Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 191, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 August 1917 — Silk Culture in Texas [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Silk Culture in Texas

On a great ranch in the Lone Star state are some people who give their time to breeding countless large white wormsugly ones, the kind that squish when you step on ’em, girls-and giving them tender care, for they produce the gossamer threads that are woven into lovely fabrics

By ROBERT H. MOULTON

M FTER three hundred years of failure in different parts of the Unite(l States, there has recent,y & een fi rml y established near Austin, Tex., a silk plantation of 40 acres whfch gives every promise of unqualified success. The trees covering the 40 acres of this plantation were imported from France and are of the most approved variety, for feeding the wo*rms. The fact that the production of cocoons is going forward at the rate of 40,000 a month shows what can be done in this industry. It has been found that climatic and other conditions in Texas make it the ideal place for the development of the silk industry., The silk crop is surer than any other crop and involved little risk or trouble, while the occupation Is pleasant and the returns are safe and substantial. A crop grows every twenty-five days and six crops are produced in a year, whereas in Europe the season lasts but two months, and only one crop a year is produced. Furthermore, the soil of Texas is so well adapted to the cultivation of the mulberry trees that they can be grown in a few months, while In Europe they require at least five years. What is known here as the mulberry tree is called the golden tree in China, because the tree has brought golden harvests to the successful silk growers of that country. With the splendid conditions for the successful cultivation of silk surrounding the people of the South, it is a marvel that they have not long ago declared their independence of the European Silk growers and entered upon an industry that is more remunerative than agriculture, horticulture, lumber or mine industry. The. American people, especially those living in the favored South, could and should raise their own raw silk, and thus keep at home the $200,000,000 which they pay out to foreign countries each year for their raw silk. Think of a country where six crops can be made in one silk-producing season, and where the season extends from March to October. How does that compare with cotton, which requires 49 weeks for its cultivation and which only yields one crop a year? The character of the labor connected with the silk-growing industry is also a point In its favor. The work is nearly all Inside, light, pleasant and interesting] A family of five can easily take care' of a crop of six ounces of silk-wornl eggs every twenty-five or thirty days. The average price of the eggs is $6 per ounce. An ounce of eggs will produce 120 to 150 pounds of fresh, or forty to fifty pounds of dry cocoons. By subjecting the fresh cocoon to a heating or steaming, process, the chrysalis in the silk cocoon •Is killed and the cocoon is rendered thoroughly dry and light. For the production of a crop of 250 pounds of cocoons a .quantity of between 10,000 and 12,000 pounds of mulberry leaves is required as feed for the silkworms from the time they are hatched out from eggs until they assume the chrysalis form. The white mulberry is the best and is preferred by successful growers at the age of one or two years. These trees will produce from twenty to thirty pounds of leaves each, or, in other words, 400 two-year-old trees will produce 12,000 pounds of leaves. The proper way to cultivate mulberry trees is to plant them 12 feet apart, allowing 302 trees to the acre. It will thus be seen that for the production of the above crop of dry cocoons two acres of land will be sufficient, but if the trees develop rapidly

they will also increase in food-furnish-ing capacity. A three-year-old tree will furnish between fifty and seventyfive pounds of leaves; a five-year-old tree Will make eighty-five to a hundred pounds. The product of a ten-year-old ‘ tree will be proportionately larger. By increased attention and additional help during, the last period of feeding the wormi, the crop can be practically doubled from six ounces of eggs and two acres of land. Two acres of one or two-year-old trees will produce $l5O to S2OO, representing the income from the first crop; but since the raising of six crops is possible in one year, SBOO to SI,OOO may be safely expected of the mulberry trees. This involves very little trouble; indeed, all that is needed to keep the trees in good condition is to keep them well trimmed and clear of weeds. Silk culture originated in China, the land of gorgeously embroidered doth and tapestry. As far back as 500 B. C., efforts were made by outsiders to learn the secret of the industry and to obtain some of the eggs, but, with true Oriental cunning, the yellow mdh defied the robbers and remained snugly and safely within their walls. In 200 A. D., the Armenian king sent monks to the empire in the capacity of teachers, supposedly, whose real motive was the acquisition of eggs and silkworms. After some time two of the monks managed to escape to Constantinople with their precious, booty. Here they sold a few eggs at a fabulous price, but for lack of knowledge and proper care on the part of the owners, these specimens died. In Armenia, under the care of the two monks, a successful farm was started. From this nucleus the Industry spread to include principally Japan and France. Its introduction into Texas was the result of the efforts of Mr. Walter E. Longof the Austin chamber of commerce.

Silkwonn eggs may be kept in cold storage at a temperature of 32 to 35 degrees fbr a period of ten to twenty years. When desired for hatching they are placed in plain wooden boxes with an even temperature of 50 to 75 degrees. After eight days a tiny, ugly and ravenously hungry worm appears. He has eight eyes, six short feet and eight sprawling hind ones. Sometimes he is banded or otherwise characterized by racial marks. He grows slowly until about .ten days old, and he sheds his skin every six or seven days. At the age of ten days the worm suddenly seems to realize his insignificance, for from that time until he is full grown he devours at a swift pace the tender mulberry leaves which are most conveniently placed in front of his greedy nOse, cutting into the tissues with a semicircular swath. He attains full growth like the miraculous beanstalk, since, when twenty-eight days old. he- is 14,000 times his fiize at hatching.

The grown worm is now ready to begin his envelope. Carefully he noses around the oak branch placed in front of’-ttfin until an advantageous spot is found. This is usually at the fork of two small branches, where he can easily fasten his gelatinous framework. He works sluggishly at first, gluing together in his mouth the two threads of silk that come from the large glands on either side of the body, and weaving a glistening silk web qf thin, scarcely discernible threads. In three days the worm is hidden in a thick envelope of soft threads. As the cocoon grows, the worm diminishes, so that at the completion of the web he is onethird of his original size. The finished cocoon is a silky*, delicate, oblong structure, whose natural color is a

very creamy yellow. The cocoon of the male has a slightly drawn portion around the middle, so that it dips in the center. The cocoon of the female is regular. At this time there are two possibilities for the grower to consider. Either the worm must be sacrificed that superior silk may be obtained, or the perfect quality of the silk must be sacrificed for the propagation of the species, since the worm, after its metamorphosis, wets the end of the cocoon forces aparttheclosely-woven silken Threads' and crawls out of its capsule. Since the little creatures are at this stage peculiarly susceptible to tuberculosis germs, each, is subjected to an examination under the microscope to determine the condition of its lungs. A diseased specimen is destroys. • After a few days the female settles on a piece of paper and begins to lay. Three hundred eggs fire laid the first day, the same number the second day, and two hundred the third day. Then, her labors, accomplished, the moth dies. These eggs do not hatch until the following year. Since the exit of the moth weakens the end of the cocoon, in order to obtain the best quality of silk, the worm must be sacrificed. The cocoon is placed in a chemical substance which kills the inclosed moth. .It is then soaked in warm water for a couple of hours. By turning the cocoon around, the tiny, loose end of the thread is found and placed on a four-pronged cog, which revolves and gradually unwinds the 18,000 yards of the cocoon into a smootijf. hank. This raw material is then ready to be sent North to the manufacturers. Before the War, raw silk sold for ■53.50 per pound. Now the price is SB. Nor is it likely to be lowered in the near future. There are a thousand cocoons in a pound. Each pound of silk niakf's from ten to fifty yards of goods. Strange as it may appear, it is much cheaper to make silk into goods than it is to make cotton. The short fiber of the cotton must be spun into thread, while the silk hank is one unbroken thread 18,000 yards in length, and is ready to be spun directly into cloth. The United States in 1914 imported $200,000,000 worth of raw silk. This equals in value a bumper crop of cotton in Texas. With the possibilities of a successful native silk farm, we need not go outside of our own boundaries ; we need not pay import tax on raw material for home consumption. Dr. V. K. Osigian, an Armenian and a graduate of the Universities of Turkey and France, is in charge of the Austin farm. He is at work on one of the most interesting problems connected with the production of silk. Like the magicians of fable and fairyland, he possesses a secret compound which he sprinkles on the mulberry leaves, and the worms react to this and produce colored threads. To what "point this formula and its reactions in producing fadeless, dyed-in-the-making silk can be carried is, as yet, problematical. f But Doctor Osiglan is hopeful that a species may be found which will be characterized by the production of certain colors, and that from these cross colors may be evolved. There are now 12,000 trees in the Austin farm and 100,000 trees which will be ready to set out on the first of November, 1917. One acre of mulberry trees will produce from SIOO to sl,000 worth of silk in a year’s time, depending upon the size of the trees. The trees are kept down to a height of 8 or 9 feet, making it easy to pick the leaves. Corn planted between the trees shows that the soil can be used for agricultural purposes until the trees are grown. . i < •*

Cocoons and Caterpillars Feeding