Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-08-25
SILK LORE,
E. P. FORD.
To the Editor Of the Eagle.

SILK LORE.
Tothe Editor of the Eagle.
| am now in August maturing my
eleventh crop or brood of Usage orang,
silk worms. We have September, Octo
Der and to the middle of November tt
mature five more in. No other country
under the sun ever made such show
ing. But one brood is annually raised
in France and Italy, and two in China
and Japan, this comprising the bulk OF
the raw silk harvest of the world, some
fifty million less per annum, when
manufactured with some five hundred
million dollars. China has been grow.
ing silk for 4, 491 years, making great
SUCCESS of it. She has fed and clothed
her millions by it. Kansas might dc
better in the next Ill years before the
end of the world or week of 5000 years.
What a glorious ascension she might
make clothed in silk. hope she Will be
ready for the same, silk or no silk.
China is the native home of the silk
worm. 1t has been preserved by the
special care and protection Of the en-
perors and emperesses since its first dis
covery, the palace frequently being con-
verted into filature, SO great an interest
did they take in silk culture.
They even appointed god. ST Singchi,
as guardian angel to protect it. A
shelter was a protection against her
damp trade winds and cold, ice-capped
mountain breezes. The wings of an
angel would have been better than the
confinement Of a palace, but they sought
to exclude it from the rest Of the world,
and the evil effects Of confinement were
never guarded against But the open
sunlight of Kansas can dispel and finally
remove it. 1t seems providential in
many respects that we undertook silk
culture. These before mentioned inbred
defects were openly developed in the less
favorable climate Of France and Italy,
so that while resident of the interior
district of China would lose but a frac-
ton of his crop, in Italy and France a
large proportion is often destroyed by
hot winds from the Sahara or cold from
the PyrenneSe mountains or dampness
from the Mediterranean. With Kansas
improved silk worms, with vital temp
erature ranging from 60 to 10 degrees,
we will ever be exempt from lesses. We
do not come under the influence of
either oceans or the gulf, nor
even the mountains west of us.
Our distance modifies their evil infu-
ences and injurious effects. No climate
on earth will compare so favorable as
ours for silk culture where such enor-
nous growths of silk worm food are
produced. The average weight of leaves
produced on an acre of Usage orange is
from ten to twenty tons, and the leaves
| commenced to feed in April to the first
brood are just as good today for the
they are sufficiently tender
for the newly Matched worm and furnish
more digestible food. There is
no advantage in cutting these old leaves
for the young worms as is recommended
for the mulberry.
With our small government appropri-
alton here this year we have increased
our product of cocoons a hundred fold.
With government assistance next year
we might easily save 100,0 900 pounds of
cocoons, and IN five years supply the
United States. I do not see how the mills
in America are to be supplied IN any
other way. Already power loom Chi
nese and japanese cheap silks are pro-
luced in China and Japan to the entire
Of last years crop of raw
silk, which goods are already IN compe-
ition on our soil with our goods.
But we have every facility for growing
better and cheaper silk if encouraged.
A skein Of Usage silk raised last year
was shown to large silk manufacturer
asst week and pronounced superior to
my he ever saw. The trouble with poor
Jhina and Italian silk is the worms are
weak and the last end of the thread is
irawn out too fine, so that the utmost
kill OF the reeler cannot add several
rariabie threads with uniform results
This necesSitates the re-reeiing, TO throw
,ut the imperfect ends. On account of
he superiority of our climate ynd feed
md superior cocoonS we will be able TO
supply the American silk manufacturers
With a superior grade of raw silk, and
.nable them TO manufacture a better
lass of goods.
In two years we have improved the
stock one-third. Ny best
cocoon yielded 934 yards Of uniform silk
M 1002 good eggs. What may
We do in five or ten years: This
dSN y COX We III IFOt tEN ISdi ~
81 900, 900 worth Of raw silk. and over
hirtv-four million dollars worth of
silk goods; an increase in
he number Of pounds OF raw silk of
laif a million pounds. and in manufac-
ured goods Of over two and half mil
ion dollars worth. We must develop
,ur resources; when we have the best in
lie world al we want is good eggs.
On the 9Th instant l Matched twenty
housand OF my own raising without
he loss Of as much as one per cent.
These are fed as fast as they eat up the
caves. No leaves are thus wasted. My
'est experiment fer a pound of cocoons
; twelve and one-fifth pounds of Usage !
caves. At twice that rate if the csage
caves today in Kansas now going to
waste were converted into silk 1t would !
e our most valuable crop. although we
ave the finest crop of corn ever raised. |
II. E. BIDwELL
The Onward Flow OF the Floster.