Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1885-04-25

named ages, OF the worms VIII suffer IN
disease OF death jus, as they are about
spinning Should there be rcpetitions
found in this work, it will bc only in
cases where the learners attention is to
be particularly called to important
items.
FOOD PLANT.
The usual food for the silk worm is
the mulberry the "whi,e" being the
best and the "purple" the next. The
paper mulberry is not good for them
and should be avoided. The mulberry
grows readily and is easily propagated
by cuttings or from seed The most
economical and quickest mode to
secure stock is by setting out trees
The cuttings must be started in rows, /,
OF 4 inches apart, after preparing the
ground by deep blowing and harrow.
ing. They should be abou, six inches
long and in every case must be cut
before the eye They must be almost
entirely buried The quickest way to
get supply OF leaves is by dwartins--
setting out young trees from the
nursery in rows six to eight feet apart,
and ten feet between the rows--iorm
the top OF the tree by cutting down to
n foot from the ground. The height
and form of the tree are regulated by
pruning and the vigorous growth of
the tree and the ease with which the
leaves can be gathered depends on this
process. Pruning should be done in
February or March, either every, or
every other, year. Remove all dead
twigs and bark, and keep the limbs rs
smooth as possible. Plant in the fall
from frost till December, and in the
spring from March til May. The fol-
lowing directions are from a practical
raiser for growing standard trees; The
cuttings should remain in the nursery
two years without pruning, The third
year cut close TO the ground and trans
plant Allow the fines, shoot to grow,
and il the land is good it will grow
eight to ten feet in height in one
season. The fourth year cut it back to
about six feet Then allow the three
or four terminal buds only to grow,
removing the Others as often as they
appear, by passing the hand along the
stem. The "Morc,te," a variety Of
white mulberry, is proftably grown in
hedges, 1t is very desirable on account
of the large size OF its leaves The
cultivation of the Usage Orange is we'll
understood in this country. As it is
generally used as hedge in those
parts Of the country which are speci-
ally adapted to silk culture, the leaves
may be readily obtained, and as
the hedges need trimming, the cutting
of OF the new growth each year as the
leaves are wanted for food, is a saving
rather than an expense. Those using
this plant for food for silk worms must
remember, that as the shoots from a
hedge-row become more vigorous,
milky and succulent by the time Of the
last age OF the worms, the terminal
leaves should not be used, but thrown
aside, as they are likely to induce dis
! case !! care be taken in this respect,
there will be no apparent difference
between the silk crop and that of the
mulberry. Should the worms from
any cause hatch before either Null
berry or Usage Orange leaves can be
obtained, they may be successfully fed
for few days on dried "lettuce OF
dandelion leaves" but il is worse than
useless waste Of time to attempt
feeding them entirely on these, or the
leaves OF any other plants than the two
here recommended
Keeling.
The Keeling Of the silk is by nc
means a simple operation, as the great
est skill Is required to do the work
properly; and the value Of the silk
depends as much on the skill Of the
reeler, as upon its original quality.
The thread Of the silk as il unwinds
from the cocoon, is Of no value foI
manufacturing purposes as several Of
them must be combined to make the
staple silk OF commerce. Where there
are sieamreeling establishments OF
"filatures," il is more profitable to sell
the cocoons or have them reeled there,
than to have the trouble and expense
OF Keeling by hand, with the chances in
favor OF the silk after all not beina
marketable. There are probabilities al
"hlatures' being erected in this coun'
my ,~hsrh all ~. d,,lv r,,,tlssh.l Il, H.