SiLK-WoEM Gut. 219 



kidneyTshaped spot, shaded more or less with red, and mar- 

 gined with black, near the middle of each wing. A red 

 band, edged on the inside with white, crosses the wings 

 near the middle. The outer edges of the wings are pale 

 silky brown, through' which runs an irregular black line on 

 the fore wings, and a double broken band on the hind ones. 

 The base of the fore wings is dull red, with a curved white 

 and black line, and near their apex is a black eye-spot with 

 a bluish crescent in it, and a shade of lilac above. 



The American silk-worm, Telea polyphemus, is our best 

 native silk-producing species. Each female lays from two 

 to three hundred eggs, which are about one-sixteenth of an 

 inch in diameter, slightly convex on the top and bottom, 

 the convex portions whitish, and the nearly cylindrical sides 

 brown. These hatch in from ten to twelve days. The 

 caterpillar feeds on the leaves of oak, elm, etc., and when 

 full-grown is over three inches long, of a light-green color, 

 with seven oblique yellow lines on each side, and the tuber- 

 cles on the segments orange with a silvery spot on the 

 middle. The last segment is bordered by a purplish brown 

 V-shaped mark. It spins a whitish oval cocoon, which 

 often falls to the ground, where the insect remains during 

 the winter in the pupa state. 



Those especially interested are referred to the articles of 

 Mr. Trouvelot, "American Naturalist," 1867, for his expe- 

 rience and methods of obtaining the silk, and in rear- 

 ing the American silk-worms. 



Leaders, or Casting Lines. 



The silk-worm gut imported into the United States, and 



used for leaders and snells, is usually in short lengths of 



from twelve to fifteen inches. In forming leaders, these 



are knotted together to the desired length. There are 



