Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1869. SILK PRODUCTION.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 712, 26 August 1869, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1869. SILK PRODUCTION.

A considerable portion of the space of the last New Zealand Gazette that has come to hand is occupied by a paper forwarded by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the Governor of New Zealand on the subject of the production of silk as a profitable employment for the colonies, or such of them as may have convenient facilities for engaging in the pursuit of this industry. The paper referred to consists of a copy ot a letter trom the hon. secretary of a newly formed silk supply association, together with the report of a public meeting, and copy of the resolutions adopted thereat for the establishment of the said association in London. The paper is published in the Gazette with the view of advancing the interests of the Colony by indicating what may prove to be a valuable local industry; and at the same time promote the objects of the association, which are briefly as follows :-r—----Ist.—To stimulate the production'of silk, by cottage cultivation and otherwise, in every country where the Mulberry-tree is capable of giving food to silkworms.

2nd.—To encourage the introduction find exchange of the eggs of the best kind of silk-worms in silk-producing districts. 3rd.—To offer practical suggestions and encouragement to the producers of siik for improving the quality, and securing a better classification, and for ensuring greater care in the reeling of the silk.

4th.—To promote the cultivation of silk in the various silk-producing districts in India where the production of silk has not recently increased, and in other districts of India, where the cultivation of the silkworm has almost ceased, but which are known to possess special advantages, by the growth of the mulberry-tree and the habits of the people, for its propagation.

sth. —To promote the exportation of cocoons from countries not well able to reel them. 6th.—To communicate with the Foreign, Colonial, and Indian Departments of Her Majesty's Government, and to obtain the aid of the English Representatives in the British Colonies, and Consular Agents in all Foreign Countries, and to promote and extend the cultivation of Silk.

The meeting, of which a long report is given, was convened in London on the 18th February last, by a circular signed by D. Chad wick, Esq., M.P., and Thos. Dickin«, Esq., in which the following statement relative to the falling off of the silk supply and its increase in value was made : The high price of silk during the last years, arising from the disease of the silkworm in the countries formerly contributing the greater portion of raw silk for European consumption, has produced the conviction in the minds of many of those interested in the silk manufacture, that the time lias arrived when an effort should be made to repair the great national loss arising from this calamity by the establishment of a Silk Supply Association on a basis analagous to that of the Cotton Supply Association. Whilst the imports of raw silk have decreased nearly 40 per cent., tht price has increased more than 10U per cent. Much valuable information was given by the several speakers, most of which we pass over, culling only a few striking paragraphs, which we. think will be of interest to our readers. Mr Chadwick, in the course of his speech, referring to the districts suitable for the silk culture, said : "Wherever the mulberry-tree grows, there you can produce silk. In a recent journey through the South of France and Austria to the Lebanon, and as far as Damascus, I saw silk reeled, spun, and woven in the open air, by the same rude machinery which was used 2,000 years ago. I brought specimens of the silk manufacture of Damascus witli me. In Syria and Egypt I passed through large districts in which silk can be produced in great abundance. Mr Dickins, in relation to the quality of the silk imported, said ;

I At present we get only a clumsily and partially 'manufactured article in the raw silk, that comes from all countries except Italy and Prance. Very many attempts haye been made to improve the quality of the silk. I have wasted several thousand pounds in attempting to introduce silk-reeling into this country, and I succeeded so far as to produce silk equal to any from France, Italy, or any other country ; but my difficulties, and the difficulties of others who made similar attempts, were with the raw material—the cocoons. Sometimes they would come in a tolerably perfect state, at others in a damaged and inferior state, yet all costing the same price; and the labor in this country was such a novelty that what I attempted was to much for any individual to accomplish. It should be known that one acre of ground planted with a good and proper mulberry-tree, if the land is in a suitable situation, will produce £IOO worth of silk; and Ido not know of anything else the cultivation of which will produce so much. From the £IOO will have to be deducted, of course, the cost of production ; but the labor of two or three young persons for a few weeks in the year is sufficient to produce a pound of silk.

All the inferior silk produced is due to defective reeling. The cocoons from every country are about the same size, in the thread, and if an equal number of cocoons be continuously reeled together you will obtain an even silk; but in China, India, Persia, Asia Minor, and all countries except France and Italy, so little care is given to the proper number of cocoon threads being taken up and reeled at one time, that the silk varies in size from eight or ten to thirty or forty threads. If we can inform the people of those countries how to reel the silk evenly, the profitable result will in time follow. We must also ascertain the best way of cultivating the mulberry, and disseminate that information everywhere; we must also collect and diffuse information as to the kinds of silkworm suited to different countries; and we must also spread information as to reeling and other processes.

We have reason to believe that there are several persona in this Colony at present who devote a portion of their time to the production of silk with more or less of success; but we think that at such a lime as the present, when productive industries are needed for the well-being of the Colony, silk culture promises to afford a fair field for the energy of many enterprising individuals and families. What is needed to ensure success is just what the Silk Supply Association promises to afford—correct and reliable information as to the culture of the mulberry; and, indeed, concerning the whole process of dik production, and the furnishing of a market for the produce. The want of these has, doubtless, been the cause of many failures in this direction; but now that they are forthcoming we are sanguine enough to believe that silk production will vet rank with other producive industries in Few Zealand.