116 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
This insect destroys worms by hundreds, as it often only takes a 
taste out of each worm it comes across. ‘The snakes make short 
work of them, and if they happen to fall off the branches toads 
eat them also. Ants of all kinds, as I have already said, never 
let them escape when they have an opportunity. When they have 
spun their cocoons and are hanging to the branches in their wild 
state, there is a bird with a strong parrot-shaped beak which 
cuts the cocoons and eats the chrysalis. The number of eggs 
that are hatched must be very great, in order, after the inroads 
made by so many different kinds of enemies that swarm in the 
jungles, to still leave the millions of millions of cocoons which are 
sold for the silk trade. 
I will now give a short account of the various beliefs or 
superstitions of the natives who rear the worms. ‘They must 
make new cots or ‘‘ charpoys” to sleep upon, their old ones being 
considered unclean. When once the eggs are hatched they must 
never leave the areas covered by the trees on which the worms 
are to be reared. They must not see their wives. No woman 
nor girl must enter the spot chosen by them in the jungles. 
They must bathe twice a day. Must never shave or cut their 
hair. Their meals must be taken to them by some boy or man, 
and must be placed just on the border of their cultivation, where 
they will eat and leave the plate to be taken away by whoever 
brought it. Cattle of all kinds must not trespass on the chosen 
spot. They must not wear shoes. They must not eat fish. 
These are some of the laws laid down by their ancestors, and 
they strongly believe that if they break through any of these 
rules their punishment will be the total loss of their crop. As 
a reward, they have been given the hope that they will, after 
many years, by acting as told and persevering in the trade, find 
that some of their cocoons have turned into lumps of gold. I 
have in vain tried to argue with them and open their eyes, by 
explaining that the person who made these rules knew full 
well the worms required their presence day and night, and to 
compel them to be always in attendance laid the above rules, 
which have the desired effect; and as for the hope of getting the 
golden cocoons, it was but a figurative way of telling them that 
continual attention to their work, and perseverance in spite of all 
losses they may have during the years of short rainfall, they will 
at the end get a small fortune. But all my arguments went for 
nothing. 
