470 



FARMER S' REGISTER. 



[No. 8 



the egga, which were of an ash-colored gray, be- 

 come more or less black ; they then pass to violet, 

 then to a yellowish gray, and finally to a dull 

 white ; although those eggs which may have been 

 washed in very high-colored wine, will retain the 

 reddish tint to the time when the worms come out. 



Often, before placing the eggs in the healed 

 room, to make them hatch, they are made to un- 

 dergo what is called maceration; which is done 

 by enclosing them in little bags, which are placed 

 under cushions, between mattresses, or in woollen 

 coverlets. From time to time they are moved, 

 Btirred, and this operation is used only to hasten 

 the hatching of the worms. This method is so 

 much the more uncertain, as it is as impossible to 

 know exactly what degree of heat the eggs may 

 have undergone in advance, as to guess what de- 

 gree will be necessary to effect the hatching pro- 

 perly. It is not necessary thus to grope our way 

 fo an object, in the dark, when it is possible to 

 arrive at it with confidence and certainty.* 



In every egg exposed to a state of heat continu- 

 ed for some time, the embryo which it incloses ac- 

 quires its degree of perfection, and the worm is 

 finally hatched. Indeed, when the eggs have 

 been preserved from one season to another in a 

 mild temperature, there is no need of so great a 

 heat in the hatching-room. They may even hatch 

 spontaneously and unexpectedly, and before the 

 vegetation of the mulberrv has vet put forth, if 

 kept in a temperature of 55 to 59 degrees. It is 

 then important and essential to apply the strictest 

 attention ; for it is an absolute and totally unne- 

 cessary loss when the young worms perish be- 

 cause their food is not ready to be used. To have 

 them to hatch a little too soon is a great injury ; 

 but a few days too late is not so. But when the 

 hatching has once commenced, it would be hurtful 

 to the worms to have it retarded, and their deve- 

 lopement would greatly suffer.f 



* All these preparatory steps are unnecessary to the 

 young beginner, who does not intend, or is not prepar- 

 ed, to pursue the strict rules of procedure afterwards, 

 through the feeding time. For such persons, almost all 

 the good eggs will hatch just as well, as they stick to 

 the old papers where they were laid. But it should be ob- 

 served, that all the preparations described above are not 

 for the purpose of making good eggs hatch more sure- 

 ly, but for the purpose of removing the worthless eggs, 

 and the gummy, and every other foreign matter, so as to 

 be able to know exactly the quantity of eggs that will 

 hatch. It is essential to the correctness of all the fu- 

 ture operations, to know precisely the weight of 

 eggs.— Tr. 



t Dandolo says that the eggs which have been sub- 

 jected to the process of maceration, or otherwise kept 

 through winter in a mild temperature, will hatch ear- 

 lier (sometimes 4 or 5 days earlier,) than the eggs 

 kept in a much colder state, though both parcels are 

 subjected to the same heat and treatment in the stove- 

 room, during the hatching process. Hence the import- 

 ance of previously, as well as during that process, 

 keeping the eggs always at certain and known de- 

 grees of temperature. And as the extension of the 

 time required for hatching, or otherwise the increased 

 heat, is not so objectionable as any uncertainty in cal- 

 culation, or difference in the times of the worms leav- 

 ing the eggs, it would seem that it would be best to 

 keep the eggs in the temperature of a deep dry cellar, 

 or an ice-house. Then the time of hatching under a 

 certain temperature, and other like circumstances, 

 would be precisely and always the same, and would be 

 well known in advance. — Tr. 



It is only at the moment when the egg ac- 

 quires the dull white color, that the worm is en- 

 tirely formed, and ready to hatch ; it may then be 

 easily distinguished through a magnilying glass. 

 At that stage, there should be placed upon the 

 eggs, covering pieces of white paper, pierced, be- 

 fore-hand, with numerous little holes, made by 

 an awl or needle of suitable size. Or very open 

 muslin may be used instead. To collect the young 

 worms, there must be laid upon the papers some 

 very small shoots of mulberry, with the young 

 leaves at their extremities. These are to be supplied 

 as needed ; and on them the worms will collect, 

 (and may be easily removed,) after they climb up 

 through the holes in the paper. These branches 

 also serve to prevent any of the worms from wan- 

 dering out of their proper boxes. 



The worms which climb upon the paper the 

 first day, are often so few in number, that it will 

 be cheaper to get rid of them immediately, and 

 to take care only of the multitude that will come 

 out in the two succeeding days. The first few, if 

 preserved, as they would keep in advance of the 

 great number, would trouble the order to be esta- 

 blished for the developement and raising of the 

 others. 



For collecting the worms as they are hatched, 

 the small branches of mulberry are to be preferred 

 to single leaves ; because the latter might, by their 

 weight, keep down the little worms, and prevent 

 their climbing above ; and the greater part might 

 perish from being unable to surmount this obstacle. 

 All the worms which are made to hatch in the 

 manner described above, by means of the stove, 

 possess a force and vigor which is marked by their 

 deep chestnut color. Healthy worms are never 

 reddish, and still less black. When newly hatched, 

 and seen as placed upon the sheet of perforated 

 paper, they appear to form a downy bed, spread 

 out over the whole, in which are distinguished an 

 infinite number of animalcules, with heads raised, 

 which are surmounted with black and shining 

 muzzles. The whole extent of their bodies ia 

 then stuck flill of very small hairs, with some of a 

 little greater size. Their cubicle, already white, is 

 developed accordmg as they advance in age, and 

 the hairiness disappears gradually. In looking at 

 the worms throuch a magnifying glass, their white 

 skin is perceived very distinctly at the insertion of 

 the head. Their tails are also seen to be set with 

 a great number of hairs, remarkable for their 

 length. 



When the worms are about coming out of the 

 eggs (by aid of artificial heat,) in the hatching- 

 room, there must be placed at suitable distances 

 basins of water, to moisten the inclosed air. This 

 is to prevent a too great degree of dryness injuring 

 their developement. The hatching is also favor- 

 ed by moving the eggs, from time to time, with a 

 wooden spatula ; and this movement becomes so 

 much the more useful, and even necessary, as the 

 moment of hatching is approached. 



Nothing is lost by these operations; and, by 

 omitting them, the inconveniences caused by the 

 failure, might greatly and injuriously influence the 

 worms during the whole remainder of their short 

 existence. It is even highly to be desired, in the 

 departments of France, where the raising of silk- 

 worms is a general object of industry, that the 

 government, as a means of augmenting and aiding 

 the business, should establish in ever y small dis- 



