Scientific American Supplement, No. 324, March 18, 1882Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 324, March 18, 1882
Various
Science -- Periodicals
Let any one who doubts this consider the dairy work and similar
industries, and try to calculate how much per diem the women thus
occupied at home gain in money. It may be said with entire accuracy
that, as a rule, anything in which the women can engage at home, by
which something may be earned, will in general be regarded as net profit
through out many sections of the land. In the silk districts of Europe,
agricultural machinery is very much less employed than with us, and in
general every woman who can possibly be spared from other work is a
field laborer and valuable as such. So that time taken for raising silk
must be deducted from her other productive work and charged to the cost
of the silk crop. I think that there can be no doubt that this one fact
is quite sufficient to make the question of the cost of caring for the
worms really as much in favor of the United States as at first glance it
appears to be the other way; it being the case that in our country many
who would be glad to do the work have spare time to give to it, whereas
in Europe every hour that is given to silk worms would otherwise be
spent in the field.
In the South there are very large masses of inhabitants who are unable
to work in the fields, both men and women, and who would also find in a
yearly crop of silk worms a very comfortable addition to their
yearly gains, and one which could be derived from time not otherwise
convertible into money. Land is very much dearer, and taxes are higher
in the European silk districts than with us, and every little crop of
cocoons has to pay its share, which adds a considerable percentage to
its cost.
The buildings possessed by peasants and used for the raising of silk
worms are, in general, small, close, and miserable. Throughout America
the roomy barns which are empty at the cocoon season, will, with little
preparation, be much preferable, and enable the raisers to work to very
much better advantage.
In Europe diseases of several kinds have become more or less prevalent,
and in some cases have diminished the production of whole districts.
Notwithstanding the fact that many experiments have been made in
America, and in Georgia particularly, and silk has been raised
continuously for over a century, these diseases (_maladies des vers a
soile_) have never made their appearance.
The people of our country are, as a rule, much better educated than
those in Southern France and Italy, and will undoubtedly use their
intelligence in such a way as to derive a benefit from it, and economize
their labor by proper appliances, etc.
Taking all these facts into consideration, I am convinced that that
there will be no difficulty in raising cocoons for the same cost in
labor in the United States as in Europe, and I am inclined to think that
the work can be much more cheaply done.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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