646 
ON TriE NUMBER OF BREEDS OF THE WORMS. 
have«to be constantly removed to fresh ones ; 
the smoothness of the bark also renders it 
necessary to help them in moving from 
branch to branch. This tree is more abund- 
ant in Upper than in Lower Assam ; last 
year it was for the first time found to exist 
in the forests of the Morung, on the eastern 
boundary of this district. The Upper 
Assamese, who are settled throughout this 
district (they form one-fourth or one-fifth of 
our population here), have never met with it 
in any other place. 
No. 2. CHAMPA. — The Champais found, 
as the Addakoory, where forests have been 
cleared : the silk of the worms fed on it is 
cSiWedL Champa pootia mooga^ It is held 
in the same estimation as the “ Mnzan- 
koory]^' I do not know whether it is also 
used when young : the tree is not met with 
in Loiver Assam. 
No. 3. SOOM is found principally in the 
forests of the plains and in the villages, 
where the plantations of this tree are very 
extensive. It attains a large size and yields 
three crops of leaves in the year: the silk 
produced by it is of a light fawn colour, and 
estimated next to the Mazankoory : the 
plantations are most abundant in the eastern 
half of this distiict. 
No. 4. KONTOOLOA.— This is a large 
tree found both in the hills and the plains ; 
also a few in the villages : the leaves are too 
hard for young worms/, which are reared on the 
preceding (No. 3^, till the third moulting, 
and then put on this tree ; by which process 
the silk obtained is stronger than that from 
worms reared entirely on the Soom. 
No. ,5. DIGLUTTEE.— A tree of a small 
size not much used on that account : the silk 
equal to that obtained from No. 3. 
No. 6. PATTEE SHOONDA.— Middle- 
sized trees, found principally in forests ; few 
to be met with in the villages of Loioer Assam ; 
used when the leaves of No. 3 are done. 
No. 7. SONHALLOO.— The Sonhalloo is 
found in the forests of the bills and plains, 
where it attains a very large size : it is also 
found in the villages, where in six years it 
attains its foil growth (thirty feet) ; it is very 
abundant in the western portion of this dis- 
trict, Rora, Jamna, Mookh, Jyntea, and the 
valley of Dhurmpoor. At the latter place, 
where the hill tribes of Mikirs and Kachnris 
clear dense forests, for the cultivation of rice 
and cotton, numbers of the plants spring up 
spontaneously. After three or four years, 
when the land getting poorer requires more 
tillage and the use of the plough, these 
tribes who only use the kar, or hoe, remove 
to new forests, and leave behind them plan- 
tations of these trees, which they have used 
during the short period they have remained. 
To them the ryuts of the more settled parts 
resort in the spring to rear up worms. The 
silk of the Sonhalloo-fed worm is considered 
inferior to the preceding; more I believe 
from its darker colour than any other cause. 
There are generally five breeds of mooga 
worms in the year : they are named after the 
months at which they generally occur. 
1. arooa. in January and February. 
2. Jeytooa, in May and June. 
3. Aharooa,m June and July. 
4. Bhodia, in August and September. 
5. Khotia, in October and November. 
The first and last are the best crops as to 
quality and quantity. Nos. 3 and 4 yield so 
little and so inferior a silk, that they may be 
said to be merely for the purpose of continu- 
ing the breed. Were the Assamese acquaint- 
ed wuth the process of retarding the hatch- 
ing of the eggs as is practised in China^ in 
regard to the mulbery silk- worm, they would, 
I think, find it more advantageous to have 
only three or four crops. 
The same rule is followed in the selection 
of cocoons to breed from, as in the Eria. 
They are put in a closed basket suspended 
from the roof ; the moths as they come forth 
having room to move about after a day, the 
females (known only by their larger body) 
are taken out and tied to small wisps of thatch - 
ing grass, taken always from over the 
hearth ; its darkened colour being thought 
more acceptable to the moth. If out of a 
batch there should be but few males, the 
wisps with the females tied to them are 
exposed outside at night : the males thrown 
away in the neighbourhood find their w’ay 
to them. These wisps are hung on a siring 
tied across the house to keep them from the 
lizards and rats. The eggs laid during the 
first three days (about 250) are the only ones 
thought worth the keeping : those laid on 
the two or three subsequent days are said to 
produce weak worms. The wisps are taken 
out morning and evening, and exposed to 
the side where the sun is shining : ten days 
after the laying of the eggs, a few of them 
are hatched ; the wisps are then hung up to 
the tree, the young worms finding their way 
to the leaves : care must be taken that the 
ants have been destroyed, their bite proving 
fatal to the worm in its early stages. To 
effect this they rub the trunk of the tree with 
molasses, and tie to it fish and dead toads. 
When large numbers have been attracted to 
one place they destroy them with fire : 
this they do several times previously to the 
worms being put on. The ground under the 
trees must be kept clear of jungle to make it 
easy to find the worms that fall down : young 
trees are preferable until the second moult- 
ing. 
To prevent the worms coming to the 
ground, fresh plantain leaves are tied round 
the trunk, over the slippery surface of which 
they cannot crawl. J hey are removed to 
fresh trees on bamboo platters tied to long 
poles. 
Bats, owls, rats, are very destructive at 
night: in the day the worms require to be 
constantly watched ; crows and other birds 
being so fond of them, that they lie in wait 
in the neighbouring trees. An old lady’s 
4oze over her morning canee” (opium,) 
