Silkworm from Japan. 385 
therefore three were unfertile eggs, and the other two contained 
Jarve which had perished, a bad look out for the rest of the eggs 
of that lot, very few of which, only five eventually, batched out; 
Mr. Gascoyne, of Newark, to whom [I sent fifty eggs, writes: 
“I carefully removed the shells from a couple of the larve with 
a view to ascertain if vitality existed. I found the young per- 
fectly developed and full grown, filling the shell, but both were 
quite dead. I have given them several hours tender nursing in 
a genial atmosphere, but without effect; I expect that they have 
been retarded too long by cold, and I know from experience that 
if experiments of this kind are carried too far, the result is 
death. I have little hope for the eggs from the appearances, but 
will give them every chance under various mmfluences, and will 
report. progress.” The same gentleman subsequently wrote : 
“‘T divided the ova into three batches: one I placed in an atmo- 
sphere of from 65° to 70°; the other two in still higher tem- 
peratures; there are not yet (May 30th) signs of vitality in any one 
of them. I yesterday opened another and found the young larva 
.plump, moist, and I could fancy somewhat larger than before; I 
could not perceive any signs of life; none of these eggs produced 
a living larva.” I gave fifty more eggs to another Entomologist 
residing near me, in the hepe that he might be successful, but he 
also failed to obtain a living larva. A similar report was sent to me 
by Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins: “ out of the many thousand egys 
received this season, through the liberality of the Imperial Society 
of Paris, and distributed to several members, we have not reared 
a single specimen.” 
The history of these eggs, I believe, is as follows: They 
farmed part of a present sent over by the Tycoon of Japan to the 
Emperor of the French, and were placed at the disposal of the 
Imperial Society of Acclimatization, who kindly forwarded a por- 
tion to the corresponding Society of Great Britain; these were 
at first intended to be forwarded by ship to Australia with salmon 
ova, but reached this country too late for that purpose. As in the 
preceding spring some eggs of the Vamamaz had hatched out 
prematurely, it occurred to Mr. Bush of the Acclimatization 
Society, who had undertaken their charge, ‘‘ to retard the eggs in 
1866 by sealing them up and keeping them in a cool place ;” indeed 
I believe they were placed in ice ; and to this unfortunate retarda- 
tion I attribute the loss of vitality in those ova which possessed 
fully-formed worms. Certainly as the result was unhappily the 
same in every case, the damage was done before the distribution 
