1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



483 



well or illy attended to. And here let me advise 

 the youHii be>finner, lliat care is money ; for there 

 is no kind of human oniployment iu which care 

 is so well rewarded, as in the inanafrement. ol 

 silk-worms. The worms that by want of atten- 

 tion are made to spin out their time ot" Itjedino; to 

 40 or 50 days, will have consumed double as much 

 food as those that berjin to spm their cocoons on 

 the 25th to the 28th day ; will have occupied dou- 

 ble the time oi" the attendants ; and, after all, 

 will not produce much, if any, over half as much 

 silk, and that of an iniiirior quality, as they would 

 have done, if well attended to, and thus made to 

 spin at the proper time. This fact, which I have 

 abundantly proved in my own practice, should 

 never be lost sight of. 



The French also direct certain quantities of 

 leaves to be given each day, during each age of 

 the worms. This I never found of any service 

 whatever. Worms will eat double as much one 

 day as they will another, owing, probably, to the 

 dampness or dryness of the air, or to various other 

 causes ; but whatever the causes be, the ten or 

 twenty pounds of leaves directed to be given 

 them, may be entirely too much or far two scanty 

 an allowance. My plan is to keep fresh food on 

 the hurdles at all times, and this I believe to be 

 the only economical rule. 1 have often weighed 

 the leaves according to Count Dandolo's scale, 

 but never tbund the quantities he recommends to 

 agree with the demands of the worms — they 

 sometimes requiring more, and sometimes less. I 

 imagine, that the idea of weighing the leaves for 

 each day's consumption, in France, originated in 

 the lact, that the leaves are grown by one person 

 and the worms raised by another in that country ; 

 the person who raises the worms purchases the 

 leaves by vveight, and this making it necessary 

 that the consumer should form some estimate of 

 the probable quantity he would want each day. It 

 could not have originated in practice; for, as before 

 remarked, the consumption of leaves is not regu- 

 lar at any particular time. 



The French also direct the leaves to be cut fine, 

 and have knives for the purpose. The Chinese 

 also do the same. For several seasons, I followed 

 these directions, and cut the leaves with a sharp 

 knifti, but was ultimately led to doubt the utility 

 of it, and to abandon it. On close observation, I 

 found that the worms did not like the cut edges of 

 the pieces of leaves, and have often seen them 

 turn from them in apparent disgust. I at first sup- 

 posed my knife was not sharp enough, and that 

 hence the edges of the leaves were somewhat 

 bruised in cutting; but it was the same with the 

 sharpest knife I could use. Besides this, I found 

 that the worms woiild get upon and press down 

 the finely cut leaves, and thus cause conside- 

 rable waste ; and, further, that the leaves thus cut, 

 would wither and become useless much sooner 

 than whole leaves. On trying even the youngest 

 worms with Avhole leaves, 1 (bund they would eat 

 them just as easily as when they were cut. Even 

 the old lull grown leaves were as readily devoured 

 by young worms, as young and tender leaves 

 would be. From these facts I concluded that even 

 if cutting the leaves were never so unobjectionable, 

 it yet was a useless trouble, and I abandoned it 

 altogether. Indeed, when I fed with white mul- 

 berry leaves, I even went so far as to gather the 

 leaves by cutting of! small branches and laying 



these OD the hurdles with all the leaves on them ; 

 and this is by far the best plan, as the leaves 

 keep fi-esh much longer — indeed, until they are 

 entirely consumed, and allow the worms a much 

 better and more natural position while feeding ; as 

 they get upon the branches, in all directions, they 

 are not crowded upon a f^at surface, but are sup- 

 ported by the branches. They prefer this plan to 

 all others. 



Clearing the hurdles must be attended 

 to, not at regular periods, but as often as the accu- 

 mulation of filth and ofiiil makes it necessary. The 

 use of the net hurdles renders this not so often re- 

 quisite, but still it must not be neglected, especial- 

 ly in damp Aveather ; for it must be borne in mind, 

 that nearly all the diseases of silk-worms proceed 

 from foul hurdles. To clean the hurdles, all that 

 is necessary is to lay over the worms some large 

 fresh leaves in the morning, and as soon as the 

 worms attach themselves to them, which they 

 will immediately do, take the leaves by the stem, 

 and lay them on a clean hurdle. In a few minutes 

 a hurdle may thus be cleared of the worms, when 

 the filth and offal may be thrown away, and the 

 hurdle used for the reception of the worms from an- 

 other; proceed in this way till all are cleared. It 

 is a good plan to carry the fdth to a distance from 

 the laboratory ; as, if deposited, as is too often 

 done, under the back loindow, it may do just as 

 much harm as it would if left on the hurdles. 



Fresh leaves are essential to the health 

 and vigor of the worms, and therefore great care 

 must be observed that fermentation has not com- 

 menced, when they have been kept on hand some 

 time, as is necessary in wet weather. Fermen- 

 tation will be readily observed from the effluvium 

 in the room, and also from the appearance of the 

 leaves, which will exhibit dark-colored spots. 

 When the least appearance of it is discovered, it 

 were better to throw away the whole, than run the 

 risk of injuring the worms. To prevent fermen- 

 tation, cause the leaves to be well stirred about 

 two or three times a day. 



Wet leaves, must in no case be given to the 

 worms. They are almost certain to cause disease, 

 and that of the most fiital character. I once lost 

 a whole crop by this means. In wet weather, the 

 leaves may be dried by spreading them about the 

 room, and frequently shaking and stirring them 

 about. 



Vermik-, mice, ants, &c., must be guarded 

 against. Mice devour silk-worms with wonder- 

 ful avidity ; and the bite of an ant is almost instant 

 death to them. The only way to guard against 

 mice, is to exclude them from the room by some 

 means. Ants may be guarded against by not 

 allowing the hurdles to touch the walls, and by 

 surrounding the legs of the stands with small 

 leaden troughs, filled with water. These are easi- 

 ly formed, and ought not to be neglected when 

 these little pests are troublesome. 



The moulting, or changing the skin, takes 

 place generally with the common silkworms, as 

 above stated, and will be observed by the worms 

 ceasing to eat. Generally all of the same day's 

 hatching moult at the same time; and at these 

 times they do not eat, but seem sick. All that is 

 to be done is simply to leave them undisturbed. 

 The food last given them will be left unconsumed, 

 or only partially bo. This forms convenient recesses 

 for them to retire to for moulting. They remain 



