Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1902-06-18
sERl CULTURE.
Something Of the Methods Of Raising and
Caring for the Silk Worm.

We find valuable information about
this revived industry in the agricultural
reports from Washington, and as we try
to "Lend Hand" to our neighbors we
will give them the benefit through our
| valuable county paper.
The food used is mulberry and Usage
orange leaves. The best food is the
morus alba and multicaulus. The com
mon wild mulberry can be used. Let
tuce leaves can be used il the worms
hatch out before the leaves come out on
the mulberry trees. The worms extract
the juice while young; later they eat
most of the leaf. They feed best from
s to a. m. and 10 to IL p. m. No set
rule is given to feed them, but never let
them get hungry: Pluck the leaves for
as the dew or damp leaves cause cholera.
Care should be taken with them at first
in feeding.
Silk moths exist in four states--eggs
or seed, larva, chrysalis, and adults or
image. The eggs are round and re-
semble turnip seed, and are placed on
paper. When your eggs como don't
let them hatch out. The worm comes
from eggs, black in color, scarcely an
eighth of an inch long, covered with long
hair, with a shiny nose, sixteen legs.
AS they are hatched place them on q
tray with paper or cloth on it. Put the
worms to eating at once. The room
must have plenty of fresh air, but keep
smoke must be allowed in the ROOM
The worms can be raised in bed room
or any room convenient to you. Keep
them away from ants, bees and rats. If
carbolic acid is placed on edges of tray,
or trays washed with carbolic acid, it
will keep off disease.
| The worm is so small at first care
should be taken to keep from losing
| them. Count each day the worms. A
magnifying glass will aid you in seeing
the infant worms. and when thoy are
molting they look as dead, but with the
glass you can tell they are alive. The
worms have four molting seasons or
sickness. At each molt it sheds the
skin. Periods between these molts are
called ages, being five in number. When
the worm molts it ceases eating, grows
lighter in color, fastens itself firmly by
ten prolegs, especially the last two, to
some object, holding its head up. The
rest of its body remains in a torpid state,
weak and feeble. 1t gains strength by
resting and then goes to work eating,
apparently to make up lost time.
When tho worm is fifteen days old it
is three quarters of an inch, and when
IL
it began to molt it is beautiful cream.
| When grown the worm is ready to spin
its cocoon. 1t |, ses its appetite, sbrinks
| nearly an inch, grows nearly transparent,
becomes restless, moves its head from
| side to side, throwing out silken threads.
| The silk is elaborated in semi-nuid con-
| ditions in two long convoluted vessels
or glands between the prolegs and head
one upon each side of the almentary
canal. AS these vessels appear tho head
grows more slender and finally unites
within tho spinneret, small orifice
below the mouth, from which the silk
issues in glutinous state, apparently in
single threads.
The worm seeks a quiet corner, and
| throwing out guy lines in several direc-
tions, finally suspends itself among them
and forms its cocoons. Worms are
placed in paper tubes or bundles of
straw to make cOcoous on. The cocoon
is complete in three days. II you wish
to use the silk the chrysalis must be
| choked in cocoon. This can be done by
placing them in hot sun for three days,
from nine to four O'Clock. 1t is best for
new silk raisers to choke them in the
sun. AS they will injure, the silk is
often ruined by heated ovens, unless the
raiser understands the steam heater pro-
cess.
If the silk worm eggs are wanted, let
the chrysalis burst out Of cocoon; the
chrysalis is now moth. The moth is
cream in color. They have no mouths,
but eyes, which is Just the reverse of the
worm. From the time it begins to spin
until the moth dies it takes no nourish-
mcnt Soon after the moths mate the
eggs are laid, and in eight days the
moth dies. One moth lays three to four
hundred eggs.
Silk culture is an ideal work for young
ladies, and those who take it up must re-
solve to have perseverance and patience.
The ones who wish to raise silk in the
future should this fall set out mulberry
trees, as the trees should be several
years old before the leaves are used.
Have one row of hedges for this year and
one for the next. Don't use the leaves
from the trees for two years, as it will
kill them. Mrs. Martha Cary, Mrs.
Samuel Reid, Mrs. CASTOR, Mrs. Rebecca
Werner Shelor and Mrs. Elizabeth Martin
were noted silk raisers when the silk
industry was in nower' here in 1910
Mrs. Samuel Reid's silk was much ad-
mircd in Charleston.
Mrs. X. w. ShclOr, n daughter of Mrs.
Reid, has silk made by her mother that
received gold medal at several fairs
we have glove made by Mrs. Rebecca
Shelor in 1927 that is well preserved
and shows the quality of silk made from
wild mulberries as silk worm food.
We were delightfully."- entertained one
afternoon last summer by Mrs. Elizabeth
Martin on silk culture and were shown a
sample of cloth made by hor.
All of these ladies are living except
Mrs. ShelOr and Mrs. Reid, and they will
gladly tell us of the worms, their habits
and the success achieved with them.
Now let us, as the women Of Oconee,
push this industry and invite men to
build silk mills here, where our silk can
| be made at homo and our women make
little spending money each year.
Let us, the young ladies of Oconee,
say with the same pride as our mothers
did when they wore the homespun
dress, that our silk dresses are made by
the women of Oconee.