14 
whatever, must be rejected. Every pair of moths are then placed 
on the cloth at about one and a half inches apart. As soon as the 
pairs separate, the males are removed and not to be u»ed again, and 
no pair allowed to be united more than six hours. The inoths will 
lay eggs for about four hours, and will lay one egg in every five 
seconds. Each moth will lay an average of 250 eggs, but a good 
healthy moth will lay as many as 400. If any whito cocoons be 
chosen frr egg" they must he pure white. The eggs, when laid, 
have a yellow colour, but after three days they become of a slate 
colour. When the moths have done laying the eggs, the cloth is 
allowed to get well dried, then carefully rolled up and put away in 
a fresh, dry and ventilated place, secured from rats, mice, ants, 
spiders and other insects. 
Producing Silkworm Eggs for Sale. 
The speculation of producing eggs for sale is of far more importance 
and remunerative than selling the cceoons, if a market could bo pro¬ 
cured for them. Japan has supplied Europe with many million pounds 
sterling worth of eggs, for about twouty years. When the disas¬ 
trous disease was raging amongst the silkworms, Italy alone sent to 
Japan £l, 150,000 annually. From cne ounce of eggs, or from the 
moths of one ounce of eggs, 70 ounces of eggs will be reproduced. 
The price of eggs varies very much according to quality and circum¬ 
stances : they are sold at from 10s. to £2 per ounce. I saw a report 
in the Reforma of the 30th March, 1894. from Switzerland. The 
selling price was 14s. per ounce. So the reproduction from one 
ounce of eggs (that is, 70 ounces), if sold at that rate, would give a 
return of £49 Eggs produced in a new country are preferable 
to others, being more healthy than the eggs produced in old 
countries, and commands better prices, and why should not the 
Australian Colonies bo great exporters of silkworm eggs? 
Will Silk-culture Pay in Australia ? 
If a faimer plants, say, one acre of land with mulberry trees, and 
he will alto utilize the land for the production of other crops, the 
mulberry trers would he planted at 30 feet apart. In an acre he 
can plant 48 trees at the above distance, and when about three 
years old he can begin to utilize the leaves to feed the worms, and 
when they are about eight years old they will produce about 5000 
pouuds of leaves; with that he can feed worms from three 
ounces of eggs. The worms for three ounces of eggs will produce 
about 400 pounds of cocoons. Win n the farmer is once in possession 
of the mulberry trees and the other few requisites, lie has scarcely 
any further expensfs in connection with it, except the light labour 
and short attendance supplied by the farmer’s family for about four 
weeks at the most idle time of the year amongst the farmers. The 
price of cocoonB of late years has been vtry low, and fluctuated very 
much. I have seen reported in the journal, Lyon, at Lyons, in 
France, dated 30th of May, 1S93, that the cocoons were sold at two 
shilliugs per pound. AIbo reported in the Reforma of the 24th June, 
1894, that cocoons were sold in Stradella, Italy, at Is. 6d. per 
pound, and inferior cocoons were sold for less. Now if 400 pounds 
of cocoons would fetch in the market, say, Is. 6d. per pound, that 
