810 riiOCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 



microscopical examination of its juice after thoroiiglily crushing it in a 

 mortar and pestle. If pebrine spores are found in the juice then the eggs 

 laid by the moth should be destro3^ed but if no pebrine spores are seen 

 in the juice the eggs of that moth should be kept for reproduction. 

 This is the " pasteur cellular method." This method is generally 

 practised throughout the world for examination purposes both for univol- 

 tine and multivoltine races. The other method recommended is " the 

 The Italian method, double Zero of Italy." In this method both the male and female moths 

 are pounded together for microscopical examination and the eggs laid 

 by the mother-moth are thrown away if the juice contains pebrine 

 corpuscles. It should be noted that the male parent caimot transmit 

 the disease to the embryo and it is considered not advisable to examine 

 the father-moth as the price of the eggS becomes more expensive, 

 because eggs of healthy mothers but pebrinized fathers also are thrown 

 away. 



The Industrial Methods. 

 Different methods are adopted in different countries as they are less 

 tedious and less expensive than the above two methods. 



1. About 500 or more mother- moths are kept on a piece of paper 

 for depositing eggs. Forty or fifty moths out of this whole lot are 

 examined and if less than 5 per cent, of them are pebrinized the eggs 

 are kept for rearmg and the cocoons obtained from these eggs are sold 

 for reeling and not used for reproductive purposes. 



2. About 100 mother-moths are allowed to oviposit on a paper and 

 the moths are destroyed when the deposition is over. The paper con- 

 taining the eggs is rubbed off with the fingers when a certain number 

 of loose eggs is dropped from the paper and 50 of these eggs are taken 

 and crushed separately in 10 lots under mortars and pestles. Their 

 juice is then examined under a microscope. If pebrine corpuscles are 

 seen in more than 5 per cent, of these lots then all the eggs of the paper 

 are destroyed but thejr are kept for rearing if pebrine corpuscles are 

 not found in five or less than five of these lots. The cocoonS obtained 

 from these eggs are generally not kept for reproductive purposes. 



3. Sometimes eggs laid by moths, the mothers or grand-mothers 

 of which have been found free of pebrine, are distributed for industrial 

 rearing. Industrial eggs contain pebrine spores and they are not always 

 Safe to rear. 



4. In the Government nurseries of Bengal a modified system of 

 mgtijod. Pasteur has been recommended by TVIr. N. G. Mukerji. Instead of 



crushing the mother-moths in mortars and pestles he has advised to 

 crush them in paper as it is " less expensive." Now pebrine corpuscles 



