Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1872 edition. Excerpt: ... section V. silk in the north-west ren provinces. In February 1856, Captain Hutton, of Mussooree, represented to the P i m tr u-Government of the North-Western Provinces the Proposals of Capt. Hutton in 1856;., .i n-i 1-ri i-n n, . existence in the Himalayas and Dehra Doon of certain wild silk-spinning insects, and suggested that he should be employed in conducting an enquiry into the possibility of utilizing these insects. "The object," he wrote, "should be, in the first instance, to ascertain what number of species our forests afford; the quantity and quality of the silk procurable from each; the practicability of transplanting them to Europe; and whether they will submit to domestication like Bombyx mori, or whether they require to be left to nature in suitable localities where they can be watched." After obtaining the opinion of the Agri-Horticultural Society on Captain Hutton's views, the Government of the North-Western Provinces proposed that he should be allowed to undertake the experiment of forming a plantation of mulberry trees near Mussooree for rearing hill silkworms; and that, while so employed, he should be allowed a salary of Rs. 200 a month, and be permitted to incur an annual outlay of Rs. 3,000 for three years, when a full report was to be submitted. And in June 1858, the Government of India sanctioned this scheme. On 3rd November 1859, however, Captain Hutton reported that the experiment did not promise success. He founded this opinion on the following grounds: --1st.--That the wild mulberry tree, when propagated by cuttings, was found of slow growth, and would require double, if not treble, the time allowed, to bring it to a size large enough to nourish a sufficient number of worms to ensure a tolerable return in silk;...
