510 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



lustre, and though now confined to Assam, feeds j ber of our last volume; and our disadvanlatrea 

 upon the pipala tree cficus religiosa) which grows a„j ^ad management were not worse, nor The 

 abundantly all over India. Another sort is o/ very . , ^ 



large size, the moths measuring ten inches from ^"cc^ss greater, than those of several others of 



wingtowmg. Of several oihers the distinguish- 

 ing characteristics are as yet scarcely known ; but 

 as the attention of Europeans in India has been 

 called to this subject, it is not likely that any really 

 valuable sort will long remain undiscovered. 



THE GENERAL FAILURE OF SILK-WORM 

 REARIAGS, THIS SEASON. 



Although there have been sundry cases of good 

 success this year in raising silk-worms, it is never- 

 theless certain that the far greater number of trials 

 have resulted in general or entire failure. In most 

 cases, no doubt, abundant causes for failure were 

 lo be found. The unusual quantity of rain, and 

 prevalence of damp air — the unfitness of the build- 

 ings — the trusting to eggs from diseased worms — 

 the watery and weak kind of food presented in 

 young multicaulis leaves of the most forced and 

 tender growth — and bad management in general 

 —one or all have served, (and could hardly have 

 failed,) to produce most of the disasters which 

 have occurred. But, in some other cases, where 

 every care was used, and no labor or expense spared 

 that was deemed necessary, the results have been 

 almost as disastrous as any. We confess our utter 

 inability to account for such extensive iailures; 

 which are bo much the more mysterious as com- 

 pared lo the general marked success of last year, 

 in this part of the country, wherever eggs of 

 healthy stock were used. 



The grounds of our own false confidence, in 

 very different results, are already before the read- 

 ers of this journal. Last year, a quantity of silk- 

 worm eggs, sent to Petersburg for sale, began to 

 hatch as early as the 13lh of April. The hatch- 

 ing eggs and worms were given to every person 



our intimate acquaintance, of whom we inquired, 

 and heard their progress and results. In the 

 same season and sometimes under the care of the 

 same individuals, other broods from other sale 

 eggs were as much diseased, and proved as en- 

 lirea loss, as is thegeneral state ofihings this year. 

 These broods we naturally inferred to be (as most 

 likely they were,) the produce of diseased stocks; 

 and we also inferred, from the different results in 

 other cases, that with good eggs, and good 

 management, a rearing could scarcely fail of suc- 

 cess. The particular slock of worms which had 

 proved lo be so universally healthy, we even de- 

 signated by the name of "hardy," and attached 

 peculiar value to them, because of their so well 

 deserving that character in all the rearings of 

 1839. Yet, from our own eggs of that valued 

 stock, carefully saved as supposed, we have not 

 this year saved an egg, because none of the broods 

 were healthy ; and other persons who thought as 

 highly of the slock, and whose management and 

 arrangements were much better than ours, have 

 fared no better, and have lost the whole brood 

 from their crops of eggs, as we did of our own. 



But discouraging as these numerous and unac- 

 countable failures are, we trust they will not in- 

 duce the abandonment of the business, by any one 

 who before desired, and ts prepared, to carry it on ; 

 but ihey ought to induce increased care in ma- 

 nagement, and caution in limiting the extent of 

 early trials. It is certain that without proper ar- 

 rangements failure will be inevitable. We have 

 lost nothing of our previous and entire distrust of 

 eggs from sickly worms and suspicious sources. 

 But we have lost the confidence, so entirely felt, in 

 the healthiness of worms produced from known 

 healthy parents. We pretend not to solve the 

 mystery, nor even to guess at any sufficient or ea- 



who would take them ; and thus some twenty or 



more individuals, in this neighborhood, and at i tislactory causes of the general state of disease 



much greater distances, were induced to make amontx silk-worms this season. But we incline 



their first trials. There being no previous prepa- 

 ration, or suitable arrangements, all those feedings 

 were necessarily conducted under great disadvan- 

 tages ; and, in every case, the worms must have 

 suffered much from cold and wet weather, want 

 of food, want of space, or want of cleaning, and 



lo believe that much of it may bejuslly attributed 

 to the total disregard of Dandolo's rules for pre- 

 serving eggs. Instead of guarding them careful- 

 ly, as he directs, during the whole time of their 

 keeping, against dampness, and extremes both of 

 high and low temperature, all the eggs in this 



generally, from all these evils ; yet, in all these country have been exposed to some or all of these 

 trials, we heard of no case of disease, not so much [ evils ; and all of us have supposed that this ex- 

 indeed as of a single worm in a whole rearing; j posure could do no harm, because eggs greatly so 

 and every lot of worms, that did not tuffer from | exposed had been found to hatch well. But most 

 absolute starvation, (as j-omc did in this town,) ■ of the careful experimenters of this year must now 

 produced satisfactory results. Our own cxperi- , be satisfied that eggs may halch well, and the 

 ment, and ignorant practice, with a p rlion ol worms live, and thrive for some lime afterwards, 

 these worms, was staled al Icnglli in the 6ih nuin- [ and yet the slock be so laiuied, n some way, as 



