Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1857-05-14
From the Philudelphia Bulletin.
A Wonderful Invention.


Nearly two years ago some French or
Belgian journalist, wanting an item, sat him.
self down and invented canard stating that
Frenchman had struck on the sidea that
silk might be made directly from mulberry
leaves, without the intervention OF the
Phatena Bon'6yr-that useful crea ure,
vulgarly known as the 81 k-worm. No, sa-
tistied with this brilliant idea. the parsgsa-
phist proceeded to detail how the French
man had an audience # the Emperor; how
Prince Napoleon had interrupted the scien-
tiic scecrce BY some unseemIy jests; how
the Emperor rebuked him, and how great
results were anticipted: 1t is possible that
some reader of a scientific turn may remem-
Der that We published version of all this
though, as the world goes, and .at the
helter-skelter rate at which the country has
been driving along during the last couple of
autumns and springs, it is perhaps expecting
too much that any body should remember
an3 thing. Who exclaims Sir Charles
Coldestream, from the depths of placid,
emotionless Efe, Can remember ten yearsr
Why should we lAmericans, who live in a
wnirl o. busy forgetiulness, have memories
one-tenth as long as that of the passioniess
baronet!
However, we wander; for all that We
wished to say was that the old story has
taken a new START. and is being paraded
our contemporaries, via New South Wales.
This time it appears, however, as the idea
of distinguished souanl,' Signore Lotteri.-
The Signore, after due reflection. snalyzed
the composition of the mulberry leaf, and,
by boiling it to thick paste, produced every
description Of silk in immense quantities.
This idea is such brilliant one that we
are reslly amazed at the unaccountable fact
that since the Bulletin introduced this amaz-
ing silk discovery to the talented and dis
cerning American public. that public has
not perceived the manifold extensions Of
which the principle is capable. The web
of spiders. it is we'll known, is much finer
than that of the 'Bomtvses,' aud we have
heard of pair of spider-spun iady's stock
ings which were almost incredible in their
lightness. not exceeding coat of thin
paint either in weight or utility. Unfor-
tunate.y il takes several hundred per cent.
more of spiders than of 'Bombyxes' I make
pound of silk, which makes the reriiable
toile d'arraignee too expensive. Now. it
some intelligent man could only boil dorr
sJn,e flies and make the silk directly Tom
them without the intervention Of the spfd-
ers, what an impetus might be given % 'tex-
tile fabrics,' and what relief in SUNNI r.
Again. manufacturers have had occasion
of late years 10 deplore the fact that leather
is becoming very extensive, and that unless
some substitute is soon provided we shall
all have to go barefoot, or sandal it, Ike the
ancients. But here the new theory comes
in. Leather is merely an ultimate form of
the grass OF hay on which cattle feed why
not make leather at once from hay, OF
course some old foges not up 10 the hurri-
cane speed of modern science will distrust
The principle, but We should deeply grieve
if their objections should retard for an in
slant the march Of invention. In fact it
may be worth investigating to ascertain
whether, as WOO! is also a 'graminaP or
grassy productions, uia sheep, whether il, or,
for that matter, cloth, cannot also be d'rec'-
ly made from grass; not lin cl,sh of course
but the genuine worsted. Feathers can of
Course on the same principle be made from
tird-seed; and as the ostrich is well known
to derive its principal nutriment from rusty
penny nails, old junk bottles, and paving
stones it may be well to ascertain whether
these objects at present so much neglected,
cannot be directly manufactured into ostrich
plumes.
After all. Us it is general rule among
certain editors ofhumorous publicat ions, that
every joke becomes new again after two
years, we DO not know out that this null
berry-siik romance might as well be suffered
TO run fresh heat. But we must say that
we prefer the story as IRE told it, with q
French hero, and trust that those who must
believe will attach credit TO our assertion
that the original inventor was a Frencqmsn
and not invest their faith in the Italian Lot
teri.