14 
a glutinous state and apparently in a single thread. The glutinous 
liquid which combines the two, and which hardens immediately on ex- 
posure to the air, may, however, be softened in warm water. The worm 
usually consumes from three to five days in the construction of the co- 
coon and then passes in three days more, by a final molt, into the chrys- 
alis state. 
THE Cocoon.—The cocoon (Figs. 2 and 3) consists of an outer lining 
Fic. 2.—Constricted cocoon, with fine Fig. 3.—Non-constricted cocoon, with 
texture (original). coarse texture (original). 
of loose silk known as “ floss,” which is used for carding, and is spun 
by the worm in first getting its bearings. The amount of this loose silk 
varies in different breeds. The inner cocoon is tough, strong, and com- 
pact, composed of a firm, continuous thread, which is, however, not 
wound in concentric circles, as might be supposed, but irregularly, in 
short figure-of-8 loops, first in one place and then in another, so that, in 
reeling, several yards of silk may be taken off without the cocoon turn- 
ing around. In form the cocoon is usually oval, and in color yellowish, 
but in both these features it varies greatly, being either pure silvery- 
white, cream, or carneous, green, or even roseate. 
THE CHRYSALIS.—The chrysalis is a brown, oval body, considerably 
less in size than the full-grown worm. In the external integument may 
be traced folds corresponding with the abdominal rings, the wings folded 
over the breast, the antenne, and the eyes of the inclosed insect—the 
future moth. At the posterior end of the chrysalis, pushed closely up 
to the wall of the cocoon, is the last larval skin, compressed into a dry 
wad of wrinkled integument. The chrysalis state continues for from 
two to three weeks, when the skin bursts and the moth emerges. 
THE Moru.—With no jaws, and confined within the narrow space of - 
the cocoon, the moth finds some difficulty in escaping. For this pur- 
pose it is provided, in two glands near the obsolete mouth, with a 
strongly alkaline liquid secretion, with which it moistens the end of the 
