
LEPIDOPTERA. 231 
placed, at the distance of 50 centimetres from each other, frames 
made of reeds. These frames or canisses, as they are called in the 
Cévennes, may be from 1 metre to 1$ metre in breadth. They 
should be placed in such a manner that one can easily pass 
round them to place and displace the worms, and to distribute their 
| leaves to them uniformly. They should be protected by a small 
— maw 
border of a few centimétres in height, to prevent the worms from 
falling. And lastly, they should be covered at the bottom 
with large sheets of paper. A provident silkworm-rearer has 
always at his disposal a cellar or cool room, so as to be able 
to stow away his leaves as soon as they are brought in from 
the country. 
What we have just said applies especially to a small rearing. 
In large establishments, or even those of second-rate importance, 
| everything is in advance of this, and mathematically regulated : 
} aspect and arrangement of rooms, furniture of these rooms, 
i 
warming, ventilation, &c. So, for a rearing house for 300 grammes 
of eggs, the building should be constructed in such a manner that 
its front and back look east and west, to avoid any inequality in 
the heat derived from the sun. It ought to consist of a ground- 
floor, a very lofty first-floor, and of a very low roof. The 
ground-floor comprises the chamber of incubation, the store-room 
for leaves, and the air chamber with the grate intended for warmth 
and ventilation. The first-floor constitutes the rearing room 
properly so called. 
But let us leave these grand industrial establishments, to 
return to our rearing houses on a small scale, such as are found 
among the peasants of the Cévennes. ‘They generally receive the 
silkworms’ eggs before the end of the winter. In order to 
preserve them till the hatching season, they are placed in thin 
layers, in a piece of folded woollen stuff, which must be hung 
up in a cool, but not a damp place, exposed to the north. As 
soon as the buds of the mulberry tree begin to be partially open, 
they proceed to the incubation of the eggs. They are spread 
out on sheets of paper, in very thin layers, placed on a table in 
a room having a southern aspect, and left thus during three or 
| four days, taking care to prevent the rays of the sun from touch- 

ing them. It is necessary also, from time to time, to open the 


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