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Published by the College of Agriculture of Cornell University, 

 in October, December, February and April and Entered October 

 I, 1904, at Ithaca, New York, as Second-class Matter, under 

 Act of Congress of July 16, 1894. 



ANNA BOTSFORD COMSTOCK, Editor 



New Series. Vol. II. ITHACA. N. Y., DECEMBER-JANUARY, 1905-6 No. 2 



Cecropia moth. 



INSECT STUDY 

 The Americ.\x Silk-worms 



ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY PROF. M. V. SLINGERLAXD 



The silk-worm that gives us the silk of commerce has been domesti- 

 cated for centuries in China. Because of this domestication it is willing 

 to be handled and is reared successfully in captivity, and has thus come 

 to be the source of most of our silken fabrics. However, we have in 

 America native silk-worms which produce a silk that is stronger and 

 makes a more lustrous cloth than does that made from the Chinese 

 species. But we have never had the time and the patience here in 

 America to domesticate these giant silk-worms of ours, and so they are, 

 as yet, of no commercial importance. 



The names of our common native silk-worms are : the cecropia, 

 promethea, polyphemus, and luna. In all of these species the moths are 

 large and beautiful, attracting the attention of every one who sees them. 

 The caterpillars are rarely found, as their varied green colors render 

 them inconspicuous among leaves on which they feed. None of the 



