Briefly summarized, this argument may be stated as follows:
First. To raise silk worms to advantage much time and attention are
required.
Second. Time and attention are more costly in the United States than in
other countries.
Third. Consequently, cocoons can be more cheaply raised in other
countries than in the United States.
Fourth. The United States possess no special advantages as a market for
cocoons, and therefore they must be sold as cheaply as elsewhere, and
the labor costing more, there is less profit.
Fifth. The profits made by raisers in Europe are not very great, and as
they would be less in the United States, it is not worth while to try to
raise cocoons in that country.
It must be acknowledged that upon the surface this all appears to be
very sound and almost unanswerable, but I hope to be able to show that
there is in reality not the slightest real foundation for the conclusion
to which this argument points.
Taking the points cited in order, I would say, as regards the first and
second, that although labor and time are required to raise cocoons, I
am convinced that the labor and time of the kind necessary will not be
found more expensive in our country than in Europe, for the following
reasons:
The work is a home industry.
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