REPORT ON THE DISEASES OP SILKWORMS IN INDIA Qg 



vision, Government might even buy their stock and resell it to the 

 rearers or at all events guarantee the man a good price, for we 

 have seen that examined seed reared in good surroundings picks 

 up little or no disease. The scheme is merely that of the " selected 

 rearer " — a scheme which has already been tried but which has 

 not so far proved a great success. I admit that it is beset with 

 difficulties and opens avenues to dishonesty, but I think it should 

 be tried on a small scale at all events, for I feel that only by en- 

 couraging good rearing can we really hope to advance very much. 

 The seed producer is the best and probably the most intelligent 

 rearer, so that by concentrating on him it will be found if any 

 improvement is to be expected. The details of any attempt along 

 this line will, of course, have to be worked out locally, as customs 

 and habits differ so from province to province. The idea is, how- 

 ever, to help and encourage the best type of rearer to produce 

 seed of such a high grade quality that other rearers seeing th's 

 may strive to improve themselves too. 



It will probably, however, be found a very difficult task to con- 

 vince any adult rearer that his methods are capable of improve* 

 ment, so that it may be found most profitable to try to influence 

 the children. In order to do this schools might be attached to 

 certain nurseries where in addition to a little elementary education 

 a good deal of instruction in sericulture might be given. By the 

 employment of models and pictures the life-history of silkworms 

 and the diseases to which they are subject might be made really 

 interesting and impressive, and one or two simple feeding experi- 

 ments could be made to demonstrate to the dullest the dangers 

 of disease and bad rearing. 



Having trained children in schools it would be fatal to allow 

 them to slip back into the bad practices of the villages, so that 

 some means of helping the pupils afterwards should be devised. 

 Here the selected rearer might be useful. While probably he 

 would object to showing his methods to outsiders, he could be held 

 up as an example of what improved methods led to, and if he 

 were getting a higher price for his cocoons and a surer yield, it 

 might be a strong argument for improvement in others. Further, 

 some touring might be done by the Government sericultural officers 

 among the villages round their nurseries and help and advice could 

 thus be given. 



I am very doubtful if the village rearers will ever be capable 

 of examining the moths for seed selection microscopically. The 

 work is not difficult but it demands qualities that I do not believe 

 they possess. Besides, the price of microscopes is such that they 

 could not afford to purchase them and Government could certainly; 



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