New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-10
SILKWORM RAISING IN AMERICA.
From The Washington Star.

From The Washington STAR
have Just returned from Europe said Chief
walker of the newy-created silk division in the De
partmen OF Agricultu e. with reehnG machine thac
seems likely TO accomplish the great problem the
solution of which will the United states INTO
gigantic silk farm This one difficulty, As thngs are
now alone stands in the way OIL te aId proSiT the
process of Keeling silk with the cOntrNances mus
far applied that manufacturers on ms sac OF tne
water cannot afford 10 pay cocoon raiserS here living
prices for their product, IL they are 10 compete sue
cessfully with foreign competition. For this reason
cOmparatvely few cOcOCns are raised In this comfy
not more than 10000 pounds in all probaDly-ot Whch
amount ourselves buy one half for experimental
sumo 100 900 pounds of cOcO0ns IN a year But III
this machine, just completed after my own designs
on the idea of French inventor fnlnls my expecta-
tions It will be found be practically automatic, SO
that might say. the cocoons put IN al one cnd
that accomplishes this will 50 considerably reduce
the expense Of making the raw SILK that American
manufacturers can hnS cocoonS mere to laHIiai; ~,
stead Of importing IL. in the shape OF ra" Slh' n0m
Japan and elsewhere abroad, a they do now. me
moment that TIE cost OF producing raw six IS brought
down big per cent below the foreign marker price Oh
the article the profits Of silk manufacture VIII rise
proportionatey. and the business Will Jump mo
activity all over the country \ corresponding de.
mapd will Of course arise for cOcOOnS and the m rk't
price for cocoons will 90 mp sufficiently to draw
thousands Of farmers into the occupation Oh rasins
And why the farmers ?" asked The STAR reporter
Al should rather say the farm women. 1t is 70
them mat the great American silk manufacturers of
he future will look for their supplies OF cocoon,.
adap,ed TO the use and opportunity of farm people
In france each farmers wife raises few rounds of
cOcoons every spring, and males lille money 10y
selling them I'm this way mainly Is the SIR crop
grown. Women OF the agricultural class IN the mica
States are not obliged to work in the fields French
women are. and thus they have more time to devote
TO such pursuit There is a vast amount OF WaSe
semaIe labor I'm This country or rather idoness that
might be turned 10 labor and here Is a purpose 20
which this spare 'hentime might be devoted Tor slA
weeks in the year at any rare G pnssby hive he more
easy and agreeable for woman than the raising OF
cocoons, and 1t will offer new source OF Income 70
nj xtfx
west, quickly as this little mechanical p oblem IS
solved The machine which hope embodics the Sou,
ton OF II is already put together and the hrst taI
OF 1t will be made at once nm,
But how is woman to get started IN the SILK
Easily enough. ANY woman in the United state,
who Will take the troube TO write to us ir MalTh OF
about April quarter Of an ounce Of them, or
about 5000 in little box. The eggs will have been
egnner need do Is to put them In dry place where
hey will come out OF themselves The 5000 worms
vii take up table space forty feet square and the
nost convenient way IS to put together roughly tier
II big uarc shelves for them. one above the Othcg,
with space, OF two feet od On bs 4 paccd or a 09
allowed to feed four or five times day upon as many
other sort of food viii do. When they arr ready to
spin their light brush must be put over them
he detaebed from the brush and thrown into boiling
water for few seconds to kill the worms inside.
VIII two U e or year posns Of :" s
annum, Matching the eggs April ID, and gathering
the cocoons June l. The latter arc worth about ~
pound now buy most Of the cOcOOns al that ratc
otherwise they would bore ~Out and spoil the silk
from the women whom we supply with eggs. When
the great demand for cOcOons arrveS-as il surely will
before lOng-1Oo,000 women producing fifty pounds
each per annun, will supply fifty factories with
material for turning out an enormous amount OF skea
fabric
suppose your new machine h successful as You
anticipate. Is IL not likely TO be adopted In France
cheapening silk production there much that foreign
competition would again drive the American manu-
facturer 10 the wall -
" | don't think so. II is almost impossible 10 intro
duce anything I'm the Of silk machinery In
France, the people simply will not take II up. PIC
ferring old methods 10 fresh ones. Instead OF m
machines We have already In operation In the SIR az
vision. which represent the latest advances In echn.
knowledge. they keep with the processes IN vo p
half century ago. Where W. stew me eocoons t tbc
lmInany by automatic apparatus; 20 Loosen e,tch
threads from the gum that binds them osou hh me
ing up the threads for unwindng VIII c or oneraiar
chanically agtated In the water the ,I ~, ~ bct!
stIls ND few cOrOons NJ time III ~ ~, ~ - thr
ing water using a Wand brush 10 tel nun -, t.,r,
threads And 20 II poes throughout tnc, VII six
any better believe In protecting tue -A,, a. tba
grower by heavy tariff however MY nol."n - ~ sLe
the south Will he the great silk producing seco n,r
iin,tst states az sntuay. Interest IN me sra' onie
ndustrv is growing all the country W isonwnd
~ 81. lady 70 take II UP As soon as II SNAIL o0 ~
possible'