25 



time the body suddenly diminishes in circumference, the excrement, 

 formerly dry and firm, now becomes moist and soft, and the appetite 

 diminishes and becomes capricious. This state generally lasts three days, 

 then suddenly the worm ceases to eat, and tries to get away from its 

 food. It prolongs its head, and, changing its former lazy habit of 

 scarcely moving except to get food, runs about in every direction, 

 stepping from time to time, and moving its head (now transparent 

 gold or white, according to race) like a blind person seeking the way. 

 These signs indicate that the worm is hunting a convenient place to 

 spin its cocoon. The worm is now mature, and a spinning place 

 should be ready to facilitate ito metamorphosis. The humidity, which 

 always exists at this time on account of the mass of litter, is especially 

 dangerous to the worms; and it is increased if the worms do not all 

 mature and mount at the same time, for those that remain below 

 are wet by the liquid dejections of those that are the first to mount. 

 For this reason do not put worms in the spinning place until they are 

 perfectly mature. They then mount, and crawl around some time 

 seeking a favorable place for their cocoons. Finding this they evacu- 

 ate their digestive canal, and begin to throw around them an irregular 

 net in which the cocoon spun later will be suspended. 



PREPARATIONS FOR SPINNING. 



A considerable loss may occur in the spinning place even when the 

 rearing has been most successful. To avoid such loss observe the fol- 

 lowing precautions: (1) Prepare the spinning place in time; (2) arrange 

 it so that the worms ma}'^ regularly mount, and have abundant room; 

 (3) have it well made, yet economical; and (4) regulate the heat and 

 ventilate the room. 



Any convenient dry bushy brush, odorless and free from gum, will 

 serve to construct the spinning place; or if such is not available, bun- 

 dles of straw, or shavings, or finely split up wood ma}^ be substituted. 

 The best and most economical arrangement is small bundles of brush 

 or straw placed upright between the feeding shelves, in rows, about 

 16 inches apart. The bundles are cut a half inch taller than the space 

 between the shelves, and their tops are spread out to form arches, and 

 to allow the worms plenty of room to spin (fig. 11). 



Branches of elm, oak, birch, etc., are used to place the worms in the 

 spinning place. These branches are spread over the shelves at the end 

 of the fifth age. Very soon they will be covered with mature worms 

 which have ceased to eat, and are turning away from the mulberry. 

 In this way it is easy to select the worms that should be transferred. 



If the worms are equally developed, in thirty or forty hours they 

 will be shut up in their cocoons. The few that remain behind should 

 be placed elsewhere; fed with fresh leaf on clean beds they will soon 

 catch up with the others. 



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