THE TECHNOLOGIST. [March 1, 1864. 



354 SERICULTURE IN OUDH. 



district of Gonda, to whom T had the previous year given about 200 

 cuttings of the mulberry plant. I told him to put the eggs in a small 

 bottle, and wrap it in a piece of rag to be kept wet, until he got to his 

 village. This arrangement was intended to keep the temperature of the 

 bottle low, in order to prevent the eggs from hatching on the road. It 

 appears to have answered admirably. 



His mulberries, on arrival, had not begun to bud yet, as it was early 

 in the season. With difficulty and 'perseverance he hunted about for 

 mulberry trees, and found some about two kos from his village. From 

 these he fed his worms until his own mulberries bore leaves. He stuck 

 long pegs into the wall of his hut, and placed on them trays made of 

 slrkee, on which he fed his worms. At the time I gave him the eggs I 

 never thought he would be successful in rearing them ; but, to my 

 astonishment, he one day brought me a lot of cocoons, the majority of 

 which were in every respect as good as mine. Another lot which he 

 brought me later, on account of the heat, were not so good. 



There can be no doubt as to his having actually reared them, as he 

 possesses certificates to that effect from several lumberdars who saw 

 them ; and Captain Boss one day saw some of the worms in his 

 cutcherry at Gonda, which the villager had taken to show him. This 

 man was with me for about a month during the time I was carrying on 

 a small experiment with the China silkworms. He took great interest 

 in the business, and I was therefore induced to let him try his hand at 

 the Cashmere worm unassisted. For his successfully rearing these silk- 

 worms under difficulties, the Chief Commissioner has been pleased to 

 grant him a reward of 20 rupees. I consider this villager's success the 

 most interesting portion of my experiments, and it is certain to do a 

 great deal in spreading the culture of silkworms among natives. 



Lastly, I made a totally different experiment with the Cashmere 

 worms. I placed about 1,000 of them, about a week old, on mulberry 

 plants in the open air, but after a few days not one of them was left. 

 The worms, having been for many generations, fed upon trays, appear 

 to have lost, to a great extent, the use of their muscles, as the shaking 

 of the trees by the wind knocked them off quite easily ; they had not 

 the power to hold on, and very few of them attempted to creep under 

 the leaves to avoid the heat of the sun. A boy scared away birds and 

 insects from the trees. However, if a few trees are planted in a sheltered 

 place and protected from the sun, a number of worms may be success- 

 fully reared in the open air, from which a hardy race of worms may be 

 bred. If at the same time selection and hybridization are brought into 

 play, some wonderful results may be obtained. 



With regard to the kind of leaf I used for feeding the silkworms, I 

 am of opinion that the China mulberry, with large and crumpled leaf, 

 is the best for the first stage of the worms. They eat it greedily, while 

 at that stage they do not appear to care much about the other kinds, 

 although of course they eat them when they have no other choice. 



