406 Dr. Wallace on the Ouk-feeding 
freshest, either at the foot of a mountain or in a subterraneous 
spot, to protect them especially from the temperature of spring. 
The hatching of the eggs is also retarded by covering them with 
wadding: in order to hatch them out they are exposed to the air. 
Although there exists in Japan a great difference of temperature 
between one part of the country and another, the difference in the 
time of the bursting into leaf of the trees and plants is not more 
than ten or twelve days. The best time for the hatching out of the 
young brood is the 22nd April for the following parts: Mikawa, 
Suruga, Idsu, Kai, Mino, Owari, and to the south of the mountains, 
or in Sanyéd6, Harima, Mimasaka, Bizen, Bitsiou, Bingo, Aki, 
Suw6, and Nagato. The 2nd of May is the most convenient for 
the countries of KéJske, Musasi, Awa (at the south-west of the 
bay of Yeddo), Kadsusa and Simodské; and the 12th of May for 
the parts above Sinano, north-westward up to Dewa and Moutsou. 
In all these, and also in the more northern parts, the eggs hibernate 
best in the open air, exposed in some way to snow and rain. 
The mode of suffocation of the pupa. The cocoons are 
exposed to steam in order to kill the pupz before winding. 
They are placed in the setroo, or steam chest, intermingling with 
them fresh leaves chopped fine of the tree on which the caterpillar 
has fed: when the water boils the steam chest is adjusted, and a 
vapour bath given to the cocoons, which are afterwards exposed 
in a flat basket in the shade to the action of the air: the cocoons 
dry and crackle, two days afterwards they are exposed to the 
sun on paper or on network. If they are not carefully strained 
and dried, the silk is of a bad colour and inferior value. 
On the winding of the cocoons. There are three qualities of 
cocoons ; the best are treated as follows: the cocoons are placed 
in fresh water for twenty minutes, the threads that have loose 
ends are lifted either singly or in loops, and the cocoons to 
which they belong are placed in another bason with fresh water, 
and the threads are attached to a rod placed above the bason. 
After selecting a hundred of these threads and cocoons, sufficient | 
water is placed in the boiler, and when it boils, these threads are 
collected and wound in the ordinary way. If the cocoons have 
been reared in a room, six or seven threads should be wound 
together. Cocoons of the second quality are washed in a lye be- 
fore being wound off; they are placed in a basket and then soaked 
in a basin of lye (lessive) until they are sufficiently soft; the lye 
is prepared from the ashes of the fresh straw of the sarrasin, 
buckwheat ; the ash is placed in a basket and boiling water poured 
