Excerpt from Fessenden's Silk Manual and Practical Farmer, Vol. 1: Devoted to the Culture of Silk, Agriculture, and Rural Economy; May, 1835 The following letter, written by the venerable Judge Spencer, of New York, relates to a subject of growing importance to the people of this coun try, and one for which the same eminent and en lightened citizen labored, though unsuccessfully, to' obtain the fostering aid of the Government when his State had the honor to be represented by him in Congress - flrgus. Culture and manufacture or silk. Albany, April 7, 1835. From a long acquaintance, and as I believe, a reciprocal esteem and friendship, I have thought that I could not better employ a leisure hour, than in addressing you on a topic which I regard as of high importance to our fellow citizens. You will not suspect me of insincerity' or flat tery, when I assure you that I know 110 man whom I believe to have more enlightened views, or more ardent patriotism than you. Hence the propriety of my selecting you as a correspondent on the interesting subject which I proceed to state. _since 1830 my attention has been drawn to the consideration of the culture of silk in this coun try, and particularly in this State. I am perfectly satisfied that no agricultural pursuit will bear any comparison with the culture of silk, as regards profit. I should not want a better income than the clear profits of an orchard of white mulberry trees, of twenty acres at ten years old. The clear nett profits of such an estate would not fall short of from $3000 to $5000 annually; andthis profit would 'go on increasing with the growth and the productiveness-of the trees. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.