SILK CULTUEE. 315 



THE PRODUCTION OF EGGB. 



The coustitutioiml weakness of tbe silk-vvorm, to whicli ref'ereuee has 

 soolteu been made iuthisartic]e,deuiaadseveiy effort that v/ill strengthen 

 it. The epidemical diseases which have been so fatal iu France and 

 Italy are attributed to a constant selection of the largest cocoons, size 

 only being regarded, until all, though large, were weak. To produce 

 healthy worms does not so much require care and skill in breeding as a 

 forbearance from a course that forces nature in a particular direction, at 

 the expense of the vital powers. 



The importation of foreign eggs should be avoided, unless from coun- 

 tries where the worm is healthy. Those in California may most safely 

 be relied on. The lirst duty we owe to this important industry is to 

 start with healthy worms. The success of Jaffir in India was deemed 

 so important that the official authorities declared, "It is of great im- 

 portance that Jaffir, and others who follow his example, should meet 

 with every encouragement from the local authorities." '' I particularly 

 questioned him," says Lieutenant Dowlett, "regarding his stock of eggs ; 

 he assured me that, so far from deteriorating, acclimatized eggs were far 

 better than any others, and that for twenty years and upward he had raised 

 his own eggs.'' " As I was under the impression," lie continues, " that 

 the silk- worm was very delicate, I was much surprised to find Jaffir's, 

 though under such poor shelter and so crowded, looking so fine and 

 well." A few sheds, low and ill- ventilated, contained his stock. " Jaffir 

 told him that he would be glad to give his worms change of air and 

 l)Ositiou oftener than he could afford to do witli the space at his com- 

 mand, but he laughed at any elaborate sanitary arrangements, and said 

 it would never do for any but amateurs to adopt them." 



The silk- worm has suffered more from the empirical treatment of pre- 

 tenders than from all other causes. 



The female worm is larger than the male, and iu order to have a 

 proper number of each sex, an equal number of each, as far as can be 

 judged, should be selected and weighed together. The average weight 

 is thus ascertained, and those above it may be relied on as females, those 

 below it as males. After the cocoons are thus selected they should be 

 fastened to the shelves or trays by some adhesive substance, as paste, 

 so that the moth may readily leave the cocoon. The additional neces- 

 sary directions we give in the following extract from Mr. Eiley's report, 

 and in so doing acknowledge our obligations to him for his qjdmirable 

 and practical remarks on the silk-'worm. It is not often that vPe meet a 

 practical entomologist : 



The motbs come out most abundantly duriug the early morninj>- liours, and as they 

 issue they should he takeu by the wings and the sexes kept apart for a short time. 

 The males may then be placed Avith the females. Coitus, according to the best breed- 

 ers, should not last more than six or eight hours, and at the end of that time the couples 

 should be separated by holding the female gently by the wings with one hand and 

 pressing the abdomen with the other. The males may then be thrown away and the 

 females placed for a few minutes on sheets of blotting-paper, where they will free 

 themselves of much yellowish or fulvous fluid, which would otherwise soil the cloth 

 upon which the eggs are to be laid. They may then be placed side by side in trays 

 liued with linen cloth, when they will immediately commence depositing. The trays 

 may be tipped up at one end so that they incline a little, as the moths are then more 

 apt to lay their eggs uniformly. They should also bo kept iu the dark, in accordance 

 with the nocturnal habits of the moth. Most of the eggs will be deixtsited iu about 

 twenty-four hours, aud the moths may then bo thrown away, as eggs deposited after 

 that time are not as well impregnated. No deformed moths should be used. The eggs 

 are best preserved on the cloth where originally deposited, as they are protected by a 

 natural coating of varnish, aud, being fastened, the worms, when hatching, eat their 

 way out better. 



