REARING SILKWORMS. 25 



When the worms are fed with cut leaves, the 

 trays should be emptied of all refuse leaves, and 

 well aired every day or every other day, if the 

 weather be very dry and clear. The waste mat- 

 ter, if left, is very apt to sour, and such a condi- 

 tion will surely affect the worms unfavorably. 

 Too much care caginot be given to cleanliness in 

 every department of the cocoonery. 



The second molt brings the worms to the third 

 age. They undergo the same period of inactivity. 

 It is more noticeable how soft and limp they are 

 after the change, but they very soon " fill up," 

 and during this age they measure from 1 to 1^ 

 inches in length. Each successive molt seems 

 to affect the worms more and more seriously, and 

 they are more slow in recovering from the effect 

 of what, in some countries, is called their sick- 

 nesses. Their long fast, and the extra exertion 

 of casting their skins, is a severe drain on their 

 vitality, which it requires a little time to recover. 



The third rnolt comes on in five or six days 

 more.. In this the fourth age they seem to grow 

 more rapidly than before. They eat very freely, 

 and," too, of more mature leaves. In this age 

 they should be fed very freely. The branches, 

 fresh and clean, should be laid on every three or 

 four hours. Indeed, they~should never be left 

 without fresh food all day. A feed at ten or 

 eleven o'clock at night, and another between mid- 



