No. 24.— 1881.] SERICULTURE IN CEYLON. 139 



prepare and lay down the sets as soon as the nurseries of the 

 mulberry plant are sufficiently stocked to admit of the 

 operations of the planter." 



From Sir J. E. Tennent's "Natural History of Ceylon" I 

 have obtained the following description of the Silk Moths 

 found here : — 



"Among the strictly nocturnal Lepidoptera are some gigantic 

 species. Of these, the cinnamon-eating Atlas often attains the 

 dimensions of nearly a foot in the stretch of its superior wings. 

 It is very common in the gardens about Colombo, and its size, 

 and the transparent talc-like spots in its wings, cannot fail 

 to strike even the most careless saunterer. But little inferior 

 to it in size is the famed Tusseh silk-moth [Anther cea mylltta % 

 Drury,] which feeds on the country almond (Terminalla 

 catappa) and the palma christi or castor-oil plant ; it is easily 

 distinguishable from the Atlas, which has a triangular wing, 

 whilst its is falcated, and the transparent spots are covered 

 with a curious thread-like division drawn across them. 



" Towards the Northern portions of the Island this valuable 

 species entirely displaces the other, owing to the fact that the 

 almond and palma christi abound there. The latter plant 

 springs up spontaneously on every manure-heap or neglected 

 spot of ground ; and might be cultivated, as in India, with 

 great advantage — the leaf to be used as food for the caterpillar, 

 the stalk as fodder for cattle, and the seed for expression of 

 castor oil. The Dutch took advantage of this facility, and gave 

 every encouragement to the cultivation of silk at Jaffna. 



" The Portuguese had made the attempt previous to the arrival 

 of the Dutch, and a strip of land on the banks of the Kelani 

 river, near Colombo, still bears the name of Orta Seda, the silk 

 garden. The attempt of the Dutch to introduce the true silk 

 worm, the Bombyx mori, took place under the Governorship of 



