420 Dr. Wallace on the Ouk-feeding 
pierced with holes, &c., only on a much larger scale. In the 
middle might be placed the box or tray ofeggs. Possibly also, by 
way of economizing space, the method might be used up to the 
cocoon stages; but it is open to the objection of producing a 
less healthy worm, and consequently a less valuable cocoon. It 
is also possible that these worms might be successfully reared 
on trays, with leaves only given them four or five times daily, 
as they treat the ordinary silkworm.* Amongst the enemies, besides 
those already mentioned, earwigs and wasps are to be reckoned ; 
but these only appear in any number at a period subsequent to that 
at which the cocoon is made. Tomtits are dangerous to the old 
brood, and also to the unfinished cocoon, which they soon pierce ; 
the robin will do the same. Sparrows are also occasionally dan- 
gerous. The Quince, the red flowers of the Japanese Quince 
Pyrus Japonica, White-thorn, Neapolitan Medlar, Photinia glabra, 
Sorbus Aria, and the Chestnut, have all served successfully as 
food.+| It is recommended to plant oaks three years old in 
November, to form a plantation intended for the culture of the 
Yamamai. ‘These should be disposed in quarters 5 to 7 feet in 
width, with paths between for observation 30.to 40 inches broad; 
the rows, as also the trees, should be 10 to 12 inches apart, so that 
the worms may pass from one to another easily: by planting the 
trees in an oblique position, so that the tip of one touches the 
collar of the next, the branches which are made the first year, 
and are small, touch one another, so that even in the second year 
the worms may be placed thereon. 
Eggs may be transmitted from place to place from September 
to February in perforated boxes of cardboard or wood. The eggs 
may be wrapped in canvass to prevent the effect of rude shocks. 
In March they should not be exposed to a high temperature “ en 
route.” If near the time of hatching, a little oak bud or spray 
should be enclosed with the eggs in a canvass bag; the end of the 
spray should be stuck into a potato to keep it fresh; the potato 
must be fastened firmly down to the box; if the worms hatch out 
they will find provision on the road. 
Worms should be sent on a journey on a bough having the end 
placed in a bottle of water. It will be an advantageous plan to 
* Vide Revue de Sériciculture, 1866, No. 8, p. 172, where this method, 
practised by Madame la Comtesse de Beaumont, met with complete success. 
t Also the following varieties of oak:—Q. Mirbeckii, Q. macrocarpa, from 
America; the Black Oak, the Pyramidal, Q. Tauzin, Q. Phellos, Q. rubra, 
from America. Revue de Sériciculture, 1864, p. 202. 
