The Sun.
London, England, 1803-10-11 00:00:00

AIVIM;IL COTTON.

Soma successful Expettuieuts have been. made in
America and the West Indies, to preserde and. in.
crease the insect known there by the name Al Fly.
'carrier, Which prodUce an Animal Cotton i in many,
respeas superior to vegetable cotton.
An intelligent Member of the American Philoso.
phial Society (M. Riudry des•Lnkier-es), has en4bled
us to vresent to the Public the following interesting
MemOir on Animal Cotton, and the Tisett which
produces it. EVery inhabitant' of the.
says this Gentleman, knows and dreads- the greedy
,tworm which devours their indigo and cassada plan.
lations ; it is Called by ,some the eassaila.woriii
by others the ,Ply.carrier v. and is produced like the
Silk. w-orm, froni eggs scattered by the Mother after
her metamorphosis- into a whitish butterfly.' The
,egg is hatched about the end of July, when' the
animalis' decked with t robe of the Most brilliant
'and variegated colours. In die month of August,'
'when about to undergo its metamorphosis, it. strips
Off its superb robe, aryl puts on one of a beautiful
sea.green, which refleetv all its varioas shades ac-
cording' to -the Itiflepent undulations of the animal,
and the different accidents of light... This new de.
coration is,tbe signal fir its tortures. Immediately
a swarm a ichneumon fliesassail it, and drive their
stings into the skin of their viefimi over the' whole
extent •of its back and side,,, at the.satne time 'slip.
ping' their eggs into the bottom of the wounds that
they have 'made-. -

Having performerf this 'dreadful operation, the
flies disappear, and the patient remains for an hour
in a •motioi It..ss state, our of which it, awakens to
feed with great Voracity. Then his size daily in-
creases till the time of his hitchiog of the ichnen.
mon flies. The eggs &posited are hatched at the
same mnment, that the cas,,ada instantly crivered
with a thousand little wprms. 'They issue out of
him atevery pore, and that animated robe covers
hinswentirely, that nothing can he perceived but
the top of his head. As soon as the Worms are
hatched, and with:,u! quitting the spot-where the
eggs are, which they have broke hrough, tber
yielita liquid gum, Which, by coming into contaft
with the air, is rendered
.slimy and solid. tach of
these anithalculae works hiinself a small cocoon, in
the shape of egg, in which he wraps hirrisell, thus
making; as it were, his okvrt winding.sheei.
,'They
seem to be. born but to die: These million's of co..
turns all close toeAch 'other, and the form:111'On of
• which has not taken two hours, form a whine
and in this the cassida.worm appcars;'elegan'tly
eluded. they are thus cleektfiChirti,' ttei
rern'ains'in a state of almost.lethiOgfC ic4putity.
As soon'as the. dovering it Woven, arid the little'
workmen who havem'ade ir, hai.e:retitid and hieldtn
themsklvei in their cells, the worm endravosirs to
rid hiMself of his gust, and of the robe..ttihich con.,
taina thertit 'He conies 7 ont.of thesenclosure deprived
•of all .hisffointer be.aitty, in ai state of decrepitude,
exhnuitedr, rind t h n ed.with approaching death.
He 'Shortly passes to the Stair, of a chrysali's'; acrd
after giving life to 'thy usaVicifOt eggs, suddenly' 'loses
his own,. leaving- to the Cultivator an advantage:
`itvliich 'may he' so improved as to more than compen-
sate the ravates which he oeeasi,uis`. In aboßt_tight
'dafs, the little worms contained' in the cocoons are
metamorphosed into flies? h'a‘vlng four Wings. Their
intenUz are long and ; 'some have a tail,
othor do' not spew it; thOt feed upOns'itiallinseds.
.4q
of the family of Acarus, ant -evidently belong.to the
ielmeinnon tribe.
Tice Cotton..sll.ll or wrapper is of a dazzling`
white, and as as the flies have quittedultiedo-
.
coon i , t 1113 y hc thed without any pieffirAiiiite-:
caution,; it is made up niche purest
ton ; there 'is no refuse,- tin inferiorafti4l'n it ;i
evcry.pari as firie ataliktattifill'ai cad 'ilikagihed.
M.. 1). Lozieres (the Attthor of thi4tlVlcrqPir)'
tirgrs the Americans to preserve, Ind- epdeavaus to
increase the fly,Catrier, in thesamemanner,,figllot
similar purposes, that the htled of the silk,..ty,9tto is
encouraged, He declargs,„thit he ,has frequently -
seen so abundant a harvest .of tie anirnulrcotton,
th:rt in
pie space of two hours he.could collat. the
quautitY of one hundred pipp„ French.meatute.—
',vloreover, animal.cotton is, attended with
.none of
the' difkulties which 'occur in the preparation of
vegetable.cotton, and it requires lest time and .less
trouble to procure it, and there scetns4o.higs,:no-
(l946t tlt t.it , will Sta cQuvetriiim
.‘ .I,L
.ap 1 vegetable cotton; ,t.lic,oioy, egapitlicd to
wounds, serve only to intlitme,ar4„.sl.vcim.,; but
the; animal,eatton may he utakasiliA(pfigitiut. the
s.lnoiFst inconveniesic:e• rvi • filf4ql.4