STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 249 



growth to its entire unpruned top. These two conditions are the very- 

 extremes of each other, and must necessarily produce as results — the 

 composition of the leaves — the very extremes of each other. 



Confounding these conditions, or not observing that they were dis- 

 similar, has led to very serious mistakes, and I have no doubt, in many 

 instances, to serious loss to silk growers the past season. In this view 

 of the case, we would expect to find the more unnatural and unfavor- 

 able growth of leaves on the older trees, the tops of which have been 

 entirely cut aAva} T , for the reason that the roots being larger and more 

 vigorous, will force a larger quantity of water and acids into the leaves, 

 and a greater number of these tender and vigorous shoots being clus- 

 tered together, the sun and air cannot penetrate to rectify this malcom- 

 position. Such has been found by practice to be the fact, and such fact 

 is directly in opposition to the theory generally entertained by silk 

 culturists in this State. 



The practice of thus cutting back the trees and forcing humidity into 

 the foliage, it is plain to see, can be but little tess dangerous to the 

 health of the worms than the practice of irrigating the trees during the 

 time of feeding, and the practice of irrigation, as shown above, has been 

 found positively fatal. Either practice blindly counteracts and destroys 

 the greatest advantage California possesses, as a silk-growing country, 

 over those countries having humid atmosphere and frequent rain dur- 

 ing the feeding season. In view of the lesson above explained, I shall 

 thin out my trees and only cut them back in the winter as much as is 

 necessary to keep the branches within reach, and do the larger portion 

 of pruning as I feed the worms — feeding them with the branches thus 

 pruned off. 



I have two or three cases directly illustrating the view above stated. 

 One is in the experience of my neighbor Ballou, before referred to. He 

 fed his worms until about the third moulting, from trees that had not 

 been pruned at all. At about this stage his food gave out, and he com- 

 menced feeding them from some of my trees that bad been closely 

 pruned. The effect upon the worms was observable within three days 

 from the time of change. He then commenced picking from a few of 

 my trees that had not been closely pruned, and the good effect on the 

 worms was equally rapid and striking. 



My own experience a year ago the past season should have taught me 

 what a harder experience and more close observation this season has 

 taught me. It was this : When my worms were nearly done spinning, 

 I found all or nearly all my matured leaves exhausted ; and for the pur- 

 pose of finishing up the feeding, I commenced picking the young leaves 

 that had grown from the tops of the trees first stripped. These leaves, 

 it will be seen at once, would necessarily be foi*ced in thair growth by a 

 cause similar to that of close pruning. The effect was to check the 

 rapid and healthy formation of cocoons by many of the worms, and the 

 positive death of others, either before or after the cocoon had been com- 

 menced. This same experience has been the result of many other similar 

 changes occurring within my knowledge. 



Third — While a naturally sustained uniform temperature in the 

 cocoonery is a very desirable condition when feeding, still, the changes 

 of temperature, as indicated by the thermometer, .do not have that effect 

 on the worms in a dry, pure atmosphere like ours, that the same changes 

 do in a more humid atmosphere. Hence, the artificial means usually 



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