BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-04-10
.RlSll Six Il Porto Rico.
Highly Successful Experiments
With A Scarce Venezuelan
Worm.
May Be Raised Anywhere On
The Island.
Efforts Of A Venezuelan Resident O
This City.
Largest Cocoon Known

llHDOIldllL -CAPC14I1lS1lSo 49,
silk worms have been going on in this
city for the past three months. The
result of these experiments has been
highly gratifying, and it has been
proven beyond suspicion of doubt
that there can be raised in Porto
Rico a silk worm which will make the
largest cocoon known to naturalists, a
cocoon which is three times larger than
hat made by the Japanese worm, and
twice as large as that of the French and
Spanish worm. It has also been posi-
lively poven that this silk is the equal
in quality of any which is known, and
that its lowest price in the market is
$500 hundred pounus.
Several months ago Mr.. Juan Mag
daleno, native of Venezuela, came to
Porto Rico to engage in the business OF
preserving fruits here.
In the course of a trip across the
island he had occasion to notice the
presence, in immense quantity, of a GER
tain leaf, small plant, which is also
peculiar to the interior of Venezuela,
upon which he knew the silk worm,
which is found in Venezuela in small
numbers, would grow and rapidly
thrive.
Mr.. Magdaleno Immediately returned
to Venezuela, made a trip into the
interior of the country, in neighbor-
hood were his family had formerly
owned land, and where his people had
first discovered the presence in Vene-
zuela of this worm. He procured
something like two hundred cocoons
from which the butterfly had not yet
emerged. He brought them to Porto
Rico, placed them in boxes with the
leaf which he believed they would live
on, and thus began the experiments
which are now turning out with such
great success. Mr.. Magda1eno has
arranged his worms in four boxes; in
the first he has placed the original
cocoons which were brought from
Venezuela, many of these long ago shed
their butterflies: which in turn laid the
eggs from which the new cocoons are
now being evolved.
The next box contains the eggs on
the leaf, with the tiniest worms just
being hatched out, in the next box are
the worms grown to about half the
size of the little finger, and in the
fourth box may be seen the worn en-
gagged in spinning the cocoon over its
body. The full operation is on view,
and was seen this morning by repre-
sentative of the BoLETIN. Mr.. Magda.
leno also took the BoLETIN represen-
tative to spot overlooking the
ocean where he showed that the leaf
could be had without the slightest effort
in San Juan, or any place on
the island.
In the course of an interview with
the BoLETIN representative Mr.. Mag
daleno weighed off an ounce of the
cocoons and it took exactly twenty-five
cocoons to the ounce. 1t is said that
The Japanese cocoon takes over seventy
to the ounce, and that the Frehch and
Spanish require about forty five to fifty.
Mr.. Magdaleno also stated that his
family in Venezuela had been offered
$500 an one hundred pounds for the
rough cocoons by silk weaver of
Lyons. France. He also stated that the
silk made up into a fine quality of
goods, the equal of the best know
qualities
He proposes to continue his investi,
cations and if they are as success
ful as heretofore Mr.. Magdaleno stated
that he intended to engage extensively
in the growing of the worm in Porto
Rico, and that he proposed to hold a
gov ,1nfnent test of his experiments
before expert scientists and naturalists,
and that he wanted to have the go
vernment introduce the worm all over
he island