Evening star., 1937-06-27

JUST now people went ABOUT ralS
worms spun the silk were questions
they kept asking So it was decided
that they should raise their own silk
worms for while
Their teacher. Mrs. Kathryn Rodg-
ers. took charge Of the arrangements
and before long pupils all over the
school were peeping into her class
room to see how the new unit was pro-
crossing.
First. Mrs Rodgers secured a silk
worm cocoon which was covered with
eggs She hunted all over washington
to find the cocoon and finally dscov-
cred one in the school science depart
ment. It had been kept in cold storage,
but the icy quarters had not hurt the
eggs.
CHE set up a table for the project
and everybody crowded around to
see what was going on. The cocoon
didn't look very interesting at first. 1t
was = small yellow peanut-shaped
shell and was covered with tiny black
objects as small as pin points. These
were the eggs.
The school room was very warm,
however, and when the eggs were
placed near the radiators they started
matching into worms within two or
three days. The pupils counted them
and there were 2s7 in ADJUST from
the one cocoon
As soon as the worms Matched they
had to be fed on mulberry leaves.
Silkworms won't eat anything else
it seems, but they have tremendous
appetites.
Mulberry leaves don't grow profusely
in Washington and soon Mrs Rodgers
and the 80 children in her two third
grades were forced to enlist outside
aid Miss Evelyn Durnbaugh, sixth
grade teacher. offered her assistance
and pupils throughout the school also
joined in the search for the leaves
The worms ate three times during the
school day and at night Mrs. Rodgers
fed them again. Two large armfuls
Of leaves were necessary for each
meal.
The worms grew for 80 days and
during that period they slept three
times. These were pretty long maps
48 hours each-and the pupils could
tell they were sleeping because they
lay dormant and refused to eat.
zach time the worms slept they
shed skin. which was left on the
leaves in their suit-box home. Pupils
noticed they changed color with each
new skin, starting out as little black
objects and eventually becoming ivory
white in color.
When the 39-day period was up
they suddenly stopped eating and
crawled into some straw Mrs. Rodgers
| had placed in their boxes.
Then the pupils became very ex-
| cited because the worms started spin.
ming.
The silk came from the mouth Of
the insect in a thin liquid threac
which hardened as it struck the air
At the end OF three days, however
each worm was completely covered
by little silk shell it had made fol
| itself.
BY this time the pupa-a littl.
brown case inside the cocoon-hae
been formed, and pupils learned thi!
was the chrysalis stage. They learned
also that something very strange woule
happen inside that pupa That tht
worm gradually would change into {
moth-a process called the meta
morphosis, and that when it was ready
to come out it would break through
the end OF the cocoon.
Mrs. Rodgers explained to he
classes however. that If they waitee
until the moth emerged the silk wouls
be broken. So the third-graders tool
q few Of the cocoons to try theil
hand at unwinding the silk. The,
waited a week after the cocoon hat
been formed and then they dippee
the tiny shell into boiling water.
THE cocoon they discovered, wa
just like a bobbin filled with sill
and they began to unravel the slende
strands. To their amaZement. tn
silk measured more than $50 yards
In China and Japan, they learned
from 500 or 1900 yards often come
from one cocoon.
After the moths had been hatchet
they began to mate At once. Thel
the female moths laid eggs on tn
cocoons they had left and on strip
of paper placed in their box. Then
after a brief life, the moths died
completing . life cycle.
It was all very thrilling and tn
hird-graders were very proud Of thei
project. A. school closed they foun'