Fifth — When the rings of their bodies are 
drawn tight around them, and the whole body 
changes to a light yellow color. 
When these signs appear in any of the worms, 
preparations for spinning must be made immediately, 
in order that those worms that are ready to spin 
shall not lose their strength and silk in hunting for 
the support requisite for the perfect formation of 
their cocoons. 
All the worms hatched on the same day will 
not spin on the first or second day after the first 
have spun, but the majority will. Those that will 
not should be removed and placed in a warmer 
atmosphere, in order to accelerate their movements. 
In order that the silk may be gathered with 
ease, various receptacles for the cocoon are used by 
different silkworm rearers ; however, for those rais- 
ing but a small number of cocoons, paper cones or 
funnels are about the cheapest and best; for the 
cones are more like the leaf of the mulberry tree, in 
which the silkworms naturally like to spin. The 
cone also economizes the silk used in the formation 
of the " floss silk," or that used to support the 
cocoon, hence leaving more silk with which to 
form the cocoon itself. 
Bunches of twigs, arbors, etc., are also used 
extensively ; but the advantages of cones over these 
are obvious. 
16 
J 
