RfARCH I, 1886.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



597 



CHINA SILK WORSIS IN MADRAS. 



The Director of Reveuuo Settlement and Affriculture, 

 reports the results of the espcriraeuts made in 1883-84 

 with the :.'1J ounce of silk seed obtained from 

 Dehrft Duo and distributed by his department as 

 noted : — 



Eurasian and Anglo-Indian Association 

 Dr. Bidie for a Oejlon planter 



Ur. Shortt 



Collector of North Arcot ... 



Major riokauco 



(ioverumont I'nrm at Saidapet 



Large numbers of the worms reared at the Saidapet 

 Farm died from starvation owing to the imposibility 

 of obtaiiiiug a sufficient supply of mulberry leaves on 

 the farm or from elsewhere ; the deaths were chiefly 

 among the big worms which were ready to spin. They 

 refused to feed on anything but mulberry leaves. The 

 experiment was, however, more successful than that 

 of the preceding year, for the number of cocoons 

 obtained relatively to the weight of the sued was 27!' 

 per cent more than in 18SL'-8a. This is ascribed to 

 the experiment having been made earliar in the season 

 than was that of the preceding y0*r. The worms 

 thrive well during the cold season, but Jlr. Benson 

 remarks that unless a continuous supply of fertile eggti 

 can be maintained locally, it will not be possible to 

 engage in this industry with any prospect of success. 

 The almost insuperable difficulties of providing in a 

 climate hke this a sutiicient supply of mulberry loaves 

 to feed the worms 011 — and mulberrj' leaves appear to 

 be the only food that these varieties will touch here — 

 make the enterprise of silk-breeding in Madras practic- 

 ally hopeless. The two ounces of seed supplied to 

 Major Pickance yielded .0.921 cocoons, which gives a 

 rate of 2,9(J'J per ounce of seed against 2,884 at the 

 farm. Three thousand four hundred and twenty-one 

 of these cocoons, weighing 42 ounces, produced 5jf 

 ounces of silk, or exactly one-eighth of the weight of 

 the cocoons. The worms were fed on uiulbcrryleaves, 

 and when the supply ran short lettuce leaves wore 

 substituted, but with what effect is not stated. Dr. 

 Shortt's experiment with the one ounce of seed supplied 

 to him was not very successful. I'he yield was onlv 

 410 cocoons, and only a very small cpiantity of silk 

 wa.s reeled off. The results of an experiment made by 

 the Tahsildar of Balmaner, to whom some seed appears 

 to have been supplied, were reported by Mr, Fawcett. 

 One thousand five hundred and seventy cocoons were 

 obtained, of which 1,400 were reeled, yielding 8| toLis, 

 !.(., al>out ;*! ounces of silk. The worms were very 

 voracious and were fed on mulberry leaves. 



A. SUCCES.SFL'L DECOKTICATOH. 



Among the several decorticating machiues on ex- 

 hibition at the annex to the Main Building, or the 

 Machinery Hail, is one entitled the Universal Fibre 

 Decorticjtor, which is manufactured by the Reming- 

 tou -Vgricultural Company, and was invented by Mr. 

 T. Albee Smith- of Missouri. 



During the past month this decorticator has at 

 times given displays of its nualities before numerous 

 spectator?, but on Thursday l.ist it fairly astonished 

 the seekers after fibre preparing machines who were 

 80 fortunate as to witness its performances. 



The enterprising agent of the Remingtons, Major 

 F. F. Hilder, anxious to t«.st the capacity of the 

 decorticator, hail procured from British Honduras a 

 ipiantity of liinmedia fi/U-estras. or silk grass leaves, 

 banana and plantain stalks and hene(|uiu or sisal 

 hemp leaves. It was generally known that the de- 

 corticator would bo tested at 2 p.m., and quite a 

 large crowd of experts was assembled, who were 

 desirous of seeing it operate on green leaves. At 

 length ;^[r. Smith placed several henequin leaves on | 

 the phitforiD of the tuacbinc, which «»8 H't in motiw, , 



and in a few seconds the fibre was perfectly cleaned) 

 without any perceptible waste. The silk grass leaves 

 and plantain and banana stalks were also operated 

 with the same result. Kentucky hemp (both rotted 

 and in an unrotted condition) was thoroughly divested 

 of it.s woody parts in one single and simple operation. 

 The ni.achine thus proved to the complete satisfaction 

 of all who .saw it work that it is, as it claims to 

 be, a genuine universal decorticator. 



Mr. Albee Smith, the inventor, expects to procure 

 green ramie stalks before the Exposition closes, and ' 

 will demonstrate to the public the ability of the 

 machine to prepare ramie for market in one operation, 

 (-ireen jute stalks may not be obtained in time to 

 enable the mwhine to show its abihty to clean that 

 fibre also. As the product of dried jute stalks is 

 only fit for paper making, Mr. Smith does not care 

 to bother with it. 



The luiiversal decorticator, therefore, claims to 

 successfully operate all green fibre plants, whether 

 leaves or stalks. As fibre extracted from stalks con- 

 tains more or less resinous gum, it must go through 

 another process after it is decorticated to securd 

 complete disintegration. Mr. Smith asserts that the 

 jute fibre decortcated by his machine, after being 

 steeped in water for a week, becomes thoroughly 

 disintegrated and is fit for market. 



The displ.ay made on Thursday proves conclusively 

 that Mr. ."Smith's machine can successfully decorticate 

 green fibrous plants. It is the only machine on ex- 

 hibition that has attempted to work green material. 

 I'ersons desiring further information regarding this 

 decorticator can obtain it by addressing to Major F. F. 

 Hilder at the Remington exhibit in the Main Build- 

 ing, or at his office, 99, I'oydras street, this city. — Times- 

 democrat. [AVe shall be glad to hear further about this 

 machine, when it has successfully operated on Bamie or 

 Rhea stalks. — Ed.1 



S0.4.P AS AN INSECTICIDE. 

 Professor Riley, the State Entomologist of the 

 "Washington Department of Agriculture, has found, 

 after a long series of experiments, that common 

 soap is about the best and cheapest insecticide that 

 can safely be used in gardens. Alcohol is too ex- 

 pensive, and volatile oils more or less injurious to 

 plants; experimei^ts with some of the latter, such 

 as naphtha, turpentine, &c., having resulted in the 

 total destruction of some orange-trees on which they 

 were tried. Crude pretroleun, he says, destroys the 

 bark; and even the refined oil in hot sunshine 

 completely strips the tree of leaves. A mixture of 

 kerosine with milk, which is subsequently diluted 

 with water, was found to be apparently incocuous; 

 but it requires trouble in the mixing, and care in 

 using. The I'rofe.ssor makes the following remarks 

 with regard to snap: — The value of soap as an in- 

 secticide has long been known; and the experiments which 

 I tried which it were made chiefly for the sake of 

 comparison with those made with other substances. 

 The results, |however, were so remarkable, that I 

 feel warranted in saying that taking into consider- 

 ation its elliciency as a means of destroying scale 

 insects, its effect upon plants, and its cost, there 

 is at this time no better remedy known than a strong 

 solution of soap. In my experiments whale-oil aoap 

 WHS used, and the solution was apjilied by means of 

 a fountain pump to orange trees infested with the 

 red scale of California. In the strongest solution 

 used the proportions were three-fourths of a pound 

 of soap to one gallon of water. The mixture was 

 heated in order to dissolve the soap thoroughly ; and 

 the solution was appled while 5'et heated to about 

 KlIK)-' F. The tree upon which the eyporiment was 

 made was very badly infested, the bark of the trunk 

 being literally covered with scales. Four days after 

 the .ipplication of the solution, I examined the tree 

 very carefully, and could find no living insect on 

 the trunk of the trie, and only a small proportion 

 of the coccids on the leaves appeared to be still 

 •lire. I was unable to examine the tree Bgtin 



