6oJ 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1886. 



market au'l sold at vsry low prices, which, in the 

 hands of hiismoss men, [etches itnitiediately a much 

 higher value, because they know eminently how to 

 speculate on what we might call " the fashion. " 

 Let the p'antors attend to this and derive the profit 

 themselves. They know very well what an influence 

 the preparation, the barning or storing, etc., have on 

 the appearance of the cotfee, and they are entitled 

 to exercise this influence in their own interest, which 

 can and will be done without any mystification. A 

 jood as.iortnient is of great moment, wlien you once 

 know what is desired. In this respect the brokers 

 arc the best intructors. — V. G. — fndian Jfe,rnri/. 



SILKWORMS OP ASS.\M. 



The following particulars are obtained fioui a Report 

 on Silk in .Vssam by Mr. E. Stack, Director of Agricult- 

 ure in Assam, which contains a complete description 

 and account) of the rearing of three domesticated 

 silkworms, two of which have been erroneously con- 

 sidered by Knglish silk-spinners as wild silkworms ; these 

 are the Jfcja and iV/, which, although they may, like 

 other species, be found in a wild state, are not found in 

 sufficient quantities to be called wild silkworms of 

 Assam ; they are cultivated worms. 



The wild silkworms of Assam occur so sparingly, 

 that no silk could be supplied in large quantities 

 from the collecting of the cocoons. Silk in Assam 

 are, therefore, obtained by the cultivation of three 

 domes^i'^ated worms, and not from the wild silkworms. 

 Mr. E. Stack says that in treating of the silks of 

 Assam it is desirable to make it clear that, from the 

 wild silkworms of Assam, as they now exist, 

 nothing whatever is to be expected, and that it is 

 Very doubttul weather by the most strenuous efforts 

 one hundredweight of wild cocoons of all sorts could 

 be collected in the whole of the Assam valley. 



Domesticated Silkworms of Assam. — There are three 

 kinds of domesticated silkworms in Assam. These are 

 the Ptil, or mulberry worm {£oinhi/.v te.rtor) ; the 

 Muffo,, or 3N. (-feeding worm (Anthema assawia) whoso 

 cocoon, like that of the Pit can be reeled ; and tha 

 castor-oil worm {Attacus /(Vim'), yielding a silk which 

 Is spun by hand. 



rdt, or mulberry silkworm.— Of this there are two 

 species cultivated in Assam ; the univoltine Bonibi/x 

 te.rtor, called hor polu, or large worm, and the multi- 

 Voltine koi-ii pobt, or small worm, Bomby.e crrtsi. 

 jBoth species are reared indoors on the leaves of the 

 mulberry {.Voi'i'.s indira). 



Attacus ricini. — Ei'i worm, or Attaci's yieini. This 

 is reared principally on the castor-oil plant (KiVin«j 

 communis), called eri in Assamese, but it feeds also 

 on the Krsrru (Heteropano.v frugatis), and there are 

 several other trees, as nuJuncha (./atTOpha curcas), 

 the ffomdri {Gmeluni aihorea), and even it is said, the 

 eommon hot/ri or ber tree {Xizplitis jvjuha), which the 

 worm can thrive on in its later stages, if other food 

 )s not procurable in suflicient quantity. The KH worm 

 i s multivoltine. and is reared entirely indoors, and as 

 many as eight broods can be obtained in twelve 

 months. Large numbers of worms are lost by disease 

 during these indoor rearings, which is not to be 

 wondered at, as the oxcrotn and oven llie dead worms 

 Nf nut removed, The fii'i worm is euUivntod, to a jjrcnt- 

 f!l- or li'ss ■.■v(('»t, ji) tvi-ry di.ttrint of the province of 

 ."is^'lll!, 



't'hc nUihliOf (if liiouliiuR" 111 Mill fcVi Worm is {oiii', 

 «iiri th>.- following dc^c'rlplion of it \s given by Mr. 

 Tbotiias Hutfon in a paper which he contributed to 

 the . T^rocpenings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for 

 }S;<7:— "The caterpillar is first alioMta quaiti^r of an 

 inch long, and appears nearly black The cnlmrr is, 

 (lerlmps, more exactly described n.<< a blacki.shyilliiw, 

 As It increases in size, it becomes of an or.inge colour, 

 nith ^i\ block snots on each of the twelve ring.'; which 

 form it^- 1"' ''• The heail, cl-.iws, and holders .ire black ; 

 after the »< c iiid moulling, they change to an orange 

 colour; that of the body gradually becomes lighter. 

 In some approaching to white, in others to green, and 

 llir lilmlt s[«)ts gradually becnnie flit- (•oloiir of the 



body. After the fourth or last moulting, the colour 

 is a dirty white, or a dark green. On attaining its full 

 size, the worm is about 3^ inches long." According 

 to one series of observations, it would appear that 

 in the hot months the first change of skin occurs 

 three days after hatching, and the rest follow at in- 

 tervals of three days, while the worm begins to spin 

 on the fourth day after the final change, or the fif- 

 teenth day after hatching. In the cooler months, the 

 period between each moulting is four or five days, 

 making twenty to twenty-five days between hatching 

 and beginning to spin ; and in the winter season, the 

 worm lives a whole month, or even longer. — Journal 

 of the Society of A rts. 



ADVANTAGES OF BEET SUGAR OVER CANE 

 SUGAR. 

 The great advantages that the continental agricult- 

 urist and manufacturer have over the Colonial are : — 



1st. — A plentiful supply of willing hauds to labour at 

 moderate wages. 



2nd. — Short time necessary for raw products to come 

 to maturity. 



3rd. — Favourite crops to rotate with beet and a 

 climate suitable for growth of cereals and potatoes, 

 feeding of stock, kc, &c. 



4th. — The roots of such a texture that they can. be 

 easily manipulated, while the residue is of consider- 

 able importance as cattle food. 



5th. — Oheap fuel, with proximity to the best and 

 largest market in the world and low freights. 



6th. — Climate of Europe more favourable for working 

 saccharine solutions owing to absenee of ferment 

 germs, rendering the manufacture so much more 

 simple. 

 On the contrary the Colonistshave to contend against: — 



1st. — A sparse population who, in the absence of a 

 winter and all inducement to lay by something for 

 old age, cannot be depended upon for any continu- 

 ous laJ)our ; hence necessity of importiog strangers 

 at a great cost to prosecute the sugar industry. 



2nd. — The sugar cane takes from 12 to 16 months 

 to come to maturity, and is accompanied by a luxuri- 

 ant growth of weeds. In a tropical climate much 

 labour is recpiirod to keep these down, and also to 

 promote the circulation of air and allow the sun to 

 penetrate among the ripening canes. 



3rd. — Absence of any crops other than plantains to 

 rotate with caues, and as the former are perishable, 

 and the home wants limited, they could only be 

 grown at a loss. 



4th. — The flinty texture of the sugar cane stalk and 

 its being as yet only of value as fuel, militate against 

 any process of manufacture that would destroy its 

 value as such, 



5th. — The nearest market in which they can purchase 

 coals is Great Kritain, and freight and charges, 

 raise their cost to y6«. and 37s. per ton before they 

 can be delivered at furnaces. Freight home is also 

 high. 



Ctb. — The necessity of manufacturing the cane into 

 sugar immediately after being cut, as immediate 

 deterioration sets in— all saccharine running into 

 aeiiiity and fcrmculalioo. 



AliVANI'>ni« 01- Oaxe SrO.VIl OVEti Bkkt Si'dAH, 



lst.->A larger Vveight (.'! cane can be grown on ;( 

 given area of lamt, and nt n cheaper rate than 

 b"ef roots, in ton,'< of silgar canr per raorgcn are 

 ^'nl\Vn «*ith good li lage at 12s, Od, pi.r ton —best 

 ciists |::,<. l.W. (KT ton, and produces ID tons per 

 merpen. 



2nil:— The .sugar cniitained in Mie sugar nine is of 

 gieatcr purity lliaii is found in tile beet, heme 

 le>.t l()S,s in piirificalion, and the finished cane sugar 

 is on itu average 6" higher in analytif*. and brings 

 in to the rnanut'afturer at h-ast I's. (1,1. per cwt. 

 m .re, even after allowing for the extra cost of 

 freight from Uen)erara. as compared with that 

 from North (*ern\;iiiy to this country. 



