1867.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
363 
up in shocks, spread out at the buts so as to 
brace the shock against high winds from which- 
ever way they may come. If the shocking 
jack or "corn shocker" is not used, it saves 
time to make the shock around a standing hill. 
The shocking jack is a smooth pole 12 feet 
long, with two legs about 4 feet from the 
but end, spread so as to brace it well. This 
will stand firmly with its small end on the 
ground. The big end should be about four feet 
from the ground, and a foot from this end a 
hole isbored, through which astout pin, two feet 
long, is put. This pin forms a support around 
which the corn stalks are set up, and when the 
shock is finished and bound at the top, the piu 
is pulled out and the jack taken away. It is 
very desirable that the shock should be very 
tightly bound, as it is otherwise liable both to 
blow over and to become wet inside. A straw 
baud can not be put on tight enough, generally, 
and several contrivances to aid iu binding 
are illustrated in the Agriculturist. See page 
343, (Nov.,) 1865. The difficulty is not iu tight 
binding so much, as in gathering the tops in 
closely before the band is put around. To do this 
perhaps the best contrivance is a hickory pin 
with a crank on one end, and a rope attached 
near the crank. There are knots on the rope 
at about the distance required to go around the 
top of the shock. The pin is thrust through 
the shock, the rope passed around and made 
fast by one of the knots holding in a slot iu the 
end which passes through the handle. The 
crank being turned, the rope is tightened up and 
the shock made ready to be bound with straw. 
■ i M^ t^ i i m 
Silk Culture— New Silk "Worms. 
Textile fabrics are essential to our present 
civilization ; trade in them constitutes a large 
part of the commerce of the world, and their 
manufacture creates and sustains varied and ex- 
tensive industries, both among the most enlight- 
ened, and among semi-barbarous nations. Silk 
goods arc of all such fabrics the most beautiful, 
the most costly, and the most durable. It is 
probable also that in their manufacture there is 
employment given to proportionally more peo- 
the disease occurred in them, and thus their 
manufactures are sustained, but bringing the 
eggs into the contaminated feeding buildings, 
the worms are infected, and though they pro- 
PERFECT INSECT. 
pic and more capital than in making any other 
class of goods. For several years, a terrible 
epidemic disease has destroyed the silk worms 
of France, and this extended into Spain, spread 
over Piedmont, then Lombardy, and the rest of 
Italy; then it attacked the establishments of 
Turkey, Asia Minor, and Syria, and from these 
countries on it spread, and continues to diffuse 
itself among the silk-growing countries of Asia. 
The French and others obtained healthy eggs 
from each of these countries iu succession before 
WORM AFTER SECOND MOULTING. 
duce silk, yet it is diminished in quantity and 
quality, and the eggs of the moth, if laid at all, 
are worthless. The disease is called " Pebriue," 
and no little anxiety is beginning to be felt for 
the fate of silk industries, as it appears probable 
the time will soon come that no more eggs cau 
be obtained. This has led to the close study of 
all other silk- 
spinning cater- 
pillars, spiders, 
etc. The result 
has been the in- 
troduction into 
France of two 
iusects which 
give some prom- 
ise — the Ailan- 
thusand IheTus- 
seh moths. The 
former of these, 
under the name 
of Ailan thus silk- 
worm, has been 
repeatedly alluded to in the American Agri- 
culturist, and numerous experiments were made 
with it in this country, with such poor suc- 
cess, however, that the culture has been 
abandoned by most experimenters, so far as we 
are informed. (See Vol. XX, 1861, page 81 j 
also Vol. XXIV, 1865, pages 76 and 238.) 
The Japanese variety of the Tusseh moth, 
(Antheraa fama-mai,) coming, as it does, from 
a cool country, is the one held in most esteem 
by M. Gueriu 
Meneville, who 
has done more 
towards this im- 
portant investi- 
gation than any 
one else. The 
silk of both of 
these insects is 
used iu China 
and Japan in the 
manufacture of 
an inferior class 
of goods to that 
male from the 
true silk-worm, 
(Bombyx mori.) 
It is of a brown- 
ish color, lack- 
in brilliancy, and, as usually prepared, the 
goods made from it have a fuzzy exterior, but 
are possessed of great durability. Still it is silk, 
and as such, could it be profitably raised, the 
fabrics would find an important place among our 
manufactures. Some qualities of it arc carded, 
mixed with cotton, ami spun on cotton machin- 
ery into a very durable and handsome cloth. 
The cocoons of these I wo kinds of silk-worms 
are quite different, and while the sill; of the 
Ailauthus is very hard — almost impossible — to 
reel off without constantly breaking, and can 
only be prepared for spinning by carding, that 
of the Japanese Tusseh moth is much more 
easily wound off. Considerable success has at- 
tended the domestication of the Ailauthus silk- 
worm in France, and an Ailauthus farm has 
been sanctioned by the emperor, and conducted 
by M. Guerin Meneville. A few years ago, 
this gentleman felt a good deal discouraged 
about acclimating this insect,but from the reports 
of the Paris Exposition, we infer that he has 
had, of late, better success. Experiments enough 
have been made to prove the Japanese Tusseh 
moth hardy iu France, and hopes are entertain- 
ed that it may be domesticated upon the low 
oaks, and live upon them as the Ailanthus worm 
does upon the tree, the name of which it bears. 
Should it prove that either of these insects will 
do well anywhere in this countiy, with compar- 
atively little care, and that, when once estab- 
lished in au Ailanthus or Oak plantation, the 
trees will year after year bear their crop of co- 
coons, we may yet raise silk instead of wool, 
Fig. 3.— FULL-GROWN CATERPILLAR. 
and be independent of dog-laws, except to pro- 
tect the interests of our mutton raisers. It will 
be a long time, however, before we shall sub- 
stitute silk for wool for economy. 
Fig. 1 represents the perfect Tusseh moth of 
Japan ; Fig. 2 the worm in the third month after 
its second moulting; Fig. 3 the full grown cater- 
pillar of the natural size, and Fig. 4 shows the 
cocoon. We believe that successful efforts have 
been made to breed this silk-worm in the 
inp 
Fig. 4.— COCOON. 
United States, but at present have no facts to pre- 
sent in regard to the results. We copy the en- 
gravings, and are indebted for some of the state- 
ments to Andrew .Murray, Paris exhibition cor- 
respondent of the Illustrated Loudon News. 
