Silkworm from Japan. 403 
not removed at all. It isa good sign when the worms ascend and 
rest with their heads downwards; but if they descend, it shows 
they are ill.* After the fourth moult the mats are taken away, 
though they have not yet done growing. The enclosure is always 
kept well ventilated, for the Yamamai, a wild denizen of the 
forests, will not endure an impure close atmosphere. It is for this 
reason that no-kai-date, culture in the open air, is adopted in suit- 
able climates during the last stage; and if a tempest approach, 
the inclosure must be well shut up to keep off the wind, which would 
cover with dust and sand the worms and cocoons. The enclosure 
may be conveniently placed under lofty trees where there is shade 
and yet free circulation of air. The following are suitable trees : 
Celtis Willdenowliana, Prunus pseudo-cerasus, Lindl. These are inju- 
rious : Juglans nigra, Linneeus, Xanthoxylon piperitum, D. C., Pinus 
densiflora, Cryptomeria Japonica, &c. Eight days after the fourth 
moult the cocoon is begun. If while spinning other larvae approach 
to eat the leaves, they must be cut away with scissars, and putin a 
separate trough, leaving the cocoon undisturbed. 
The second mode: after the third stage, trenches | foot wide 
and 18 inches deep are made, which are filled with rice chaff— 
balle de riz; water is then thrown in, and above all is stretched a 
mat; through this are thrust branches of oak to the bottom of the 
trench, and the worms are placed on them, by attaching thereto 
the stale branches with the worms on them. The water in the 
trench ought daily to be renewed, that the foliage may keep fresh 
a long time. When changing the branches, the stale one is pulled 
up and placed on a mat stretched on the ground, that neither sand 
nor dust may touch the worms, and a new branch is set up in its 
place. The manipulation is similar to that before mentioned with 
the troughs. The worms in domesticity, as in their wild state, 
cannot be too much protected from sand and dust; if they swallow 
it in the food they become ill and perish. It is for this reason 
that the branches are placed on a mat, and the dirty boughs are 
always cleaned in fresh water to fit them for the trough. The 
enclosure is no longer covered in with mats; the boughs keep 
fresh by reason of the rains, which commence about May 5th. 
The third mode is carried on in the fields and forests. Wherever 
this method is practised it commences after the third stage. The 
site chosen should be in the plain and not ona hill, should be 
cleared a year before of all herbage, shrubs and trees which may 
* This does not tally with our experience. 
VOL, VY, THIRD SERIES, PART V.—MARCH, 1867, FF 
