494 EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. 



building is used for this purpose at a season of the year when it 

 is not occupied for other purposes. Where silk is cultivated on 

 an extensive scale, a building is erected for the special purpose 

 of raising the worms, called a magnanerie. The size of this 

 building is of course to be proportioned to the quantity of worms 

 to be raised ; and the quantity of worms to be raised must be 

 proportioned to the amount of food to be obtained. Great 

 losses are sometimes incurred by a miscalculation in respect 

 either to the forage or the worms. It is of great moment not to 

 err on the side of too little provision for the feed of the worms, 

 who in their last age consume with almost incredible voracity. 

 Few things are more prejudicial to success than a deficiency of 

 food, or subjecting the worms to fasting. 



The magnanerie must, in the first place, supply ample room for 

 the worms ; they must not be crowded. It requires a separate 

 room for the hatching of the worms and their feeding during the 

 first age. It must be furnished with sufficient means for heating 

 the apartments in which they are kept. It must have the means 

 of complete ventilation, without bringing draughts of cold air 

 directly upon them. It must be capable of being closed or 

 opened at pleasure, in order to regulate the temperature, which is 

 of great moment. It must be light also, and be capable of being 

 lighted in the evening ; for they like the light, and if success is 

 looked for, they are not to be neglected either by day or night. 



It has been supposed that the silk-worms are injuriously 

 affected by noise ; but this is now deemed an error, as no 

 organs of hearing have been discovered. They are injuriously 

 affected by noxious odors, and this must be guarded against. 

 They are likewise much affected by changes of temperature, and 

 especially by a close and confined atmosphere. The former may, 

 to a certain extent, be regulated by artificial means, and the 

 latter by ventilation. The tables on which the worms are 

 placed, may be made of canvass on an endless roller, and the 

 worms, being induced by fresh leaves to rise upon a netting 

 made of twine set in a frame, may be lifted up, and by turning 

 the canvass, the litter may be easily removed, and the worms 

 replaced. The legs of the tables on which the worms are fed, 

 should be set in water, so as to prevent the access of ants, which 

 are destructive to them ; and every pains must be taken to keep 

 off birds, rats, and mice, which have no hesitation in destroying 

 these industrious creatures. 



