siiK. 189 



domestic Bombyces and by the -wild TheopMla. TJieopJdla Huttoni 

 is abundant in the North-Wes.t Himalayas, but Mr. Cotes says,: 

 " It has not been found possible to rear the worms successfully in 

 captivity, and the silk is not made use of commercially at present. 

 The worm is bivoltine in Mussoorie." The name of the group is 

 misleading, as several species feed on other Urticaceous plants : 

 thus T. religiosa, ihejori of Assam and deo-mooga of Cachar, lives 

 on Ficus hengalensis and religiosa. 



II. — The Atlas oe Ebi geoup, comprising the genus Attacus. 

 A. Atlas is found in many parts of the empire feeding on a variety 

 of trees. It is not cultivated, but its silk, when procurable, is 

 highly prized. The eri silk, possessing little lustre and not capable 

 of bein^ reeled, but extremely durable when woven, is produced 

 by A. Ricini, which is entirely domesticated. 



Ill-— The Actias geoup. — A. Selene is found in many parts of 

 India on Pieris ovali/olia, Coriara nepalensis, cherry, walnut, Odina 

 Wodier, &c. Mr. Cotes says that no use is made of its silk. 



IV. — The tussee and mooga group, comprising the large genus 

 Antheroia. The two most important species, and indeed the most 

 important of the wild silk-producing moths of India, are the tusser 

 {A. Mylitta) and the mooga {A.'Assama). The former is bivoltine, 

 the latter multivoltine, the first and last crops being most produc- 

 tive as well as of the highest quality. Both are largely reared in the 

 open air, the tusser chiefly in the Central Provinces and in Chhota 

 Nagpur on various trees, the principal of which are Terminalia 

 tomentosa and Arjuna, Lagerstrcemia indica, Carissa Carandas, and 

 Zieyphus Jujvba, the mooga in Assam on Machilus odoratissima 

 and Tetranthera monopetala. The trees have to be pollarded both 

 for convenience and to produce a good crop of leaves. 24 lbs. of 

 mooga silk per acre, valued at Es. 110 to 130, is a good outturn. 

 The expense of rearing is trifling. The cocoons of both the tusser 

 and mooga worms caii be reeled and yield a valuable silk, that of 

 the former being remarkable for its strength and durability and 

 consisting of tape-like, not the usually cylindrical, filaments. 



V. — A MISCELLANEOUS GEOUP, including Ehodia Newera, found 

 in Sikkim and Nepal, and Cricula trifenestrata, or the mango silk- 

 worm, distributed in most parts of the empire. The silk of the 

 former is not used, while that of the latter cannot be reeled and 

 is not of much value. 



The Inland Trade Returns for 1888-89 for India proper show a 

 trade in home-produced raw silk valued at nearly 2 crores of rupees. 

 The trade in silk fabrics, independently of a large local consump- 

 tion, showed the figure of 60 lakhs. 



