912 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



arch. In two or three days the spinning will have been completed, and in six or seven the 

 chrysalis will be formed. 



Gathering the Cocoons. Eight days from the time the spinning commenced it will 

 be time to gather the cocoons. The arches should be carefully taken apart, and the spotted 

 or stained cocoons first removed and laid aside. Care should be taken not to stain the clean 

 ones with the black fluids of such worms as may have died and become putrid, for there are 

 always a few of these in every cocoonery. THe outer cocoons of loose or floss silk are then 

 torn from the inner cocoons or pods, and the latter separated according to color, weight, and 

 firmness of texture ; those which best resist pressure indicating that the worm has best accom 

 plished its work. Too much care cannot be taken to remove the soft or imperfect cocoons, as 

 if mixed with the firm ones they would be crushed, and soil the others with their contents. 

 The very best of the firm cocoons are now to be chosen as seed for the next year, unless the 

 raiser prefers buying his eggs to the trouble of caring for the moths and keeping the eggs 

 through the winter. Eggs bought from large establishments are, however, apt to be untrust 

 worthy, and it is well for all silk-raisers to provide their own seed. These cocoons should be 

 chosen for their firmness, and the fineness and color of the silk, rather than for their size. 



Mr. Crozier says: &quot; If white, take them of the purest white, neither soft nor satin-like; 

 if yellow, give the preference to the straw-colored, which are the most sought after; and, 

 last, if they are the green of Japan, the greener they are, of a dark, sharp color, very glossy, 

 the better is the quality of the thread. Discard the pale shades in the last breed.&quot; If there 

 are any double or treble cocoons in the batch, of the right color, quality, and consistency, they 

 should be used before the others, as they are just as good for breeding purposes, though 

 unfit for reeling. In estimating the quantity that will be required, the following figures will 

 be of use: The general estimate is always made of 40,000 eggs to the ounce, and also that 

 each female lays from 300 to 400 eggs. Taking the higher estimate, it will require only 100 

 females to lay an ounce of eggs; taking the lower, it will require 133. It will, therefore, not 

 be safe to take fewer than 200 cocoons, half males and half females, if an ounce of seed is 

 desired, and from that to 225 would be safer. While it may not always be possible to 

 determine the sex of the cocoons by their shape, we may approximately separate them by 

 weighing. The whole quantity set aside for breeding purposes is first weighed in order to 

 get the average, and then each one is weighed separately, and all above the average may be 

 pretty accurately considered females and all below it males. These breeding cocoons should 

 now be either pasted upon card-board on their sides, or strung upon a string, great care being 

 taken to run the needle through the silk only and not deep enough to injure the chrysalis, 

 the object being in both cases to secure the cocoon so that the moth can the more readily 

 make its escape. They can be laid aside in a rat-proof place to await the appearance of the 

 moths, and in the meantime the other cocoons should be taken care of. 



Choking the Chrysalis. In most silk -producing countries the parties who raise the 

 cocoons sell them to the reeling establishments before suffocation is necessary, as these estab 

 lishments have better facilities for this work than are to be found in private families. If, 

 however, the reeling is done by the raiser, or some time must elapse before the cocoons can 

 be sent to a reeling establishment, some means must be used to kill the contained chrysalis 

 before the cocoon is injured for reeling purposes by the egress of the moth. This can be 

 done by stifling them with steam or choking them by dry heat. Steaming is the surest, 

 quickest, and best method, if the facilities are at hand: it can be done at any steam mill. The 

 cocoons are laid upon shelves in a tightly sealed box, and the steam is turned in. Twenty 

 minutes will suffice to do the required work, and the cocoons are then dried in the sun. The 

 dry heat method occupies a much longer time. The cocoons are placed in shallow baskets and 

 slipped on iron drawers into an oven which is kept heated to a temperature of about 200 

 Fah. This should not be increased for fear of burning the silk. This operation lasts from 

 two to twenty-four hours. A certain humming noise continues so long as there is any life, 

 and its cessation is an indication that the chrysalides are all dead. Where the choking is 

 well done there is little loss, only about one per cent, of the cocoons bursting at the ends. 

 After choking in this manner, the cocoons should be strewn upon long wooden shelves, in 

 the shade, with plenty of air, and, for the first few days, frequently stirred. After remaining 

 on these shelves for about two months, with occasional stirrings, the chrysalides become quite 

 dry and the cocoons will keep indefinitely. 



Egg Laying Reproduction. In from twelve to twenty days from the time when 

 the worm commenced to spin, the moths will begin to issue from the cocoons laid aside for 



