THE SILK WORM. 6l 



a basket between two of the gatherers, to receive the 

 cocoons. Another person may receive the stripped 

 bushes, which may be laid by for another year's use. 



PRESERVING EGGS. 



The cocoons selected for seed should be firm and 

 of the largest size. After having stripped the floss 

 from them, they should be strung together and hung 

 up in a warm airy room or chamber, partially darken- 

 ed. In about two weeks from winding, the moths 

 will emerge from the cocoons. The male is known 

 by its smaller size and continual fluttering of its wings. 

 After having been paired and remained together dur- 

 ing the day, they should be separated by the wings 

 and the females placed upon sheets of paper where 

 they will deposit their eggs. It is computed that one 

 hundred females will produce an ounce of eggs and 

 an ounce of eggs will produce forty thousand Silk 

 Worms. The papers on which the eggs are depos- 

 ited, should be rolled up and put in tight boxes and 

 placed in a cool dry cellar where they will not freeze. 

 If it is required to keep them late in the season for a 

 second crop, it may be necessary to have recource to 

 the ice house. 



STIFLING THE WORM. 



The next step in the process, is to stifle the Worm 

 in such cocoons as are intended for sale, or reeling. 

 If this is omitted, the Worm will, in a week or two, 

 eat out of the cocoon, which will destroy it. The 

 Worms may be stifled in various ways, but the most 

 convenient method is to expose them to the rays of 

 the sun. Three or four hot days exposure in this 

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