Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1881-06-23
NEW SERIES. VOL. /. NO.o2
SILK CULTURE.
A Novel Home lndustry.-How IL
WiimiDgtOnian Has Successfully v
Demonstrated that SILK Raising
Can be Carried on Here.

Can be Carried ON Here.
Wilmington sunday Star.
Mr.. Julius A. Krauspe residing at No.
100 East Fifth street, has the honor of
being the first person to successfully
introduce the culture of raw silk in Della
ware. Starting about year ago with
two thousand silk worms eggs which he
secured in Philadelphia, Mr.. krauSpe
has by careful and intelligent treatment
increased the number to about fifty
thousand worms which this season will
produce tina. number of cocoons.
These busy spinners of the worlds
fashionable fabric, as they wound the
slender threads of silk around themselves
yesterday afternoon or disported amid the
piles of fresh mulberry branches that Mr..
Krauspe had Just brought in, presented
novel and interesting spectacle to STAR
reporter who CHANGED todiscoverAlr. Kraus-
pes secret which has transformed the
rear part of the second story of his resi-
dence from an ordinary sitting room into
hive of busy industry
The worms have been provided with
shelves arranged in tiers, though they
are not confined to these but literally
cover the room from floor to ceiling, ,thous-
ands of them hard at work spinning their
silken cotfins and thousands OF others
greedily feeding upon the fresh and
succulent leaves of the mulberry.
Mr.. Krauspe has entered into this new
industry more for pleasure than profit.
His care, however, has been so constant
that the worms have gotten along re-
markably well, and it is altogether prob
able that he will derive enough in the
| end to pay him for his trouble. The
| Woman's silk Culture Association of the
United States, the headquarters of which
| are in Philadelphia, have offered a
| premium for the best cocoons produced in
| America, and Mr.. Krauspe is contesting
for this prize with fair prospects of sue
| cess. Recently he received letter from
Mrs. John Lucus, president of the Asso-
citation, to whom he had sent samples of
| his cocoons, stating that they were very
| fine, indeed; among the best, in fact, that
| she had ever seen.
The process OF silk culture is simple.
| The general reader knows all about it
how, in starting, the eggs are Matched out
and the worm grows rapidly; how at
certain stage it commences to spin itself
| completely in an oval ball known as the
cocoon, and how the worm either cuts its
way out of the prison it has voluntarily
| formed or is killed when it is done spin
ming by steaming process. As a general
thing the worm will not come out a
butterfly until a period of about three
weeks has elapsed from the time it has
finished forming the silk cocoon. When
the worm forces its way out, the silk is
only worth about half what it is worth
when it is killed upon hand.
The stpaminu prprpsS tax as Dlarp from
three to four days after the worm is done
spinning. At this time it is in stage
of what silk growers term "ripeness. "
The reason the silk is most valuable when
the worm is killed inside, is, that in COM
ing out of the cocoon, it cuts the silk. As
to the profit, it should be stated that the
dried or steamed cocoons are worth about
50 per thousand, while the cut or seed
cocoons, those out of which the worm has
forced its way, are only worth about one
half of this amount.
Mr.. Krauspe said yesterday, in answer
to numerous questions asked by the rep
resentative of THE STAR: 81 do not find
as much trouble i'll keeping the worms i'll
food rs one would suppose. Mulberry
trees are very plentiful in the suburbs,
especially in the western part and up
along the Brandywine. go out
every day and gather enough
branches to satisfy the worms. You can
see that they eat as if they have good
appetites and such is the case. A great
deal of work is necessary i'll connection
with the industry, but | am convinced
that after certain time and some trouble
it can be made to pay iu this country
With the exception of Mrs. Albert, oil
Fourth street, near King, Mr.. Krauspe is
the only person in Wilmington who has
done anything toward developing this
important branch of industry. Mrs
Albert, however, only keeps a few
thousand worms.