38 



violently of their foliage. It is, says he, essential 

 that all the leaves should be pulled off, for if any 

 remain on some branches, they attract the sap 

 whilst the naked branches are incompletely 

 nourished. The stripping of the leaves should 

 not be begun before the disappearance of the dew, 

 and ought to be concluded before the setting of 

 the sun. The hand should move from below 

 upwards, in order to avoid pulling off the buds. 



All climbing upon trees must be avoided, and 

 the best way to gather the leaves, it is suggested, 

 would be to use a rolling ladder, which consists 

 of two parts, a wheelbarrow, the legs of which 

 are to be from seven to eight feet long, straight, 

 somewhat projecting beyond the wheel, and 

 connected by four cross sticks; and a ladder six 

 feet long, which is attached to the wheelbarrow 

 by a fourth cross stick ; with this apparatus a sin- 

 gle man is able to carry several bags of leaves. 

 The end to be placed on the ground must be 

 pointed with iron. The bags used in this appara- 

 tus must be hooped, so as to remain open, and 

 ought to have a hook to be hung on the branch- 

 es, and care must be taken that the leaves be not 

 emptied on the ground, it being particularly de- 

 sirable to keep them clear of dust: when con- 

 veyed to the wheelbarrow they should be kept 

 sheltered from the sun. Leaves covered with 

 a taugh viscous matter, the honey dew, as it is 

 called, are injurious to the worms; they must 

 be used only in case of necessity, and not then 

 until they are thoroughly washed and dried. 



If the hedge-form be adopted, as it should be, 

 all the trouble and expense of the rolling ladders, 

 will be rendered wholly unnecessary. But even 

 in that event, lightly constructed wheelbarrows, 

 with deep beds, might very advantageously be 

 substituted for the cart, as a means of transporting 

 the leaves from the Mulberry groves to the labora- 

 tory. 



SUPPLY OF LEAVES. 



Care must always be taken to keep a good sup- 

 ply of leaves pulled and stored away in some cool 

 place, and therefore it is particularly desirable to 

 have a spacious airy cellar under the laboratory 

 where you may deposit three or four days supply 

 of leaves, so as to be prepared against rainy-spells, 

 as it will not do to feed the worms with wet haves 

 A brick or stone pavement would be best. 

 Should it so turn out, from long continued rains, 

 that your supply of dry leaves are exhausted, you 

 must dry those which you may gather wet, be- 

 fore you altempt to feed the worms with them 

 This can be done by putting the leaves on clean 

 cloths on the floor and turning them repeatedly, so 

 as to let the water escape by evaporation and o 

 therwise. But such an occurrence may be always 

 avoided by a judicious exercise of judgment, anc 

 vigilant watching of the signs, of the weather, by 

 prudently having a supply in store. Dusty leaves 

 must not be fed to the worms. 



TIME WHEN THE LEAVES ARE PIT FOR FEEDING. 



It is important that the silk culturist should 

 enow when the leaves will be fit for feeding, in 

 order that he may make the hatching of the eggs 

 of his silk worms to correspond therewith. We 

 will, therefore, remark that generally, the leaves of 

 both the Morus Multicaulis and the Mfirus 

 Alba would be sufficiently forward to be pulled 

 n Maryland about the middle of May, to the 

 vestward a few days later, to the eastward two 

 ,veeks later; and in Virginia (Eastern,) and the 

 states further south, from 15 to 25 days earlier. 



THE LABORATORY OR COCOONERY, &C. 



Having thus fully spoken of the Mulberry tree, 

 and given all the necessary instructions relative 

 to its culture, from the sowing of the seed, until 

 he trees are sufficiently matured to justify the 

 itripping of the foliage for feeding the worms, it 

 would seem proper that we should say something 

 about the construction of a laboratory, or co- 

 coonery, for the accommodation of the worms, 

 and of the necessary fixtures for conveniently 

 carrying on their feeding, the preservation of 

 their health and the profitable employment of 

 their very notable and interesting labors. 



DESCRIPTION OF COUNT DANDOLo's LABORATORY. 



My laboratory, says Count Dandolo, is con- 

 structed to contain twenty ounces of the eggs of 

 silk worms, or to accommodate 800,000 worms. 

 It is 30 feet wide, 77 feet long, 12 feet high 

 in the clear, and when reckoned to the top of the 

 roof, 21 feet high. There are six rows of tables or 

 wicker trays, about 2 feet 6 inches in width 

 each, placed two and two, with four passages be- 

 tween them, each three feet wide. Posts are 

 driven in between the trays, and strips of wood 

 fastened to the posts horizontally, to sup- 

 port the trays, between which there is a space of 

 five inches and a half to allow the air to pass free- 

 ly. 



There are 13 unglazed windows with Vene- 

 tian shutters, outside, and paper window frames 

 inside ; under each window, near the floor, are 

 ventilators, or square apertures of about 13 inch- 

 es that they may be closed by a neatly filled sliding 

 panne!, so as to permit the air to circulate and 

 blow over the floor. When the air is not requir- 

 ed, the paper frames may be closed. The Vene- 

 tian shutters may be opened or shut at will, [or 

 substituted for the common pannel shutter.] 

 When the air is still, and the temperature of the 

 interior and exterior is nearly equal, all the win- 

 dow frames may be opened and the shutters 

 must be closed. 



There are eight ventilators in two lines in the 

 floor and ceiling, placed perpendicularly, opposite 

 to one another, in the centre of the passages be- 

 tween the hurdles or trays. They have sliding 

 pannels made of thick glass to close them, and 

 to admit light from above. As the air of the 

 floor ventilators ascends, and that of the ceiling 



