THE SILKWORM ITS REARING AND MANAGEMENT. 65 



fluttering of their wings ; the females are much quieter. When a 

 sufficient number have been collected, the sexes are to be placed 

 in equal numbers on sheets of paper, cardboard, or cloth, and 

 kept in the dark. They will soon couple, and may be left to 

 themselves for at least half a day. At the end of this time, the 

 females should be placed on blotting paper for a short time, till 

 they have discharged a greenish yellow fluid. They may then be 

 transferred to the sheets of cloth or paper, which are to receive 

 the eggs, when they 

 will commence laying 

 at once (Fig. 21). 

 The sheets may be 

 placed smoothly in 

 trays, and the moths 

 set in rows upon them ; 

 darkness is still essen- 

 tial, but, at the same 

 time, plenty of fresh 

 air should be allowed 

 to reach them. All 

 the best eggs will be 

 laid during the first 



twenty - four hours ; Ficr 2I 



any deposited after 



that time should be kept separate from the rest, as an inferior 

 stock. When the eggs have all been laid, the only business of 

 the moths, adult life is finished and therefore in a few days they die. 



We must now return to the cocoons that have been put aside 

 for reeling. In small rearings all are usually reeled, and in such 

 cases they are not first " choked." They are placed in a basin of 

 warm water, and moved about in order to soften the gummy 

 substance which binds the coils of thread together, and to enable 

 it to be unwound. Then the end of the thread is sought for and 

 gently pulled. If the water is at the right temperature, the thread 

 will unwind readily and evenly ; if it comes off in masses, the 

 water is too hot, and causes the separation, not of the simple 

 thread, but of a whole patch of the double curves spoken of in a 

 former chapter ; on the other hand, if the cocoon does not readily 

 unwind, but is continually being pulled out of the water, through 

 the thread adhering too tightly, the temperature is not high enough. 

 Amateurs usually reel only a single thread at a time, but the 

 silk so prepared is useless for manufacturing purposes, the staple 

 of commerce always consisting of several threads combined. 



The amateur's reeling machine is a very simple affair. It 



