printed In the back
woods, far from luxury and the infection of hazard
schemes, which notices the successful raising Of
worms, muberries, and other appliances necessary,
and mentions that some guide housewife" has per
severed unto the end of making herself pair of do
nestle silk stockings, her husband-who should be
proud of her-a full suit in silk. About the superior
| strength and value of homemade silk there can be
| no doubt In Arkansas, near Little Rock the lady
| of Robert Smith, Esq has succeeded in spinning
from cocoons Of her own raising several skeins Of
| finest white sewing silk. Ten bushels of these were
| from worms fed on the common mulberry. This
silk susains, without breaking, double the weight
possible to imported silk yet told that Mrs.
Smith has not even reel TO wind it, but does all by
hand What an example Of enterprise! And what
would not such perseverance do if carried out it
should be, in all parts of the country Mrs Dawson
Also another Arkansas lady, has raised large guam
tity. The skeins were reeled and spun by her on a
common country spinning wheel portion of it is
for sale at Little Rock 1t is dyed beautiful blue
| black, and is said to be fully and smooth as
that for which we used to send abroad and perhaps
do now, twenty millions Of dollars annually. We
are not indsposed to :" silk mania" take the
| place of g multcduiis fever"