INSECTS. 



throws out some threads for a framework, and then commences the i 

 proper. The first portion is loose, and is known as floss the 



inner, more dense portion is begun, the spinning going on 

 on page 172. The threads are not coiled round and round. bu1 i 

 laid in loops like the figure eight. 



If the cocoon be desired for silk, it is taken about eight days after the 

 beginning of the spinning, and the chrysalis inside killed eithi dry 



beat or by steam, the latter being the preferable course. In warm coun- 

 tries two or three days' exposure to the direct rays of the sun are all that 

 are necessary for killing the animals. Now the silk is ready to be reeled. 

 This is done in most places by hand, but in France steam-machinery lias 

 been introduced. In each reel is a basin of water kept near the boiling- 

 point by a fire beneath or by steam, and into this the cocoons are pluno | 

 to soften the gum which holds the threads together. After this Is accom- 

 plished the attendant beats the cocoons with a small brush on which the 

 threads become entangled. '-'After beating a short time, the operator - 

 all the cocoons fastened, and taking the bundle of threads, shakes the 

 cocoons till each hangs by a single one. She now takes up five or m 

 threads, according to the quality of the silk wanted.' 7 and joins them into 

 strands. This is repeated with another lot, and the threads thus formed 

 are rolled on a reel, after having passed through various parts, the object 

 of which is to make the threads smooth and even, and to keep them from 

 sticking together. As soon as one of the threads begins to give out. the 

 attendant supplies a new one, bending it on with her fingers, and ><> keep- 

 ing the strand of uniform size. Each cocoon will yield about a thousand 

 feet of silk. 



If it be desired to keep the cocoons for breeding purposes, they are 

 fastened to cardboard, or strung on a string, so that the moths may emerge 

 more readily. When they come out, the mating is candidly attended t<>. 

 and then the females are placed in trays lined with smooth woolen cloth, 

 on which the eggs are almost immediately deposited. The eggs are kept 

 through the winter in some place where they will not be exposed to 

 extremes of heat or cold. If it be desirable to separate them afterward 

 from the cloth, all that is necessary is to immerse them for a short time in 

 warm water, and then remove them with a knife. 



In the spring the eggs are put in a warm place, and as they approach 

 the time of -hatching, mosquito-net is spread over them, and on this are 

 placed leaves of the mulberry, and then when the w«in i, s s tpe from 

 egg they crawl up through, and at once begin to feed. A- the} imr 

 in size, a net with a larger mesh is placed over them, and on it again is 

 placed fresh food. 



