SILK WORM REARING. (By G.B. Federli.) THE SILK WORM (Bombyx mori.)

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1664, 6 March 1883, Page 3

SILK WORM REARING. (By G.B. Federli.) THE SILK WORM (Bombyx mori.)

The next step, will beto the grain, as.tho, eggs of 'tnt silkworm "are 'technically called.. The greatest caro is again requisi'teih obtaining the eggs of tile best kind of worms ; for the difference in the market valuo of tho'coco6ns roaches 1 as much as 65 per cent.- 'As in the case of the mulberry trees, only those which are the most profitable should be procured, or disappointment will be encouraged from the beginning. „ The' eggs are kept on cards as 1 deposited by t the irioth'n., In this way they ard very 'easily transported from place to place. ' 'Having obtained a supply of grain, the next step is to hatch out the worms ; but this should not be attempted until the mulberry Wees are well out' ih' leaf. The grain should be kept in a dry place, where the temperature does not exceed COdeg, Fah., until the' hatching is required to be done. In places where late frosts may be expected, the hatching should be retarded until all fear on that score has been removed. The time having now arrived when everything ia ready for the young worms to make their appearance, the grain should be* placed in a room, the ternpcraturc""ol 'which is to be gradually raised from 60dcg. to OOdeg. Fah., over a period of ten days, or an incubator may bo used with advantage." By the third day, after the temperature has reached 9 ideg, all the worms will have hatched out. Some will appear on the first day, the majority on the second, and again a smaller number 'on the third day ; any unmatched eggs remaining after that time will not do worth troubling about. The cards of grain should be kept open. The worms will make their appearance in the morning, and between 9 and 10 a.m. all the worms that have hatched should be removed. 'I his is easily done by spreading some of the tenderest young mulberry leaves over the card containing the worms and eggs. In less than half an homL all the young worms will have craVJp on to the leaves. They must then ire lcmoved to a clean sheet of paper and laid on a tray «(a deaci iption of which will be given further on ) Any worms that may remain on the card of grain must be brushed off with the feather end of a quill on to those alieady on the tray, and fed. This must be done on each of the tlnee morning?. Each day's hatch must be kept separate. The tcmpeiature of th« room in which the silkworms are placed should, if posbible, bo kept up nearly to SOdeg. Fahrenheit for five or six days, and then gradually reduced to between Gocleg. and 7odeg. The worms must be fed with finely cut up leaves every three or four hours during the day. It will not be necessary to feed them during the night if they have been fed the last thing in the evening, and arc again fed in the morning. Alter three days a piece of mosquito netting, with the finely cut up mulberry leaves spread over it, should be placed over the worms; in a short tune they will all crawl through the meshes of the net on to the lea\es; they can be then lifted bodily on to clean sheets of paper. Changing to clean quai • ters must be done every two or three days until the worms begin to spin. On about the fouitli or fifth day it will be noticed that the appetite of the worms has fallen off. They will also appear stupid, and finally become torpid. By this, and by their colour becoming much paler, almost to tiansparency, and a triangular maik appealing on the fi out of their heads, it will be know n that the worms are about to cast their skins, or moult a» it is commonly called. When the worms appear almost completely toipid (probably on the fifth day) a net coveicd with leaves must again be put over them to weed out any woims not quite ready to moult, and these must be kept separate and fed. Those that lemam must be left undibtmbed and unfed until the skin id ofi. This can boon be ttisjuovcied l">y tlie xencwal of aetisity on the part 'of the worms lcccutly torpid. They must then be fed, and after one meal removed to a clean sheet of paper. The period of toi por usually lasts from 40 to 48 hours., aocoidingly as the worms have been keep in a high or low tempciaturc, It w ill be necessary to continue to feed the worms that weie not quite veady to moult, until they also l each tlie torpid state ; tlicv niu-t be kept quite sepal ate from those that first moulted, and when they themselves have moulted mu&t be fed moie frequently, by say a meal or two a day mole, so as to accelerate their growth, find bj* the time they moult a second time the two lots will be again equal, and can then be reunited, As at every meal the size of the worms mci eases, a net with a large sized mesh must be piocmed for the puiposc of iemoving tlio worms every third day. This increase of size will mako it necessary to eNtend the space over which they feed ; to do this the leaves must be spread over a wider area ; the woims will then extend themselves in their search for food ; too much room, however, must not be given to them, or they will lea\e many leaves uneaten, which would then dry up uud lie wasted. After the first moult, it will not be necessaiy to be so paiticular about tcmperatuic ; and they need not bo fed oftener than every four or five hours, and the leaves need not be cut up so finely. The woims will continue feeding for about fivo days, when the tune for the second moult will have ai lived. The ■*iun*> of it- iip|(HM«;h vill be the vine a^ foi the !.i>(. In fivediiN- a »M i n tlie fluid moult will take plai-c, it the rompcr.ituif lias not been allowed to tall below HO devices Atter this the woims will eat fur six moie day*, and then moult for the fourth and last lime. At each moult the weeding of tho caily moiilteis fioin the late ones must bo attended to, to keep all the worms in each tiay in the .same st.ige. When the wound h.i\e cast their skins for the last time, if the weather is cold, nitificial heat should be made use of to keep up a tempeiaturo of (X) degrees or moie, for with inct eased heat the worms will eat more voraciously, and the greater quantity of leaves they can now be made to consume the better for the finality of the cocoons. As their appetites are now so enormous, a constant supply of food must be kept up, one meal being given as soon as; the other is finished. The leaves can now be given whole, just as taken from the trees. If the feeding and temperature have been well attended to, the woi ms will begin to spin after eight more days. As soon as the worms give signs of wanting to spin their cocoons, which they do by crawling to the sides of the tray with heads erect, and oscilliating from yde to side, they should he covered withjfeaves to hasten forward any laggardKaud over the leaves a quantity of ligh^wy twigs or straw placed, both horizontally and perpendieuhrly, and the worms left entirely undisturbed to seek their own places for spinning. The worms that were late in moulting will be fully a day later than the early ones in commencing to spin, and the advantage of having kept them weeded and separate will be now apporent, by all those in each tray beginning to spin at the same time. (Io be Continued))

You will do well to furnish your house from Garlick* anil Cranwcll's. They have now the most complete Furnishing Warehouse in Auckland, furmtutc to suit all classes, good,, string, and cheap. Thcv have Tapestry ' Carpets from 2S '3d per yard,' (Brussels from 3s lldiper yard, Linolimm from fc dd fo r>S, Oil Cloths from ls,(ld loAt Cd per yard, good | 15 feet \yide Oil , Cloths at He (to per yard. Imtnchsc assortment oflren Bedsteads from Infants' Cots to 5 feet wide half-tester Jied.steads. Double iron , ]scdftc^d^ from 255. 480 Bcdstcadb in stock to select from.' 'Beddings of all Wnds and sizes' kept in readiness. Dining, Sitting, Drawing-room i'ur- ■ and .ityrnisUingr Goods, including , a „ lot , of Cceibnnos. Book .Catalogues free, to intet[4in|r. pMr^Mpr» t>l QjirVwlc , ana.', CnwfolU 9ity Hall Arcadp, 9uccn«3trcct, 4m?)(lf»4i >, v:

1 OPEKING OF A NK\^SC!JIQOI, INLoNDON. — The Prince of Wales is always ready to take part in auy coreinonial which is associated with a commendable under* jtaking. and assuredly His Royal Highness has rarely given encouragement by his prescnco to the managers of a more worthy institution than the new city of London .School, which was formally opcncd/,oii T)ec. ( \%k Cojoqista wlid' have visited* Enghind will not fail to have had pointed out to them the old Rchool-house in Milk. street, at the back of Chcapsidc. Many of thcpupils of the school have taken high degrees botK ' hi classics at Oxford, and in mathematics at Cambridge, and a few of them are at present holding high and important positions in various , parts of bur Colonial Empire." It is a singular coincidence that the Lord Mayor, who was present at the inauguration on Dec. 12, was one of its students, the fhrst, it may be mentioned, who lias attained the proud position of Chief Magistrate of the City of London. The ne>v school has cost (6217,000, and is designed for the accommodation of as many a& 700 boys, being composed of a series of different class-rooms, each capable of providing for 40 boys, under the control of a separate master. The head master is Dr. Abbott (himself formerly a student of the school). One of ceitainly not the least advantages accruing from the change of site in the school is the opportunity afforded of setting apart covered and open grounds for gymnastics and other forms of recreation. In fact, the Corporation have not only augmented the funds at their disposal by building a sohoolhouse'which will rival several of the most ancient city educational foundations, but have exercised a sound discretion in turning to iiccount the exceptional advantage afforded, by selecting as a site a portion of the open ground adjoining the eastern extremity of the Victoria Embankment. The building will be one of the " sights of London " for all colonists visiting England. The Cambridge Road Board invite tenders for a rumbcr of important works. The New Zealand Stud and Pedigree Sto< k Company (Limited) invite tenders tor making a dr.iin near Riero.i.