The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-07-16
SiIkWorm Culture in America.

In a recent issue of Scientific
American Waldon Fawcett declares
| that the movement inaugurated by
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture looking to revival Of the
silkworm industry in this country
bids fair to prove successful. Some
portions Of the United States are we'll
adapted to silk culture-the southern
states for instance.
Silk culture ranks as one Of the
comparatively few activities which
have once gained foothold on this
continent that was allowed to lam
guish and practically disappear. The
| industry was started in America in
| 1922 when James sought to foster
the, industry in Virginia. He sent out
to the colony silkworm eggs and
| mulberry trees, and offered premiums
for colonial silk, but after brief ex-
periments the planters returned Ito
cultivation of tobacco. In Carolina
and Georgia, however, the effort was
more sccessful. Silkworms were
brought by the first settlers, and the
industry speedily took root, flourish
ing for more than q quarter of a
century, during which time these
| two colonies exported considerable
silk to London. In. 1850 a silk-reel-
! ing mill was established at Savannah,
and in 1859 the exports of raw. silk for
! that port alone showed an aggregate
valuation Of s75, 600.
The Huguenots who settled in the
vicinity, of Charleston, S. c., in 1871
i.had also taken up silk culture almost
from the date Of the establishment OF
their new home, and for nearly 8. CEN
| tury. from s., 900 to SIC, 600 worth OF
silk was annually exported from
Charleston, in addition to which g
considerable amount was woven and
consumed at home. The Revolution
Larry War had a blighting effect upon the
Esilk industry in all parts Of the south,
although during the conflict the raw
material was made into sewing silk
and sold In the home market. Hence
forth, however, the history of the in
| dustry in the new world was shifted to
| the more northerly colonies
The colony of Connecticut was the
scene of experiments in silk worm cul-
ture as early as 1850; and within a
decade after that the industry had
also taken root in small way in New
York, Pennsylvania, New jersey,
Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In
all these colonies the industry was
seriously affected by the War for Inde-
pendence, but at its close a greater
effort was made for its revival than
| was the case in the southern states.
| Connecticut in 1888 offered bounty
to silk growers, and thus attained the
first rank in the amount of silk pro-
duced, a place which she held for
fourscore years, and in Pennsylvania
Benjamin Franklin and others inter.
ested themselves in the restoration Of
the industry. Silk growing became
| popular in all the states on the Allan
tic seaboard, and the Connecticut out
put reached a valuation of $500, 600 a
| year, duriug the years between 1888
and 1874 large nurseries of Chinese
mullbery we're planted, and there set
in that speculative craze that in the
end proved the ruination of the in
dustry. For time yearling trees sold
for prices ranging from So to 81 each,
but in the winter Of 1914 severe frost
destroyed hundreds of thousands OF
the young trees. Instantly the specu-
lation collapsed, and the entire indus
try received setback from which it
never recovered.
The greatest obstacle to be overcome
in the establishment of the industry of
silk culture in the United States is
found in the labor problem, and it
is for this reason that the friends OF
silk culture look with an especial
degree of hope to the field presented
by the southern states.
What makes the plan appear espe-
cially feasible is the seemingly paral-
lei circumstances which are found in
the tea-raising industry in the soouth.
It has been demonstrated within the
past few years that tea can be grown
proftably in the south, the leaves
being gathered by children. This
class of labor can, of course, be en-
ployed to pick mulberry leaves and
feed silkworms.
Another great advantage which will
be enjoyed by the people of the south
ern states in the raising of sllkworms
is found in the inexhaustible supply of
leaves of the Usage orange, which is
available in that section of the coun-
try. The Usage orange leaves have
been found to be as good food for silk
worms as mulberry leaves, and the
silk produced on this diet is of the
finest quality. Thus there is removed
all possibility of repetition of the
losses which ruined the American silk
culture industry during the first half
of the last century, and finally, an
abundance of Usage orange hedges OBJ
viate the necessity for any expenditure
whatever in cultivation.
The silk worm is, of course, the
larva of moth. There are several
species, but one variety has been nn-
der general cultivation for centuries.
The silkworm eggs are nearly spheri-
cal, and about the size of turnip
seeds Each female produces an aver
age of from 300 to 400 eggs, in the
neighborhood of 10000 eggs being
required to make an ounce in weight.
For time after the infant worm has