The Zoologist— June, 1868. 1237 



obliged to chase them all the day long, as when pursuing them on one 

 side they would fly to the other and quietly feed, until I again 

 reappeared. Thus, besides the insect enemies enumerated above, 

 many of the caterpillars fell a prey to the birds. 



Rearing Larvae under a Shade. — This year I made a shade open on 

 all sides, protected by a roof to keep out the hot rays of the sun, and 

 boards were arranged so that they could be raised up from the roof to 

 give more light when the sun was behind the clouds, and also at 

 morning, evening and at night: this shade had a very fine net around 

 it, so that it was impossible for the birds to get through the meshes. 

 In this way an oak branch can be kept fresh for four or five days : a 

 branch is placed in every two holes, so as to leave a vacant one 

 between any two branches. When the foliage of one branch is nearly 

 eaten up a fresh one is put into the vacant hole, and small twigs, 

 going from the old branch to the fresh one, are placed so that the 

 worms can cross upon it without descending upon the table. When 

 the worms are al|ached, for the purpose of moulting, they should not 

 be disturbed or taken away from the place where they are, as they 

 could not so easily change their skin. Three times a day the excre- 

 ments should be swept from the table. In warm days some water 

 should be sprinkled with a watering-pot upon the leaves, as the worms 

 are fond of drinking water. The worms should be handled as little as 

 possible, and only when it is absolutely necessary. The space that 

 remains open between the branch and the table should be filled with 

 paper or hay, so that the larvae may not crawl under the table, as 

 they would be drowned in the water contained in the bottle. For 

 cultivating silkworms upon a large scale it would be very well to 

 select a place with a brook running through it, as the water could be 

 made to flow under the table, in reservoirs, where the branches could 

 always dip in fresh water : as the water put in the bottles is soon 

 corrupted, and the branches absorb much of it, they need to be filled 

 up several times a clay. When a cocoon is well begun, the best way 

 will be to separate from the branch the twig and leaves between which 

 it is built, so that other worms will not disturb the larvae working 

 inside : this cocoon should be placed upon lines stretched for that 

 purpose in a special room, where the sun cannot reach it: ten or 

 twelve days after they will be completed, and may be placed in 

 baskets, and kept as I have indicated above. Some experiments made 

 on our silk-worm show how hardy it is, being the easiest of all the 

 silk-worms to take care of. Chrysalids were put into a tin box, which 



