86 



&c. He also urges the planting of indigo, ginger, ganny, safflower, the 

 centennial hemp-plant of China, the camphor tree, &c. 



CONVEESION OF CANE-SUGAR INTO GLUCOSE BY LIGHT. — The COm- 



mou impression that a solution of cane-sugar, kept at the ordinary tem- 

 perature, and protected against the action of ferments, will preserve its 

 taste and chemical proportion for an indefinite period of time, accord- 

 ing to Eiault, is a mistake ; as he has observed in many cases that a so- 

 lution of sugar-cane, without undergoing any ferment, will ultimately 

 become altered, and be transformed more or less completely into grape- 

 sugar. After considerable experiment, he has satisfied himself that this 

 action is due to the influence of light, and that even when sugar-cane is 

 found to be apparently adulterated with glucose, the inquiry should be 

 instituted as to whether this was not the result of exposure to light 

 rather than to intentional adulteration. 



Delphino's MODE OF TREATING SILK-WORMS. — The attention of 

 visitors to the Italian section of the French Exposition of 1867 was 

 attracted to certain small wooden pigeon holes, each of which contained 

 a silk-worm, where it was occupied in constructing its cocoon without 

 disturbance from its neighbors. This was an invention of Dr. Delpriuo, 

 of Vesime, in Piedmont, and which, although very simple in itself, 

 formed an important innovation in the art of raising silk- worms. Since 

 that time this and other peculiar inventions of the same gentleman have 

 been widely adopted, and have done much toward protecting the silk 

 interest from the losses which the recent multiplication of diseases and 

 other casualties have brought about. 



The difficulty in the ordinary magnaueries, or worm-houses, is that 

 the worms are mixed together, the strong oppressing the weak, and also 

 heaped upon each other in a mass, as to produce greater or less injury. 

 In Uelprino's system a life in common is interdicted as much as possi- 

 ble, although during the feeding of the worms it is impossible to isolate 

 them entirely. During that period they are kept together, but allowed 

 ample room for moving about — being placed on small movable hiu-dles 

 which can easily be changed. This produces constant ventilation, and 

 prevents the danger of a great agglomeration, in consequence of which 

 the transformations marking the diiferent ages involve much less loss. 

 When they have attained the proper period for transformation to 

 chrysalids, the worms are placed in what Delpriuo calls the cocoonry, 

 the pigeon-holes (large enough to receive them) being placed vertically 

 on each side on tables, in which the worm is able to move about with 

 sufficient freedom, and yet suitably protected from any injury. It is 

 believed that a saving of silk is thus secured, as there is no attachment 

 of the cocoon to a branch, as in the ordinary jnethod, involving a loss, 

 according to the inventor of this new method, of twenty per cent. 



Another of Dr. Delpriuo's methods consists in securing a jjerfect 

 union of the two sexes, and a more certain fertilization of the eggs. 

 This is done by placing the fly in a cell covered with a board and keep- 

 ing it there in darkness and solitude for half an hour, at the expiration 

 of which, to each male is given a female, and the board rei)laced until 

 the nuptial operations have been accomplished. By another arrange- 

 ment CN'ery female lays her eggs separately", so that those of two indi- 

 viduals are not mixed, and so that the imperfectly matured eggs (such 

 as can easily be detected by examination) can be readily removed and 

 destroyed, thereby improving the general quality of the grains. The 

 general idea of Dr, Delprino's system consists in the isolation of the 

 insects, and although this may require a special arrangement, and be 



