Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1899-09-22
EDUCATING SILKWORkERS.


Means Taken to Make Them Do Beauti-
full and Perfect Work.
In Il pamphlet on agriculture, re-
Gently issued by the state department,
United States Consul Brun0t, at St.
Etienne, gives an interesting account
of the French method of cultivating
silk worms, says the Manufacturer. Flo
says: 1.-The term education comprises
all the care bestowed on the silk
worms from the moment they are
Matched to the completion of the
cocoons. The life of the insect is di-
vided into five periods, u ages, Of five
or six days duration for the first three
or four, while the fifth is from ten to
eleven days, each period being marked
by mott Six light repasts are given
each day during the first two periods
the first in the early morning and the
last late at night-while four abund-
ant meals are considered sufficient Tor
the two following periods, iNcreased
to six in the fifth period. The French
repasts is important for the quality OF
the silk. About 1000 pounds of leaves
are necessary for 5000 silk worms pro-
duced from one ounce of grain. The
education lasts from twenty-eight to
thirty-two days, but many silk-wcrm
raisers cut this period short two or
three days by maintaining an IN
creased temperature OF between 6S anu
II degrees Fahrenheit. The person in
trusted with the care of the worms is
obliged to remain IN the room night
and day. so great is the degree of i'm
pressonabi]ity of the insect. A storm
gust of wind. Il sudden lowering OF
the temperature, Il repast given with
dew dampened leaves OF some other
apparently trifiing accident, would be
sufficient to destroy in one moment the
most brilliant expectations. In order
to prevent overcrowding by the
worms, the custom is to lay on them
sheets of clean paper perforated with
a series of holes corresponding to the
size of the insects. the food being
placed on top of the paper. The worms
pass through the holes and climb up
on the leaves. When a sufficient num-
Der is collected in this way the paper
is removed to one of the vacant
shelves The same operation is begun
gain and repeated until all the worms
have been removed from the place they
first occupied, when the shelves are
cleaned of the debris. The latter op-
GRAFTON is also repeated after eacn
melting period. About the sixth day OF
the fifth or last period the attendant
commences to line the spaces between
the shelves with twigs of briar, broom
or oak, placing them in an upright po-
sition at distance of about a foot
apart, and disposed in the form of an
arch or vine trellis. On the ninth
day the silk worms climb up these
branches in large numbers and choose
place for spinning their cocoons,
which they complete in four days. The
cocoons are collected the seventh day
after the worms have climbed the
briars. In order to be certain that
| they have finished their work and have
undergone the transformation into
chrysalids, few cocoons are taken Up
in the hands and shaken. If a shock
is felt the chrysalids are formed and
the branches are removed. The follow
ing day the loose silk is taken from
the cocoons, an operation styled here
"debavage." The cCcoons are then
ready for market. The maXimu1H
amount of cocoons which one ounce
of grain, comprising 5000 worms, fur
nishes, is 1870 pounds, but return OF
80 pounds is considered very satisfac-
tory From 625 to LOO cocoons an
required to make one pound of silk.
The total amount of cocoons produced
annually in France is about 10000, 900
pounds.