THE SILK WORM. 63 



CURING COCOONS. 



The next thing in order, is the preservation of the 

 cocoons ; for unless they are well cured and preserv- 

 ed, they will be reeled with difficulty and furnish but 

 a small quantity of a very inferior quality of silk. 

 We have seen several lots of cocoons, the present sea- 

 son, that did not yield silk enough to pay the expense 

 of reeling, on account of the manner in which they 

 had been cured and preserved. 



To preserve them, however, care, rather than skill, 

 is necessary. After the Worm is destroyed, they 

 ought to be spread in thin layers, on shelves, distri- 

 buted into as many stories as the room, in which they 

 are cured, will admit, say two or three feet apart, one 

 above another, and turned every day. If they are 

 spread too thick and left unstirred, they will be liable 

 to mould, and be destroyed by moths. Cocoons put 

 up damp and in large quantities, will contract addi- 

 tional moisture, and throw out an offensive odour, 

 and in that condition are not worth reeling. Persons 

 who intend to have good cocoons, and obtain a good 

 price for them, should be particularly careful that they 

 be preserved in good order. 



TRANSPORTING COCOONS. 



If the culturist disposes of the product of his Worm* 

 in the cocoon, as he ought always to do until he ac- 

 quires the skill of reeling it well^ he ought to take es- 

 pecial care that they be not damaged while on their 

 way to the factory. As silk may be all but ruined in 

 reeling, so cocoons may be much injured in transport- 

 ing them to market. To avoid this, care should b 



