412 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ November 2 , 1882. 
thing could we turn their leaves into a valuable silken fibre. Time, 
it may be, will yet bring this about. 
My own experiment with Attacus Yama Mai was made some 
fifteen years ago on too small a scale to be of any moment, yet 
I succeeded in ascertaining a few facts tending to confirm what 
had been noticed or surmised by others. Want of leisure has 
prevented me since from trying the breeding of these worms 
under better arrangements, with a larger number to work upon, 
and in a summer less dry and hot than was that of 1868. A 
number of reports were published by persons who had fed the 
worms during the above season, showing many failures to be 
largely attributed to the weather of that very exceptional sum¬ 
mer, for we have not yet had one that would rival it for un¬ 
interrupted sunshine and lack of moisture. Still, the truth must 
be told, that in summers more promising the caterpillars of A. 
Yama Mai have also shown a troublesome tendency to die off. 
I was unable to procure either Austrian or English eggs, so had to 
try some Japanese, which are seldom found to yield so strong a 
brood of worms. However, I got worms from two-thirds of the 
eggs ; these emerged between the 6th and 21st of May. The intervals 
separating the changes of skin were generally nine or ten days, 
and it was about fifteen days after the fourth of these had been 
passed when the spinning commenced. On the whole it was 
evident my examples of the species grew slowly as compared 
with some reared by other naturalists, and Dr. Wallace may be 
right in thinking that the more rapidly the worms can be reared 
the greater will be the success, although he would not advise 
forcing. 
My silkworms were fed upon Oak as succulent as I could 
obtain, the twigs being inserted in bottles of water. The nursery 
was a cool outhouse facing the north, without a current of air 
passing through certainly, but air was freely admitted in the 
daytime. The leaves were not allowed to remain until dry ere 
they were renewed, though, as I was resident in London, there 
was some trouble in getting fresh Oak during July, just when the 
worms needed abundant supplies. With some astonishment I 
one day saw a worm that had wandered crawl, not merely upon, 
but into a tumbler of water, and the liking the species has for 
occasional sips is a circumstance verified by many observers. 
Another liking, rather inconvenient, is that which some of them 
have for taking a bite out of a relative’s back at a quiet oppor¬ 
tunity, the wound so given being fatal sooner or later. On the 
near approach of anyone to the twigs upon which they are feed¬ 
ing, the caterpillars of A. Yama Mai cease to eat, so that visiting 
them too frequently might check their growth. This is a cir¬ 
cumstance in favour of placing them in a position of comparative 
freedom upon young Oaks according to the Japanese plan, but 
then several circumstances have seemed to be against it, at least 
in this island. Some coaxing is required when they have to be 
shifted, as they are apt to cling very tenaciously to dry twigs 
and branches. By a gradual process of reduction I lost nearly 
the whole of my brood from disease, only a few surviving as 
mementoes of the trouble I had taken. Probably I should have 
saved more had I sprinkled the Oak with water, as some did, and 
others even went so far as to give their worms an actual ducking 
when the weather was very hot. Dr. Wallace does not seem to 
regard it of special importance that the leaves given should be 
chiefly young and succulent, for his worms fed well on Oak some¬ 
what dry; his correspondents also differ in opinion upon this 
point. Their letters also show that these silkworms have been 
reared in and out of doors under such different conditions, as 
within glass buildings and exposed day and night to our climate 
in a plantation. Mr. Gascoigne, who succeeded in rearing a fine 
brood, argues in favour of an equable temperature for their room, 
an abstinence from water, and a free circulation of dry air. When 
newly hatched they have thriven upon oaklings in boxes of three 
or four years’ growth, but their propensity to wander is always 
tiresome at this early age ; it is less marked after the first change 
of skin. 
To summarise those practical suggestions concerning the 
management of these silkworms that have arisen out of the 
patient experiments of naturalists scattered over these islands, it 
may first be remarked that, to start with, European eggs are 
preferable to those imported from Japan. If procured during the 
autumn the eggs should be kept until spring in a cool and dry 
place; even in the open air is not amiss, provided they are not 
subjected to a temperature that would freeze them. About the 
time the Oak is full in bud they may be laid upon blotting paper 
in plates and slightly damped, then covered with glass funnels or 
tumblers, upon which the newly hatched worms can be easily 
seen. By the aid of a stiff brush of camel or sable’s hair they 
can be moved to young leaves of Oak. Dr. Wallace advises 
giving them a run on a moistened surface of earthenware before 
placing them upon their food, as he thinks a “refresher” of this 
kind lessens their propensity for wandering. A proportion of 
them are sure to die in infancy. Should they be kept in the open 
air they must be guarded both from birds and spiders. 
It does not seem to be a good method to keep these silkworms 
under bellglasses or in close boxes, but they will do moderately 
well in a plant house or room not too sunny. After they are 
half-grown they have been found to thrive if set free upon Oak 
saplings, where for security the twigs may be covered with gauze 
bags. Twigs and branches of Oak placed in water or sand will 
keep fresh for two or three days if the weather is not very warm. 
To remove the worms by the finger from stale to fresh food is 
hardly ever advisable. The plan is, having arranged your new 
Oak, to cut off the old sprays all the leaves or twigs unoccupied 
by the caterpillars. The remainder may be laid upon or put 
beside the new sprays, and they will soon shift their quarters. 
As a precaution against their wandering, trays and tables upon 
which bottles or jars containing Oak are placed ought to be round 
rather than square. Some stand these upon plates, the edges of 
which are greased, so that the silkworms are kept in check should 
they leave their food, as they will not crawl over this obstruction. 
Hasty moving while they are changing their skins is unadvisable, 
since a hurt is likely to be given by any rough treatment then. 
Although a little moisture on the leaves is rather beneficial than 
otherwise, it does not appear that the worms flourish if the foliage 
of the Oak given them is in a watery or over-succulent state. As 
they approach maturity an abundant supply of food is requisite, 
and the temperature of their room should be kept moderate 
if possible. Out of doors they should be shaded from too bright 
a sun. It is not needful to make special arrangements for spin¬ 
ning, as the habit of A. Yama Mai is to form its cocoons near the 
terminal twigs of the Oak. Of our native species Dr. Wallace 
recommends Q. sessiliflora as the best food.—J. R. S. 0. 
Buckland Sweetwater Grape. —I am rather surprised to see 
Buckland Sweetwater so much condemned in last week’s Journal. It 
is very highly thought of here, and is in greater demand than Foster’s 
Seedling. Buckland Sweetwater when well grown and finished 
realises a higher price in the market than Foster’s Seedling. I 
consider Golden Queen well worth growing.—G. R. A. 
WORR.foi\theWEEK,. 
KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Peas to afford an early crop may now be sown in a well-sheltered 
border of friable soil. A south border is the most suitable, having 
the rows north and south and about 4 feet asunder, with Lettuces 
between. Before sowing, the Peas ought to he either damped and 
coated with red lead, or damped with petroleum, to prevent the 
attacks of mice. William the First and Dickson’s First and Best are 
the best early varieties in cultivation. Where space is available a 
sowing of the early dwarf varieties may be made at the base of a 
south wall, American Wonder being a good cropper. Slugs are 
frequently troublesome to Peas. Dress the ground with lime, and 
point in before sowing ; and as a still further protection, give a dress¬ 
ing of a couple of inches thickness of sifted ashes after covering the 
Peas with soil, allowing the ashes to extend a few inches beyond each 
side of the row. Broad Beans may also be sown on a warm border, 
Early Mazagan being very early and hardy, but small. Seville 
Longpod and Early Longpod, though not so hardy, are much larger 
and early. Similar remarks apply to these in regard to precautionary 
measures against mice and slugs as advised for Peas. 
Cauliflowers should be pricked out from the seed beds in pits and 
frames, and any remaining after due provision has been made by 
those means for a supply of plants for transplanting in spring may 
be pricked out on a sheltered border, where, if the winter does not 
prove unusually severe, they will survive. On a dry day lift Cauli¬ 
flowers that are fit for use, and store them in a pit or sheltered 
position where protection can be afforded. 
Complete lifting root crops such as Carrots, Beet, and Salsafy, and 
a portion of the Parsnips for immediate use ; otherwise, and the 
