F A R M E II S' REGISTER 



509 



seen if they fall. When once placed upon the 

 tree the worms feed ihemselves, and so far they 

 cause much less trouble than the mulberry-worms 

 which must have the leaves brought to them ; but 

 they must not by any means be left to themselves, 

 as ihey are subject to the assaults of many ene- 

 mies. The first against which it is imporiant to 

 protect them is the ant, which must be destroyed 

 before the worm is placed upon the tree. To 

 efiiect this the trunk is rubbed with molasses, and 

 hung wilii fish and dead toads and Irogs ; and the 

 ants, which are collected by the smell, are burned 

 by fire ; this process is repeated unlil not an ant 

 is left near the tree. The worms, when they 

 grow larger, are templing morsels (or many birds, 

 which lie in wait upon the neighboring trees, and 

 never fail to pick ott' a lew when not closely 

 watched. Their nocturnal enemies are rats, bats, 

 and owls, whose ravages can never be entirely 

 prevented. 



The worm thrives best and produces the finest 

 silk in dry weather ; but it is not seriously injured 

 by rain unless very heavy, as it invariably conceals 

 itself under the leaves on the approach ol a shower. 

 It soon destroys all the leaves of one tree, and is 

 then removed to another, by means of bamboo 

 dishes fastened to the ends of long poles, which 

 are raised among the branches ; it crawls upon 

 these dishes, which are then placed against a fresh 

 free, to the leaves ot" which the hungry worm soon 

 finds its way. During thirty days the muga- 

 worm remains upon the tree; it has lour mouliings 

 like the ordinary silk-worm, but requires no parti- 

 cular attention on that account. A( length when 

 ready to spin it begins to descend the tree, but is 

 stopped by the circle of plantain leaves. Here it 

 is gathered in baskets, brought into the house, 

 and placed beneath bundles o( dried leaves sus- 

 pended from the roof: in these bundles they spin 

 their cocoons, which are generally stuck two or 

 three together. 



The process is after this not very different from 

 that employed with the common silk-worm. The 

 cocoons, with the exception of such as are selected 

 for the next brood, are exposed to the action of 

 heat, to destroy the chrysalis, they are then boiled 

 lor an hour in a weak solution of potash, and 

 wound o(f; not reeled in one continuous thread 

 like common silk, but spun like cotton or worsted. 

 This of course produces a thicker and harsher 

 thread, but it has not been practicable to follow a 

 better method; though it is likely that further 

 experitnents and greater skill may be found to 

 overcome the difficulty. The separation of the 

 worms before spinning would probably keep the 

 cocoons more perfect, and consequently easier to 

 wind off. It would also be necessary to prevent 

 piercing the cocoons ; a practice resorted to by the 

 hill tribes for the purpose ofgetting at the chrysalis, 

 which they consider a great dainty : this of course 

 destroys the continuity of the thread. 



The muga is a good deal larger than the mul- 

 berry worm. It measures, when iiill grown, nearly 

 (bur inches in length, and is then transparent, of a 

 bright yellow color, with small red and brown 

 epote ; it makes a cocoon about two inches long, 

 and of proportionate thickness. It feeds on a va- 

 riety of trees, most of which spring up spontane- 

 ously in spots cleared for the cultivation of rice or 

 cotton, and the color and quality of the produce 

 vary according to the species of tree on which the 



worm is fed. These trees are usually transplanted 

 to the neighborhood of the dwellings of the 

 peasantry, to whose comfort the manufacture of 

 muga-silk largely contributes; as it aflords a pro- 

 fitable occupation to the youngest and weakest of 

 the (iimily, whose services would be unavailable 

 for any other object: in fact, except at hatching 

 and spinning-time, these worms require little more 

 than dose watching to prevent the intrusion of 

 enemies ; and this can be done by children, or 

 very old persons, or by those who are employed in 

 spinning, weaving, or basket making, the ordi- 

 nary occupations of the peasantry of Assam. 



The total duration of a breed of worms is about 

 seventy days, and it is repeated five times in the 

 year. An acre of land produces about fifty thou- 

 sand cocoons per annum making twenty-five 

 pounds of silk, which is worth from 61. to 71. of 

 our money. It is estimated that 50,000 lbs. are 

 annually made in Assam, of which somewhat less 

 than a half is exported. It sells from 5s. to 5s, 

 6d. per lb., and is woven into cloth (or scarfs, 

 turbans, sashes and similar articles. 



Another valuable and important silk- worm is 

 the eria or arindy worm. This is reared entirely 

 in the houses of the peasantry, and is fed chiefly 

 on the palma Christi, or castor-oil plant, which 

 requires little culture. Although the eria-vvorm is 

 reared wholly under cover, it does not demand so 

 much attention as the mulberry-worm ; though 

 there is no very imporant difi'erence in their ma- 

 nagement. When they spin, they are put into 

 baskets filled with dry leaves, in which they make 

 their cocoons, like the musa-worms, in bunches 

 of two or three together. The worms before they 

 spin are either white or green, and it is remarkable 

 that the white ones invariably spin red silk, and 

 the green ones white. They are not reeled, but 

 spun like the muga cocoons. 



It is conjectured that more than 80,000 pounds 

 of eria silk are annually in Assam, and nearly all 

 this large quantity is consumed in the country : it 

 is the constant dress of the poorer classes, and, in 

 the cold season, of the richer also. The stuffs made 

 from it are at first coarse and stiff, but repeated 

 washings cause them to become silky, soft, and 

 glossy. 



The cultivation of this worm appears to be 

 worth more attention than has hitherto been given 

 to it ; it grows rapidly, and twelve broods have 

 been perfected in one year. It is reared in almost 

 every house in Assam, and may be increased to 

 any extent. The silk, though coarse, is warm 

 and durable, and may be bought in the cocoon at 

 little more than a shilling a pound. One account 

 of it says, "It gives a cloth of seemingly loose 

 coarse texture^ but of incredible durability ; the life 

 of one person being seldom sufficient to wear out 

 a garment made of it, so that the same piece de- 

 scends Ij-om mother to daughter." A small sam- 

 ple sent to England was judged by some manu- 

 facturers to be an excellent article lor making- 

 shawls like those of Cashmere. In addition to the 

 silk, the castor-oil which is produced from the 

 palma Christi might also be taken into the account, 

 as little or no injury results to the plant li'om strip- 

 ping it of leaves to feed the worms. 



The other recently discovered silk-worms are of 

 less importance at present, though some of them 

 are likely to be useful eventually. One sort, the 

 deo-miiga, produces a beautiful thread of great 



