ri — 
6 ne 
- 
: & 
REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 215 
anticipation correct, by studying the normal habits of the moth with a 
dark-lantern at night. The moth is, therefore, attracted to the plant by 
the sweets which this last affords, and as these sweets are first produced 
when the plant begins to flower and fruit, we have here a possible explana- 
tion of the well-known fact that the worm is seldom noticed on the young 
plant till about the time of fruiting. We have also discovered that the 
moth feeds on the honey copiously secreted from glands occurring at the 
apex of the peduncle just above the pods of the cow-pea (Dolychos), ex- 
tensively grown éhrough the South as a forage plant; also on the sweet 
exudation from the flowers of Paspalum leve, a tolerably common grass. 
It is by taking advantage of this love for sweets which the moth possesses 
that we shal! probably arrive at one of the most effectual ways of pre- 
venting the ravages of the worm, for if we can allure the first moths of 
the season to certain death, we nip the evil in the bud. 
It is my desire to make the investigation thorough and exhaustive, 
and to place the results before the public in a special report to Con- 
gress, since it will be impossible to extend this present report of progress, 
which is but preliminary, without exceeding the limits which you have 
allowed me in this annual report. When we reflect on the immense 
losses the South has sustained during the best part of a century from 
the ravages of the Cotton-worm and other cotton insects, it is surpris- 
ing that no systematic investigation had before been made by the gov- 
ernment, and now that the investigation has been commenced it is very 
desirable that it be completed in a thorongh manner. ‘This effort to pre- 
vent at least a portion of the vast losses sustained by cotton-growers 
from insect injury is fully appreciated and applauded by the people of 
the South, who certainly need at this time all the encouragement the 
government can give. 
THE SILK-WORM: A BRIEF MANUAL OF INSTRUCTIONS FOR 
THE PRODUCTION OF SILK. 
The following instructions for the production of silk have already been 
issued in pamphlet form, in small edition, to meet the demand made 
upon the department for the information, and anticipating its appear- 
ance in the annual report: 
Whatever opinions may be held as to the feasibility or as to the profits 
of silk-culture in this country, the desire for information on the snbject 
and the ambition to embark in the industry evinced by correspondents 
of the department demonstrate the fact that there will be no difficulty 
in getting our people to turn their attention to it. Without going into 
details as to the history of past attempts at silk-culture in North Amer- 
ica, it must be obvious to all who thoroughly investigate them that the 
causes of failure have ever been transient ones. They may be summed 
up in the statements that (1) labor has found more profitable avenues of 
employment, and (2) that there has been no home market for the cocoons. 
At the present time the first statement no longer has force, but the see- 
ond holds as true now as it ever did. 
As a means of meeting the difficulty, I have urged, and would 
urge, that Congress give to this department the means to purchase, 
erect, and appoint with skilled hands, on the department grounds, 
a small filature or reeling establishment. In such an establishment 
reelers could be trained, and the cocoons, at first raised from eggs 
distributed by the department, could be skillfully reeled and dis- 
