STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 265 



thunder. Also protecting them from their natural enemies, such as 

 birds, rats, mice and ants. 



In moving the worms from one place to another, in order to thin or 

 spread them out, never touch or handle them. While feeding them with 

 leaves, when you want to separate them, put on a few fresh leaves, and 

 as soon as they are well covered with worms take hold of a leaf care- 

 fully, and lifting it up slowly, lay it down on the place to which you 

 wish to remove it. The same way when you want to remove all the 

 worms from any given place or paper for the purpose of throwing out 

 the litter — the stems and offal of the worms. This should be done at 

 least every other day while feeding on the flat surface, with leaves. To 

 separate them after they have commenced feeding with branches, move 

 the branches lately put on while the worms, or a portion of them, adhere 

 to them. And when you wish to throw out the litter and offal, take 

 hold carefully, lifting up the pen or top portion of it; let another person 

 empty off the litter into a basket or sack. 



Immediately after the worms have fully finished moulting, they should 

 all be removed from the place where they have deposited their skins, 

 as these become very offensive and injurious to them.. 



SPINNING COCOONS. 



When the worm is within three or four da3'S of its spinning time it 

 has acquired its greatest size and most ravenous appetite and formi- 

 dable appearance. From this time until it begins its cocoon it seems to 

 lose its appetite and diminish in size and weight. It also from that time 

 gradually changes its color from a rank greenish white to a light pearly 

 yellow, and generally to assume the appearance of maturity. The last 

 three or four hours before going to spinning it becomes in a degree 

 translucent, and its skin about the neck becomes somewhat wrinkled. 

 It becomes restless and uneasy, frequently raising its head as if to reach 

 something; and if it eats at all at this time it does so daintily, as if feed- 

 ing on dessert. These signs admonish the keeper to prepare for the 

 harvest — if not a golden, certainly a silken harvest. At this stage the 

 worm begins to hunt some nook or corner out of sight, in which to 

 wind its body in a silken shroud, and the sooner it # can find a suitable 

 place to suspend or fasten its cocoon the more perfect and complete that 

 cocoon will be made, and the more valuable will be the harvest' to be 

 gathered. Hence it is very important that good provision be promptly 

 supplied in which the worms can all spin their cocoons. Many plans 

 for this purpose have been invented. The best — or such as combine the 

 qualities of economy , cleanliness and adaption to the seeming fancy or real 

 wants of the worm — should be adopted. Common wild mustard, cut 

 just before the maturity of the seed, and the branches brought together 

 and tied at the top, and laid between or set up inside the pens of 

 branches upon which the worms have been feeding, is very good. Also 

 boughs of willow, or any other small and bushy twigs, similarly pre- 

 pared, may be used; but clean wheat straw, cut off good length and tied 

 up at each end, in bunches of three and four inches in diameter, and 

 then pressed longitudinally so as to make a bulge in the centre of the 

 bunch, is about the best plan for this country, as it can be obtained 

 everywhere, and the worms seem to like it as well as anything. It has 

 this advantage, that the cocoons are easily gathered from it, and with 

 very little loss of floss silk — no dirt adhering to the cocoons. 

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