54(5 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



Twice, gentlemen, your commiesioners called 

 on JVl. JH. Bourdon lo see his mode of reatino; silk 

 worms. — The first time was on the 4th of June, 

 and the 2d of July, at the moment olih^ j^aihering 

 of tlie cocoons. Ai each ol" tliese visiis the co- 

 coonery was examined by ili-sm with the greatest 

 care in ail its details, and tlwy have always been 

 very much satisfied with the perlect order which 

 reigned, and with the good care bestowed on the 

 worms. 



M. H, Bourdon, at our suggestion, kept a regu- 

 lar journal of the rearing made in the month ol 

 June last. We here give you a short extract so 

 that you may know the result. The eggs taken 

 out of the cellar the 19th of May, and brought 

 gradually to the temperature ol'TO deg. Fahrenheit 

 were placed on the next day in the room intended 

 lor the hatching, where the temperature was suc- 

 cessively raised one degree per day and the hatch- 

 ing commenced the 25lh at a temperature ol" 79 

 deg. 



M. H. Bourdon has raised silk worms from tfiree 

 kinds ot eggs, which were decidedly different !rom 

 each other, and which yielded him various pro- 

 ducts. A rearing of three-lburths of an ounce, 

 made with eggs received from Roquemaure, in the 

 south of France, lasted only thirty-one days, the 

 worms having been kept constantly in a tempera- 

 ture of 75 deg. Fahrenheit, and the duration ol the 

 different stages has been as Ibllows: 



The 1st stage lasted 



2d 

 3d 



4th 

 6lh 



6 days 



5 " 



6 " 

 6 " 

 8 " 



Total, 31 days 



During the whole period ofrearingjlhey were fed 

 eix times a day, without counting occasional inter- 

 mediate feedings, as tlie worms seemed to require it. 



The hurdles were changed every day during li.e 

 first stages, also during the lourth and filth stages, 

 but were changed only every other day during 

 the second and third stages. When the worms 

 had moulted instead ol immediately giving food lo 

 then) M. 11. Bourdon waited 24, 30, and even 36- 

 hours, and the method prove<i liivorable to their 

 health and the economy of ihe leaves. He sup- 

 poses that after the fatigue of moulting, the worms 

 have need of rest. 



When the worms came to maturity, their ascent 

 on the spinning Irames was ai-compli^^hed inihiriy- 

 six hours, and it was remarked, instead ofcrawling 

 for some time, as is olien the rase, ihey began 

 spinning almost immediatply. There were very 

 few imperfect cocoons. The quantity of leaves 

 consumed by the worms hatched from the three- 

 fourths of anniiiice of eirgs that cHtiie from Roque- 

 maure was 1000 pounds and the product in cocoons 

 75 lbs. These cocoons were of a very good qua- 

 lity, and of a very pure while, like those of the 

 beaulilul Slna species. It required 240 to 260 to 

 make a pound. 



We have already spoken to you, gentlemen, ol 

 n species of worms called the Syrian which M. C. 

 Beauviiis attempted to cross wiih the Sina. We 

 ehall not repeat the renjarks already made above, 

 respecting this crossing; we shall only observe 

 that it IS with the variety of worms produced by 

 lbs coupling ofthe Syrian males and Sina (eraales, 



or males of this last variety vviih the Syrian fe- 

 males that M. H. Bourdon has made several in- 

 teresting experiments. We could not relate ihen:> 

 all vviibout exceeding the bounds of this re[)ori, 

 and that is the reason why we ehall be saii.<fied 

 to give you the iiillowing. Suuck, like M. C. 

 Beauvais, with the irregularity which almost al- 

 ways exists in tlie hatching of the ei'gs as well as 

 at the time ofthe mouhings and of the ascent, M. 

 H. Bourdon thought that this irregularity might 

 be attributed to the use of the eirgs laid ai differ- 

 ent timesin therearing. In order to ascertain if 

 the irregularity in the different phases ofthe exis- 

 tence of the worms was owing to the causes he 

 suspected, be arranged in 1835, at the time of ihe 

 la}ing of ihelt^male millers, two difierent cloihs to 

 receive the etrgs. On the first cloth he caused the 

 laying of half ofthe lemale millers lo be conijilete; 

 on the second cloth, on the contrary, he rereivtul 

 only those pgi!:s laid during the first Iwenty-lbur 

 hours by the utherlcmalcs. In the spring of 183G 

 the two kinds of eggs, obtained by these means, 

 having been placed at the same tiiDC in the 

 hatching aparimeiit, those proceeding from ihe 

 first cloth look two days lo perlect their fiatching, 

 while those of the second, proct^eding only ironi 

 the laying made in twenty-lour hours, took only 

 one day lo hatch. There remained but an insig- 

 nificant number of eggs. M. H. Bourdon has 

 besides a!?sured us that the worms hatched in 

 twenty-lliur hours, had constancy a great supe- 

 riority over the others, as much lor their pquidity 

 and regularity during ad their stages of which the 

 moulting and the ascent are the principal, as lor 

 the economy of the leal! ft is hoped that new 

 ex()efimenis will confirm these loriuiiate results, 

 and if ihoi^e ofihe same nature, undertaken by M, 

 C. Beauvais, succeeded equally well, the rearers, 

 will no lioubt hasten to adopt this new method of 

 procurihg eggs. In that case the loss of sevt-rat 

 hundred or several thousand cocuons will bo 

 trifling, compared with the advantages which 

 might result from this improved process. We 

 omitted (o meniion that ilie cocoons spun by the 

 Syrian worms were much larger and heavier than 

 any we have ever seen. One hundred and ninety- 

 seven of those focoons taken by chance, weighed 

 one pound, and in selecting the finest and heaviest, 

 167 only were required to make up the same 

 weight. 



The third variety of ens^ that M. II. Bourdon 

 caused to be hatched in May, 1836, was sent lo 

 him from Valencia, in Spain, a country which waa 

 lormerly muih liimed (or its silk worms. These 

 egi.'s, far from answering his expectations, occa- 

 sioned him enormous losses. First, those from 

 Valencia hatched in a very irregular manner; 

 afterwards, at each mouliing, and even at every 

 change of the hurdles, the mortality among the 

 worms was very irreat. A sufficiently large num- 

 ber of worms wliich had dragged on their existence 

 until maturity, died at the moment of their ascent 

 upon the spinninix Irames. Lastly, I'rom an ounce 

 of eggs haiched, M. JB. Bourdon extracted but 

 three pounds eight ounces of cocoons, for which 

 product, he li^d out one hundred pounds of leaves. 

 He is doubtful whether he is to attribute this 

 drawback to the journt^y, to the change of climate 

 or to the mi^.niier in which the eggs were produced. 

 In the aciual state of the science it is still impossi- 

 ble to Ueterniiue what ean be the causes which 



