28 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



AVGIST 1. l83fi. 



ing their precautions, be heaped on each other, they 

 reject the mass altogether as ineligible for their 

 purpose. Afterwards, they preserve tliese ejgs 

 with a thousand precautions, causing the.n to un- 

 dergo various washings and other preparations, be- 

 fore the moment when tlie insect is about to burst 

 into life. 



So great is their ability in managing the educa- 

 tion (if we may so term it) of the silkworm, that 

 they generally contrive that all the insects should 

 come from the eggs in the same day. Here again 

 they reject the precocious and the tardy ones, in 

 order to retain and bring up only those of the mid- 

 dle class. Having procured the fulfilment of this 

 principle of original simultaneousness, they make 

 every exertion to maintain all the phases attendant 

 on the insect's existence. The cleverness of the 

 Chinese is such, as to enable them to reduce the 

 period of these changes, at most, to twentyfive, or 

 even twentythree days : whilst our unskilfulness 

 obliges us to prolong the period to thirty or thirty- 

 five days, to the serious detriment of the silk pro- 

 duced ; for the Chinese have ascertained this im- 

 portant fact to be true, that tlie quantity of silk 

 produced by the worm, is less in proportion to the 

 length of time that it remains in the caterpillar 

 form — the longer it remains, the less is the pro- 

 duce ; and the rapidity of the reduction is enor- 

 mous. To make tliis position clear, let us suppose 

 that a number of worms, which have been devel- 

 oped in twentyfive days, have given twentyfive 

 ounces of silk ; if they remain, through any want 

 of nourishment or necessary care, in the caterpillar 

 state for twentyeight days, the amount of silk pro- 

 duced will not be more than twenty ounces : and 

 should they delay to the thirtieth day, not more 

 than ten ounces will be given. This is not only 

 a very curious fact, but of great importance in a 

 commercial point of view, and well worthy our se- 

 rious attention. The Chinese have been long 

 aware of it ; and hence they deem no care too 

 great which will hasten the birth of the insect. 

 We must also look with admiration on the minijte 

 and delicate attentions with which they regulate 

 the insect throughout. They are particularly cau- 

 tious never to detach the eggs from the papers on 

 which tliey have been deposited, to place them in 

 heaps, as is so unreasonably practised in Franco, 

 [but they leave them tlieir separate station and their 

 hold on the surface, both which are found to be 

 •favorable to a speedy hatching. They also take 

 care never to handle, or even to touch with the 

 end of a pair of pincers, the little worms when they 

 are born, in order to place them on the mulberry 

 leaves : they would fear to run the risk of tainting 

 them. How different is the practice in Europe, 

 where it is quite a matter of daily occurrence to 

 detach the eggs from the paper and place them in 

 heaps : afterwards they are tied up in linen and 

 transported to a distance. May nal this be the 

 cause of those frequent mal-fonnations which appear 

 in the European silk-nurseries, and which occasion 

 such tremendous losses afterwards ? a circumstance 

 be it observed, never seen amongst the Chinese. 

 Their practice is, to gently place on the leaves tlie 

 papers on whicli the worms have come into exist- 

 ence, in order tliat they may of tiiemselves descend 

 and take their food ; nor do they place within their 

 reach entire leaves at first, but little morsels, cut 

 very neatly and scattered through a small sieve, 

 in order that they may be distributed uniformly 

 and in proportion to the number and the age of the 

 worms. The quantity given at each repast is ex- 



ceedingly small ; and the increase is made in the I 

 number of repasts, but never in the mass of food I 

 given at each. The practice, we may remark, is 

 founded on just principles ; and the proofs of its 

 efficiency are soen every day in our farms in this 

 country, where cattle are found to thrive best on 

 small and frequent repasts ; not only because such ' 

 arc most easy of digestion, but because the ani- 

 mals eat more eagerly, and with a better relish, 

 their food, when fresh, than trampled on, or tainted 

 by their breatli, when given in large quantities. 



It would be an endless task to follow the Chi- 

 nese through all their minute details, tlie influence 

 of which, however, must be exceedingly great on 

 the silk produced. Their treatment of the cocoons 



their proceedings with regard to their silk crop — 



and their mode of winding the thread, are exceed- 

 ingly curious. Our limits will not permit us to de- 

 lay much longer ; we shall, therefore, only add an 

 interesting fivct or two before we close. The Chi- 

 nese use two sorts of artificial food for their silk- 

 worm ; one of these is the leaf of a tree called tctie, 

 and a plant which hears the title of Ouo-ktn : these 

 are employed when the mulberry tree has not yet 

 pushed forth its leaves, or when there is a scarcity 

 of them. What these two productions are we have 

 no means of ascertaining ; that they are used 

 throughout China for silkworms is certain, for men- 

 tion is made of them in an old Chinese almanac, 

 apparently intended for the working classes. The 

 iclie tree is also noticed by d'Entrecolles, who de- 

 scribes it as a prickly tree, wluch grew on exposed 

 and lofty situations, and had a fruit like pepper. 

 In the work translated by M. Julien, a rude sketch 

 is given of the tree ; but so vag-ue is the outline, 

 that we are unable to assign it to any particular 

 class. The same incertitude exists as to the Ouo- 

 kin. Rernusat identified it with the wild chicorry ; 

 wliile in the Amanitaies Exotic/B of Kcempler, it is 

 suggested that it resembles our lettuce ; it surely 

 will be worth while to try both plants, and judge 

 by the manner in which the silkworms receive' 

 them. The Chinese also employ, in feeding the 

 worms, mulberry leaves gathered towards the end 

 of the preceding season ; these they dry and re- 

 duce to powder ; and having lightly sprinkled the 

 fresh leaves, they scatter it gently over them. The 

 worms are always found eager to feed on it; and 

 one advantage of it is, that it can be used at all 

 times. Rice is also found to answer. It is first 

 husked and then boiled by steam ; tliis is then 

 ffround, and the flour is given to the worms. A 

 small sort of pea, after being first allowed to ger- 

 minate a little, is also employed ; and all these 

 preparations are said to render the silk stronger 

 and more abundant All these expedients are fa- 

 vorable to the introduction of the silkworm into 

 England, which the Chinese mode of treatment 

 proves to be perfectly practicable. 



The long experience of the Chinese has made 

 them aware of the fact, that the artificial education 

 of silkworms requires a succession of different tem- 

 peratures, suited to the difl'erent changes of tlieir 

 existence ; and that, at the same time, the air which 

 they inhale ought to be constantly purified of their 

 perspiration, their evacuation and the bed of leaves 

 on which they are placed. To effect this, they 

 have found it necessary to erect close buildings, 

 where an artificial increase or diminution of heat 

 can be given when required, ami where fresh air 

 is constantly admitted. They have also discovered 

 that these transitions of temperature must be al- 



most insensible ; and all their skill and ingenuity 

 are taxed to accomplish this desirable object 



The Chinese author enters into a most minute 

 doscrijition of the structure, materials, and situation 

 of a silkworm nursery. He gives an account of 

 the mode of heating it ; and at great length details 

 the form and use of the different instruments and 

 utensils required in the concern. We do not in- 

 tend following him in these details, curious as they 

 certainly are ; we shall only mention one circum- 

 stance connected with the heating of the nursery, 

 which will show to what extent their cares are 

 given. In addition to their scientific modes of 

 maintaining the exact temperature beneficial to 

 the worms, they employ what tliey deem the best 

 indicator of a proper equilibrium, and even superior 

 to a thermometer — tliis is the woman who takes 

 care of the worms, and who is called their mother. 

 This personage is clad in a single thin vestment, 

 in Older that her sensibility to cold or heat may be 

 constantly awakened. These women are consid- 

 ered persons of importance ; and whether from or- 

 ganization or habit, can at once detect the slightest 

 change of temperature. 



It is owing to this judicious use of air and light 

 (which we should have mentioned is particularly 

 dwelt on,) that the Chinese are quite ignorant of 

 those dreadful epidemics caused by mould, which 

 in France makes its appearance on the bodies of 

 the worms, in even the best regulated nurseries. In 

 Italy also it is a matter of notoriety, that a vast 

 quantity of worms perish every year trcra a similar 

 disease : it is to be hoped, that from the present 

 time the evil will be materially diminished. The 

 best plan of a nursery yet tried in France, is one 

 designed and erected by M. Darcet for M. Beau- 

 vais, of whom we have already spoken. This plan 

 is considered, by some cultivators of silkworms, as 

 most efficient; while others declare that it is little 

 superior to a common workshop. The Chinese 

 treatise shows that in many respects it is founded 

 on wrons principles ; and we may soon expect t,o 

 hear that some modifications in its structure have 

 taken place. 



From what we have stated of the contents of the 

 Chinese treatise, it maybe seen that the cultivation 

 of the silkworm is perfectly easy in tliis country. 

 The difference of clunate has been deemed by some 

 scientinc men as an insuperable bar; but this ob- 

 jection is taken away by the work, which estab- 

 lishes the fiict, that the greatest produce of silk in 

 China takes place in the central provinces, lying 

 between 2.5 deg. and 35 deg. of nortli latitude. 

 Thermometrical observations have also proved that 

 the mean temperature of the northern and southern 

 provinces of China diff'ers but little from that of 

 Provence in France, the winters being somewhat 

 more severe, and the summers a little hotter. The 

 work also shows, that Uie cultivation of the silk 

 worm was carried on to an enormous extent in the 

 most northern provinces of China, and we have no 

 reason to suppose thr-t the cultivation has been dis- 

 continued. Nor is it at all necessary that these 

 silkworms should be reared in vast quantities or in 

 large buildings ; if this was necessary, how could 

 the Chinese peasants pay tlieir taxes, which are ge- 

 nerally given in silk? The population of the 

 country being exceedingly great, the land has been 

 for ages divided into very small holdings ; indeed, 

 to this cause only can we attribute the declaration 

 of Barrow and other travellers, that the appearance 

 of.tlie count.y is rather that of a vast collection of 

 ffardens, than that of an agricultural district Tho 



