O F S I L K. 279 



ting through to their leaves while you are 

 managing the others ; foi* the hay and 

 leaves Ihould remain a good while on the 

 cake of old fibres before you remove them, 

 that you may give the worms time to get 

 on the frelh leaves ; fmce it is trouble- 

 fome to colle6l the odd fcattcred worms 

 which remain after the bulk of them is 

 taken away, for if any remain you muft 

 pick them up, with the fibres to which 

 they flick, and fo lay them among the 



V Befides what I have already mentioned:^ 

 you will find that if you, now and then 

 open and raife the cake of fibres with a 

 hooked wire, it will contribute to keep it 

 dry, by giving admiilion to the air and 

 caufuig the litter of the worms to run off. 

 And thus to clear away their litter aftej" 

 each moulting may fufHce for the keeping 

 your filkworms clean until they have paf- 

 fed their third ficknefs, during which time 

 they lie in a narrow com.pafs and are eafi- 

 ly managed ; for the worms neceffary to 

 produce twelve or fifteen pounds of filk 

 may, when firfl hatched, lie on the fpace 

 of a foot fquare nearly, and thefe, by the 

 time they have arrived to their firfl moult, 

 v,' T 4 may 



