MESSAGE FROM THE GOVERNOR, ON THE SUBJECT OF THE CULTURE OF SILK, AND THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR FROM THE BEET ROOT. State of New-York. No. 134. In Assembly, February 12, 1840

(Albany, NY: 1840).. 1840).. Good. - Octavo, printed self-wraps. 34 pages. Possibly lacks 1 folding leaf of plates. There is foxing to the title & the last page with scattered lighter foxing & staining throughout. There are 2 tiny stains to the bottom margin of the last page. Good. <p>Attempts to introduce sericulture to the United States had been sporadic and largely unsuccessful. In 1831 a manual on sericulture by J. H. Cobb was distributed to members of Congress. A determined effort to establish silk culture then led to the "Mormus multicaulis craze". Thousands of individuals bought and planted mulberry plants of this species on large areas of valuable land. The investments far exceeded possible returns and when heavy frosts destroyed plantations of the trees, the many failures and disappointments led to silk culture being more or less abandoned in the States. A later attempt to develop a hardy race of silk-producing insects by crossing the gypsy moth with the silkworm moth resulted in the gypsy moth becoming one of North America's most serious forest pests.<p>On pages 16-17 McLean suggests that silk farming will offer employment to "indigent females and children" who are suffering as a result of the industrial revolution.<p>Scarce.