Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1880-01-01
A Consignment Of siIk.WOrms.


A consignment of silk-worm's eggs,
believed to be one of the largest that
has ever passed through this city, ar
rived by the way of the Pennsylvania
Railroad on Friday night from Yoko-
hama, Japan, VEG San Francisco, and
will be transferred to the outgoing
steamer for HaVre, the Amerique, in
time for shipment at two p. m. on Wed
nesday. The cargo filled six cars, and
its value is stated by the agent who re-
ceived it as about $850,000. The eggs
are all products of Japanese nurseries
situated in the vicinity of Yokohama,
and have been collected and consigned
to silk-growers in France and Italy by
agents of theirs stationed at that point.
The use of the route giG San Francisco
and New York, in preference to that
by way of the Indian Ocean, the Suez
Canal, and the Mediterranean Sea, is
comparatively so experimental that the
agent opened several of the cases yes
terday after the unloading and hand
ling had commenced, and inspected
their contents with some curiosity. The
larv@ were in excellent condition in
every instance, and silk men who in
spected them pronounced the expert
ment success and the route practical
BILE, Notwithstanding the necessity for
unloading and handling at San Fran
cisco and New York.
The mode of packing these delicate
objects is so simple as to be worth de-
scribing. The cases employed are
about three feet long by little more
than one foot in width and rather less
than one foot in height, leaving Gu
bical capacity of about a dozen feet
One of these cases is capable of con-
tanning 100000 eggs. Parallelograms
of cardboard are cut so as to fit the
cases, and coated with gum to render
the eggs adherent. They are minute
bodies just visible to the unaided eye,
and bearing q vague resemblance to
specks of dust. When thus coated with
adherent eggs, the strips of cardboard |
are carefully packed, with layers of It's
sue paper between them, to prevent in
jury to their precious contents, by OBJ
Waiting the pressure and jar which may
prove fatal to the life of the embryo in
sect. From twenty to. twenty-five
strips are placed in each case, each
strip containing from $4,000 to 35, 900
eggs. With this simple packing, and
with due precautions against moisture
and high temperature, these delicate
structures are transported three-fourths
Of the distance round the earth in per-
tect safety, provided always that
moderately cold fresh air is given free
access to the quarters in which they are
stored. Heat, it is stated, produces an
immediate effect upon the development
If the Larvae, thus rendering it impossi-
de to deliver them in good condition
or growing, unless all the scientific
equisites are observed. The difficulty
# securing these conditions, as respects
particularly, by the Indian
ocean and Suez Canal route, has led
hippers TO test the route by way of San
francisco and New York with good re-
ults thus far. Necessity for low tenn
erature also prevents shipping during
he summer months. Silk men say the
Iartial failure of the crop in France
nd Italy during the season Just ended
as given an impulse to shipment from
apan and other producing tracts in J
.astern Asia, which will cause an i'm
lense and unprecedented movement of
ggs VjG San Francisco and New York
> Havre this winter. Great care has
lways been necessary by the Indian l
Dcean route, and, even when that was
xercised, consignments were often
poiled by the high temperature in ]
the southern points of Hin v
ustan. The increased number Of v
'ansfers slightly Injuries the eggs, but
ne aggregate damage is considerably
,ss by way of New York than by way
the Suez Canal Another immense
lipment is expected from San Fran
sco this week in time for the France,
,hich sails Jan. IN. 7. Times.