The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1903-02-19
AMERICAN SERICULTURE
PARALLEL TO HOLLANDS
TULIP CRAZE.

TULIP CRAZE.
Why James !. Determined That Silk
Worms Should Be Raised in Virginia
instead of Tobacco-Mania Of 1855
Deep Reaction When Fever Was
Ove:.
probably few persons not thorough
ly colIyc,*ant with the history OF The
silk industry i'm America. are aware
thai tn" tulip mania which ragged in
holland nearly three hundred Years
ago had its counterpart here two hun
dIcd Years later.
Give birndlrd dollars was often paid
for hulh OF tho Admiral liefkcnS or
OF the Gullda variety. $1,000 70 $I2OU
ior Nic"ruy. and 5000 for Il S'cmprr
Augustus during the mania. In 1864
the craze became so great tLaI all
usual industries were abandoned. a
choice bulb sold Tor $500 in cash TWO
horses. q carriage and Il Snt of harness
Representing in All $4,000. Persons fire..
Qu"nllr in"rSt'd $4,000 in Il Few doZ.
en- bulbs with which to begin business.
merit %aSin" their houses or giving Pc
SOnal property in exchange. ThcS"
extraordinary Values checked the cut
ii. alton Of lUlinS. ~ the hulhS could
hr bought and ar once Snld at Il profit
TO SpCculaiors. FINALLY th" real tulip
lovers hc"lmr dis@Usrrh and in Fcbru-
AIRY, lG27. .:udl"nly placed large guam
titles Of ih" most valuable varieties
upon tn market This n0iu'"d an
lmm"diat, and disastrous decline in
tn" rr!c" ui bulbs Without Il day =
warming. lhuuNanUS ,Ourd themselves
ruined. 1t was several years before
Holland "NcrcHm" lhr effects al his
strange mania.
Now comes the auain4y. lumrS l..
WHO almost in~nn"ly hatrH toDacco.
WAS determined that Siih Wurh:;
should h2 reared in Virginia. mainly
bccauS" he thought he ccrl!d 1huS de-
stroy The tobacco culture. which. he ul-
d"rrh 10 II" abandoned. Some sill;
was produt"d and ecut to Er4land.
The coronation lOh" ~ Cha les Ii.
was maze from such NilN D,!rin% Tic
next hundred years, there occasionally
appeared Il wIi>t~r:;l or n;li .dkrrchicI
OF Il Coloniat hvl"%arc. made from
hrm"SiI,m ard woven silk and s0inr.
times grand ladies were arraycd in
""NLS q! nHtlN" gr"wn silk. For II
lll.c sill; "rNur" N,i with gr,&t sue
CrSS II Georgia. in l11". lr.,n,U
pounds =! r." silk we're 'hrn,r v&-
ported t" England. tunn"rt;cUl was.
however. III" rcnte" OF the Industry
lhr ir.:j,iatur, offered = bounty for
Planting trees. US lalC rs l$-3 the
: a, II II
al.d also flourishrd in Massachusetts
In Pennsylvania it Was undertaken
and continued With Sucr"SS until the
resolution.
SILK worms wrrr fed on the Whit"
mulberry Chorus albaI until 1854.
when there appeared lhc Chinese mul-
berry Of NOr>!S muiticauiS. Dr. f,.
liN Ia*calis made known the remark
ably rapid growth and the supposed
excellent qualities OF ,hc tree. thus
opening this Pandora'S box whence SO
many evils escaped. 1t was predicted
ttat hE NJ; culture two crops Oi SIR
cOuld be raised annually. Ii had
large. thin tender leaves. ii could be
p;Dpa@alcl easily Dy CUTTINGS and cul-
tNatcd ls q shrub and il Wa> claimed
,hlt it, leaves formed tLr most mutri-
ticu* TODD tor silk worms soon all
the agricultural literature and The
newspapers Of I'll" country became
srlrfCitrd with descriptions ui This
wonderful tree.
At this very tim" congress WAS con
STEERING the Suh;c,, Of silk culIul". In
lS25 The country had imported silk
goods valued at $40. 600, 900. and had
exported brcadStu,:S worth only 81
Oo".m .mr. This was considered an
alarming state Of affairs Secretary
Rush ui the treasury was directed TO
prepare q manual on the ::lUM;h aud
manufacture OF sill; This WAS is
sued in 1873 and known as the "Rush
letter. Many documents relating to
Scricult'rc were published by con-
grass. congressional committees
recommended that all public lands be
leased aratuitously to those who would
undertake. the cultivation oi the null
berry. A bill barely failed of passage
that authorized an expert to instruct
the farmers everywhere how to culti-
vatc tn" MOruS muiticaulis. The Mas
sachuScttS legislature ordered the
preparation OIL manual on SILK cul-
ture which was very potent in fomcnt.
ing the craze. The legislature OF near.
ly every state provided for the pay.
mnnt Of liberal bountics for planting,
mulberry trees and raising cocoons.
Thus it was that a speculative f,l.
ror, a vcIitablc madness, seized upon
all classes Of people. and particularly
of all mcn--upOn the Shrcwd, calc,I-
laling Yankee. 1t ragged like an cpl
dcmic. Not only aericrlturists, but
doctors of divinity, law and medicine
scholars, tradcSmcn and mechanics
men and women, old and young, were
injected with an insane passion to
raise mulberry trees. Every one
thought the glorious day was dawning
when each farm would be 3; nursery
for the young trees, and every house
have iIs cocooncries and its Sill;
worms yielding two or more crops OF
cocoons yearly.
The farmers wives and daughters
when not feeding the worms, were tC
reel the silk which would become as
cheap as cotton, every woman having
at least dozen silk dresses. A writ
.xIx