142 ON REARING 



with new straw mats, from the top to the bottom ; the next 

 day, when the sun is sufficiently above the horizon, they 

 must be taken away. The following night the cocoon room 

 must be again surrounded with mats. After three days, 

 the work of the cocoons will be finished, and straw mats 

 will be no longer required. 



The oblong cocoon rooms, called ma-theou-tso, ought to 

 be equally furnished with straw mats. The construction of 

 these cocoon rooms requires a greater quantity of materials. 

 The interior ought to be provided with a stage to receive 

 the frames with the silk worms. 



When a person has a large quantity of silk worms, large 

 oblong cocoon rooms ought to be made use of, called ma- 

 theou-tso. It is best to establish them in a place with a 

 north and south exposure. 



SAME WORK. 



During the three days that follow the installation of silk 

 worms in the cocoon room, between eight and ten o'clock 

 in the morning, the straw and bamboo mats, with which the 

 cocoon room is covered, must be removed, and the silk 

 worms exposed to the heat of the sun, until two o'clock in 

 the day ; afterwards it must be covered up again as before. 

 If the heat is too strong, the cocoon room must be covered 

 with a simple lattice-work of reed, to protect the silk worms 

 from the heat of the sun. * 



ANOTHER METHOD. 



If the weather be rainy at the time when the mature silk 

 worms are ready for the cocoon room, one must be content- 

 ed to establish the cocoon room, in the silk room at the bot- 



