NOTES ON SILK-PRODUCING BOMBYCES. 155 



gists tried to rear them, but, like myself, they all failed ; it was 

 too late to rear these worms of the second generation, through 

 want of proper foliage. My own larvte lived in good condition 

 till about the end of October, but from that time they began 

 to die, the last one dying on the 21st of November. A great 

 deal of trouble and expense had been incurred by me to arrive at 

 a satisfactor}^ result, but all in vain. The room where the larvse 

 were reared was heated, first with a large paraffin lamp, and 

 afterwards with a stove, but I could only give them some old 

 walnut leaves. I had collected a large quantity of these old 

 leaves, which were kept in an air-tight iron box. I also tried 

 other kinds of foliage. The last walnut-tree leaves had been 

 touched by the frost, and the larvae refused to eat them, and 

 every other kind of foliage. 



Of other species little can be said. Only three moths emerged 

 from about fifty cocoons of Cricula trifenesirata, from Madras, 

 which were all in very good condition, but the cold weather in 

 May and June was fatal to them. It was the same with respect to 

 Attacus atlas cocoons, which died through want of sufficient heat 

 for the moths to emerge. 



By means of the gas-stove (a stove which does not emit any 

 smell) which I have had fitted in one of the rooms where I keep 

 cocoons and rear larvse, I intend in future to keep the cocoons at 

 a warm and even temperature from the month of April, till all 

 the moths have emerged and the eggs hatched. I hope thus to 

 prevent all these losses. 



Platysamia cecropia and Callosamia promethea, from North 

 America, were a complete failure, a very unusual thing, but the 

 number of cocoons I had of these species in 1885 was very 

 small. 



Attacus cynthia, the Ailanthus silkworm, was as usual very 

 successful. The moths commenced to emerge on the 5th of July 

 and nineteen pairings were obtained, the last having taken place 

 on the 4th of August. Some of the cocoons were of my own 

 rearing in the open air on lilac trees in my garden ; the others had 

 been sent to me from America, where the species is now well 

 acclimatised. 



Mr.- C. G. Flemwell, one of my London correspondents, who 

 successfully bred various species of silk producers, and obtained 

 a number of cocoons of A. pernyi, roylei-pernyiy hybrid, Actias 



