The details of the work of silk culture are of such a nature that they
may be readily understood, and I apprehend that there will be little
difficulty found by those who engage in it in mastering them, after some
little experience. The point at which it seems to me that there is the
most danger is at the very beginning.
In order to avoid delays and losses, the person who begins silk culture
should have a pretty clear idea of the scale of operations which are
likely to be most profitable; of the trees, or rather shrubs, which must
be obtained; of the apparatus and fixtures necessary, and of the results
which may be reasonably expected from the labor and expense required.
All of these items will be found to vary in different parts of the
country, and I fear that general rules, broad deductions, and such
information as would apply under all circumstances and in all places
would be extremely difficult to formulate, and too vague for practical
use at any given point.
In fact, as far as information which may be considered perfectly general
is concerned, I have, for the time being, only one point to put forward
in addition to what has already been published in the United States,
which is to repeat and show as emphatically as possible that the use
of the reels at present employed for the filature of silk is entirely
impracticable in our country, and that the raiser must sell his cocoons.
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