1839] 



F A U JSl E R S ' R E G I S T E li 



377 



THE "aiAMMOTIl" SI Mi-WORM EGGS; AND THE 



GnoujvDs OF cijoici:: among different 



VAUIETIES. 



The ''inammoih s'lk- worms" have rcccnlly 

 bi'en mucli puffed in newspaper pariigra]!h.s mul 

 advertisements; and ihese rec-ommcndaiions have 

 been received by the coniinually humbu<>'(red ag- 

 ricuhural pubhc, vviih the deirree of respect and 

 confidence which is usually given to ail who offer 

 "mammoih" seeds or plants, or either ve^'etahles or 

 animals which, by grealer size, and supposed pro- 

 lific power, are promised lo produce more profitable 

 results than any known bejbre. If the recomnien- 

 daiions of the "niatDmotii silk-worms" eo-gs had 

 been limited merely and truly to sujjerior size, the 

 subject would not have needed remark. But when 

 ihey were ofi'cred for sale for the purpose of raising 

 second crops of worms fion), in the same season, 

 and were actually engaired by many persons under 

 this delusion, at ,^70 lo ^80 the ounce, it was time 

 to try to save to some of our readers at least, the 

 money which ihey might otherwise throw away 

 in misdirecteJ eflbrls in the important business of 

 silk-culture. With this view, as well as in an- 

 swer lo special inquiries of correspondents, the fol- 

 lowing remarks, in substance, were prepared lor the 

 last sheet of the May number; but could not be 

 inserted, (or want of room at the closing. 



In the first place we deny totally the main 

 ground of the reputed value of the "manmioth" 

 silk-worms eggs, which is, that they will hatch 

 more than once in one season ; and but lor this opi- 

 nion, certainly no one would have paid any ihinf 

 liice ^80 the ounce fbreggs of 1839. It will not be 

 expected of us to prove a negative proposition ; and 

 if this assertion is denied by the advocates of the 

 mammoth variety, it will be (or them lo exhibit 

 proof thai it is truly a "iwo-crop" kind. That, 

 we confidently believe, cannot be done, and without 

 It, the only remaining recoinmendaiion will be 

 that of sujierior size, which will presently be ex- 

 amined. 



We had befljre believed— and since have been 

 assured by the testimony of L. Y. Atkins, es(]. 

 in a previous page— that the eggs of none of the 

 ordinary kinds of worms could be relied on lo hatch 

 a second lime in the same season ; and that the 

 only known kind which can be trusted lo, is the 

 small "two-crop white" variety of this country, and 

 which, though a f^jur-cast worm, seems in all 

 other respects to be the same with the small worm 

 of "Ihree-casis" described and recommended by 

 Dundolo. We, as well as Mr. Atkms, have 

 known eggs uf the common sized worms to hatch 

 soon after being laid ; but such hatching is not cer- 

 tain to occur at all, and never but to a very limited 

 extent. Such may be the case with a like small 

 Vol. VH— 48 



prop.orlinn of the ''mammoih" eggg-but even that 

 has nor beeti warraitted in plain terms; and until 

 il is proved lo the contrary, we must consider that 

 these stand on no belter <rround, lor second hatch- 

 ings, than ihe ordinary kinds. 



The repetition of hatching which has become a 

 fixed quality in the "two-crop white" silk-worm, 

 and in olher kinds known in tropical climates, is 

 doubtless caused by the long continued action of 

 warmth. In Bengal it is said that there are worms 

 which produce ten or mofe successive generations 

 m a year; and it seems from Dr. Perrine's inlbr- 

 mation (page 351) that a similar result has alrea- 

 dy been produced in Cuba. The climate of Vir- 

 ginia is sulficient to make the common worms 

 exhibit a tendency to becotne a two-crop kind ; 

 'and we doubt not but such may be produced here, 

 and the quality of repetiiion be made permanent, 

 in a few years, by rearing from the lew eggs 

 which hatch in the same season they are laij. We 

 are now conducling such an experiment wiih the 

 (ig2,s of a single moth, which alone have hatched 

 out of the laying ol" 500 lemales. 



We presume that the "mammoih" silk-worma 

 are of the sanie kind, with some slight change; 

 with the "large silk-worin of four casts" or moult- 

 ings. described by Dandolo, and lo which he ob- 

 jects on several suflicient grounds. Of this .iind 

 150 cocoons weighed as intiich as 380 of the com- 

 mon kind. Of the "mammoth" cocoons made thid 

 season in llichinond, it took 190 to weigh a pound, 

 and a pound of good common cocoons raised here, 

 taken as they come, will count about 300, or per- 

 haps 250, if the best be selected. But whether 

 ihe mammotli worms and the large worms de- 

 scribed by Dandolo are the same, or not, is not 

 important ; since the peculiarities, and advan- 

 tages and disadvantages, of all large worms must 

 be of the same general character. It will not 

 I he questioned but that all the larger varieties 

 I leed for a longer time, and spin coarser silk than 

 the smaller; and these constituie the main objec- 

 tions urged by Daiidulo. lie states of the large 

 kind, that their silk is less pure, (or loses more in 

 manulacturing) than that of the common kind of 

 worms, and coarser by nearly 20 per cent. Of 

 course, it would command less price, even if not re- 

 jected by the manufacturers for its unusual coarse- 

 ness. The worms also are several days longer 

 leeding, (under like treatment,) and thus require 

 more time, more labor and expense, and are at 

 more risk. On ;hese general and theoretical 

 grounds alone, we should consider any uhusually 

 large kind of silk-worms as the least profitable that 

 could be chosen for culture. But in addition, we 

 have the confirmation, and still more extended ob.. 

 jections of a practical experienced and judicious 

 silk-culturist, which will be given below. 



