1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



233 



weather oneh comes on unexpectedly; the tem- 



peruiure of tliti morning iiiul cvt'iiinir, that of the 

 day and iiiirht, under^rocs irreat chaiijjes. If un- 

 der ihet^e circiinistaiices, the proper measures are 

 not taken, the silk worms soon become sick. But 

 all these chaiiiies of the atmosphere may be 

 guarded aijainst, if the rules we have described 

 above be laiihUiiiy followed. 



All around tiienurscry, Cthatis to say, at each 

 window, J window blinds must be placed, which 

 can be rolled up antl unrolled at will. In the 

 middle of ihe room, a fire must be lighted 'under 

 ground. If tht silk worms require heat, and the 

 externa! air be cold, die mats that cover the win- 

 dows nmsl be let down, and the heat disseminat- 

 ed throughout the nursery. Then tiie cold from 

 witliout cannot penetrate there, and a mild tem- 

 perature is enjoyed throughout. I3ut if it be ri- 

 gorously cold, it will be impossible to warm the 

 apartment, even by opening the doors of the 

 oven; clods of dry dung must be liijhted on the 

 outside, and when they are set on fire, and pro- 

 duce no smoke, they must be placed at the four 

 angles of the silk room. Soon a mild heat will 

 be spread throughout; and as soon as the cold is 

 diminished the rest of the burning lumps must be 

 carried away. 



When the silk worms require cooling, and the 

 exterior air is warm, the openings of the iieated 

 pipe must be shut, and the window blmds raised 

 up ; then the interior heat moderates, and the 

 fresh air from without penetrates the nursery. If 

 it be sultry, it will not be sufficient to raise up all 

 the window blinds to dissipate the heat. The 

 paper must then be removed i'rom the windows, 

 the small dormer windows of the roof must be 

 opened, and the air conductors also, which are 

 even with the ground, and fresh water must be 

 sprinkled outside ol" the windovvs, and about the 

 bottom of the sash. A cool air will soon circu- 

 late in every pan of the nursery. 



When that sultry heat is dissipated, the paper 

 must be again pasted on the windows, and the 

 air pipes stopped up. In this manner the silk 

 worms are neither incommoded with the heat nor 

 cold, liom the commencement to the end of the 

 season. They have very little sickness among 

 them, and the cocoons are as good as may be de- 

 sired. It is by observing these proceedings 

 that all the success of the raising of silk worms 

 depends. But the cool air must not be suddenly 

 replaced by warm; the fire must be increased 

 gradually. If the cold rapidly succeeds to heat, 

 the silk worms will become yellow and soft. 

 When it is too warm, a cool air must not he in- 

 troduced suddenly in the nursery; the windovvs 

 should be opened by degrees. That precaution 

 is necessary, ibr if the heat be suddenly replaced 

 by a cool air, ttie silk worms will turn wliite and 

 die. It is a serious_ danger, which should be 

 known belbre hand, iii order to remove the causes 

 which fjive rise to it. 



ON BATHIiXG THE EGGS OF SILK WORMS. 



The old Dictionary Eul-ya, says there are three 

 kinds of insects which form cocoons: 1st, the 

 iSVa/ig, or the silk worm fed on mulberry leaves; 

 2d, the Tcheoii-in, those fed on leaves of the ju- 

 juhp, and trees called hoa and lauan ; 3d, the 



Vol. VI.- 30 



Hang, Which is fed on leaves of the plant called 



siao. 



In the chou-king, fone of the canonical Books 

 of the Chinese,) it is written : " The first day of 

 the moon, of the last Spring month, the Prince's 

 wilti washes the eggs ol" the silk worms in the 

 river." 



/Ibridged hisfory of the kingdom of On. — In 

 the district of Nan-yang, the silk worms lijrm co- 

 coons eight times a year. 



Kouang.-tchi. — There are several varieties of 

 silk worms, the autumn, winter, and wild silk 

 worms. 



Yong-kia-kl. — In the district of Yong-kia, there 

 exist eiirht species of the silk worm : 



1st. The silk worms called Hang-tckin-tsan, 

 form their cocoons in the third month, (April.) 



2d, The silk worms called Tche-tsan, that is to 

 say, worms which are fed with the leaves of the 

 tree tche, form their cocoons at the commence- 

 ment of the fourth month, t^May.) 



3d. The silk worms called Ilang-tsan, form 

 their cocoons in the fourth month, (May.) 



4ih. The silk worms called jii-ichin-tsan,\hat 

 is to say, cherished and precious silk worms, 

 lorm their cocoons in the fifth month, (June.^ 



5th. The silkworms called y/itsan, or che- 

 rished silk worms, ibrm their cocoons towards the 

 end of the sixth month, (July.) 



6th, The silk wornis called Han-tchin-tsan, 

 that is to say, cold and precious silk worms, Ibrm 

 their cocoons in the seventh month, (August,) 



7th. The silk wo'-ms vailed Sse-ichou-tsan. that 

 is to say, silk worms from a fourth laying of eggs, 

 form their cocoons at the beginning of the ninth 

 month, (October.) 



Sth. The silk worms called Han-tsan, that is to 

 say, cold silk worms, form their cocoons in the 

 tenth month, (November.) 

 In the same work we read : 

 All the silk worms of the first kind, which ma- 

 ture twice a year (that is to say, those that lay 

 eggs for a second progeny the same year,) are 

 called Tchin-tsan, that is to say, precious silk 

 worms. There are few persons that raise silk 

 worms called precious. 



The worms of the fifth class, called jf'i-tsan, 

 or cherished silk worms, proceed fiom the eggs of 

 the worms of the third cfass, anciently called 

 Hang-isan. 



When the silk worms (of the first class) called 

 Uang-tchin, have formed their cocoons, in the 

 thud month, (April.) the moths appear, and 

 their ejjgs must be collected. In the seventh and 

 eigth month, the eggs open, and the moths are 

 hatched. A great number of persons raise this 

 species ofsilk worm. They are called Hang-tsaUy 

 or silk worms of the third class. 



When silk worms called j/'i-lsan, or cherished 

 silk-worms, (of tfie fifth class,) are wanted, eggs 

 of the worms of the third class, called Hang-tchin, 

 must be taken, and put in an earthern vessel, the 

 dimensions of which should be in proportion to 

 the quantity of eggs that are required to be pre- 

 served. The opening of the vessel must be stop- 

 ped up with paper, then the vessel must be placed 

 in a basin, filled with spring water, in order that 

 the cool air may delav the hatchina of the eggs. 



