Stephens City star. (Stephens City, Va.) 1881-1883, 1882-04-22
SILK CULTURE.
New Industry by which the Youua md
this Old May support Themselves
In n Pleasant Way,

In n Pleasant Way.
Having learned of the efforts of Mrs
E. B. johnson to promote silk culture
in Louisiana, reporter visited thai
lady and had an interesting chat witt
her upon the industry to which she ii
so enthusiastically devoted.
Being asked how to raise the sill
worms and other points about the cul-
ture, she gave the method, as follows
Suppose you wish to raise sill
worms. You obtain an ounce of eggs
If you should order these from the
North, in many cases number of the
eggs will be Matched when they reach
here, and the worms are mixed with
the eggs. In that case you spread the
mass over space a foot square and
cover it with piece of mosquito bar
netting. If you put tender buds OF
leaves. cut very fine, upon the netting
the young worms will Immediately come
through to feed on the leaves. When
they have all come through you take
up the netting and place sill the worms
on shelf, marking the day and the
number of feeds. Keep each breed sep.
arate and while quite young sprinkle
food over the netting, covering them
four times a day. BY changing the
netting over them all the time, you
keep them clean and healthier. As the
worms are constantly growing the space
allowed them must be daily increased.
This is done by placing netting over
them and taking it away when a cer-
tain number have crawled through,
leaving the remaining worms more
room. The worms change their skin
once week by process called mott
ing. These changes are periods of
sickness to them, and they do not eat
anything during these times. About
eight days after the fourth molt they
begin to make silk. When ready to
make silk they cease eating, become
transparent aud throw their heads back
and forth with wavy kind of motion.
The usual way then is to take branches
of brushwood and form arches of them
between shelves. If you place the
worms beneath these arches they will
crawl upon them and make their CO.
coons. Wild cane reeds cut close to
the brush are the best for the purpose,
allowing the brushes to form the bases
of the arches and covering the tops OF
the arches we'll. If all of the worms
are Of the same age, and are kept of
even growth, they will go up into the
arches and make their cocoons at the
same time and spare the cultivator much
trouble.
ut requires about four days for the
worms to make their cocoons. Eight
or ten days afterwards the butterflies
cut through the silk and come forth.
The female butterflies are distinguished
from the males by their large and heavy
bodies, and also by the males being in
constant futter. They mate imme-
diately after coming forth. The females
are taken and placed on some cloth or
plotting paper suspended at some dis
tance from the walls to prevent moths
or worms from interfering with the but
terfies. In six or eight hours tho fe-
males lay eggs, one female laying about
four hundred eggs. About one hundred
females of fine breed lay an ounce of
eggs. Butterflies of different species
lay their eggs in different manners.
Some glue the eggs to the material on
which they are placed, and some lay the
eggs loose. After depositing their eggs
the butterflies die.
sit is about ten months before the
species called ANIMALS hatch in the eli
mate By raising the eggs here num-
Der are lost by premature Matching and
the lack of food in winter. A good way
is to send the eggs to the North to be
Kept there until wanted here, about the
middle CT April. Southern raised eggs,
however, are the best for cocoons. I
have rare breed which has been pro.
duced in Louisiana for the last thirty
five years, and which make very fine
cocoons. Some Japanese specimens I
have increased in size here and shown
that the climate has improved them. I |
have raised silk worms in Alabama dur
ing the war and also reeled the silk.
II have been engaged raising the eggs
IN Louisiana for the last three years,
and have been using every effort to
induce the ladies of Louisiana to EN-.
bark in the industry, as it is one we'll
suited to their tastes and can prove very
Mrs. johnson has had much exper-
ence in silk culture and is acquainted
with the minutest details of the indus
try. Some specimens she showed him