PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 827 



11. Taking everything into consideration, the multivoltine mother- 

 moths of India should be crushed in mortars and pestles as recommended 

 by Pasteur. For easy and rapid detection of pebrine corpuscles the 

 moths should be treated in the following way as practised in some coun- 

 tries. In Japan multivoltine moths are examined with or without 

 drying. In many countries the multivoltine moths are examined with- 

 out drying. 



(a) Fifty or sixty mother-moths are placed on a paper after separa- 

 ting the pairs. The paper is shaken by holding one of ita 

 ends. The moths will excrete liquid so that there will not be 

 much exudation of the colon at the time of crushing them 

 for microscopical examination. Then they are allowed to lay 



(6) The mother moths are then isolated in paper bags on the first 

 night after oviposition at about 80°-95°F. for about four 

 or five days and then dried for three or four hours at about 

 160°-180°F. This will help the multiplication of pebrine 

 corpuscles and the contents of the colon also will be dried 

 up. The number of the bag containing a moth should 

 correspond with the number of the laying oviposited by it 

 so that the eggs laid by each moth can be ascertained. 



(c) The moths are examined on the fifth or sixth day after oviposi- 

 tion after removing the wings. They are thoroughly crushed 

 in glass or forcelain mortars and "pestles with a few drops of 

 5 per cent, solution of caustic potash which dissolves the fat- 

 bodies to a great extent. 



12. The nurseries should sell healthy eggs and not seed cocoons. 

 The industry will be greatly benefited if responsible overseers are sent 

 to each rearing village to examine the moths of all the rearers and pro- 

 fessional cocoon-sellers and allow them to rear the healthy eggs only. 

 The rearers will gladly bring their moths for examination if an arrange- 

 ment is made to examine them in a central place. Instead of producing 

 seed-cocoons on a large scale the energy of the overseers should be diver- 

 ted to this direction. 



It must be conceded, as pointed out by Mr. Hutchinson in his Bulletin 

 No. 75, that after fifty years' practice of the Pasteur method the disease 

 has not been eradicated in France. The Pasteur method has so far 

 only succeeded in controlling the disease. If it is possible to eradicate 

 it altogether such scientific methods as that of Mr. Hutchinson would 

 be a great help to the sericulturist. At present we do not know all 

 that we should know about the origin of the disease and of its other 



