The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1883-02-21

in regard to this very crop, and the
results astonished me ard threw a
cloud of doubt on my mind, the char
acter of which your readers may
readily discern. He says that that
crop produced 5000 pounds Of Coz
coons out of 6d to acres Of mulber~
ry trees four years old rom planting,
years from seed. Dried cocoons
were selling at So, or so cents for
green, making $2,400 TOR the crop.
Not quite ten poundsof green co..
coons made one pound Of reeled silk,
$50 lbs obtained. a Yankee girl,
with three months experience, reeled
it and sold 1t in France for $l2 per
lb. The waste paid onesthird of the
expenses. The cost Was
Labor, ewoman days ct s'gI 81 e gIr1s as at
work; girls at 6Oc, 81 days work. : 1870
Expenses, (piclxing cocoons at lc per
h., $50; picking leaves, sge per 100
lbs, 80 900 lbs, 500; rent Of building,
$50; 10 per cent. on capital Invested,
in shares; trees and land, *40) 10000
4AsnEa small ie1 expenses pens 10000
Total cost of production s S6S 80
ib!. green. 2,OSl1O
$4,000
It would appeaf from the above
that this crop yielded aNeturn which
would have justified mi increase OF
the wages paid and allowed for.labor
and overseers salary Rout $500, or
10c. per ID. on amoun green CO.
coons produced Of 6 per cent, so
the woman who reces III 75c. per
day really earned i liltl I ier SIS per
day, and the Others 50 PoNionally
IT will be noted, h6 pr, that no
special item is made 81 osJ Of eggs
Ito prsasHeslIl Aol ch gaade,
= 81 a 4 HAeass y y.
! i'e, exDepience ,5f oE another fsticaR silk
cnltnrist, we tindi it itenHd that i
required $50 worth Of egf 5 or
IL nroduce l6O lbs. dry co1pons, say
600 lbs. green. Thus il win be seer
that $l25 should have beea aliowe'
! for seed. However, pose, y (D thl
= was allowed Tor in the 81 u expens
f es, which with amount lowed 10
0 overseer amounted to So ..
y The statement is 50 g traordinar,
5 that it staggers one, IN ysact almos
Il takes ones breath, and has possibl
r good tendency to setting one t
h thinking, when, naturally, the ques
tion will arise, Is it possible that tn
IS people Who make SUCH statement
!. are in earnest?
e, Mr.. E. Fasnach, OF Raleigh, N. {
Y, whose name is often quoted as goo
h authority on this subject, makes tt
as following statement as to his exp'
IS, rience:
20 100 lbs. cocoons were sold in France at so4o
'e Cost sg;'o of freight, insurance, &C., s27l5 =
e, Cost of eggs, a oz.,) zo.oV %
1t sl87
70 70 Thus the. cocoons brought onl
\ S1.S3 free of freight and charge
=. while Mr.. G. calls them worth ST.
90 in Kansas. Mr.. F. had Sill per
IN IN dry, or S1c. pelslb. green, left to P
,ss him for labor and interest on capl'
invested.
en- The Department Of Agrlcnltgv
,as has issued "A Brief Manual OF l
r a structions for the Production OF Sill
,he by Prot. Riley. His Investigation
hin the subject leads him to the concl
old sion that "the elements OF success
hat silk culture on large scale are
ain the present time entirely wanting
ice this country, and that the profits
let, silk culture are always SO small u
" a extensive operations by organls
ned bodies must prove unprohtable wh
capital finds SO many more lucrat
by fields tor employment. Silk cut
rate is to be recommended only as n
Iuct and pleasant employment Tor tn
and members Of the farmers househ
stry who either cannot do or are not
lied gagged in otherwise remnnera'
of work.
not "When doctors differ DC. W
ex our best authorities on silk cnl
few differ radically, where shall we
rom rom tor light? st.... ,soo..