The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-05-26
TIE s,lk.worm...Its Habits.

Tie Silk.WOrm...Its Habits.
The ilk-wOrm proper. or that which
supplies the ordinary silk of commerce,
is the larva Of small moth known to
scientific men as Seri,1riI m0rI.. 1t is
often popularity characterized rs the null
berry silk-worm. During the long GEN.
turtles of cultivation it has undergone it
has acquired many useful peculiarities
1t has, in fact, become a truly dOmesti-
Gated animal. The white color of the
species, its seeming want of all desire to
escape as long as it is kept supplied with
leaves and the loss of the power of
flight on the part of the moth are all I'M
doirbtedly the result of dOmeSticatiOn.
Other peculiarities have incidentally APP
peared, and the great number of varie-
ties or races of the silk-worm almost
equal those of the domestic dog. The
silk-worm exists. in four stateS-egg,
larva, chrysalis and adult, or image. The
egg of the silk-worm moth is called by
silk-raisers seed" 1t is nearly round,
slightly fiattened, and in size resembles
a turnip-seed. The time from Matching
to the spinning of the cocoon may and
does vary all the way from thirty to forty
days, depending upon the race of the
worm, the quality Of the food, mode of
feeding, temperature. The color of the
newly-hatched worm is black or dark
gray. Different shades of dark cray will
however, be found among worms hatch
ing from the same batch of eggs.
1t has been estimated that the worm in
its growth consumes its own weight of
leaves every day it feeds, but this is only
an approximations; yet it is certain that
during the last few days before COM
mencing to spin it consumes more than
during the whole of its previous worm
existence, and it is curious fact that
the color of the worm at this
time corresponds with the color
of the silk. Having attained full
full growth, the worm is ready to spin.
1t shrinks in size, acquires clear, trans
lucent, often pinkish or amber-colored
hue, becomes restless, ceases to eat, and
throws out silken thread. The worm
usually consumes from three to five days
in the construction of the cocoon, and
in three days more passes into the
chrysalis state. The cocoon consists of
an outer lining of loose silk, known as
"floss," which is used for carding, and
is spun by the worm in first getting its
bearings. The inner cocoon is tough,
strong and compact, composed of con-
tinuous thread often over 1000 feet in
length. In form the cocoon is usually
oval, and in color yellowish, but in both
these features it varies greatly, being
either pure silvery-white, cream or
carneous green, and even roseate. and is
very often CONSTRUCTED in the middle.
The chrysalis is brown oval body, con-
siderably less in size than the ull-grown
worm.
The chrysalis state continues for from
two to three weeks, when the skin bursts
and the moth or butterfly energies. With
no jaws, and confined within the narrow
space of the cocoon. the moth finds some
difficulty in escaping. For this purpose
it is provided in the two glands near the
obsolete mouth with a strongly alkaline
liquid secretion. with which it moistens
the end of the cocoon and dissolves the
hard, gummy lining. Then, by a for
ward and backward motion, the prisoner,
with cramped and damp wings, gradu-
ally forces its way out, and when once
out the wings soon expand and dry.
The silken threads are simply pushed
aside, but enough are broken in the
process to render the cocoon from which
the moth escape useless for reeling, and
until recent years was thrown away, but
it is now used for carding, and its value
varies from seventy-five cents to one dol
lar per pound. To make the cocoon val
liable for reeling, and worth from two
to three dollars per pound. the moth
should not be allowed to cut out, but
should be smothered Or stifled. In most
silk-producing countries the parties who
raise the cocoOnS sell them to the reeling
establishments before suffocation is nee
essary, as these establishments have bet
ter facilities for doing this work than are
to be found in private families. Domes-
tication has had the effect of producing
numerous varieties of silk-worm, every
different climate into which it has been
carried having produced either some
change in the quality of the silk or the
shape or color of the cocoons, or else
altered the habits of the worm.
Some varieties produce but one brood
in year, no matter how the eggs are
manipulated; such are known as annu-
ais. Others, known as bivoltins, hatch
twice in the course of year. The trev-
oltins produce three annual generations.
There are also quadrivoltins, and in
Bengal. a variety known as dacev, which
produce eight generations in the course
of year. Experience, taking into con-
sideration the quality of the silk. size of
the cocoon, time occupied. etc., has
proved the ANIMALS to be more profitable
than any of the polyvoltins. although |
bivoltins are successfully reared in Cali
fornia-S. a. Lanier, in Industrial Re-
vieU.
Bass Fishing.