166 THE SILK WORM. 



the leaves and flowers of the primrose and cowslip. 

 She afterwards gave them the Mulberry leaves, which 

 as soon as they had tasted, they refused all others. 

 She declares that the worm will not touch any flow- 

 er of a red color. Mademoiselle Coge tells us, that 

 she fed worms on the viper grass, and that the 

 silk was equal to any produced from the natural 

 food. 



I consider lettuce the best substitute for the Mul- 

 berry, but I do not believe that worms can be reared 

 on it to any profit. Indeed it is useless to look for a 

 substitute so long as the Mulberry is so easily culti- 

 vated. 



REPEATED CROPS. 



Culturists are fully of the opinion, that two, and 

 even more crops of silk may be raised in a season, 

 and experience seems to go to prove it. In some 

 parts of Italy, two crops are raised from the white 

 worm, called the two crop worm. This worm will 

 finish its cocoon, come forth, lay its eggs, and then 

 those eggs will hatch, thus producing two crops. 



There is no doubt but that the two crop system is 

 profitable, and a very good plan would be this ; If 

 you wish to raise two hundred thousand in a season, 

 bring up from the cellar fifty thousand, and hatch 

 them. The week after, bring up fifty thousand more ; 

 and the next week fifty thousand more, until all are 

 hatched. Now when the last parcel is hatched, the 



