SILK. 



277 



wear them in tlieir bosoms, as obsen^ed before, to batch it. 

 The French are in the habit of scraping the seed off from the 

 cloth, and by wetting, slightly, the back of the cloth, it 

 will come off easy, and without injury ; they put it up^ theny 

 in small bags ; whether it is scraped from, or left on the 

 cloth, it should be packed carefully, and preserved over the 

 winter, in a drij place, where it does not freeze^ and where it 

 is not too hot ; if it should freeze, the principle of life would 

 be destroyed, and if it should be too warm, the seed would 

 start for hatching, and would be lost ; one hundred pair of 

 cocoons will weigh about one pound, and give about one 

 ounce of seed. 



Persons who intend to make a business of raising silk 

 should raise their own seed ; it is too important a part of 

 the concern to intrust to ^strangers ; they should pay the 

 most particular attention to the choice of the cocoons, which 

 they select for seed, and to the preservation of that seed 

 through the winter. The French use stoves to warm occa- 

 sionally the rooms, where the worms are reared, and thus 

 secure them against any unexpected return of cold weather, 

 and perhaps it may be requisite to use that caution in such 

 parts of New England, as are much to the north or west of 

 Boston ; in its neighbourhood, and farther south, we be- 

 lieve that it would not be necessary, and that the only cau 

 tion requisite, would be the closing of doors and windows, 

 whenever a sudden change in the weather might require 

 it. We have observed before, that hot weather is favour- 

 able for the worms, and they can bear it to a high degree, 

 provided it is not sultry and close ; on that account, the 

 room where they are kept should be so situated, and the 

 windov^s so arranged, that there may be at any time a 

 thorough draft, when wanted, so as to prevent that dead- 

 ness of air, and unpleasant smell, which would greatly en- 

 danger the health and lives of the worms ; in extreme cases 

 of sultriness, the French are in the habit of burning a small 

 quantity of nitre, in an earthen ware dish, which greatly 

 improves the atmosphere of the premises ; it may also an- 

 swer a good purpose^ in such cases, to heat a brick or a 

 stone, and throw on it some vinegar. 



Respecting the hatching, from the information we have 

 obtained of individuals v, ho have attended to that business 

 in our country, nothing is required, v/hen the proper time 

 comes, but to place the seed in a warmer room, but not to 

 the sun, and it will hatch naturally in the course of a short 

 time ; it will take several days, and a longer time than when 

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