The Press., 1883-07-12
THE ATLANTA (GA.) UNIVERSITY.

A pleasant glimpse of the good work 1T. M. Sessions, formerly of Wilbraham, is do- ing at Atlanta (Ga.) University is given in a recent number of the Atlanta Constitu- tion. This institution is for colored peo- pie, and has an attendance of nearly 400 pupils. It seems to be modelled somewhat on the plan of Gen. Armstrong's school at Hampton, Va, and each student, whether man or woman, is required to work an hour every day either upon the farm or in the kitchen. . MT. Sessions is professor of agriculture, and is doing valuable service int eaching the young colored men pracs tical farm management Raising silk worms is one of the industries of the es- tablishment, and following interesting de- scription of the cocoonery is from the pen of the Constitution reporter :- s.tr...
 In 8 large room in the boys building, the scribe found the worms at work, hard ly at work either, unless it is work for & silk worm to eat mulberry leaves and blow silk out of his nose. The worms were all taking things quietly. Fifteen thousand of them were lazily stretched out on the leaves that lay in heaps on the tables, dry and stripped of the tender part that erst- while was between the stems The pulpy things stretching themselves out or draw ing themselves in like concertina, reach ing after the unattainable and wearing an expression of dejected sanctifcation, are not half so nice as the busy bee when he lights on the front veranda of the hive with fresh load of honey dew or distill- ed drop from the heart of some wild flow CT. So thought the reporter as he turned one over time or two to see which was the head-end of the worm.
 "It is said that they have no eyes," re- marked MT. Sessions.
 "They don't seem to have much of any thing but appetite" answered the scribe.
 'See them eat, continued MT. Sessions, as he threw upon a table fresh lot of leaves.
 Instantly every worm in that ward was filled with life. They all crawled up on top of the leaves and suddenly there was the grating noise of thousand mouths at work. It sounded like the boring of an innumerable army of rats only not Sd loud. A worm would crawl over to the edge of 8 leaf, get his hold and clamp the edge be- tween his teeth. He would not bite the leaf as a small boy would bite wafer-his mouth was not in the shape to take it that way. But he would straddle the edge of the leaf and after getting his hold the jaws would work rapidly, and he would cut out nice smooth hole, the leaf disappearing Into his maw as fast as it was cut off, just as steadily as meal falls from between the millstones. After making cut as far as his neck would permit, the worm that the reporter was watching would raise his head and taking a fresh hold at the starting point would cut another slice and repeat the operation few times, removing piece of leaf as large as ones finger nail in less than 8 minute. He would then inch up and start afresh. MT. Sessions pointed to pasteboard box filled with little apart ments two inches square, and remarked :: '"There is the silk making" .4..u l In the box the worms were weaving 1 their shrouds of yellow silk. | The sad faced insects, gorged with liquid silk, were doing their last work. One fellow just commencing would be throwing his cables of floss, laying the foundation of his tomb, as 1t were. Another could barely be seen as he was shutting himself in from the world. Another box would contain the bright yellow cocoon inside of which the worm would be dozing his last doze to come out later as a moth unless he should happen to be baked out of existence in the mean time.
 1T do not think silk culture should be conducted or attempted on a large scale, |" said MT. Sessions "It is my idea that every farmer should make little silk, say $50 worth per annum. He could do 1t easier than he could raise bale of cotton. '"