480 



FARMERS' REGISTER— SILKWORM. 



half at farlhest, reckoniii": from the moment when 

 they first bef>;in casting tiie floss. This period will 

 be sliorter, if tlie silk worms spin the silk in a 

 higher temperature tl)an that which lias been indi- 

 cated, and in very dry air. 



It will lie belter not lo take o!T the cocoon be- 

 fore the eighth or ninth day, reckoning from the 

 time when the silk worm first rose. They may 

 be taken off on the seventh, if the laboratories 

 have been conducted with such regularity, that the 

 time may be known with certainty, when this may 

 be done. 



Begin on the lower tier of hurdles, and take the 

 cabins down gently, giving them to those who are 

 to gather the cocoons; place a basket between two 

 of the gatherers, to receive the cocoons; anotiier 

 person should receive (he stripped bushes, which 

 may be laid by for another year. All the cocoons 

 that want a certain consistency, and feel soft, should 

 be laid aside, that they may not be mixed with the 

 better. Empty the baskets upon hurdles or trays 

 placed in rows, and spread the cocoons about four 

 fingers deep, or nearly to the top of the feeding 

 frame. When the cocoons are detached, the down 

 or floss in which the silk worms have formed the 

 cocoon, should be taken off. If the cocoons are 

 for sale, weigh them, and send them to the pur- 

 chaser. The baskets, the floor, and all things 

 used, should be cleaned. 



When gathering the cocoons, make four assort- 

 ments: — 1st. Those designed for breed. 2d. The 

 dupions, or double ones. 3d. The firmest of those 

 which are to be reeled. 4th. Those of a looser tex- 

 ture. 



//. Choosing the Cocoons for the produclion of 



About two ounces of eggs may be saved out of 

 one pound and a half, of male and female cocoons. 



The small cocoons of a straw color, with hard 

 ends, and fine welis, and which are a little depress- 

 ed in the middle, as if tightened by a ling or cir- 

 cle, are to be preferred. There are no certain signs 

 to distinguish the male from the female cocoons : 

 the best known are the following : 



The small cocoons sharper at one, or both ends, 

 and depressed in the middle, generally produce the 

 jnale. The round full cocoons without ringorde- 

 pression in the middle, usually contain the female. 



These may be distinguished from the dupions by 

 the extra size, the clumsy shape, rather round 

 than oval, of the latter. As, however, all marks 

 may fiiil, an extra number may be kept, of the 

 best of those which are spun double,and when the 

 moths come out, the males and females being easi- 

 ly distinguished, an addition can be made from 

 tliem to the defective side. 



By shaking the cocoon close to the ear, we may 

 generally ascertain whether the chrysalis be alive. 

 If it be dead, and loosened from the cocoon, it 

 yields a sharp sound. When [not] dead, it yields 

 a muffled sound, and is more confined in the co- 

 coon. 



///. Preservation of Cocoons intended for Seed, or 

 until the appearance of the Moth. 

 Experience shows that where the temperature 

 of the room is above 73°, the transition of the 

 chrysalis to the moth state would be too rapid, and 

 the coupling will not be productive ; if below 66°, 

 the developement of the moth is tardy, which is 

 also injurious. Damp air will change it into a 



weak and sickly moth ; the apartment should 

 therefore kept in an even dry temperature, between 

 66° and 73°. When collected, spread the cocoons 

 on a dry floor, or on fables, and strip them clean of 

 down or floss, lo prevent the feet of the moth being 

 entangled in it when coming out. While cleaning 

 them, all those that appear to have any defect 

 should be laid aside; this is the time, also to sepa- 

 rate the male and female cocoons, as far as we can 

 distinguish them. 



Select an equal number of males and females, 

 and keep the cocoons of the same day's mounting 

 separate, that the moths may pierce them at the 

 same time. If the good cocoons taken from the 

 whole parcel, are all first mixed, and the selection 

 for those intended for breedmg, be made from this 

 general heaj), many will beset aside, which were 

 formed by worms that had mounted upon different 

 days, and which will be pierced by the moths une- 

 qually, and hence there will not be an equal num- 

 ber of males and females i)roduced at the same 

 time ; this irregular appearance may cause the 

 loss of a great many moths, or of several thousand 

 eggs. 



When the selection has been made, the sorted 

 cocoons must be put on tables, in layers of about 

 two inches, allowing the air to pass freely through 

 them, that it may not be necessary to stir them 

 frequently; but it is beneficial to stir them round 

 once a day, if the air be moist. When the seed 

 cocoons are not very numerous, they may be 

 strung upon threads, and hung against a wall, or 

 suspended fi-om abeam. Just so much of the mid- 

 dle of the cocoon is to be pierced with a needle as 

 is sufficient to attach it to the thread. The mid- 

 dle is chosen, because it cannot be ascertained at 

 which end the moth will pierce the cocoon. Place 

 a male and female cocoon alternately upon the 

 thread, that they may be near each other when 

 they come out. 



If the heat of the apartment is above 73°, every 

 method of diminishing the heat should be tried: 

 such as keeping all the apertures to the sunny side 

 carefully closed, to cause thorough drafts of air to 

 dry the humidity that exhales from the chrysa- 

 lides. Should the temperature rise to 78° or 82°, 

 the cocoons must be put in a cooler place, as a dry 

 cellar. 



Seventh j^ge of the Silk TJ'orvi. 



The seventh, and the last age of the silk worm, 

 comprises the entire life of the moth. 



Tlie formation of the moth, and its disposition 

 to issue from the cocoon, may be ascertained when 

 one of its extremities is perceived to be wet, 

 which is the part occupied by the head of the 

 moth. A few hours after, and sometimes in one 

 hour after, the moth will pierce the cocoon and 

 come out ; occasionally the cocoon is so hard, and 

 so wound in silk, that the moth in vain strives to 

 come forth, and dies in the cocoon. Sometimes the 

 female deposits some eggs in the cocoon befoi'e she 

 can get out, and often perishes in it; this circum- 

 stance has induced some to extract the chrysalis 

 from the cocoon by cutting it, that the moth may 

 have only to pierce its thin envelope; but the ex- 

 perienced Dandolo disapproves of the practice (al- 

 though he has performed the operation with suc- 

 cess,) because it is tedious; and should the moth 

 be put on a plain surface, five in a hundred will 

 not be able to get out, but will drag the envelope 



