144 THE SILJC WORM. 



about, with head erect, and leaving fibres of silk on 

 every thing it touches. Its back is of a yellow co- 

 lor, and the worm is ready to spin. The next thing to 

 be done, is to bring in some oak or hickory branches, 

 which have been previously cut, and withered in the 

 sun, and place them back of the shelves, or over the 

 worms. They will soon climb, and, after finding suit- 

 able places, will commence spinning their cocoons. 

 Each worm will require four or five days to com- 

 plete its cocoon. Five or six days after the last 

 worm has commenced spinning, the cocoons may be 

 gathered from the bushes. A keen sighted person is 

 required to gather the cocoons, or some will be over- 

 lookedj which are spun in leaves curled up. The 

 largest and most firm cocoons should be laid aside 

 for seed, and the others should be put into shallow 

 baskets and placed in ovens to bake, taking care not 

 to scorch the silk. When the chrysalis or worm in 

 the cocoon is dead, the cocoons should be taken out 

 and spread in the shade to dry, otherwise the va- 

 por which arises from the dead chrysalis will ruin the 

 silk. 



The cocoons saved for seed should be placed in an 

 airy room, where they should remain untouched. In 

 about twelve to fourteen days, according to the state 

 of the weather, the fly will come forth from the co- 

 coon. This is effected by throwing out a fluid, 

 which dissolves the gum of the silk, and the legs of 

 the fly serve to part the strands of silk until the head 



