180 
THE ART OF REARING 
They should, strictly, only be given the quantity 
of food they may want, and that very sparingly. 
When the square baskets are filled with the litter, 
they must be directly carried out of the labora- 
tory. In this manner, several persons may clean 
the hurdles in a few hours. The silk-worms, 
when put on the portable trays, should be han- 
dled with the greatest gentleness and ease, leaving 
them on the twigs or bits of leaves to which they 
are fastened, not to hurt them in tearing them 
off. The slightest injury, at this age, is particu- 
larly hurtful to them, because the vital action is 
much diminished. 
In sliding the silk-worms upon the hurdles, 
they should be placed in squares of about two 
feet, beginning on the side upon which the espa- 
lier or hedge is already placed, and forming the 
squares close to them, so that the silk-worm may 
find no difficulty in rising upon the fagots ; a 
distance of eight or ten inches' must be left be- 
tween the squares. In the centre of these squares 
should be fixed bunches of heath, or small dry 
boughs. This operation may be performed by 
eight persons in eight hours. 
In this cleaning of the laboratory, it may be 
seen that there is a larger quantity of excrement 
and litter than in the former ages, because the 
silk-worms evacuate more in the last days, and 
the leaves given them latterly are more loaded 
