OSAGE SILK WORM, LIFE SIZE. (After Riley. 
Introductory Remarks, 
■^■IN Kansas and other South-western 
tates, there are 
| thousands of miles of Osage orange hedge. To utilize 
?^t^j this wherever grown, as food for the silkworm, is the 
'/A object of this manual.* Prof. Riley, Entomologist of 
the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. 0.,says : 
" Every year's experience with the Madura, [( )sage orange] 
confirms all that 1 have said of its value as silkworm food. 
Silk that I have had reeled from a race of worms fed on 
it, now for eleven consecutive years, is of the very best 
quality, while the tests made at the recent silk fair at Phila- 
delphia, showed that in some instances a less weight of 
cocoons spun by Madura fed worms, was required for a" ponrx I 
of reeled silk, than of cocoons from Mulberry fed worms. 
Those who use this plant as silkworm food, must, however, 
bear in mind that the shoots from a hedgerow become very 
vigorous and succulent by the time the worms are in the last 
age. These more milky and succulent terminal leaves 
should be thrown aside and not used, as they are apt to induce 
flaccidity and disease. In avoiding these more tender leaves 
and using only the older and firmer ones, especially when the 
worms are large, consists the whole secret of the successful 
rearing of silkworms on this plant, and if care be had in this 
respect, there will be no appreciable difference in the silk 
crop from ( )sage orange as compared with that from Mulberry/' 
Last year the Woman's Silk Culture Association, of Phila- 
delphia, had silk from Osage fed worms, sent to Itschner's silk 
^factory. It was returned to the ladies with the following 
