THE 
Vol. IX. 
COLOMBO, JUNE 2ND, 1890 
No. 12 
THE SILKWORMS OP INDIA AND 
SERICULTURE IN CEYLON. 
"the silkworms of India" — casuarinas as food foe 
bilkwoembJand fob other pubpo-jbs— sericulture 
in ceylon, italy, and india — varieties of silk- 
worms and their food. 
Nanuoya, April 16th. 
HAVE read the pamphlet 
issued from the Indian Mus- 
eum on " The Silkworms of 
India" with more than usual 
interest, because of the 
astonishing paragraph which 
recently appeared in the 
Observer, quoted irom a Madras paper, indicating tha 1 
a. plantation of young casuarinas had been specially 
prepared for silkworms to feed 011, and that a member 
of the Oounoil of Governmentiwas personally watch- 
ing the experiment 1 No premonition of such an 
experiment had been seen by me, and the last idea 
which would suggest itself to my mind is that of 
silkworms, which specially attack succulent leaves, 
finding congenial food in the pine-like foliage 
(" whorled teeth or bristles") of the casuarinas_ 
A much more likely idea to my mind would be that 
of oarding, spinning and weaving the bristles as 
those of the true pines have been in America for 
sackcloth. We have all the varieties of casuarina 
I believe on this estate and we never (Saw an 
insect of any kind of them until had read the 
Madras paragraph. Then, ouriously enough, I 
noticed, duriDg a morning walk, the tops of hala- 
dozen young plants affeoted by that queer little 
butterfly, that hops about a branch rather than 
flies, when disturbed. A white scum accompanied 
the insects. The whole wore easily removed, and 
on no other casuarina has a single insect been 
observed. And yet, now that 1 look at the qualities 
attached to the caBuarina foliage, especially that of 
coppioed trees, as a fodder for cattle, my surprise ought 
to be modified. Baron von Mueller states that 
beside the value of the casuarinas in binding 
drift sand and rendering it fertile, in being quiok 
of growth and most valuable for fuel, pastoral 
browse on the foliage, whioh is aoidulous from a 
crystalline substance allied to bi-citrate of lime. 
Giles, the Australian explorer stated that the 
dromedaries used by him delighted in getting the 
brancblets of some species for food, and von 
Mueller says that all the species can be pollarded 
for fodder. Has the foliage ever been utilized in 
this direotion in Ceylon ? If not, why not ? G. 
equisetifolia, the species so common and so beauti- 
ful in Colombo, is stated to be one of the best and 
fastest growing fuel and timber trees in the world. 
A few years ago I noticed an experiment at Matale 
with silkworms from Japan, introduced by Mr. 
.Robert Fraser of Wariapola. The impressions I 
received were, that, with the aid of the Blackman 
fans and other expedients, the worms could be 
reared and utilized, provided enough of mulberry 
leaves could be grown for these very voraoious 
creatures, and provided also that an abundance of 
very oheap labour were available. In Italy plenty 
of oheap labour and scientific supervision seem 
to be combined, for we read of one establishment 
in whioh 600 peasant girls are supplied with oostly 
microscopes for the discovery and removal of the 
parasites to which the precious worms are liable 
In Bengal the hot steamy atmosphere is specially 
favourable to the growth of mulberry, several crops 
of leaves in the year being yielded ; but, although 
labour is cheap in India, careful and scientific 
supervision is not bestowed on the pursuit, whioh 
accordingly is in a low and deoadent state. Indian 
silks can only in rare oases, it seems evident, 
compete with those of China and Japan, Italy and 
France: 
There are many varieties of silkworms in In- 
dia which feed on numerous other plants beside 
the mulberry, only two of whioh seem to be 
indigenous to Ceylon. Amongst the plants enu- 
merated we have looked in vain for any mention 
of the oasuarina, but it seems probable that in 
future editions it must find a place. Mean- 
time we may quote the names, vernaoular and 
scientifio, of the various plants, some common to 
India and Ceylon, on the leaves of which the 
worms feed or are reared, first noticing that in 
