Or tHe SILK-WORM. 357 
TI. When you put your cocons into the oven, you mutt 
‘be very careful in picking out all the {potted ones, other- 
wife they communicate their {pots by the great per{pirati- 
on occafioned in them by the heat. If you have a parcel 
of ftrong and another of weak cocons, and you can only 
wind a part of them frefh (i. e. without baking) give the 
preference to the weak cocons, and bake your {trong ones, 
becaufe the latter, containing more gum, fupport the 
baking much better and fuffer lefs than the weak ones. 
As faft as the cocons you buy are brought in, put them 
in bafkets and expofe them to the fun, if it fhines, in cafe 
your oven be full, in order at leaft to ftun the worm and 
prevent his working to pierce his cocon during that time. 
It is very proper likewife that they be:a little in the air 
before you put them in the oven; becaufe the peafants 
bring them in bafkets heaped one on the other, which 
heats them and renders them extremely foft, but the air 
brings them to their proper tone again. 
Sometimes the peafants fell you the cocons ready baked 
when they have been obliged to keep them fometime. It 
is eafy to know them, becaufe the worms when baked, 
being dry, make a louder noife on rattling them than when 
they are frefh. 
When your cocons are fully baked, and have ftood long 
enough, you mutt fpread them half a foot thick on broad 
ozier fhelves, which are diftributed into as many ftories 
as the height of the room will admit of, two or three feet 
diftant one from the other; taking care to turn them every 
day, and to change their places, for otherwife there are 
many inconveniencies that would arife from fuch a neglect. 
They would become mouldy and the moths would eat 
them. Befides this, it is abfolutely neceflary in order to 
feparate the {potted cocons, or the bad choquette, which 
would fpread to all the cocons that are near them, and 
muf{t be wound immediately to prevent their damaging 
any further. 
Zz The 
