The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-06-26

my last report to the Governor showed
sales of reeled silk amounting to 81, 7S9. %;
receipts from sale OF waste SILK n sam
piles. 1929. We gave away 1O6 ounces of
have over $500 worth Of eggs. cocoons
and silk on hand. The showing
this year Will be larger. for the industry
has been steadily growing. The station is
beginning this year IN May. 1t Is estimated
that each ounce OF eggs contains 10000
worms"
lis there enough of the mulberry to per-
NIT the feeding of worms to become gen.
eralf"
"Yes. but the mulberry is not the only
leaf for silk worms. 1t has been shown
just as acceptable 10 the worms
quality of silk. The Usage grows every
where. Kansas has thousands of miiss of
IT in hedge fences. AT n silk exhibit In
ashington city. the fact was developed
that some of the best grades of silk were
made from cocOons of worms fed on the
Usage. The silk is tougher in fiber. with
less gum. and hence wears better. Now
let me briefly describe the production of
raw silk: When warm weather comes in
the spring we take the eggs from the cold
storage and spread them On shelves
on racks in a large room where
an even temperature and moisture
Cdu 10 llu LIS 6nOulu oO dOHo
about the first time the leaves appear on
the Usage. The eggs, which are of the size
of pinheads, will hatch at a temperature of
650 TO So Fahrenheit. In one or two days.
the worms will begin to appear, and must
then be covered with mosquito netting and
given flew branches or leaves upon which
TO feed. The leaves will soon be covered
with little black worms, almost too
small to be seen with the naked
eye. Each days hatch is re-
ynnvad 70 nfhar GhalUaa and moPEa6
with the date for future guidance IN feed
ing. The hatchIng occurs between the
hours of 5 and = o'clock in the morning.
and worms not Matched by the fourth day
are usually too fee bic OF sickly to be of
value. The worms are next placed on
racks made of lath ed gewise, OF trays COW
cred with q Irvine mesh so that the worms
shall not be weighted with the leaves and
branches and shall have ventilation. The
tenderest leaves are fed first TO the young
worms and then the tougher, accord
ing as both worms and leaves de-
velop. Care must be taken that
the leaves are not fed damp or wet with
dew, and for safety. il is best to gather the
so that they may be thoroughly dry when
fed. i have known some young girls with
high hopes of making O pocket full of pin
money, to make this mistake and then to
of the worms. These creatures, you know,
are very delicate, and are subject to con-
tagious Diseases, such as cholera. For that
reason the utmost cleanliness must be
maintained aboutsthe cocoonery. With
ordinary scarefulness, however, the worms
will thrive and mature in the course of
six weeks. During this period they mott
four times. making What 10 termed an age.
The casting Of their skins is accompanied
by sickness, in which they become drowsy
and refuse to eat. They stand half erect
and sway their heads from side to side. In
about eight or ten days after the last mott
the worms prepare to spin. When they be-
gin to throw out silken tibres, it is time to
give them facilities for spinning their CO.
coons. A suitable convenience is q tray of
lathe e~dgewise. When a site for the CO.
coon Is selected. the worm begins its steady
weaving back and forth, the silk flowing
freely in q continnoas thread. In three or
-four days the cocoon 10 made. and the
has spun itself dOwE 10 halt that size.
The cocoon is not TO be removed short
of eight DAYS when wanted
for recling. but when designed
for reproduction. may be allowed
to remain twelve days. For Keeling, when
gathered, 1T Is put into a steam-chest
known as q sitter, aud the heat turned on
up to q temperature Of $50 degrees. The
effect ia to kill the chrysalis and dry its
siiken Enclosure. When about to be Teeled
the cocoons are boiled in water, which
caught MP by gently beating them with a
whisk broom. The operator. or reeler.
deftly throws our or five of the tibres to-
gether, which are reeled as one thread.
The threads unwind from the cocoons Is if
they were SO many sDools. Each cocoon
produces from four hundred to five hun
dred yards of fibre.