The Osceola times., 1882-12-09
on A MODEL SILK FARM.
in New Jersey-A Belief That Better
Cocoons Can be Raised In This Country
Than in Europe Colonies to be Formed
New York Star.


at Once.
New York Star.
There is no reason why silk culture
should not be as extensive and as lucra-
tive in the United States as anywhere
else in the world"
The speaker sat in cozy office at Ne,
q Bond street, at a desk covered with
papers and proof-sheets. He was a tall,
fair complexioned man, with blue eyes
and blond mustay he and goatee. II was
Mr.. w. b. Smith, president of the Ameri-
can Silk Exchange upon whom a Star re-
porter had called.
what part of the country is best suited
for sericulture, Mr.. Smith ?"
wherever the worms can obtain a
supply of young, tender mulberry leaves.
We have what we call model silk farm
at Park Ridge, Bergen county, n. j. The
enterprise is new one, but will practi-
cally demonstrate that Americans can
make silk equal to the product of
Lyons"
'How extensive is your model farm ?"
"We have thirty acres divided into elev-
en- plots of varying sizes. The price ofland
is from $50 to $3.50 per acre, according to
location. The soil is gravelly loan,
with clay subsoil, and is admirably
adapted to our purpose. Before | finally
selected that piece of land, | looked at
fourteen other tracts. ! spent four
months in time, and 81 900 in car-fare.
what sort of people do you expect as
colonists ?"
ooh, first-class people, of course. We
encourage no others Perhaps may as
well say that the Exchange does not in
tend to assert any right to regulate the
action of the colonists. 1t is not at all a
communistic affair. Each person buys a
plot of land, and raises silk worms in his
or her own way. Our superintendent,
NJ. Viron Des Lauriers, is a practical silk
culturist, and will visit the colonists to
give them advice and instructions but
Of course, they need not necessarily fol-
low his ideas"
"Are there indigenous mulberry trees
at Park RIDGE" the reporter asked
81 don't think there are any in ,he
country The trees we intend TO use
will come from Italy. There are differ
ent kinds of mulberries, suitable for diff
ferent climates The morus iaponica,
for example, gives rich, juicy leaf, but
thrives best in warm countries. On the
other hand, the morus nigra, or black
mulberry, is very hardy, though its leaf
is not as rich as that Of the japonica. In
our colony We will try the experiment of
grating the japonica upon the nigra
thus securing the best leaf with the
hardest stock"
"How much time is required to produce
one crop of worms"
"Six weeks"
"Then you can raise several crops a
yearW
"Yes, that can be done and il done.
but when several crops Of worms are
produced yearly they are smaller and
weaker than the annuals as they are
called, and the cocoons are of a cor
respondingly inferior quality"
nat Will Npui 'oIpHisth pay lOr
eggs ?"
"Thc best, imported from the south Of
France, cost 81 an ounce, or twenty-five
cents per thousand
Hold on, Mr.. Smith," cried the re-
orter, "at that rate there would be six
teen thousand eggs in an ounce"
Don't let that tax your credulity," re-
piled Mr.. Smith with fin sourire, ain
fact there are no less than 10000 eggs to
the ounce, and We guarantee all the eggs
we sell"
eli Perkins might as well take back
seat. You seriously assert that for 81
you carefully examine 10000 eggs, and
that you guarantee them ?"
mo. ! assert nothing Of the sort. The
soundness OF the eggs is tested by cx-
amining the bodies of the worms laying
them. The eggs are laid on q piece of
paper within a space which trade dol
lar would cover. The worm LAYING them
Is pinned TO a corner Of the paper, where
she is left until she dies and is as dry as
smoked herring. Then she is pulver-
lied and the particles examined. A fun
gus growth upon them is sign of disease
and the worms are rejected. Otherwise
they are known to be good"
"Do silkworms live on mulberry leaves
alone?"
THAT is their only diet, and they are
veritable pigs in the matter of feeding.
They eat their own weight every day.
Here are some eggs" said Mr.. Smith,
showing the reporter a piece Of paper
bearing several hundred dark brown
specks.
"Will the worms raised on your colony
be as good as those of France?
They will be better. In Europe they
live closely huddled together. and any
disease breaking out spreads RAPIDLY.
The effect of over-population is the
same with silkworms as with the genus
homo. Making the most sanguine al.
lowances for the increase Of sericulture
in the United States, the worms will NOT
be crowded in 600 years. and the an
pearances Of disease should he manifest
in at least a century"
in what form will your colonists send
their product to MARKET"
I'm cocoons for some time 10 come II
Will not yet pay them to reel the silk.
That requires expensive machinery and
high degree of skill. In Eurone
French and Italian girls work at reel.
ing"
How much profit is there in silk.
raising on a farm like that in New Ier-
sey?" '
Every acre should pay from 5000 TO
5000 per annum. Not such poor profit
in an enterprise that takes only siy
weeks of time in the year. The land
can be used for ordinary farming without
interference with the silk business. Onr
ground is high and well drained. Low
rrnnnd il nnu hnlnanr,n e.. III -