The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-08-14
THE SILKWORM IN AMERICA.
ITS CULTURE BKGAN BITB' THE EARLr-
EST COLONIZATION.

rh,,or ~. Silk Mills FlouriAth. This Coun.
try Fails to Produce the RAW Material
vet Cocoon Nurture I. Posi- bic in Three
6ourths or tho Country-How This Indus
try Travelled westward from china.
INV. W. cleaver OF Unadilln. who is reported
no having $4,000 sikworms Mt work. can
demonstrate the possibility OF making Sl0o a
month by silk culture on small scale. ne may
bring on another craze ike that OF 1888. After
nearly 300 years OF experiment, 1t Is pretty
we'll established that tho silkworm may be
made to thrive in this country. and over
quite three. fourths OF its area but In spite of
this the silk manufacturing industry has
grown to great proportions in the United
States without material aid from growers OF
native silk and the native product cuts no
figure In the consumption OF the mills.
The experiment OF growing raw silk has
coue on persistently almost since the day that
the first permanent colonist sot foot upon the
continent Cortez brought silkworms to
Mexico In 1872. and James l. tried to send
eggs to Virginia In 1909. only two years after
the settlement OF jamestown. but failed be-
cause OF shipwreck. Ton years later Ntr-
pjnans were urged to raise silk. and penal
statutes were passed enjoining the industry
WV
period:
Where worm.s and foodo do naturally abound
virginia cells the world in both
Envie malice can game say this troth.
Nearly every State in the Union has sought
to encourage silk culture. and all sorts OF So
cieties have been formed to promote the in
dustry. Tho victims OF John Laws West India
scheme wero allured with the hope OF success-
full silk culture in America. When Georgia
spsk L., n
with tho stipulation that for every ten acres
100 white mutt cry trees should be planted.
Georgia developed tho industry to n greater
degree than AM other colony. The first ship
ment OF Georgia silk to England was made in
1885. II weighed eight pounds.
A llnture for Keeling raw silk was established
ut Savannah In 1850. and In 1879 Georgia eH-
ported 10000 pounds of silk to Eng land. After
that cotton came in and being more profitable
than silk. drove the latter out. Just rs tobacco
had driven It out in Virginia more than 100
years before Some silk was raised in Georgia
even during the Revolutionary war. and there
was n small export trade as late rs 1850.
For nearly 100 years there was determined
effort to grow silk In Connecticut. In 1919 five
tons OF raw silk were grown at Mansfield. and
for several years tho value Of Connecticut 8
raw silk product exceeded 100000 per year.
President stiles OF Yale College grew silk
worms and wrote n book on silk culture. Dur
ing the asst twenty-five years OF the colonial
IN eNiii New York. New Jersey and
MARYLAND The Revolutionary war. however.
te tn sn and a, p4n fo of
Keeling silk in i'hiadelphia was given up.
i he industry had SO much decreased in 1885
1000 siikwo M at work Now, an ounce Of
n | a New
raising silkwornis and u local paper hoped it
would soon be disreputnhie for lady or n:
tleman t. be found wearing thick silk not of
native growth. company in Rhode Island
had 10000 mulberry trees growing in 1Sa5.
cent u pound on raw silk grown within the
State, A newspaper declared that Rhols
Island was iiScily to take the lead in the
In 1870. 20 greatly mad tn" industry grown
that the United .tates expolteI - ,55t pounds
II was in the period between 1925 ard 1880
@ for S w rHss tbss
Of y learned society at its head va: formed fer
the furtheIance of the industry in Pennsyl-
vania. A Frenchman came out from Lyons to
teach the art OF managing silkwor rs. md
elaborate instructions were printed. Tho
was urged that this industry could be carried
on mt home. and that it furnished easy and
Erctltab work for women and children. In
those days American women wer" more easily
impressed with tho gianOr az royalty. anu 1t
was represented that royal ladies in all times
Hundreds Of homes became the scene Of the
industry. and dainty girls sedu!ously gathered
mulberry leaves to feed those ravenGns worms;
the prospect: Thousands Of mulberry trees
were planted; and some of them or their de-
An almost fatal disaster. attended with
curious manifestations, 9vertoos the silk
reprosnnted that the Chinese or South SEA
mul berry was In every way rs suitable as the
white mulberry to feed siIkworms, There
the Chinese hines huberry One nurserym" an or =.
dered 5,OUOOUO OF Tho o plants from Franc;
the bargain. Tiny twirs !rdSusht 81 ana
S? apiece. and were sold two or tn, 90
times in rarid ~, succrssi12n;, each time Inc
craze. Late in 1889 the collapse came. and i
at two and three cent? each, While the srec;;
nlation was at its height S3OO,;0oO changed
hands ,s for ulant; during one week n phiadeI-
berry Ilants We're killed by IL severe frost, and
even Connecticut was discouraged II was
about building mills and importing raw silk.
The hope Of growing raw silk hnS per t.
yha r2 ho%r Of h he &
Franklin Institute, about ten years ngo? that
profit. He thought It must be done on mail
Sche rs INCIDENT 10 Othpr utiarlmthtS VI
farm work. and i must TO left in large part to
| women AMI children. lie exhibited an i'm
proved metallic contrivance for reelinE raw
silk. and ssid that there were then il rhla,
establishment Of a nlaturc. Ii" showed
American silk reeled. and affirmed th.:t it wns
ported raw, silk, Ii was uhonr ills
| tins that the United states bureau OF
| Agriculture addressed letters to various per.
sons on the suhlert Of silk Gu lure In lSSSt
| the Govarnmoat appropriated $1,000 to aid
in experiments In 81 k culture. and aprointc!
m agent t" look after such experiments.
| Eggs were oNtled free Of charge 10 any p,r-
son who would undertake. TO engage in silk
| culture by way Of eXpe inrnt.
! learned professor declared noXt year be-
| fore tho American Society for tho Advance
| ment OF Scirnce that, after fifty years IF de-
tcrmined experiment i was proved that silk
| culture corld ho cnrri"i on proilta ~ ovor
| three-Iuarteis OF the United states II only the
c.cn"ns could be DISPOSED OF. lIr thought
| three persons. women or children. en-
gazing in the business should i!S Hbs
S25 each, II tho cocoons should sell for
81 each. then about the highest ma rket price
| Of cnconns anywhere. Edward Atkinson re-
piled by saying that the growing Of, raw sill;