Silkworm Hearing

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 52, 14 October 1884, Page 3

Silkworm Hearing

(Bt G-. B. Febbbw.) tht: 311-KV/OE3X {Bowby.r movi.) ! The worms must be fed with finc-ly cuj up leaves every three or fv-:v hours during- the day. It will not bo necessary to feed them during. UKnight if they have been fed the lust thing in the evening, and are a^ain fed the first thing in the moruiny. After three da # ys a piece of mosquito nettina;, with the f>ne)y cut up mulberry leaves spread over it. should t>o placed over the worms ; in a shore tirue they will all crawl through the meshes of the net on to the leaves ; they can be then lifted bodiiy on to clfan sheets of paper. Chaa^ic^ to c'.ean quarters rau^t be clone every two or three days until the worms beg-iu to spin. On about the fourth or fifth day it will be, noticed that the appetite oi the worms has fallen oft". They will also appear stupid, and finally become torpid. By this, and by their colour becoming much paler, almost to transparency, and a triangular mark appf-arin^- on the front of th^ir heads. ir will be known that the worms ar«> about to cast their skiiis, or m-mlt an it is commonly c«ille»l. Wh'.'-n the worms appear airno-t completely torpi'l (probabiy on the fifth iia)) 7 a net covered with- leaves uiuit again be put over them to weed out any worms aot quite ready to mouit, and these must be kept separate and ?«■! Those that remain nr^st b) left undisturbed and unfed until the skin is off. This can soon be discovered by the renewal of activity on the part of the worms recently torpid. They must then be fed. and after one meal removed to a clean sheet of paper. The period of torpor usually lasts from 40 to 48 hours, accordingly as the worms have been kept in a high or low temperature.