26 



It is difficult to obtain reliable statistics as to the amount of 

 silk produced by each worm. The commonly accepted idea is, 

 however, that from 4,000 to 5,000 worms produce 1 seer (2 Ibs.) 

 of silk, the value of which varies from 6 rupees to 15 rupees. A 

 " dhoti," 18 feet long by 3 feet broad, is worth from rupees 12 to 

 rupees 20, the price varying with the excellence of the silk and of 

 the manufacture. Breeding cocoons are generally sold at rupees 2 

 per 1,000. The silk is of a yellowish colour. 



Pat, or Pat Pooloo (Bomtyx mart). This is identical with the 

 mulberry worm of Bengal. It is never found wild in Assam, 

 and is cultivated entirely indoors. Its produce is white and 

 highly esteemed ; formerly indeed its use was restricted to royalty, 

 and now only the "Jogi" caste raise it. Its culture is as 

 follows : The cocoons selected for breeding are kept in a loosely 

 tied cloth so that air can reach them, and put in a quiet, clean 

 place. In some twenty or twenty-five days (more or less, according 

 to the weather) the moths emerge and are left together a short 

 time, and are then removed either to slender sticks of bamboo, 

 or to pieces of cloth, where the females are tied by the wings 

 with thread. In a short time they lay, and the eggs, if laid on 

 cloth, are carefully packed up as they are ; and if on pieces of 

 bamboo are not touched for some days, and then are removed to 

 earthen pots or bamboo baskets, and kept with care till the 

 hatching season, which in Upper Assam is generally the end of 

 December, and in Lower Assam the end of January. The eggs 

 are then taken out and exposed to the air ; and as soon as the 

 young worms appear they are placed on round shallow bamboo 

 trays, which are sometimes lined with cloth, and fed with tender 

 mulberry leaves (the "rioonee" tree). The cultivators are 

 particularly careful that the place where the worms are kept is 

 very clean and free from all obnoxious smells. Dirt of any kind 

 is supposed to be fatal to them. The worms are sorted after six 

 or seven days, the larger being separated from the smaller ; and 

 the size of the leaves given to them is gradually increased as the 

 worms grow. When the worms evince disinclination to eat they 

 are removed either to bundles of clean, dry leaves, or to bamboo 

 trays with matting divisions about 2 inches apart, where they 

 spin their cocoons, which they complete in five or six days. 



The duration of the breed may be taken roughly as follows : 



From the hatching of the egg to commencing 



the cocoon ... ... ... ... ... 30 or 40 days. 



In the chrysalis state 10 to 20 



As a moth 3 or 4 



From the laying to the hatching of the egg, about ten months, 

 or altogether one year. The cocoons required for use are put 

 in the sun three or four days, and then boiled in a solution of 

 potash obtained from the stalks of rice plants. The silk is worth 



