no Silk Manufacture. 



Chinese in the artificial rearing of silk worms. One of their 

 principal cares is to prevent the too early hatching of the 

 eggs, to which the nature of the climate so strongly disposes 

 them. The mode of ensuring the requisite delay is, to cause 

 the moth to deposit her eggs on large sheets of paper: these, 

 immediately on their production, are suspended to a beam of 

 the room, and the windows are opened to expose them to the 

 air. In a few days the papers arc taken down and rolled up 

 loosely with the eggs within-side, in which form they are hung 

 again during the remainder of the summer and through the 

 autumn. Towards the end of the year they are immersed in 

 cold water wherein a small portion of salt has been dissolved. 

 In this state the eggs are left during tWo days ; and on being 

 taken from the salt and water are first hung to dry, and are 

 then rolled up rather more tightly than before, each sheet 

 of paper being thereafter inclosed in a separate earthen vessel. 

 Some persons, who are exceedingly particular in their pro- 

 cesses, use a ley made of mulberry tree ashes, and place the 

 eggs likewise, during some minutes, on snow water, or other- 

 wise on a mulberry tree exposed to snow or rain. 



'These processes appear efficacious for checking the hatch- 

 ing, until the expanding leaves of the mulberry tree give no- 

 tice to the rearer of silk worms, that he may take measures for 

 bringing forth his brood. For this purpose the rolls of paper 

 are taken from the earthen vessels, and are hung up towards 

 the sun, the side to which the eggs adhere being turned from 

 its rays, which are transmitted to them through the paper. In 

 the evening the sheets are rolled closely up and placed in a 

 warm situation. The same proceeding is repeated on the 

 following day, when the eggs assume a grayish color. On 

 the evening of the third day, after a similar exposure, they 

 are found to be of a much darker color, nearly approaching to 

 black ; and the following morning, on the paper being un- 

 rolled, they are seen covered with worms. In the higher lati- 

 tudes the Chinese have recourse to the heat of stoves, to pro- 

 mote the simultaneous hatching of eggs. 



' The apartments in which the worms are kept stand in dry 

 situations, in a pure atmosphere, and apart from all noise, 

 which is thought to be annoying to the worms, and especially 

 when they are young. The rooms are made very close, but 

 adequate means of ventilation are provided : the doors open to 

 the south. Each chamber is provided with nine or ten rows 

 of frames, placed one above the other. On these frames rush 

 hurdles are ranged, upon which the worms are fed through all 

 their five ages. A uniform degree of heat is constantly pre- 



