State Agricultural Society. 433 



We had waited from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, and had seen 

 them reappear on the surface of the leaves very much brighter and 

 lighter colored, and anxiously moving about over and under each other, 

 and at the slightest movement near them, sticking up their heads and 

 swinging back and forth as if trying to reach something. And when we 

 noticed them more closely, we observed that all the little fine black 

 hairs that covered their tiny bodies before they went to sleep, had dis- 

 appeared. These several changes are indications that the first age of 

 the worm had passed — that they had shed their skins for the first time; 

 or in other words, that they had passed the first molting and had en- 

 tered upon the 



SECOND AGE. 



That we may be more certainly understood by new beginners, for it 

 is for their instruction that we write, we will state here that the silk- 

 worm passes through five stages or ages from the time of hatching to 

 the time of making its cocoon. The first age is from hatching to the 

 first molting, and, under favorable circumstances — that is. in uniform 

 warm weather and good feeding and care — the time of this age is from 

 five to six days. The second age is from the first to second molting — a 

 period of from four to six days. The third age is from the second to 

 third molting — from five to six days. The fourth, from tbircUto fourth 

 molting — from six to seven days. The fifth, from fourth molting to spin- 

 ning cocoons — from eight to ten daj's. 



In good weather, all these changes are passed in this State in about 

 thirty-two days. We have had the Japanese bivoltines make cocoons 

 in twenty-eight days, and we have known the annuals to occupy forty 

 days, when the weather was unfavorable. 



In China, the Chinamen say that the worms frequentl}* make cocoons 

 twenty days old. The nights there are much warmer than here, and 

 the worms eat as rapidly in the night as in the daytime, and grow much 

 more rapidly and pass through the moltings more quickly than here, 

 where the nights are cool. 



We will give here a description of the appearances and changes of 

 the worm as it approaches all the moltings except the first. The first 

 indication is that the appetite begins gradually to fail, and the worms 

 seem inclined to rest or lay quiet. When fed they will stir up and crawl 

 on the fresh leaves and eat a little, but soon leave off eating and crawl 

 over the 1'ood — not in search of something to eat but for a spot for rest, 

 and some leaf or stem to which to attach itself for a long quiet sleep. 

 When these signs are noticed, feed very lightly and with very finely cut 

 leaves, so as to let the bed of leaves become dry and in good condition 

 for the worms to sleep on, as they will pass through the molting much 

 more successfully on a dry bed than on a cold, wet one. "When the 

 worms are asleep they must not be fed at all. 



At these molting times is the greatest danger of trouble. If the bed 

 of leaves is too thick and damp the worms are a long time in molting, 

 and they are apt to come up from molting very unevenly as to time and 

 to appear weak and feeble. This latter condition may be known by the 

 great amount of fine web spun by the worms on the surface of the bed 

 as they wake up and begin to move about. When you see this it is best 

 to remove them from the old bed as soon as possible, even though you 

 leave some still asleep to be thrown away. If, however, the bed is in 

 good order and dry, the worms will wake up evenly, appear strong and 

 vigorous and hungry, all other things being well. If the bed of leaves 



