THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 91 



which appear to be spotted should at once be removed from 

 the others, as doubtless a dark spot would betray the 

 presence either of the uji egg or larva. If the silkworms thus 

 affected were kept together apart from the healthy ones, 

 there would be no difficulty in knowing whether a cocoon 

 contained a diseased pupa or not ; and this would save 

 many good cocoons which are now opened to see what per- 

 centage of uji exists in any given quantity. 



The uji, too, should be watched through all its stages 

 until the fly emerges, and thus the Japanese would identify 

 their enemy when in its perfect condition, and be able to 

 destroy them when caught. 



There are two points which require explanation. First, it 

 appears that if two moths are in copula more than eight 

 hours (from 6 A. M. to 2 P. M.) they are forcibly separated. 

 This strikes me as unwise, as a risk is run not only of 

 injuring the female, but also that all the eggs she may lay 

 will not be fertilized. Second, that *' in the dead of winter 

 the card (of eggs) are steeped for one night in cold water, 

 and on the following morning they are taken out and dried. 

 This process is called sarashi, or the bleaching process. In 

 this bleaching process the eggs of bad quality perish and do 

 not become worms, while the good ones resist it and live. 

 The object of it is to separate the worms that should die 

 from the worms that should live." Admitted the object, 

 might it not be attained in a more profitable manner by 

 waiting for the eggs to hatch, and then separating the strong 

 from the weak larvae ? for if the cold water kills those that 

 are weak, it would, I think, tend to weaken those which 

 survive ; at any rate it would do them no good. 



An entomologist would doubtless be able to suggest 

 improvements in this part of the breeding also. 



A. B. Farn. 



The Army Worm, * 



Previous to the year 1861 but very little knowledge had 

 been acquired respecting the habits of the army worm, and 

 nothing whatever of a scientific nature had been published. 



* From the 'American State Entomologist,' p. 47. 



