200 Indian Economic Entomology. [Vol. I. 



night, and in spite of the most strenuous exertions, hy the morning of the third day 

 there was literally not a leaf left throughout the whole area. 



" The caterpillars varied in size from 1 to 3 inches, and in colour from grey to 

 black, the smaller (younger) ones being grey and the larger ones black 



" The supply of castor leaves having thus failed, the worms had to be fed upon the 

 leaves of the ' Keenchor,' 'Juan,' and ' Tenghan-Jang ' trees (Mikir names), and 

 they did well until just before they were ready to spin their cocoons, when almost 

 all of them displayed the following symptons : they stretched back their heads and 

 necks, ' reached ' several times, and with a good deal of difficulty vomited a thick 

 shiny fluid (of a dirty white colour), their bodies becoming quite limp and flaccid; they 

 either fell from the leaves on which they had been feeding or remained hanging caught 

 on some projection. Decomposition was exceedingly rapid, the diseased worms, almost 

 before death, emitting a most horrible putrid smell. 



" The other 100,000 worms, which had been fed from the commencement on 

 ' Keenchor ' leaves and were in a different house, and attended by separate coolies, at 

 almost the same time showed signs of this same disease, and almost all thew orms were 

 dead in two days ; they were also commencing to spin their cocoons when attacked. 



" The 200,000 worms thus, instead of yielding about 200 lb of pierced cocoons, 

 yielded only 17 To. 



" The disease in its symptoms resembled ' Flacherie ' as described by M. Pasteur, 

 but as I have not at present got a microscope of sufficient power, I cannot make sure. 



" Every means was taken to check the epidemic, the sick worms removed as noticed 

 and the healthy ones removed to other clean houses, but without result, as the disease 

 a^ain and again broke out. M. Pasteur says of Flacherie: — 'La flacherie est eminem- 

 ment contagieuse ; de meme que la pebrine, elle peut etre hereditaire ou accidentelle (in 

 this case it was not hereditary) ; elle a diverses causes, une trop grande accumula- 

 tion des vers a leur differents ages, une temperature trop eleven au moment des muses, 

 une aeration insuffisante, un temps dechangement atmospberique, l'emploi d'une feuille 

 mouillee par le brouillard ou par larosee, une feuille tres dure succedante a. une feuille 

 plus disgestive.' 



" This last cause might have been the reason of the worms formerly fed on castor 

 and afterwards on ' Keenchor ' leaves dying, but the disease broke out almost simul- 

 taneously in the house containing worms which had from the commencement been fed 

 on Keenchor leaves. 



" The houses were quite open round the sides, well ventilated, and kept scrupulously 

 clean, the worms were not crowded. 



" The hill tribes round here (Mikir Kookies, &c.) who cultivate the Eri worm 

 inform me that this disease occurs occasionally, but at intervals of years." 



Sometime before his death the late Mr. Otto Moller of Darjiling sent 

 Wild silk-moths iu down a series of leaves of Sikkim plants upon 

 Sikkim. which he had found the caterpillars of various 



species of wild silk-moths feeding. He also sent some short notes on the 

 habits of the insects. Dr. D. Pram, of the Botanical Gardens, Sibpur, 

 kindly identified the plants, and it was intended to incorporate the 

 results in the general account of Indian Saturniidae and Bombycidae, 

 for which the writer was collecting materials. Pressure of other work 

 has since made it necessary to abandon the idea of writing this geueral 

 account, but as the notes are of interest they are given below. 



