February 2, 1882. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 97 
change, the eggs then appearing bluish, this tint getting paler 
while the worm grows within, until at last the shell of the egg 
looks ashy white, exhibiting, however, a black spot and a curved 
patch of brown, the former being the head pressed against the 
shell, the latter being the body which is coiled round. The egg¬ 
shell does not crack like the chrysalis containing the moth, but a 
hole is bitten by the young worm in one side just large enough to 
allow of its extrication ; then, lidving emerged, it secures itself to 
some object by a thread, reposing a little ere food is sought. 
It is doubtless true of all caterpillars in the Lepidopterous 
order that a considerable number die during their infancy—the 
Fig. 22. 
majority indeed, hence when newly hatched the silkworm requires 
particular care. Under the management of those engaged in 
silkworm establishments a greater proportion, I should say, escape 
what might be called “ the perils of early weakness ” than in a 
state of nature, yet their artificial life originates, as we shall see 
hereafter, new and troublesome diseases. The process of nurture 
amongst the silkworm breeders of France begins even at the egg, 
for it is needful to have the worms “ timed,” so to speak, in order 
that they may keep steadily together in batches during their suc¬ 
cessive changes. I have found, and others also, that when left to 
themselves there s an uncertainty in the appearance of the broods 
from our English eggs apart from the seasonal influences, and the 
same circumstance would probably occur in France. Therefore 
the breeders, at a suitable time, bring out the eggs, which have 
been through the winter preserved in folds of wool and kept 
moderately cool, beginning by exposing them to the air for a 
few days in a room with south aspect. From time to time the 
windows are opened a little, then the fire is lighted, though the 
layers of eggs are not allowed to approach closely, the tempe¬ 
rature being carefully raised about 2° a day until 25° Centi¬ 
grade is reached, which suffices. Incubating boxes specially 
Fi .23. 
contrived are among more recent improvements. A few worms 
come forth as pioneers of the rest some hours before the general 
hatch, which occurs on the second and third day from the first 
appearance of worms. Stragglers afterwards are seldom preserved. 
The worms are then formed into two divisions as soon as they 
have been removed from the eggs, corresponding to the two prin¬ 
cipal hatches, this removal being accomplished by placing above 
the eggs twigs of the Mulberry with young leaves upon them. 
Searching for food the silkworms soon begin to travel and mount 
on the twigs, by means of which they can with ease be conveyed 
to the trays or tables where they are to be reared. 
Those who have tried to rear any species of caterpillar are 
aware of the trouble there is to get the creatures transferred to 
fresh food from that to which they are clinging. On a small 
scale it is common to shift silkworms by the fingers, or a camel’s 
hair brush when they are very small, but this has serious dis¬ 
advantages if many thousands of them are being reared. For a 
good while similar plans were followed in the French establish¬ 
ments ; now-a-days labour is economised, and the worms are kept 
healthier by lettiDg them make the necessary change for them¬ 
selves. This is dexterously managed as follows : Upon the tables 
where the worms are feeding nets are laid containing fresh 
supplies of leaves, such nets having meshes of varying sizes, but 
allowing space for the worms to pass through. By the sense of 
smell, or by some sense unknown to us, they speedily detect the 
new provision, and climb to it from the dried leaves below. It 
is a simple matter then to lift the silkworms and the nets above 
which they have crawled, clear the tables, and replace the net 
that contains them and their food. There is thus always a net 
beneath the worms : the old one is of course removed with the 
stale food. Ordinary nets of thread were generally employed 
until the introduction of the paper nets suggested by M. Ilobert, 
through which also the separation of worms from each other that 
have during their growth come to vary somewhat in size can be 
admirably effected. It has been usual in these establishments 
to cut up the leaves of the Mulberry into small pieces while the 
worms are small, but I doubt if this measure is reall necessary. 
Obviously the drying of the leaves must be hastened in warm 
weather. 
Fresh leaves are supplied to the worms during the first age six 
or eight times a day, between five in the morning and midnight. 
The hours of darkness, however, are not to silkworms a period of 
entire inactivity, since they will eat then occasionally, and yet in 
the daylight appear to be sleeping at intervals. When they are 
approaching the first moult or change of skin the attendants place 
for them twigs and boughs, which will afford them safe resting 
places until this has been accomplished. A similar plan is pur¬ 
sued at each of the moults, all disturbance of the worms being 
avoided, especially during the last one, when not a few die off 
through weakness. While this is in progress it is recommended to 
keep the room where they are rather warm, to facilitate the 
worm’s efforts to free itself from the skin. As the worms get 
larger at each moult the feeding becomes less frequent, though 
more leaves are given for each meal. As the silkworms near 
maturity free ventilation is maintained, and they are allowed 
more space lest they should annoy each other. In preparation 
for the “ ascending season ” sprigs of Heather are placed upon the 
tables at short distance apart (fig. 22), or twigs of dry wood may 
answer the same purpose. In a batch or rearing that have kept 
well together it is found that all the healthy ones spin up within 
about thirty hours, the later ones are placed by themselves as 
questionable. Amongst the cocoons placed in the Heather there 
will always be some that are unhealthy ; good cocoons are re¬ 
cognised by their regular shape, the hardness of their ends, and 
their weight. Weight furnishes also a means ot separating male 
from female cocoons, for those belonging to female moths are 
always the heavier. If it is intended to preserve the moths in 
order to obtain eggs, the cocoons are regularly fixed upon sheets 
of paper by means of paste (fig. 23), so that each moth on emer¬ 
gence can grasp the base of a cocoon in front.—J. K. S. C. 
THE CARNATION. 
[Abridged from a paper read by Mr. George Rudd at a meeting of the Paxton 
Society, Wakefield.] 
After alluding to the early history of the Carnation and its 
classification and character, the lecturer observed :—- 
Parkinson in his “ Paradisiin Sole Paradisus Terrestris,” (1620), 
divides Carnations into two classes. One he calls “ the goodly old 
English Carnations the other, which was of a smaller size, he 
calls by the name of “ Gilloflowers ; ” no doubt the striped or 
spotted varieties. Of Carnations he enumerates nineteen, and of 
Gilloflowers thirty named varieties, whilst in the year 1676 John Rea 
had 360 sorts of Carnations. There is no doubt a great portion of 
these were seifs, but still the simple flakes would be then grown 
as now. The Picotee, however, is the production of later years, 
and has been brought to a high standard during the last thirty 
years, as looking over my list of thirty years ago only one variety 
of Picotee is grown by me which occurs in that list—viz., Mrs. 
Dodwell, which is a fine flower and still one of the best in its 
class. In its early days the Picotee was splashed, spotted, and 
had broken or short stripes which ran through the whole length 
of the petal ; in many cases, too, the edges were serrated, but 
now it is rare to see a spot or bar on either heavy or light-edged 
flowers. It was only during the last thirty-five years that the 
Picotee became so much refined and distinct as to perpetuate 
itself a pure Picotee. The late Mr. Richard Headley of Staple- 
ford, a most enthusiastic florist, used to speak of a pod of seed 
which he sowed expecting only Picotees from it, but both Carna¬ 
tions and Picotees were produced. One of the Picotees was 
