964 
Silk Raising, 
shelves with a basket of leaves, and when¬ 
ever any of the worms are found without 
food, or nearly so, lay on a few leaves, and 
thus keeping them continually eating fresh 
leaves. We know it is the practice almost 
universally, to feed at stated times—three 
times a day, or four, or five, and to weigh 
the leaves, giving at each feeding a certain 
quantity; but all our experience goes to 
prove its impropriety. Late at night a full 
supply of leaves, according to their age, 
ought to be given them, that they may have 
plenty during the night. Strange as it may 
appear, many persons suppose the worms do 
not eat much at night; the truth is, they eat 
rather more at night than in the day-time, as 
do all caterpillars ; and they ought either to 
be fed occasionally during the night or have 
a supply given them over night sufficient to 
last them till morning. 
Wet leaves should not be given to silk 
worms, nor those having sand or dirt on 
them. If it cannot be avoided during long 
rains, necessity of course will compel the 
feeding with wet leaves; and generally, this 
may do no harm; but I have seen very large 
quantities of worms destroyed by it. It 
should always be avoided, if possible. 
The moulting of the worms will occur four 
times, but unless closely observed, and the 
several days’ hatchings have not been kept 
carefully separate, these changes will be 
scarcely noticed. The times of moulting 
vary, according to the treatment the worms 
receive. If fully fed, and a proper tempera¬ 
ture be kept in the room, they will moult 
about every five or six days ; if a contrary 
practice be pursued, they may do so every 
seven, eight, or nine days. If each day’s 
hatching have been kept by themselves, and 
they have all been properly fed, all the worms 
of one hatching will generally moult about 
the same time, and they should not be 
fed while they are in the moulting state. 
They generally remain in this state from 
eighteen to thirty-six hours. As soon as 
they revive they should be fed, as above di¬ 
rected, with large leaves, or even branches, 
and as soon as they attach themselves 
to the leaves, they should be removed 
to a clean shelf. It is frequently the case 
that only a part of them moult one day, 
and the balance the next. In this case the 
two moultings should be carried to separate 
shelves, and thus be kept separate in future, 
as they will otherwise not spin cocoons reg¬ 
ularly. As the space occupied by the worms 
must necessarily be extended as the worms 
grow, the most convenient time for doing it 
is after each moulting. And if this be pro¬ 
perly done, all the worms on each shelf can 
be made to spin at the same time, and thus 
save the attendant much inconvenience. To 
effect it, all that is necessary, is to separate 
the several days’ hatchings, and at each 
moulting to collect all that revive at one 
time, and place them by themselves. Those 
who observe this precaution will be well 
paid for their attention. 
After the fourth moulting, if you have 
plenty of trees, and do not care about the 
waste of cuttings, you may cut off small 
branches with the leaves on, and lay them 
on the shelves. In feeding in this way, you 
can save much time, the leaves keep from 
wilting longer, and more worms can be ac¬ 
commodated on the same space. The 
branches should be laid first across the shelf, 
say six inches apart; at the next feeding 
they would be laid lengthwise of the shelf; 
and the next crosswise again, and so on al¬ 
ternately crosswise and lengthwise at each 
feeding, so that the pile may form a mass of 
crib-work, affording a free passage for the 
air, and accommodation for the worms, into 
which they will descend, to form cocoons. 
The objections to this plan are, that in damp 
weather the mass of rubbish and dung of the 
worms, is apt to ferment, and thus produce 
disease ; and also the loose tow of the co¬ 
coons is lost, as it becomes so filled with 
dirt and fragments of leaves, that it is not 
worth saving. It is believed, however, that 
the value of this tow is less than the trouble 
of the ordinary fixtures for the worms to spin 
on is worth. The writer of these remarks, 
raised his silk worms one season on this plan, 
and the cocoons produced were equal to any 
he ever raised. Care should be observed in 
feeding in this way, not to lay on so many 
branches as to raise the pile too high ; as, if 
it approach near the bottom of the shelf 
above, before the worms are ready to spin, it 
will be very inconvenient to feed them. Not 
more than four or five courses of branches 
should be laid on each day, and the interme¬ 
diate feedings should be with clear leaves, 
so that the pile may ascend not more than 
an inch and a half each day, and that the 
height of the pile on the shelf when the 
worms begin to spin may be about nine or 
ten inches. If, however, the pile should get 
too high, or if it gets damp and mouldy, the 
lower part can be easily removed by passing 
a couple of smooth sticks through the pile 
two or three layers below the worms ; and 
by means of these, gently raise the upper 
layers with the worms on, and remove all 
