26 



THE CULTURE OF THE MULBERRY SILKWORM. 



of the fifth ao-e. Very soon they will be covered with mature worms 

 which have ceased to cat, and are turning away from the mulberry. 

 In this way it is eas}^ to select the worms that should be transferred. 

 Tf the worms are equally developed, in thirty or forty hours they 

 will be shut up in their cocoons. The few that remain behind should 

 be placed elsewhere; fed with fresh leaf on clean beds they will soon 

 catch up with tlie others. 



The tifth day after the mounting- the worms that have not l)egun to 

 spin should ))e placed in bundles of twigs and covered with straw or 

 leaves, or put in a basket of shavings, where the}^ will be forced to spin. 



The temperature 

 during the spinning 

 should be 75'' F., and 

 the humidity through- 

 out the rearing about 

 65"*. A good practi- 

 cal test of humidity is 

 a saucer of salt; when 

 the salt is moist, re- 

 duce the humidity. 

 Carefulh^ avoid dis- 

 turbing the worms 

 while spinning, and 

 then, as during all the 

 ages, keep the room 

 as quiet as possible. 

 The most scrupulous 

 cleanliness should always be observed, both with regard to the (Quar- 

 ters and the attendants; to keep from raiding dust, wipe the Hoor 

 with a damp cloth instead of sweeping it. 



PREPARING COCOONS FOR THE MARKET. 



The transformation of the larva into the chrysalis is, according to 

 the temperature, completed in from seven to ten days from the time at 

 which the iirst worm begins to spin. The cocoons are then said to be 

 mature, and this is the best time to gather them. If gathered earlier, 

 the producer will run the risk of having his cocoons rejected in the 

 market; and if later, he will sustain a very sensible loss in their 

 weight, as they grow lighter from the time of their maturity until the 

 moth comes out. The best authority estimates the minimum loss as 

 4.1 per cent, and the maximum as 23.3 per cent. To avoid the risk 

 of soiling them, gather the cocoons from the lowest shelf up. They 

 may be freed from the web or floss by a very simple instrument 

 (fig. 11) or by hand. 



After the removal of the web the cocoons are sorted into three 

 classes: (1) The perfect, (2) the double, and (3) the defective or 



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