27 
in fact, be renewed whenever the leaves have been devoured, or when- 
ever they have become in the least dry, which, of course, takes place 
much quicker when young and tender than when mature. This also is 
an objection to the use of the hashed leaves, as, of course, they dry 
very quickly. The worms eat most freely early in the morning and late 
at night, and it would be well to renew the leaves abundantly between 
5 and 6 a. m., and between 10 and 11 p.m. Additional meals should 
be given during the day, according as the worms may seem to need 
them. It is only by experience that one can learn just what amount of 
food should be given to the worms. It may prove dangerous to feed 
them too copiously, as in the first ages the worms may become buried 
and lost in the litter, whiie later the massing of food in an attempt to 
satisfy their ravenous appetites may cause it to ferment and become 
productive of disease. 
Great care should be taken to pick the leaves for the early morning 
meal the evening before, as when picked and fed with the dew upon 
them they are more apt to induce disease. Indeed, the rule should be 
laid down, never to feed wet or damp leaves to your worms. In case 
the leaves are picked during a rain they should be thoroughly dried 
before being fed ; and on the approach of a storm it is always well to 
lay in a stock, which should be keptfrom heating by oceasional stirring. 
Care should also be taken to spread the leaves evenly, so that all may 
feed alike. During this first and most delicate age the worm requires 
much care and watching. 
As the fifth or sixth day approaches, signs of the first molt begin to 
be noticed. The worm begins to lose appetite, grows nore shiny, and 
soon the dark spet already described appears above the head. The 
larva at this time generally wanders to an unencumbered spot where it 
may shed its skin in quiet and often gets hidden and buried under the 
superimposed leaves. When the first worms show these signs of molt- 
ing, food should be given more sparingly and the meals should cease 
altogether as soon as the most forward worms awaken. When the time 
for the molt is near, say during the fourth day, it will be well to clear 
away the litter so that the worms may pass the crisis on a clean bed. 
Some will undoubtedly undergo the shedding of the skin much more 
easily and quickly than others, but no food should be given to these 
forward individuals until nearly all have completed the molt. This 
serves to keep the batch together, and the first ones will wait one or 
even two days without injury from want of food. It is, however, un- 
necessary to wait for all, as there will always be some few which remain 
sick after the great majority have cast their skins. These should either 
be set aside and kept separate, or destroyed, as they are usually the 
most feeble and most inclined to disease; otherwise the bateh will grow 
more and more irregular in their moltings and the diseased worms will 
contaminate the healthy ones. It is really doubtful whether the silk 
raised from these weak individuals will pay for the trouble of rearing 
