VII. RECOMMENDATIONS. 



We have seen under the various sections on the different diseases 

 the measures that can be taken to cope with them, and it will be 

 recognized that there is no panacea in sericulture. The problems 

 are those of preventative medicine and as such can be solved only 

 by careful and patient work. There are two great points to be 

 aimed at — (1) the production of sound seed, and (2) the improvement 

 of rearing. Both are equally important, and to attain one with- 

 out attempting the other would give us much less than half the 

 battle. The two should go hand-in-hand. 



At present the only source of supply of reasonably disease- 

 free seed is the Government nursery. As we have seen, the quality 

 of the seed produced in these establishments is remarkably good, 

 and they have in the past done a very valuable service to sericul- 

 ture in India and will, doubtless, continue to do so in the future. 

 I do not think, however, that it is desirable that the operations of 

 the nurseries should be unduly extended. Doubtless, it would 

 never be found profitable to produce all the seed required in any 

 district in Government nurseries, but I am of the opinion that, 

 before extending the nursery system further, an attempt should 

 be made to get the rearers to produce disease-free seed themselves. 

 The reasons for this opinion are simple. While the Government 

 nurseries produce good seed they do not, at present at all events, 

 greatly forward good rearing, and furthermore, as sericulture is 

 eminently a cottage industry, it would be well if seed production 

 could be fostered as such. It would also ultimately probably 

 effect a saving of money to Government if rearers produced disease- 

 free seed themselves. 



Personally, I should like to see the day come when rearers pro- 

 duced all the disease-free seed required in any district, but I fear 

 the idea is too idealistic a one for India. An attempt might, how- 

 ever, be made to induce the better sort of rearer to go in for the 

 thorough disinfection of his house, to take his seed from a Govern- 

 ment nursery and to be a little more generous in spacing and feed- 

 ing his worms. The cocoons thus produced could be confidently 

 sold as high grade seed cocoons. If the practice of taking eggs 

 held in the district, the moths on emerging could be examined and 

 their quality thus assured. If, on the other hand, they were pur- 

 chased as seed cocoons it would be known that they were of a 

 much higher quality than ordinary village stock, and they could 

 thus be sold with a sort of Government guarantee. Indeed, if 

 these rearers could be got to submit to a certain amount of super- 



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