THE SILK WORM. 143 



it lingered for a long time on the confines of Eastern 

 Europe; in Greece and the Grecian Isles; then 

 spread into Italy, France, Spain, &c. Italy and 

 France have excelled all the countries of Europe in 

 the rearing the worm, and in the beauty of silk fa- 

 brics. 



REARING THE WORM. 



When the silk- worm first comes forth from the egg, 

 it is a small black insect resembling the tiny black 

 ant. Leaves being placed near, they will crawl up- 

 on them and commence eating, as fast as they hatch. 

 They should be fed three or four times a day, with 

 fresh leaves, cut up in small pieces, for the first five 

 days, and then oftener as they grow larger. 



At the end of five days the first moulting, or shed- 

 ding of the skin takes place, when the worm is a quar- 

 ter of an inch in length. It now droops its head, 

 ceases to eat, and appears extremely sick. In twen- 

 ty-four or thirty-six hours it slips- out of its skin, and 

 again commences eating. On the eighth day of its 

 age, the second moulting takes place, when it is again 

 sick and ceases to eat. It is now half an inch in 

 length, and begins to assume a lighter colour. The 

 third moulting takes place on the thirteenth or four- 

 teenth day, and the fourth on the twenty-second or 

 twenty-third. The worm now eats ravenously, and 

 is two inches in length. In ten days more it acquires 

 its full length, ceases to eat, and goes wandering 



