The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1893-01-07
RAWSILK IN AMERICA
"s CULTURE BEGAN WITH The
EARLIEST COLONIZATION.

'"sssh SIN Mile Flourish. rhi. Com.
ny Fails to Produce the Raw Material.
Cocoon Nurture IL Possible 4. Three.
fsssths Of the Country,
II w. w. Cleayer, Of Unadilla. WIN n
reported ~ having $500 silk worms a,
work, can demonstrate the possibility ~
making 800 month by silk culture IN !
small scale. he may bring on another erase
IKE that OF 1888. After nearly 800 wears nj
experiment II IL pretty well established
!hst the silkwOrIn may be made to thrive
IN this country and over quite three.
Iourtbs OF It's area: but Ia spite of this ,bs
SIX manufacturing industry has grown Ia
great proportions In the United States
without material aid from growers OF ma,
i've shk, aud the native product cuts no
ugure In the consumption Of tbs mills.
Inc experiment Of growing raw silk has
gone on psrsistently almost since the day
That the first permanent colonist set foot
upon the continent. C0rtex brought silk.
worms To Mexico In i532s, and James | tried
70 send eggs u Virginia Ia 1909, only two
years after the settlement Of Jam4sio own
but failed tsecause Of = sbipwreck, Ten
years later Sirginians were urged to rais@
silk, ANA penal statutes were passed EN-.
joining the Industry upon the e0lonists.
Nearly every state In the Union has
sought 10 encourage silk culture. and all
sorts 81 societies have been formed TO pru-
mote the Industry. The victims Of John
LAWS West India scheme were aIlured
with the hope Of successful silk culture IL,
America. When Georgia WAS settled In
I1ds grants Of land were made, with the
stipulation that for every ten acr-s l0J
white mulberry trees should be planted.
GcorKia developed the industry TO greater
degree than any other colony. The firs,
shipment Of Georgia silk TO England was
made In i'as. IL weighed eight pounds.
a Mature for r~eiing raw silk wss esiab
lish-d at Savannah IN 1880 and la l.,a
Georgia exported 1000 pounds of silk to
England. After that cotton came ia, and
being more profitable than silk droy. IA.
latter out. jus, as tobacco had drives, IL
out Ia Virginia mare than loo years befor..
Some silk w raised ia Georgia even dur.
INK the Revolutionary war. and there was
small export trade ss late as i.yU.
For nearly iU years there Was a deter
mined effort Ia grow siik in Connecticut
Ia 1919 i've tons of raw silk WEIR grown "a,
Mansfield. and for several year. Tia. value
OF tninetticnt's raw silk product -xceesi..l
tin, on pr year. President Stiles, Of Val.
college, gre" silkwurius aud wroi- a lpuok
"n elk culture. During the last twenty
Ave Years Of the colonial trriasi -xu-ri
menis In rilk culture a-r made Ia Penn
.. lvsnia, New York. New Jersey and
Maryland. The Rs,olutio nary war. how.
ever. Interrupted the experiments. aal -
plan Ut B~nlsutin frsuklins TO build a
hla,ur for r~~iIng silk Ia Phiiai. lphia
~ 40 given up.
The Industry had ~ much decreased in
i.~b that - new si,aper OF the day mention,
~ - remarkable fact that /. family in
Msry land had ..UD silkw worms at work
Nov, an oiinc- ii fertile -gg, viii produce
nearly .o.oU ~"rnis. Ia i..S iher- uerv
nifty families in New Haven raising silk.
worms, aud a local paper hoped IL wouii
ssan ic disrputable Tor . lady or gentle.
man Ia i~ found wearing thick siik no, Of
native growth. A company In Rhoie
Island had So.op MULBERRY trees growing
Ia 1875, and the legislature off-rsi bounty
Of ATTY CENTS a i-o0nd ON raw silk grow u
within the stst-. \ Newspaper DECLARED
tina; kbo-i- Island ~s. likely TO take the
lead IN the manufacture 81 silk a. of cot.
ton.
In $50 gns,i, had the industry
grown that the United State. exported.
ei ~. is"ands OF raw silk. and In iets near.
iy tou.oos pounds. hut In isi0 the export
Was only N.:as pounds II was In tn.
period t-tw-rn is.s and $50 that the great
craze Tor silk raising seized til. middl.
states. a company with she president Of
\ learned ssr,s;y nj Its head was formed
for the fur h~rsnc. Of the industry In Penn.
sylvsnia. A Fr.nchman came out from
I-yo0s to teach the art 81 managing silk.
worms, ami elaborate instructions were
printed. The craze spread into Delaware
and Mary land. IL Was urged that this In.
dustry could b~ carried on at home, aud
that IL furnished easy and profitable work
for women and children. In ,hose DAYS
American women were more easily i'm
pressed with the glamour VI royalty. aud IL
was represented that royal ladies in all
times had bsea deeply interested In silk
culture. Hundreds Of homes became the
sccne ii the industry and dainty girls
scsiuiouIy GATHERED mulberry leaves to
feed those rascnous worms Everybody
was In y nu,,er Of excitement at the pros
p~ct Thousands Of mulberry tires were
planted. aud so,ne of them or their dc.
scen,iants still lipgrr.
An almost fatal disaster. attended with
curious manifestations, overlook the silk
growers II Pennsylvania In 1854 Il was
represented that the Chinese or South Sea
mulberry WAS In every way a. suitable
~ the white mulberry to feed silk.
worms Therrupon there began to lie a
great speculation in the Chinese mulberry.
One nurs~rymsn ordered 5000, ouo Of the
plants from France. and sent over 80, go
In gold to bind the bargain. Tiny twigs
brouah, one and two dollars apiece, and
werr sold two or three times In rapid sue
ccssion, each time at an advance, The
speculation was like that which ragged In
the days Of the tulip craze. Late in 1879
the collapse came, and In the spring OF
1870 the Chinese mulberry sold at two and
thrrc CENTS each. While the speculation
was at its height $4,000 changed hands
for plants during one week In Philadel
phia alone.
In 1874 many Of the Chinese mulberry
plants were killed by severe frost. and
even Connecticut was discouraged. 1t
was then that the New England capitalists
Get about building mills and importing
raw silk.
The hope Of growing raw silk has per.
sistently maintained a foothold In Phila.
delphia, and that city II the home Of the
Woman's silk Culture association. Lorin
BluiRe,t told the Franklin institute about
ten years ago that there could be no doubt
that II was possible 10 grow raw silk In
this country at n moderate profit. He
thought II must be done on "A small scale
~ incident to other departments Of farm
work, and Il must be left In large part TO
women aud children New York Sun.
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