P 11 A C T I C A L FARMER 



7T 



if necessary, till the season they are wanted, Dr 

 Millington, however, is persuaded that it might be 

 advantageous to have different races of different 

 ages. 



In Tuscany, so fine is their climate, that two 

 crops of silk are annually produced. The same 

 has been effected by Mrs Parmentier, at Brooklyn, 

 on Long Island. The first crop being fed from 

 the leaves of tlie Morus mnlticaiilis, Morns alba, 

 and other mulberries promiscuously, were of dif- 

 ferent colors, some white, and some of an orange 

 color. But a second crop of worms from the 

 same cocoons, being fed exclusively on the leaves 

 of the Morus JMuIticaidis, finished their labors in 

 the short space of twentysix days from the com- 

 mencement, which was about the 30th of July. 

 This last circumstance might be, in part, owing to 

 the warmth of the season. The cocoons thus 

 produced were not only of larger size than those 

 of the first crop, but what is still more important, 

 they were beautiful and shining, and of the ivhite- 

 ness of snow. 



At the Fair of the American Institute of New 

 York, in 1S33, cocoons were produced of two 

 successive crops of silk. The first crop were 

 hatched 11th of May. The second crop the 8th 

 of July, and a third crop might have been pro- 

 duced. All being fed on the Morus multicaulis, 

 they were of a snowy whiteness. In the same 

 year Mr E. Stanley, of Ogden, N. Y., produced 

 two successive crops: the second were hatched 

 by accident, and the cocoons were fine. In Brat- 

 tlpboro', Vt., in the same year, two successive 

 crops were produced from the common white 

 mulberry. And in 1835, as Dr Holmes has re- 

 corded, two crops of cocoons, both of them large 

 and perfect, were produced in AVinthrop, Maine. 

 See his account in the Maine Farmer, vol. iii. Feb. 

 20, 1835, published at Winthro|). 



In all these cases, the second crop of silk 

 worms was produced from the eggs from the 

 cocoons of the first crop. 



Dr Millington, however states that this practice 

 is wrong. In his valuable communication in the 

 American Farmer, for January, 1829, he has stated 

 that the eggs of the same year hatch but partially, 

 or do not hatch so regular as those of the former 

 year. He notes the date and the day the eggs are 

 produced, on the pajiers on which they arede|)os- 

 ited ; and those eggs of a similar age ai-e brought 

 forward to hatch at the same time, and then they 

 usually are all ready to spin together. These are 

 carefully rolled up and preserved in dry boxes, 

 p.nd kept in a dry cool cellar, andi in June or July 

 of the following years and when the heat of the 

 climate cr season requires it, they are transferred 

 to a dry ice house. 



Among the great adA'autages of having silk 

 worms of different ages in the same apartment, 



Dr Millington states, " that the same room and 

 shelves will hold abundantly more worms at the 

 same time, without being crowded ; and a room 

 and shelves which will but barely accommodate 

 one hundr d thousand full gi-own worms, will 

 better accommodate two hundred and fifty thou- 

 sand consisting of four or five different ages, pro- 

 vided each age or parcel are about equal in numljer, 

 and are hatched at about seven or eight days 

 apart. Another advantage is, the same number 

 of hands, with the same quantity of labor, will 

 make more silk and do it with less trouble and 

 perplexity, than when the whole crop of worms 

 are of the same age, and all spin at the same time. 

 When silk worms are yoimg, they are extremely 

 small, and require but little room, little food, and 

 little attention. All the food t)iey consume, up to 

 the time they are sixteen days old, would not 

 make more than one meal for them when full 

 grown ; consequently when the whole crop of 

 worms are of the same age, there is at first but 

 little to do ; but for a few of the last days tiiey 

 will eat voraciously, and must all be removed and 

 cleaned frequently, and all set to spinning at the 

 same time. So much to do at the same time cre- 

 ates a hurry and perplexity which must eventuate 

 in a loss for want of time to do all that is required. 

 * * * * When the worms are of different ages', 

 the labor required is more equalized. A part of 

 ihem will constantly be of the age to require 

 considerable attention. But this parcel will be so 

 small, that the bauds will have spare time to 

 attend to the younger parcels. I have certain 

 shelves allotted to each jiarcel during a certain 

 age ; and other shelves exclusively for them to spin 

 on. I begin with the fresh hatched worms, placed 

 on the shelves allotted to worms of that age. 

 After their first moulting I pass them to the shelf 

 allotted to the next age, and again supply the first 

 shelf with fresh hatched worms. In this manner 

 I continue, through the Avhole season, to bring 

 young worms on the first shelves, and pass thorn 

 on until they reach the spinning shelves, from 

 which the cocoons are removed, to make room 

 for the next succeeding i)arcel." 



" Last year I had silk worms constantly in 

 feeding from the 20th of April until after the th20 

 of October." 



We are assured on first rate authority, on that 

 of Gideon B. Smith, Esq., of Baltimore, that Dr 

 Millington is an eminently practical, scientific 

 agriculturist, and has made si:k one of the princi- 

 pal objects of his attention during several years. 

 Mr Smith, from his own experience, "bears testi- 

 mony to all Dr Millington's remarks. And con- 

 eiders his as the very best article which had yet 

 appeared." This was in January, 1829. Dr 

 Millington resides at St Charlcp, in Missouri, about 

 htitude thirtveighl desrecs. 



