The sun., 1902-09-07
TO REAR SlLKWORMS HERE,
MISS KELLY SURE 1T Can BE
DONE IN THIS COUNTRY.
Causes Of Failures Hilbert o--Things She
Learned About the SILK Industry In Italy
Her plan Means $50. 900 400 Year
krpt AT Home \ Chance for the south,

yI4gas. typewriter To left Of her, micro
scope 10 tight of her. an enthusiastic little
woman l. working at "A scheme that may
r..,n mat $50 600 900 which now is sent ont
Of til. country every year, will be Kept
at home.
Tie name of this patriotic enthusiast is
Henrietta Aiken Kelly, and she proposes
% keep that snug little $50, ,UOO, COO in this
country 10y means Of the silk industry.
-uu, yes" says somebody. Il know that
dream Miss Kelly is not the first one who
has thought that the United States might
a. well rear silkworms and manufacture
six instead Of sending all that money!
aiml, the $4,000 900 annually--to swell the
Golfers Of France and Italy and Japan.
Oh, yes. it's nice dream. But Miss Kelly
will wake up after a while"
Il must be confessed that for a dreamer
OF dreams, Miss Kelly seems to be pretty
vide awake. II she is dreaming, so is
the Department Of Agriculture OF the
United States.
What is more the Department has backed
up it's dreams with an appropriation Of
10000 TO make them come true. II has
also appointed Miss Kelly special field
assnt TO manage the good work
But how begin the many who
have had the same dream and wakened
with Jolt OF failure
Here is the story Of how II all came about;
q story Of pluck and persistence with a
dash of happy accident.
Miss Kelly is a Charlestonan, as her
ancestors were before her For twenty
years she was at the head of one of the
foremost schools for girls in the South.
In that way her attention was drawn to the
problem Of education in the South, and
che finally determined 10 go TO Europe
and see II she could find there n system
which would produce something beside
men fitted only TO be accountants and
women fitted only to be teachers.
This is an agricultural country" saws
Miss Kelly. 'and what we want is to teach
our poor, white and black. how they can
get living out Of the soil"
In Europe she took various courses In
biology and other scientific branches She
matriculated at the Sorbonne did laboratory
work al the Jardn des Plantes, in Geneva
and in Italy. She remained abroad six Years,
three OF which she spent in Italy. II was
there that she was accidently attracted to
the study of silk culture
Near Milan, said Miss Kelly, In relating
the story. Il became a visitor at the castle
Of the Due de Litta -Viscont- Arese,
whose wife was an American girl Of my
acquaintance, Sericulture Is carried on
extensively on the Dukes estate and II
happened 10 be the season Of the gathering
Of the cocoons. The peasants would bring
them in large baskets, strapped to their
backs, and pour them in great golden heaps
In the inner courtyard where they were
weighed
The pcturesqueness and beauty of the
scene fascinated me at first, and then I
began to look into the subject from practi-
cal point Of view Finally said to the Duke:
''See here, I'm going 10 translate the best
of your books on silk culture and you've
got 10 help me.
You see, and Miss Kelly laughed cheer
fully. Il didn't understand the language. so
Il did seem somewhat of an undertaking
The Duke laughed at me and asked me il
J expected him to help me save money for
America at the expense Of Italy, but told
him that there was room for silk industry
In both countries, and either lie was reas-
sired or else his native courtesy would not
permit him to do anything but his best for
-rae--.
Well. / worked on. learned me T5r--
gIage and ! studied and translated and
worked under the scientific experts. But
j wasn't content with that.
4 went among the peasants and observed
all their methods | got the sikworm eggs
and MADE number of rearings myself I
Of Cfn 1 mt to -. L..
which those people have accumulated
through centuries Of experience. Why,
there on the Dukes estate they have been
raising silkworms for 900 years.
During the time that | was studying
and experimenting | began correspond
ence with the Department Of Agriculture
In this country. think must have writ
ten enough letters to fill a book
i would see in the American papers
statements that sericulture could not be
made profitable over here. Some society
women had raised thousands Of dollarssto
Introduce II az sort of pretty philanthropy
Tor the poor people, and after several years
their dollars had melted away, and a few
cocoons, comparatively speaking, had been
produced at cost which was greater than
their value. That settled it. Sericulture
was impossible in America.
Why, it's absurd, you know. Who
would think of going into electricity. or
Chemistry or any other science, without
being trained and learning the principles
orr People seem to think that II you have
some sllkworm eggs, or seed as they are
called, and few mulberry trees, that is all
thit, necessary.
People who have tried sericulture in
th's country make one fatal mistake at the
very outset, They save their own seed
Nobody does that abroad The poorest
peasant buys his seed of the theological
institution where it has been selected and
=" Ie Is certain Of getting healthy worms.
., ION know at one time, the silk industry
" HaIy and Of France was threatened
WIN destruction. disease attacked the
worms and became SO widespread that the
m">' noted investigators in Europe were
~, 20 work on the problem.
IN Italian scientist discovered the
e.S" N' lne disease, m oval corpuscle which |
was named after him; the corpuscle cor
H''d iasl",ir was one OF the men ey-
b,Imenilng with the disease and while he |
VI" not discover n cure he did discover !
] May "l selecting only healthy eggs for
IN" Iayings are received at the labora- |
"rF' each one being numbered and, Of |
!Gurse, accompanied by the mother moth |
,Gid ihem. The body Of the moth is !
AE4sI N0Ha# IL. /