Sericulture in the Midwest America has a long history of attempting sericulture. Sericulture, also known as silk farming or silk culture, is the act of raising silkworms to produce silk. Since the introduction of silk culture to what is now Louisiana and Georgia during the first half of the 18th century, the popularity of silk farming waxed and waned many times over the years. China not only developed sericulture but also dominated the silk industry. Silkworms are very delicate and require a very steady and controlled habitat. They eat many pounds of dry mulberry leaves; which meant that anyone interested in raising silkworms had to have access to many mulberry trees. Silkworms spin cocoons made of a very fine thread that varies in length but can be a mile long. The long continuous thread must be carefully unwound and spun onto a reel (a process called reeling). Later it will be spun with other reels to produce a thick enough thread that can be used to create silk. In the United States, silk culture was often advertised as a female friendly crop - one women could easily cultivate on their own to supplement their family income. Women in Pennsylvania, California, and Kansas formed associations to promote silk culture in America. The Women’s Silk Culture Association in Philadelphia was very successful in raising awareness that the United States was missing out in profiting from a large industry. The Division of Entomology within the U.S. Department of Agriculture also promoted silk culture in the United States. In the early 1900s, countless Americans wrote to both the Chief Entomologist L.O. Howard and Special Field Agent Henrietta Aiken Kelly asking them to send information on sericulture as well as actual silkworm eggs and cuttings of mulberry trees to get them started. People living in the Midwest were very interested in sericulture. During his time as the State Entomologist for the State of Missouri in the late 1870s, Charles V. Riley experimented with breeding a silkworm that could better withstand variations in climate. The state of Kansas made a serious effort to turn silk culture into a major industry for the state. In 1887 the state legislature approved a law that appropriated $13,000 to make a concentrated effort to produce silk. The law created a State Board of Silk Commissioners to oversee the work. There are many reasons why sericulture never thrived in the Midwest. The difficulty keeping the silkworms alive long enough to spin cocoons, the unfavorable climate throughout the area, and the fact that the expense of reeling the silk by hand typically ate up any profits are all factors that prevented sericulture from becoming a profitable industry in the Midwest. For more information on the Record Group 7, Records of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, please contact the National Archives at Kansas City by email at [email protected]. Images: Letter from the Keevil Hat Company of St. Louis, Missouri requesting information on sericulture and cuttings of mulberry trees. Record Group 7, Records of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, Letters Received Relating to Silk Culture, 1901-1904, NAID 2069885. Business card of the Woman’s Sericulture Club promoting attendance at their regular meetings. Record Group 7, Records of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, Letters Received Relating to Silk Culture, 1901-1904, NAID 2069885
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:00:31 +0000
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