lliiliifii|i|sigi^ LIBRARY ^nssachc^^^ 1895 ^ \^,oo ^renti^n^ ^ ffule foa^c . Plate I Fig-. MI. ASillEEiEE^ dad add TigBI K ^.^^^^ J.Jf,^.J.Jl- THE CULTURE of SILK: O R, A N ESSAY ON ITS RATiaNAL PRACTICE and IMPROVEIVtENT, IN FOUR PARTS. . On the raifingand planting of Mulberry Trees. [. On hatching and rearing the SlLK-WoRMS. III. On obtaining their S i tii and Breed. IV. On reeling their Silk- Pods. For the Ufe of the American Colonies. B Y The Rev. SAMUEL PULLEIN, M.A„ j^n i baj}en to the Work each beauteous Maid, J)ra^%:^ A. 0 1 a a a PRE F A C^E. TH E bunneis defcribed in this book requires no fuud to begin it : it may be perfonn'd by the poor and weak, the young and aged, women and children. This, and the culture of filk in fome of our America?! colonies now becoming an objeil of publick concern, were the prin- cipal motives of my engaging in this fub- je6t. To -write Upon any thing which is the immediate obje6l of pradice, is by no means fo ufelefs as the bulk of pradlitioncrs imagine. Agriculture and all the paits of Hulbandry have long been Arts of common pradtice, and yet will be fubjedls proper to be treated, fo long as they are Arts ca- pable of improvement J and, even tho' they were capable of no further improvement, yet it is neceflary to make publick what is already known, that perfons who have not the opportunity of living inftrudlors may be encouraged to begin their journey by having fome dire6lions of their road. In France^ tho' the culture of filk has long A 3 been vi P R E FA C E. been a pra6lical art, yet books are ftill written upon that fubje(5l, which has with- out doubt this good confequence, that' it engages many in that bufinefs who would otherways never have thought of it, be- caufe they had no rule to let out by. The few things which have been pub- liflied, in Englijh, on the culture of filk, have not explained even the prefent prac- tice in fuch a manner, as to extricate per- fons from the difficulties they vv^ould meet in their firft tryals j much lefs have they attempted to lay any foundation for future improvements : they were too concife to take in the various incidents that migbt diflurb a young pra6litioner, and, in many difficult parts, fo obfcure that they feem to be only verbal tranllations, without any knowledge of the fubjedl. As an infbance of this, let any one read the defcription igiveu of the reel in a quarto, dedicated, I think, to the Lords Commiffioners of Trade, in which there is either a total neglecl, or a total ignorance of its moil eilential move- ments. I need not mention the many ma- terial eircuniflances which are omitted in the hatching, feeding, and obtaining the bre;d of Silkworms. In PREFACE. vii In the following treatife I have attempt- ed to bring together the befl and moffc material things which have been delivered by different authors. And, having myfelf many times gone through the praclice of the four different parts into which I have divided the fubje6l, I have thence taken occafion to mention fuch improvements as I had a6lually tryed, and alfo to fuggefl fuch as I had reafon to think would, on tryal, be found ufeful : by thefe means attempting to impart what I already knew^ and dire6ling to fuch tryals as might dif- cover more than I knew, and flriving to enter fo far into the reafon of things, as jiTiight give fome light to future difcoveries. If fome fhould think I have treated the fubje6l too minutely ; I can only fay, that this was owing to my obferving that bre- vity in rules which were to be put in prac- tice was often the caufe of obfcurity and error. If inaccuracy of exprefTion fhould oc- cur, I can only offer in excufe the multi- tude and variety of precepts, where the; mind, while exercifed on the matter, muft be often inattentive to the form. A 4 li vlii PREFACE. if die number of rules fliould be thought too great to be fuddenly comprehended, I fhall not deny it, but at the fame time 1 flatter myfelf that many of them will, from time to time, be confulted as diffi- culties occur, and often (hew, or at leaft {uggcO: fome remedy. , In fhort it may happen tliat this treatifc niay be fuddenly cenfured, and flowly found ufeful j or may without either praife or cenfure fleep in obfcurity. But, while I am convinced of the intention with which.it was wrote, and of opinion that it can at leaft do no injury to the caufe which produced it, I Ihall not add folicitude about its credit, to the trouble which it has al- ready coll me; I do not fhew it to the publick with the over-valuing fondnefs of a parent for a child of his own begetting, but only offer it as a foundling whofe af- ^|)ecl gave fome hopes of its proving ufe- ful to its country : I have wrapped it up in fuch homely drefs as came readiell to ^'^my haiid, and in this deliver it to be edu- ^cated according to its talents. 5 CON- i'ah 0 PAR T t CHAP. I. SOME introduBory obfervations on the breeding of Silkworms, ivitb regard to different climates Pag. i CHAP. 11. Of the different kinds of Mulberry-trees 1 1 Jucwl 9b. ' C H "a p. III. ^I^he manner of faving the feed of the Muh 3fij beery for raifing plantations i g \o 8i3nk.oi' e H A P. IV. , ^^he pi proper for the raifing and plantation ^ M^^rry-trees ^^^^ ^..^ aj qu 1i bsqq^i C HAP. ~V|P 2li oj -tui ^VSe^firfi' method of raifing Miuberryltreesy ^^ from the feed . 27 •vlOD C H A P. VII. ne fecond method of raifing Mulberry -trees^ from cuttings ^y CHAP, X CONTENTS. C H A P. VIII. Of raijing Mulberryi-trees by layers^ and other ' methods 46 CHAP. IX. Of the planting out of the young Mulberry^ trees 49 C H A P. X. Of the form of a Mulberry plantation for Silkworms 53 CHAP. XL Of the culture^ pruningy and management of Mulberry-trees both for Silkworms and Fruit 58 PART IL CHAP. L A general brief view of the Silkworm's life^ with the choice of place proper for rear^ ing them in 66 CHAP. II. Of choofing good eggs^ and the time of the! year proper to hatch them ji I CHAP. CONTENTS. xi C H A P. III. T/jc" method of hatching the Silkworms (^gg^ 79 CHAP. IV. ^he method of treating the Silkworms during the time of hatching 87 CHAP. V. ^he manner of preparing the large ftands and Jhehes on which the grown filkworms are to be fed J and on which they afterwards fpin their filk 97 CHAP. VL T^he ma7iner oj gathering the mulberry leofues, and keeping the?n jrefh, 105 CHAP. VII. Of the four ficknejjes or 7multi?igs which the Silkworm u7idergoes 113 CHAP. VIII. Of feeding and managing the filkworms during their two firji ageSy or till they pafs their fecond tnoulting 123 CHAP. IX. How to fnanage the Silkworms during their two Jiext age it thett tsy from their r^- cc'jery xli CONTENTS. iVficovery out of their fecond moult to their recoijery out of their fourth 137 \_ ^ CHAP. X. ^he management of the Silkworms during their fjth age^ that is from their rewoery out tf th^ir fourth moidt^ till they are ready to P A RaTfi ^III. '^he method of accornmo dating the Silki!Jorms with branches proper to fpin their filk in • ' J 55 CHAP. II. . 'j'he management of the Silkworms during the time of their fpinning 163 ;^\n'iv\^,|i^ HAP TTT ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^The manner of the Silkworm* s fpinning its Ji Ik- pod or ball'j its continuayice in it y and the changes it fiiffers while it remains there ^ till it comes forth in form of a moth or ititierfly\y^^ ^V\\'Sk\-\QW V^j^ i^\E^\i\^ ^^ i<^9 CHAP. iV. Of difbranching the arbours where the worms fpin. How to choofe thofe flk-pods 'which Gr€ C O N T. :p 'jN^::.>T^^i5.-i^5o t^^.'^i are defignedfor breeds and fort thofe which are to be tre/ed 176 ^' chap; v»^?>^«»-^«/' ' .7'he 7nethods of killing the Grub or Chr)falis, r to prevent the Silk- balls /rem being pierc- ed 182 i^C HAP. VJ. ^he management of thofe filk-pods which were chofen for breed, T^he cofning out of the moths, I'he method of coupling them . ^h( materials proper for them to lay their ego-s en, and how to preferve the eggs till the next faring igi %^\ i^v.-iv^ ^'c'' k A P vii" "^>"^^ '^"^■' On the breed of Silkworms degenerating. An experiment propofed to be tried, iti order to hinder it. Another experiment of cttrio- fity propofed for tryal '-f^ "f ^*^V'^^\804 C H A P. IX. tO/* the difeafes and mortality incident to Silk" 'worms H C 214 ytx* " PART XIV CONTENT SJ PART IV.> C H A P. I. The nature of the filk-thread as fpiin by the worm, A general idea of the manner of reeling it 229 CHAP. 11. Of the fiirjiace^ reel,- and inflrumeiits for wind- ing the filk from the pods 233 CHAP. III. ^he improvements ef the filk-reel^ and the manner of reeling 240 CHAP. IV. How to take off the fiofs or loofe filk from the podsy the reafon of forting thefe accord- ing to their different degree of fmenefs, in order to be reeled 251 CHAP. V. How to reel the filk from the pods 255 CHAP. VI. Some further hints for the improvement of reeling the filk from the pods 266 CHAP. CONTENTS. xy CHAP. VII. Of dijhanding the /ilk from the reel, and iye- ing it up in fkains : the life of the flofi- filk 271 CHAP. VIII. Some additional obfervaiions on cleaning the hurdles from the litter made by the Silk- 'worms 275 PREFACE. THE Culture of S I L K. TA R T I. CHAP, h Some ifitrodiiBory obfervations on the breeding of Silkworms i with regard to different cIi-»- mates, NEITHER Animals nor Plants^ when tranfpoited from one cli- mate to another of a different temperature, are immediately natura- lized j there is fome time required, and often fome fucceffions of generation, be- fore their nerves and fibres can adapt themfelves to the different influence of the air and fun ; and if the feafons were ftea- dy and regular in their native country, but mutable and irregular in that to which B they 2 THE CULTURE they were brought, fome timernufl be ne- ceflary before their fibres can acquire a facihty of contracting and extending with fufiicient quicknefs to anfwer the fudden changes of the weather. Thus we may obferve, that the natives of England and Ireland are not fo affefted by the variabi- lity of our feafons, as thofe born under the fleady cUmates of Italy and France : hence alfo we can account why old perfons, whofe fibres, by growing rigid, have loll the power of adapting themfelves to the fudden changes of the weather, are very fenfibly affe61:ed by its variations. The confequence which I would draw from the foregoing obfervations is, that it cannot be expetied by us, that filkworm's bred from eggs, imported recently from Italy or France, can immediately thrive. Thofe therefore who attempt the breeding of filk worms here in England^ had better raife their ftock from eggs which have, for fome preceding generations, had their original among us. With regard to our colonies on the conti- nent oi America, filkworms might be rear'd in them all to perfection, from Neio-England to Georgia inclufive j for the mulberry-tree will O F S I L K. 5 will grow in moil of them without any culture, and the fummers in the mod nor- therly provinces are fufficiently warm j but many of them are fo engaged in the plant- ing of tobacco, that no hands can be fpared, the management of that, and of filkworms, being at the fame time of the year, and thofe who are employed about tobacco are very unfit to attend filkworms j and yet I believe it would fcarce be a lofs to Englandy if the former was fomewhat negle6ted for the fake of the latter. The great quantities of filk which might be imported thence into Ej2gla?tdy the num- ber of hands which it would employ, the various manners in which it might be mixed with the manufacture of wool, and the revenue that might-, in time arife up- on its importation, feem to be things well worth the encouragement of the Englijh ; and in Amef^ica the comfortable fubfiftence and enrichment of many fmail families, by raifmg filk, would be of much more benefit to our colonies, than that the la- bour and indufcry of the poor fhould be laid out only for the advantage of fome rich planters. B z In 4 THE CULTURE In Ibme of the colonies a double pro- duce of filk might be obtain'd in one fea- fon, and the warmth of the climate would make thellightefl accommodation of houfes or even fheds fufficient, and many of the cautions and obfervations delivered in this treatife unnecefTary; fo that, there, what regards the keeping of the filkworms warm, need not be fo much attended to as what gives, them air, and keeps them clean. I fufpe6t however, that the moifture, which is occafioned in feveral parts of our Ame- rtcan colonies by their being not yet clear'd of their woods, may be of differ vice to the rearing of filkworms ; at leaft, I believe, this may make it a matter of fome impor- tance, to choofe thofe places where the woods ar€ well clear'd av/ay, and to avoid thofe which are fituated near fwamps and great lakes, or expofed to the north cind north-wefl winds, which, in our part of America^ are the moil cold and piercing. Some attempts having been made to rear filkworms in England^ it may not be impro- per here to fay fomething concerning them. And firft, I mufl obferve, that the changes which frequently happen in our weather is the greateft obilacle j for though the time O F S I L K. 5 time in which filk worms are fed and fpin be no more than about fix weeks, yet there frequently happens, in that time, fo many days of liazy and moift weather, or fuch fharp winds, as greatly retards their com- ing to perfedion, and often kills one half of the brood. This inconvenience of the climate may in fome meafure be remedy'd by perfons of fubftance, who can choofe a convenient and warm part of their houfes, and occa- fionally liglit a fire to conquer the incle- mency of the air ; and who bcfides have time and leifure to overfee and diretl the management of the filkworms. But thefe being things which are out of the power of the lower clafs of people, I (hall take it for granted, that the culture of filk- worms cannot be performed by them, -and fhall therefore only addrefs what I fay here to fuch as have leifure and abilities, and may, in the culture of filkworms, find a pleafing fummer amufement, and not altogether unprofitable. I have mentioned, that cold and raw weather may be palliated by the fituation of the room, which fhould have windows to the fouth, and alfo by occafionally B 3 making 6 THE CULTURE making a nre, which laft fliould efpecially be regarded during the two or three days in which the worms are employed about fpinning their filk-pods -, for if the wea- ther is then cold or raw% they will make little or no filk, and fo you will lofe all the advantage which was expe6led fron^ them. The fame caution fliould alfo be obferv^d wdien the moths are coupling and laying their eggs, otherwife tliey will lay but few, Since mulberry-trees, efpecially the black fort, can be eafilyrais'd, I fliall fay nothing as to the objection of want of food ; but fhall only caution any perfons from at.- tempting to breed filkworms, who have not plenty of leaves at their own com- mand, fmce I know with what difficulty they are procured from others. Another objection is, that the worms are often hatch'd by the heat of the wea- ther, before the leaves are come out to feed them 5 but if you keep the eggs in a fmall viol bottle, covered with a piece of paper prick'd with two or three pin-holes, and placed in a cool fituation, where nei- ther the heat of the fun nor the air of a fire ca;i affed it, yet free from moiflure or O F S I L K. 7 or cold winds, this will hinder them from hatching during the latter part of April and beginning of May; and if you are not then prepared with food, place the bottle in a vefiel of cold water fo deep as the eggs lie in it, or a little deeper, and this will further retard their hatching. It may be faid, that the conftant attend- ance of feeding the worms three or four times a day would occafion too great a con- finement, but this is a work which any fervant, who has once feen it, may eafdy perform -, and therefore, I think that a lady might, even in thefe cUmates, make herfelf a fait of filk with the tenth part of the trouble, and by a more agreeable a- mufement than that fed encary on@, which compleats a wrought head-drefs. Moft indeed that go about breeding filkv/orms, do, for want of method, or by following fanciful ones, make it a troublefome bufi- nefs, and oft-times the very pains which they take creates more labour. They let the eggs be laid on paper, they are hatch'd at very diftant times, they are fometimes pick'd up fingly as they hatch, and placed on ten times more leaves than are necefTary, which occafions frequent clearing awav of B 4 theij: g THE CULTURE their litter -, when they are fed, numbers often perifh under an overbundance of leaves -, young and old are mix'd together, and by that means the proper management during their periodical ficknefs becomes im- pradicablej at laft, when thofe worms which furvive this management, are ready to fpin, they are watch'd, and pick'd up one by one, and placed feverally in little paper cells, which are afterwards pinn'd one by one to the fides of the room. This is the method generally followed by thofe who keep fiik worms among us -, ^nd as every part of it is wrong, every ilep toilfome, it is no wonder that thofe who proceed in this manner, foon grow tired of the w^orkj they reckon over all their worms, and when they have rear'd one or two thoufand, they account it a prodigious jiumber ; they perhaps afterward reel off fome of the balls in a method both tedious and toilfom ; and, having at laft produced an ounce or two of filk, they are amazed at the great number of worms, and the great labour which is necefiary to produce a fmall quantity of filk. But this is much t:he fame, as if a farmer fhould run into ^very wrong method of hufbandry, and at O F S I L K. 9 lafl: complain of tlie faiigue, and of the many millions of grains that went to make a few barrels of corn. But when it can be ihew'd, that two or three large mulberry- trees, or a proportional number of fmall ones, will feed a fufficient number of worms to make above a pound of filk j that the ftand which holds thefe worms will not take up a yard's fpace in a room ; that one perfon Ikill'd in reeling can, with the help of a boy to turn the reel, wind off two or three pound of filk in a day j that one pound of this filk will make near five yards of paduafoy ; that the whole time, from the hatching of the eggs to the I'eel- ing of the fiik, amounts to no more than fix weeks ; and that a fmall part of each day is fufficient for the proper attendance ; that befides all this, it can be done with much lefs trouble than is generally, under- gone ^ thefe things, I fay, being con- fidered, and, as I hope, fhev^n in the pro^ grefs of the inflruclions given in this book, then the management of filkworms will appear perhaps in a more inviting light, and be look'd upon as an entertainment ji^ither unpleafing nor unprofitable. 8 M 10 THE CULTURE An opinion indeed has gained ground, that the rearing of filkworms is an un- healtliy employment ; but this I am fure has no foundation, unlefs v/here they are kept in a flovenly manner, and their Htter or the dead worms fufFered to corrupt and taint the air ; for while the litter continues dry, and the worms healthy, I never found the fmell to differ much from that of hay, though by a perfon's being prejudiced, that fmell, as coming from worms, may be imagined very difagreeable. Indeed the fedentary employment of poking over the worms, and picking them from the leaves, is not a very healthy amufement for the perfbn who ufes it, and I am fure it is hurtful to the worms. If the method follow'd here by ladies were purfued in the filk-countries, filk could fcarce be fold for lefs than its weight of gold ; but if rules and method are pro- perly followed, the pains which they be- flow upon ten v.^orms would ferve for ten thoufand. An improper method of hatch- ing the eggs difturbs the whole procefs of rearing the worms for ever after j and im- proper fleps in the rnanagement of them diflurbs all the fubfequent ones 3 and there- fore OF SILK. ii fore to lay afide their prefent praclice, and fet out upon a new method, is the only thing that can make the feeding of filk- wornis in ILngland an eafy amufement. The intention of this treatife is not only to prefer ibe the prefent practice in the filk- countries, but to point out feme things, and give fome hints, for its improvement, eipecialiy at a time when there is a fair proipccl of introducing the culture of filk into our American colonies. CHAP. II, Of the different kinds of Mulberry-trees, t I ' HE mulberry-tree is the foundation X of the filk manufa61ure, its leaves being the food fo peculiarly adapted to the worm which affords us their rich materials, that no other can be fubflituted for it with any advantage. There are two forts of mulberry-trees, one call'd the black, and the other the white. The black is that which is com- jTionly planted in gardens for the fake of its JZ THE CULTURE its fruit, which, when ripe, is of a black colour, its leaves are very large and rough, and of a darker green than the white fort, its Item generally inclines to be warped and crooked, and its bark rough. The white mulberry- tree is fo called, be- caufe its fruit is either of a white, or a pale grey colour j it grows with a ftraighter flem and fmoother bark, which is alfo of a lighter colour than that of the black rnulberry, and its leaves are fmooth, thin, and much fmaller. It is rarely met with in gardens, for its fruit is of no value, be- ing very fmall, and of an infipid fweetilh talle. Some of the writers on filkworms men- tion a third fort of mulberry-tree, which they call the white mulberry-tree, bearing little red berries. This is perhaps only a variation occafioned by foil and climate, for the white fort fometimes bears reddifh berries. There may chance alfo to be dif- ferent kinds, hy the forhiay or male- dull, of one fort impregnating the {eed of ano- ther, when the trees of different fpecies grow near one another. Perhaps mulber- ries, flriclly fpeaking, may be all of one fpecies, and the varieties which appear among OF SILK. 13 among tlicm only accidental 5 this might be alcertaincd, by impregnating the kcd of one fort with the farina of another : for if the mules produced from this mix- ture bore fruit whofe feed was prolific, and would grow when fown, then we might conclude them of the fame fpecies ; and this is perhaps the furefl method for diftinguifliing the kinds in all plants and animals, fince it is well known, that mules, both vegetable and animal, are barren; Providence feeming to have fixed this qua- Jity as an obfliacle to the infinite confufioa of fpecies, which would otherv^ife have foUow'd from infinite mixtures ^ but this I only mention occafionally : In treating of filkworms, it is fufficient to preferve the diftinftion of mulberries into the black and white forts. Befide the ufe of the mulberry-tree in the production of filk, its timber is faid to be very ferviceable, and it has the property of bearing wet, without rotting, better than any other ; yet there is no tree whofe bark fo readily parts from the wood, if the wet gets between them while in a growing ftate. The inner rind of this tree is tough, like hemp, and might be twifled 14 THE CULTURE twifled into a ftrong cordage : moft cattk are very fond of its leaves, w^hich are very fattening ; for which purpofe they are alfo given to poultry, being bruifed with a mix- ture of oatmeal. The black fort is a very delicate and wholeforae fruit, and ufeful in many diforders of the throat and mouth > the tree itfelf makes a very fine appearance in fummer, fcarce any other having a more beautiful fliew of foliage. The root of the mulberry tree fhoots very deep into the foil, and is no hinderance to almoft any thing v/hich is planted about it, fmce the furface of the earth is not im- poveriihed by it, as it often is by other trees whofe roots do not go deep j nei- ther is its fliade, nor the dropping of rain from its leaves, reckon'd injurious to plants. Since the root of the mulberry flrikes fo deep, in order to bear good fruit, the black fort ought to have a deep rich foil which fliou'd be digged and manur'd an- nually like that of other fruit-trees -, it is therefore a very bad method, which is generally followed, to leave a grafs plat under it which prevents the ground from ever being opened and manured : this grafs- plat is left for the fake of faving the fruit which OF SILK. J5 wliich are apt to fall with a very little wind, and are very cafily bruifed, but a coarfe cloth or winnow-lheet wou'd ferve as well, and iiot hinder the culture of the tree. When mulberry-trees are only kept for the ufe of filkworms, the foil and culture are not of fuch confequence j and the lefs they run into fruit it will be the better ; however, you fliou'd always have fome planted in a good foil and lituation, and properly manured, to haflen their coming into leaf, that fo you may have food for your filkworms early in fpring, and not be obliged to keep their eggs from hatching till it is fo late, that in hot climates, the midfummer heat wou'd come before they went to fpin, or that, in temperate climates, the cold might advance before they laid their eggs, either of which wou'd be very hurtful. Both the black, and the white mulberry leaves will feed filkworms, but the white fort is preferred, and generally ufed, at leafl: in Europe j for which the following reafons are alleged. Firft, that their leaves are more tender and delicate, and more eagerly defired by the worms. Secondly, that they i^ THE CULTl/REi they come into leaf a fortnight, or more, fooner than the black, by which means your filkworms can be fed earUer in fpring, and you avoid the inconvenience of hatch- ing them late as mentioned above. Third- ly, the white is a quicker grower, and will not be fo much hurt by pulling its leaves, nor be fo incommoded vi^ith fruit as the black. Laftly, the fiik produced from its leaves is faid to be finer. The early budding of the white mul- berry is very advantageous, becaufe the filkworm is often apt to be hatched before there is food for it. The tendernefs of its leaf, and its agreeablenefs to the young filkw^orm, is alfo very ufeful, becaufe the young broods, whofe teeth are tender, cannot fo eafily pierce the thick leaf of the black mulberry j and any one may eafily obferve with what difficulty the worms eat any part of a leaf, except the edge, until they have made a hole in it, and fo form- ed an edge for their teeth to lay hold on. Indeed after their three firft fickneffes are paft, they fcarce have occafion to make holes, becaufe four or five worms attack- ing a leaf on its edge foon devour it. The inconvenience of much litter and moiflure. O F S I L K. ly moifture, which might follow from the fruit of the black mulberry, may alfo at- tend the ufe of the white mulberry leaves ; but fuch trees as are great fruit-bearers, fliould not be chofen for feeding filkworms* Laftly, if finer filk is made from the white mtdberry, it is a material circumftance. Yet I think it not improper to have fome of the black mulberry-trees as well as white, fmce it is certain that good filk can be pro^ duced from them, and that one tree of them is equal to two of the others for quantity of leaves ; fo that, in cafe of de-* ficiency, they would always be a refource ; in the colder climates I kriow they thrive bell:, and even in Pej-Jia they are faid to be made ufe of in rearing filkworms 5 however, for our colonies, I would always be fuppofed to intend the white mulberry^ tree j and though, in the fubfequent rules for raifmg them, I fliall make no diftin(5lion between the black and white, fmce the method of raifmg one fort may ferve for the other, yet at the fame time I mud ob^ ferve, that, fince many of thefe rules are adapted to climates where the tree requires fome care and nicety to raife it, therefore the very fame care and caution will not C be i8 THE CULTURE be necefTary in warmer climates, and fuch countries as fome of our colonies, where it may be accounted a native of the foil j a perfon's own judgment will here direft him in the variation he ought to make in raifmg • plantations. Since therefore the mulberry-tree is the fole fubfiftence of the filk worms, it is a vain thing to attempt breeding them, with- out having plenty of trees ; and the nearer and more convenient thefe trees are for gathering the leaves, fo much the fewer hands will they require, and the leaves not being carried far, will be fo much the better i and befide, upon any unforefeen deficiency of food, or any appearance of rainy w^eather, you will be able readily to fupply yourfelfj and thefe are circum- llances of no fmall moment. I mull: acquaint the reader, that great part of the method which follows for raifmg mulberry-trees, is drawn from fome of the beft authors which have wrote on that fubjeft for the climate of France -, to which however I have added whatever I have met with, which feem'd ufeful, in other v/riters, and fome things which were de- duced from my ov\'n experience -, nor have I omit- O F S I L K. 19 I omitted giving hints of fuch improve- ments as, though I have not had time and opportunity to try them all, yet feem to me reafonable, and will perhaps upon ex- periment be found ufeful. CHAP. III. ^he manner of favi?ig the feed of the mul- berry for raifmg plantations » THERE are three principal methods of raifmg mulberry trees. Firfb by fowing the feed of the berry. Secondly by layers depending upon the mother tree, till they have taken root. Thirdly by bran- ches quite feparated from the mother tree, and therefore call'd cuttings. I fnall be- gin with the method of raifmg them from feed, as it is both the furefl: and moH ef-s fe6lual way to produce great numbers j and numbers of fmall trees will anfwer the end of large ones. The mulberries whofe feed you intend to fave fliould be perfe6lly ripe, this you may ]inow by their beginning to fall from the trees, by their foftnefs, and if you exa- C 2 mine to THE CULTURE mine nicely by the kernel being compleat- ly ripened in the fmall fhell which enclofes it; you fhou'd not choofe the fruit of thofe trees which have been ftripped of their leaves that year, or even the year before, if you can avoid it. Thofe berries of the white mulberry which incline mofl to a dark colour are reckon'd bed. It is a good method to fhake the tree moderately every day, from the time that the berries begin to be ripe, for mulberries do not all ripen together. Thefe berries fhou'd be laid thin on the floor of a granary or other airy place, for four or five days, that they may attain their full ripenefs, and fhould be removed and ftirred every day for fear of heating and rotting, efpecially if they lie thick up- on one another, after this they fhould be poured into a bag of courfe cloath or can- vafs, which fhou'd be put in water and rubbed very well, to diflblve and feparate the grain from the pulp. If this is not done in a river or running water, you muft change the water two or three times : then take the pulp and feeds which re- main mixed in the bag after having prefs'd out the moiflure pretty well, and put it in O F S I L K. 21 in a vefTcl of water, where, after flirring it a little, the feed will fink, in three or four hours, to the bottom, and the pulp fwimming uppermoft may be poured off with the water. The feed fliould then be taken out and dryed upon a cloath in the fun or in fome airy place, ftirring it often. If it is done in the fun don't let it remain above an hour or fo for fear of the heat injuing it, but rather take it away as faft as it dries. After this you may winnow out any dufl which is in it, and keep it in boxes or bags out of the way of mice till the feafon of fowing. Sometimes the feed will not . eafily fink to the bottom in the water where you wafti it from the pulp, if it is not very found ; when you find this to be the cafe, you may fpread the pulp and feed as they are mixed together pretty thin till it is quite dry, taking care that it doth not heat or grow mouldy ; and when it is quite dry, which will take a good many days, you may keep it in that form till the time of fowing, then you mull pour a little water on it to reduce it again to a foft pulp, and when it is about half dry mix an equal quantity of dry fand or earth, rubbing them C 3 well ^± THE CULTURE V/ell together i this will feparate the graihSi» and make them fit to be fown. Or without mixing any fand the pulp may be fown moiil, by rubbing it on a fmail hay rope which is to be fet in a drill of earth v/ith the mulberry feed fticking to it, as will be more fully mentioned here- after ; and for this purpofe it w^ou'd have been fr.fficient to Jiave only fqueezed out the juice of the berries without wafhing them in water, as before mentioned. Thofe who will not be at the trouble of faving their own feed, but buy it from the feeds-men, fhould take care that they are 3iot impofed on ; much of what is fold be- ing often good for nothing, which pro^ ceeds either from its being ill faved, gather- ed from unripe berries, or from trees which had been difleafed j or from its be- ing too old. Seed that is very good and found may be known by its fmking in wa- ter after having been fteeped in it for three or four hours ; though, as I mentioned be- fore, when the fliell is not com pleat] y filled by the kernel, a good deal will fwim, and may be fkimm'd off and fav'd. It is as fure a method as any of knowing good feedj to crack a few of the fhells, and obferve whether OF SILK. 23 whether they have found kernels ; this is eafily obferved in the black mulberry, which has pretty large feeds, but not fo readily in the white, whofe feeds are very fmall. In the more temperate climates it is ne- cefTary to have good trees, well manured, and in a good afpe6l, in order to have found feed and well ripened 5 and, in any climate, it would be ufeful to have a few trees of the beft growth peculiarly fet a- part for feed. And if, for want of better, you are obliged to make ufe of the feed from trees whofe leaves have been pulled for the worms, let it be from thofe trees which were laft ufed, viz. when the worms were in their laft age, which have their fruit pretty well grown before they are dif- leaf d, for the berries are hindered to fill when the leaves are puli'd early. If the berries are ripe on any tree whofe leaves you have occafion for, it will be convenient to fhake the tree moderately every time before you pull the leaves ; for fo you will both fave the fruit for feed, and hinder it from mixing with the food of the worms 3 and on this laft account you fliould pre- ferve for feed thofe trees which are fo great- ly loaded with fruit as to have but few C 4 leaves, 24 THE CULTURE leaves, fince it wou'd be almofl loft time to pull the leaves, and they wou'd be fo mix'd with the berries as to occafion a great deal of litter among the worms ; and if they were fo ripe as to fhed their juice a- mong the leaves, it wou'd make them un~ wholfome food. I muft add, to what I have already faid about feparating the feed from the pulp, that if, after having been very well rubb'd in a coarfe bag, it is put into a wicker lieve wrought juft fo clofe as not to let tlie feeds pafs, and kept under a fpout of wa- ter, rubbing and fhaking it all the time j you will foon have all the feed clear'd from the pulp. And, by winnowing it when it is dry, you may feparate the lighter feed from the heavy j the former muft be fown^ thick, as a great part of it will not come up, CHAP. O F S I L K. 25 CHAP. I\^. The foil proper for the raifmg and plantation of Mulberry 'trees, TH E ground for raifmg mulberry trees either from feed, layers, cut- tings, &c. fhou'd be a rich loofe mould in- clining to fandy, that the tender new form- ed roots may be the better enabled to ex- tend in it. A fmall depth of foil will be fuf- cient for thefe, efpecially thofe raifed from feed 5 but it ought rather to have gravel under it than any fort of iliff clay, which might hold the wet and chill the young plants. In temperate climates the border under a fouth wall, lay'd fo as to flope a little toward the fun, will make a very good feed bed. Though a fmall depth of foil is fuf- ficient for raifmg trees which are to betranf- planted, yet when they are rais'd where they are to ftand (as will be fliewn in the rait- ing mulberry hedges) or when they are tranfplanted where they are to remain, a deep foil is beflj becaufe mulberiy trees 6 fhoot 26 THE CULTURE fhoot downward with very long tap-roots. It is true indeed, that when they have taken with the ground, they will live, and throw out abundance of leaves, even in a bad foil J but then thefe leaves are not fo good to nourifli filkworms, and efpecially, w^hen the trees are planted in low watery grounds, they afford but bad leaves, though they may have a greater quantity j for, as they abound too much with moifture, their leaves approach to the nature of thofe which grov/ on the flickers of the muK berry tree, and endanger the buiting of the worms which feed on them, efpecially if they had been ufed to better leaves before. Choofe therefoi'e a rich mould inclining to fandy, loofe, and as deep as you can, where your mulberry trees are to remain. If the ground is not rich enough you mud help it by digging about the roots, and laying in the mould of old hot beds or other good old manure 3 and if it is too wet, you may eafe it of the moifture by drains. Ground Hoping to the fouth is the beft afpecl for a plantation, and it will be the better if defended by a wood or grove, on that fide from which nipping winds might hurt the young buds in fpring. CHAP O F S 1 L K. a/ CHAP. VI. ^he firjl method of raifing Mulherry-trees from the feed, FOR ralfing mulberry-trees from the feed, you fhould choofe fome part of an inclofed garden, which has a good ex- pofure to the fun, and is defended from the north wind j the earth fhould be well ftirred, and enriched with fome very old dung, and ought naturally to be a good fine mould \ then lay out the ground in beds, a little raifed above the furface of the earth, of what length you think pro- per, but not above four feet broad, that they may be conveniently weeded. The beft time for fowing the feed is in February y March^ or April-, the fooner it is done in fpring, when frofts of any con- tinuance are no longer to be fear'd, it will be fo much tlie better, as the plants, by coming up early, will have time to get ftrength, and be the better able to bear the enfuing v/inter. As the plants require, according to the difference of cUmates, fix or eight weeks after the feed is fown before thej 28 THE CULTURe they begin to appear, I think it is a good rule to fow the feed about fix or- eight weeks before the time in which the mul- berry bud begins to open, which may be a fort of general dire6lion for any climate. Take therefore the feed which you had faved, and fleep it for one night in water, then make it about half dry, and mix an equal quantity of fand or dry mould with it, the better to feparate the grains 5 fow this mixture on the beds prepared as above, and fift over it fome fine rich mould, fuch as that of old melon beds, to about a quar- ter of an inch depth : The beds mufl be wateied at leaft every fecond day in dry weather, efpecially toward the time when you expe6l the feed to fpring up. While the earth appears moifl you need not water them, fmce it is very apt to thicken the furface of the ground, and make a cruft gather on it, which hinders the up-fpring of the young plants ; and therefore when you water them, it fhould be with a watering-pan whofe rofe has very fine holes ; or elfe you (liould have two or three light hurdles of ofier, liraw, or rufhes, which you fhould lay upon the ieveral parts of the beds as you water them, which O F S I L K. 29 which will prevent the mould from being beaten into a cake. If either any frolt happens, or the weather be very hot when you fow the feed, it is proper to cover it with fome ftraw for four or five days j this will defend it from either cold or drought according as the feafon is, and alfo from being fcratch'd up, and pick'd by birds. If the feed is fown on hot-beds, made like thofe for melons, the plants will advance the better, and not be endangered by cold ; but it muil be watered oft, becaufe fuch beds foon grow dry on their furface, from their high fituation. Another way of fowing the feed is in fmall drills made in the beds, about an inch deep, and two or three inches afun- der ; by this method you can readily ob- ferve the weeds, and diflinguifb them from the plants, and alfo the fnails, which are great deftroyers of the young plants. I would choofe to make thefe drills run acrofs the bed, and not lengthways, becaufe you will thus eafier difcern the weeds and fnails, and can alfo the readier, with a fmall hoe or fork, flir the earth between each drill, which will check the growth of weeds. If 30 THE CULTURE If the feed had been preferved with fome of the pulp about it, as mentioned in the foregoing chapter, you may fow it in a drill in the following manner. Firfl fteep it in water till it becomes a foft pulp j then make drills acrofs your beds as before di- rected, only fomewhat deeper ; then hav- ing fome fmall ropes made of hay, about as thick as a bulrufii, fix them with two pegs directly over each drills take now the moifl pulp and rub it along the rope, fo as the feed may flick here and there upon it J having done this, thruft the pegs down, fo that the rope may lie in the bot- tom of the drill, and cover it with earth, after which you may draw out the pegs. This is a very eafy and good method, and the feed will in all likelihood be defended from frofl by the hay rope, and alfo for- warded in fpringing by the heat of it when it rots. In climates where the mulberries ripen early in fummer, they may be fowed in this manner as fafl as they ripen, without any further trouble than rubbing them, as you did the pulp, upon the hay ropes -, by which you will gain almoft a year in the growth of the trees 3 but as this is done O F S I L K. 31 done in fnmmer, the beds fliould be duly watered, and the plants, when winter comes on, not being io large and hardy as thofe fown in fpring, fhould be defended againft froft with ftraw or fome other co- vering, which fliould not lie too clofe for fear of fuffocating them, and in mild weather fliould be taken of. The mulberries may alfo be Town as they ripen, by firfl: fqueezing out their juice, and then mixing the pulp with fo much fand as may ferve to feparate the grains ; after which fow it upon a bed, and fift mould over it, as dire6led in the firft method of this chapter. If the feed which is fown in fummer were made to pafs in digeilion through the flomach of animals, it would greatly haflen its fpringing; by which means, though fown late, it would not be much inferior in growth to the crop fown in fpring. This is true alfo in all feeds which are covered with fliells or flones, many of which ftay often two feafons in ground before they fpring : poultry mufl: not be ufed, for their flomach grinds the feed J but dogs and other animals might be made to eat great quantities of the ber- ries 32 THE CULTURE ries as fail as they ripen in hot climategj by mixing them with a little flour or meal, or kneading them with it into a pafte y and from the dung which they make, mix'd immediately with fand or dry mould to make it fit for fowing, the plants would fpeedily fpring up. There is nothing fo dellructive to the mulberry plants, upon their fir ft coming up, and for forae time after while they are low, as fnails and fluggs ; they will eat numbers of them down to the ground in one night, and if it is a moift feafon, they will almoft ruin a whole nurfery : You fhould therefore be diligent to deftroy them, efpecially a little after fun-fet, which is better than in the morning, for then they have done their night's mifchief. You may likewife guard the beds, by fur- rounding them with dry foot or afhes, fprinkling frefh on it when it is grown wet by rain, but no foot fhould be thrown on the beds, being too hot and fcalding for the young plants j the ilugs will not care to pafsover this fence, efpecially while it remains dry. Sand ftrowed on the beds is alfo a good defence, and I have found a handful or two O F S I L K. 33 two of wormwood, put into the pan with which you water them in the evening, to be a good piefervative for that night ; but the befl fence to hinder them from coming on the bed is a rope of hair, which fhould be trimmed with a pair of fciflars, to make it as briftly as you can ; this being pinned clofe to the ground round the border of the bed, will fo prick their tender fkin, that they will not venture to go acrofs it. Thei'efore, if the place is much infefted by flugs or fnails, you may ufe all, or as many as you think fufficient of thefe methods j but if you are negledful in this point, you may lofe aim oft all the plants of your feed-bed. The feed-beds of your mulberries muft be kept very clear of weeds, which would otherwife eafily rob the young plants of their nourifhment, and ftunt their growth j nor muft you for- get to water them at leaft every fecond evening in dry weather -, and if the fun fliould be violently hot, fo as to endanger the fcorching and making them wither, you may fhade them from its noon heat, by fome ftraw or fuch like thrown lightly on the beds, and removed when the vio- lent heat of the day is over j but this in D the 34 THE CULTURE the cooler climates will fcarce ever be ne» ceffary. If violent rains fhould have waflied away the earth, and made the young fcediings too bare toward their roots, a little line rich mould put between each drill will re- pair the injury, and alfo help their growth. In luch climates as England the young feedlings will not be above three inches high the firfc year. In warmer ones they make a great advance, for in fome parts of the Eaft-Indics it is faid that they fow large quantities of mulberry- feed, whole crops they reap down, and feed their filk- worms with them ; and that the fdk made from thefe tender flioots is eafily difcerna- ble, by its finenefs, from that which is railed from the leaves, which again fhoot the fame year, and are ufed for a fecond biood of worm.s. If this is fo, it is like- liefl to be done by thofe who live between the tropicks, where, having a double ipring, the crop v/hich was fown the fpring foregoing, may ferve to feed the worms that are hatched in the beginning of the fpring following, but of this we have no perfecl accciints, as neither of their me- thods of ma ?ioging the filk worms, in which § they OF SILK. 35 they are faid to be much more ex]iert than the Europeans ; and this is not unUkely, they having been in poflefllon of the art perhaps almoll as early as the flood. If large crops of mulberry-trees were raifed by fowing the berries immediately when they became ripe, (I mean in our American colonies, for it mufl be where they are of quick growth) fuch crops might, on the enfuing fpring, make a good and early provifion for the worms while they were in their firft age, and re- quired but a fmall quantity of food ; the whole young crop might fucceffively be reaped for the ufe of the worms, and the fmall Hems and roots might have fufficient flrength to throw out young fhoots, v/hich perhaps might be again reaped for a fecond brood of filkworms. I mention thefe methods rather as hints and mementos of trials which may be made, than as pofi- tive precepts, one intention of this treatife being all along, to urge perfons to fuch ex- periments as may breed filkworms to more advantage than by the common praclice. I fhall here by the way mention a method of haftening the growth of feed fown early in fpring, in fuch climates where the wea- D 2 they 36 THE CULTURE ther is not then fufficiently warm, 'viz. After fowing the feed, fift over the feed- bed the fweepings or dufl of pit-coal, turf- mould, or any fiich materials as are of a black colour, which, by imbibing the fun's rays, will greatly encreafe the heat of the bed, and promote vegetation. This may be renewed as oft as the rain wafhes the materials into the ground, till the plants appear, and then fliould be difcontinued, that the plants may have the advantage of the reflected heat ; if a border, which lies under a fouth wall, be thus managed, a perfon would fcarce imiagine what a degree of heat the border will conceive. Note alfo, that it will much further the fpring- iiig of all ftone feeds, of which fort is the muibeny, if they are put into an earthen veii'el with an hole in its bottom, and fo buried abroad in the earth during the whole winter, and till you defign to fow them in fpring ; they fliould be moiften'd be- foreliand, and a (late fitted to the inlide of the veirei's mouth, (but fo as not to prevent the rain from keeping them moift) to hin- der mice from getting at them, who, -if once they found them out, would in a few days totally deftroy tlicm, therefore you fliould O F S I L K. 37 fliould now and tlicn look whether they had got at them. CHAP. VII. I'he fecorid method of ralftng Mulberry-trees^ from cuttings. THE next moft eafy and quick method of raifmg mulberry-trees is from cut- tings ; and in this method though you can- not fo readily raife the fame numbers as from feed, yet you have an advantage in the quicknefs and ftrength of their grow^th. The mulberry is eafier propagated from cuttings in moift and temperate climates, . than in thofe which are extreme hot and dry ; for the branches which are feparated from the mother tree, having no roots to fubfift themfelves, require to be plentifully fupplied with moifture, in order to keep them alive till the roots are formed, and where the climate denies this, the defect mud be made up with watering. The cuttings which are to be propagated fliould not be fmall fmgle tvv^igs, but pretty large branches, of at leaft three inches round in the thickeft part, with all the fmaller D 3 branches 58 THE CULTURE branches on them -, pretty large arms taken from an old fuperannuated tree will ferve very well for this purpofe, and the old tree will have an advantage from this prun- ing, by putting forth young wood, which will bear larger and better leaves j thefe arms may be divided and cut into lefTer ones, of about a yard or more in length, in order to be layed down in the earth. As I fhall hereafter fhew the advan- yantage of planting thofe trees which are defigned for filkworms in a fort of efpalier hedge, fo I fliall now dire6l the laying down of the cuttings in fuch a method as that, without any future tranfplanting, many fuch hedges may be raifed, and alfo good numbers of plants to be afterwards tranfpl anted into hedges j and I am cer- tain from experience, that if cuttings thus managed fail to grow, at leaft in a tempe- rate chmate, it is owing either to want of watering, weeding, or a good foil. The beft time for planting cuttings is as foon as the leaves have fallen in autumn, that the parts which lie under ground may be prepared to put forth roots the Ipring following J for, if they are planted in fpring they will moflly fail, for want of roots to fupply OF SILK. 39 fiipply the large quantity of nourifliment which the leaves will foon require. The earth where the cuttings are to be fet, fhould have been dug, broken, and cleanfed of weeds fome weeks before, and, if there was a neceirity, enriched with fome good loam, very old dung, f^nd, or OiliCi ma- nure, fo as to make a fine Ic jfe mouid, proper for the young fibres a' the re jts to flioot into J in this make furrows of about one foot in depth and two m breadth, floping from the edge to the bottom of the furrow, and of the length which you defign your hedges ; the diflance between each furrow need not be above four feet, if you defign future plantations, by taking away and tranfplanting one or more of the intermt diate hedges ; but if no more hedges are planted than you intend to ftand in the fame places, then the trenches fhould be four or five yards diftant. The ground that lies between the trenches need not be loft, but may be made ufe of for any low vegetables, that will not overihade the young mulberry plants. The trenches fhould run from north to fouth, for reafons given in the chapter on the form of a mul- berry plantation. D 4 When 40 THE CULTURE When you would plant the cuttings, firfl fill the trenches about one third with fome of the fine mould which was taken out of them, then begin to lay in the cut- tings, by placing their main flem as fiac as you can in the bottom of the trench, and turning up the fmall branches on each fide, fo that their ends may fland above ground from three inches to a foot, as they can be conveniently bended and turn- ed up ; for which purpofe, place that fide of the main branch undermofl; which has fewell: twigs growing out of it, you may bend the fmall branches, and make them comply as much as you plcafe, they will not grow the worfe, and where they are flubborn you may pin them down with hook'd pegs. When the large flem of the cutting has but few or no lelfer branches coming from it for a confiderable way, you need not then bury it above three or four inches under the ground, that it may the eafier fhoot forth buds from its unfurnifh'd part. And when feveral bufhy clumps of fmall fhoots fpring from the ends of the iefler branches, as is common when the cuttings are taken from old trees, then that part of 2 the O F S I L K. 41 the lefler branch, from which they fpring together, Ihould always be placed under the earth that they may produce diftin6l roots, for then each of them will, when feparated, be a diftin6l tree. In laying down the cuttings in the trench, place the thick end of each fubfe- quent branch to the fmall end of the fore- going one J and, when they are all pro- perly placed, cover them with mould to the depth above-mentioned, without pref- fmg or treading it, only make fome little allowance for the linking and fettling of the mould, and therefore raife it with a fmall fwelling all along the trench, but fo as to leave the fmaller branches above ground as was dire6led before. Having thus planted all your rows, you have nothing further to obferve till fpring, unlefs it be that, in cafe of a hard froll, you fhould cover them with draw, peafe- haulm, or fuch like, always taking care that neither goats or other cattle may get at them. In fpring, and efpecially in fummer, according to the drynefs of the feafon, they muft be conftantly watered, every fecond day at leail, in fpring about noon, and '42 THE CULTURE and in fummer about funfet, and this fot the firfl: year can hardly be overdone ; and if they were in danger of being hurt by a very hot feafon, they might be defended, durir.g the noon hours, by ftrips of old matting throv^n over them, and they may be uncovered when the violent heat of the day is pail. Thefe cuttings thus managed, will on the firfi: liimmer put forth fiioots of about five or fix inches length, more or lefs, ac- cording as they have thriven, and at the fam.e time they will fortify themfelves with roots; (o that if they have made fhoots, and preferved their leaves till autumn, you need not doubt of their growth, but if any have fail'd, you fliould then place others in their room. On the enfuing fpring and fummer, tho' they wall then be more out of danger, yet you fl:iould continue to water them in' very dry weather ; and they '.vill this year make fhoots often half a yard in length, and furnilh themfelves compleatly with roots, fo as to be fit for tranfplanting in autumn ; and then you m.ay raife up and cut off from the main ftem all thofe bufhy clumps mention'd, with their own roots, in order tg OF SILK. 43 to plant other hedges, leaving only fnch behind as ihoot in a line from the princi- pal branch, and in quantity as you fliall judge fufficient to form your firil planted hedge ; thole that you cut oif you may feparate and divide into diftincl plants, according as their roots will aniwer fuch leparation. As the hedges grow up they may be train'd and kept to a flat form by fticks woven acrofs the branches, until fuch time as you begin to pull the leaves for the ufe of filkworms ; and then, by llripping tlie leaves of thofe branches which llioot right forward, and afterwards clipping them off, you will always preferve them in this form -, you may alfo, by laying down the fackers and lower branches, be frequently fup-^lied with young trees for new p'iantaticns : this method therefore of rafmg mulberry trees I take to be as advantageous, and ciif- patchful as any that can be puriiied j tor branches quite feparated from the mother tree will, as I fuppofe, fooner furniih them- felves with roots than layers can do, which, by being attached to and depending on the mother tree, are not under fuch a ne- cefTity of putting forth routs to feed them- fclves I 44 THE CULTURE felves i befides, that the branches of large trees can rarely be brought fo low as to be lay'd, but cuttings can at all times be had in plenty. I would recommend, before the cuttings are put in the ground, as above direded, to dip the part that is cut in tar or melted pitch, or with a hot iron melt it into the cut 5 becaufe when moiflure infmuates where a branch is cut, efpecially in the mulberry tree, it generally makes the bark part from the wood and grow rotten ; be- fides the pitching over of the cut will as I imagine, hinder it from taking in a large quantity of crude and improper juices, which will now be forced to drain through the bark, and the better prepare it to put on the nature of a root ; the fame method of pitching fhould alfo be ufed to thofe cuts which are made in pruning the mulberry tree, that the rain may not in- jure it. A late French author has made fome improvements in the raifmg of all trees from cuttings, by which he, with appear- ance of realbn, fhews that they will more certainly take root. He twifts a piece of brafs v^'ire, round the feveral parts of the branch O F S I L K. 45 branch from whence he would have the roots produced. The theory upon which lie builds his improvement is, that as the branches of trees are produced generally at acute angles from the item, and tend up- ward 'y io the roots are produced at acute angles, but in an oppofite diredion down- ward. The ligature therefore of wire checks the motion of the fap, and turns it into that direction which is proper to pro- duce roots ; and he feems to be convinced of this theory by experiment. Perhaps fmall pieces of lead or even tieings of cord, may be found more proper for ligatures than brafs wire, as they will give way to the growth of the branch, and not cut through the bark as the other appears apt to do. The method here given for raifing mul- berry trees from cuttings, may perhaps be advantageoully apply'd to the producing nurferies from many other trees, as well as from the mulberry ; all that feems ne- cefHiry for producing trees from cuttings, is, that the part which is under ground fliould, as foon as may be, put on the nature of a root, fo as to feed the branches ; where- fore'the lefs any particular tree is apt to ftrike 46 THE CULTURE .{hike root from cuttings, the more of the* branch muft lye under ground to make up the defe6l, and the more fhould fuch other artifices be ufed, as will make it put on a rooty nature j for otherwife, though a branch may bud and keep alive during the beginning of fummer, yet when the leaves are expanded, and perfpiring much, require much fupply of fap, as they will do with the advance of the feafon, the branch will often, for want of due nourifliment, de- cline apace and at laft die. CHAP. VIII. Of I'aiJtJig Mulberry^trees by layers, and othei* methods. ^HOUGH the two methods of raif^ -*■ ing mulberry trees, from feeds, and cuttings, are the quickeft and moil advan- tageous, yet, where large plantations are to be fuddenly raifed, all other methods may be at the fame time ufed ; layers may be made from low trees, and from fuckers, which are fometimes produced plentifully from the roots 3 but the method of mak- O F S I L K. 47 ing layers being generally known, need not be particularly inliftedon j the branches now are bended and pinned down in the earth, leaving only their extremities above ground, and in this fituation they fubfiil on the mother tree, until the parts which are under the earth have formed roots fuf- ficient to maintain themfelves, and then they are to be feparated from the tree and planted out. Thefe layers are more certain of growth than cuttings, and do not require fuch watering while they depend on the old tree; but then this dependance makes them lazy in putting put forth roots, with which they often appear but moderately furnifli- ed, when you come to feparate them from the old tree : therefore it would not be amifs to tv^ift wire about the parts laid under ground, as in the cafe of cuttings, and alfo to water them well. The time for making layers is the fame as that for planting cuttings, and in two years they will be fit to tranfplant. It might however be of ufe, if at the end of the firfl year, you began to wean them from the mother tree, by nicking their branches half through, and putting tar upon the cut ; this might the 48 THE CULTURE the better force them to put forth roots for their fubfiitence. Suckers often fpring from the ground about the roots of trees, which have had their heads torn of by winds, or many of their principal branches lopped of j at leaft this may be promoted by digging and opening the ground about the roots of fuch trees : but though fuch fuckers fpring out of the ground, it is ufeful to their well rooting, that they fhould be bended down, and have earth laid on their lower parts, in the fame manner as was done with branches layed down. Befides the foregoing methods, mulberry trees may be propagated from parts of the root taken up, the more length they have will be the better ; thefe may be laid hori- zontally about two or three inches under ground, in a loofe fine mould, and placed in lines to produce hedges as was done with the cuttings ; they may be planted early in fpring, and will foon fhoot forth plants, which being in their original, fuf- ficiently rooted, are fcarce at all liable to failures. The ground however, Ihould be watered in dry weather, both before and after they have fprung, becaufe the roots O F S I L K. 49 roots lie near the furface, being fo plac'd in order that they might the eafier pufli forth plants above ground* Mulberry trees may be inoculated, the white on the black fort, and the black on the white j the latter method is dire6led in order to have a llraight free growing ftem to your fruit trees j but thefe being only niceties of culture, and not ferving to pro- pagate the tree, I forbear dwelling on them, as alfo on what is delivered by fome au- thors, concerning the grafting or inocu- lating of the mulberry trees of a different fpecies ; the fuccefs of which I very much doubt, having tried it on fome and failed in the attempt. CHAP. IX. Of the planting out of the young Mulberry^-trees* MULBERRY trees raifed from feed, or from parts of the roots layed in the ground, may be tranfplanted the fecond autumn after; or you may take up only the mofi: thriving plants out of the feed beds, in order to thin them, and kt the remain- E der 50 THE CULTURE der fcand another year. Tliofe which arc thus taken up are only to be tranfplanted into narferics, where they iliould remain two years more befoie they are planted out J and one foot is iiiflicient diftance for the feedlings to be planted afunder at their firft removal from the feed beds. Thofc which were i-ais'd from layers or from cuttings may be planted out, in the hedge form as they are to iland, on the fecond autum after they were rais'd ; but as thefe are now but fmall and may there- fore be planted, in the hedge pretty near one another y you may after two years more take away every fecond or more trees, and plant other hedges with them, and thofe which remain will foon enough fpread and meet one another. This fame method you •may take witii thofe hedges which were originally planted from cuttings, thinning them, as occafion requires, and making new hedges from thofe which you take up. In raif.ng up the mulberry plants take care to break as few of the roots as pof- fible, and let as much earth as you can ilick to them, and afterwards proceed to plant them in furrows, made after the fame manner OF SILK. 51 manner as was dirccled in planting cut- tings ; tJiis is to be underflood of thofe which you plant out in the hedges where they are to ftand ^ for young feedlings may be fet down in holes when they are only tranfplanted into nurferies. Though fome authors mention that mul- berry trees may be tranfplanted in fpring^ yet the furefl feafon for doing it is jull af- ter the leaves have fallen in autumn 5 for the dry weather, which often happens in fpring before the roots have fettled and be- gun to draw nouriflimentj will much en- danger and often kill the plants j but when planted in autumn this is avoided, and there is then nothing to be fear'd, except a fmart frofl happens foon after planting ; but this may be hindred from doing any hurt by laying fome frefh litter, ftraw, or fuch like on the ground over the roots. E2 CHAR '52 THE CULTURE CHAP. X. • OJ the form of a Mulberry plantation for Silkworms, IN the foregoing chapters I have advifed the planting of mulberry trees in a flat form or fort of efpalier hedge j for though in France and Italy they ufe only large ftandards, yet I conceive this to be a very inconvenient form for gathering the leaves, which cannot be come at without ladders and clambering among the branches, in which method much injury muft be done by breaking them, and alfo frequent dan- ger of faUing incurred by the gatherers j befides more time fpent in gathering, and after all, the leaves will not be fo regular- ly pulled. Du Haldes^ in his hiflory of Chinay fays that they are very careful to prune and keep their mulberry trees in fuch a form, as fhall be moft convenient for gathering the leaves, without injuring the trees, and in the moft fpeedy manner 5 for which reafon they keep them cut to an hollow form, with no branches in the middle , fo that a perfon, by going round the tree, I can OF SILK, 53 can gather all the oiit-fide leaves, and af- terward, Handing on the mfide, thofc which are within, only by turning round to the different parts ; for the trees are kept low, and there is no neceflity for climbing upon the different branches ; fo that in this me- thod each tree is a fort of round hedge. But flat long hedges planted at proper diflances, one behind the other, are both eafier made and kept to their form, and -can have their leaves more regularly and fpeedily pulled ^ for, beginning at one end of an hedge, you may pull, day after day, all the leaves which are one fide of it, and then, going to the other fide of it, you in the fame manner pull its leaves, after which you go to a frefh hedge ; but you never return to pull any fecond growth of leaves, which may fpring from an hedge already pull'd, for the leaves would injure the worms, being too young for their age : but in fix weeks you might perhaps pull them for a fecond brood. If your hedges run in length from north to fouth, vvrhich will be their befl fituation, as both fides will then equally enjoy the fun ; in this cafe it is befl to pull the leaves of the eail fide of each hedge, one hedge E 3 after '54 THE CULTURE after the other ; becaufe, as you are to pull them in the morning, thefe will have enjoy'd the morning fun in the beginning of the feeding fealbn j and after having pulled all the leaves on the eaft fide, you may then begin with the wefc fide j for the feafon having now advanced, there will be fufhcient heat to dry the dews on the weft fide, though the fun has not yet flione on it in the morning, when you btgin to pull the leaves : befides, the fun will have fome influence, in fliining through the hedge, the leaves being already thinned on the eaft fide, not but that you may, if there is a neceffity, order your time of pulling the leaves after the fun has fhone a while on the weftern fide. Thefe hedges may produce branches and leaves almoft to the ground ; by which means they will be eafier pulled than thofe of ftandard trees; and if rain fliould have much wet the leaves, and you are in im- mediate want of food for the worms, you can with a forked pole, fixed againft the larger branches, fhake and diilodge great part of the wet : befides, if rain falls with a little wind either from the eaft or wefter- ly points, then one fide of the hedge- will not O F S I L K. ^^ not be fo foon wet, and you may then take the advantage of pulling the leaves on the leev^^ard fide ; when you are forc'd to this, for the better regularity keep to one hedge, and mark the place which you pull'd, by thrufting a flick into the hedge, that you may not diileaf the fame part a fecond time. Befides what has been mentioned, the cafe with which leaves can be gathered from hedges is of great importance, as tlie gathering of them makes one of the prin- cipal labours in feeding filkworms ^ and I dare affirm it will be found by experience, that one perfon fliall be able to pull twice the quantity of leaves from hedges which he could do, in the fame time, from flandard trees j for there he can readily fee what lies in a flat form before him j he will not be delayed in clambering from branch to branch, as he mufl in pulling the leaves of large fbandards .; nor will he injure the trees by breaking the llioots, as frequently happens v/hen perfons are ob- liged to climb for the leaves. And if the hedges are clipped for the worms, which is practicable, efpecially in the white mul- berry whofe fhoots are (lender, it will E 4 make 56 THE CULTURE make ftili greater difj atch. This however, need not be done till the (hoots have got fome length of grovith, for when the v/orms are very young, it is eafy to make proviiion for them. It is of confequence alfo to have the plan^ tation at no great diilance from the place where the filkw^orms are kept, that you may not fpend much time in bringing the leaves home, and alfo that you may the readier be fupplied upon fadden occafions : or when . the weather threatens rain, and warns you to make a provifion of leaves before they have received wet, be- caufe it would be a great labour to dry them for large quantities of worms, and yet this muft be done if they have receiv'd any moifcure. Thefe are fome of the principal advan- tages which would be obtain'd by mulberry- trees being planted in the form of hedges j the fame would be obtain'd, if the fmgle trees w^ere train'd in a flat form, though they did not compofe one continued hedge, in which cafe the branches might be al- lowed to extend laterally as far as they could, and when they become too long to fupi ort themfelves, they might be fupport- ed here and there by branches of afh or other O F S I L K. ^y other timber fixed in the ground with the thickeft end downward, the fmaller flioots of which branches being cut fhort, would make fo many hooks for the mulberry- branches to reft upon ; and indeed where mulberry hedges grew fo thick as to hinder the lateral extenfion of their branches, it would be proper, from time to time, to take away every fecond tree, and tranfplant them fo as to form a new hedge, ftill leaving fo much room between the trees, both in the new and old hedge, that they fliould not quite join in two or three years, by which method you would not till then be obliged to thin them again. It would be of ufe to have your mul- berry plantation fheltered by fome taller trees, on that fide from which fharp blafl- ing winds do proceed in the fpring of the year -, a. row or two of trees planted in this manner would often preferve your mul- berry-trees from being nipped in the bud, and would always contribute toward their budding more kindly, and fomewhat ear- lier ; thefe trees would alfo make the better fhelter if they were train'd in an hedge form ; and where any grove happens to be already planted, the fheltered fide of it may 58 THE CULTURE may be made ufe of for a mulbeny plan- tation, if it is in other refpe6i:s convenient, for fuch fhelters fhould not be too near the mul berry rtrees. Fir or other large ever-greens would make the befl flielter againil any fliarp winds, which might blaft the buds of the mulberry in winter and fpring. CHAP. XI. Of the culture^ pruning^ and management of Mulberry-trees both jor Silkworms and Fruit. FEW perfons beflow much trouble on thofe mulberry-trees which are defigned for filkworms j and yet it is cer- tain, that the leaves will be more wholfome and the trees thrive the better by culture. In thofe countries of Europe which produce filk, the leaf-gatherers do, for the mod part, clamber on the trees, and, thro' hafte in pulling, break the branches, and other ways very much injure the trees 3 for this reafon, and other advantages men-, tioned in their proper places, I have all along O F S I L K. 59 along recommended liedL\es, or trees traln'd to a flat form. The cliief culture which thefe will want is, now and then to dig and ftir the ground all along over their roots, and if the foil is poor, to help it with fome very old dung mix'd with fand, lime, marl, good mould, or other fuch . manure as lies mofl convenient, and is beft fuited to temper and improve what-, ever natural defeft there is in the foils this at leaft will be very ufeful for fuch a part of your hedge as you defire fliould bud foon in fpring for the new-hatch'd worms. Thefe hedges fiiould be pruned by clip^ ping of the ihoots from which you have ftripped the leaves as foon as you conve- niently can, for being done in lummer, the cut will better heal, new branches will be form'd for the enfuing year, and the hedge will be kept flat and regular ; underlland this when you do nut clip but jftrip the leaves to feed your filkworms, for if you clip them they will want no other pruning. But if your trees are com^mon large flandards, they may want pruning either when the branches are grown fo old as not (o bear good leaves, or Vvhen they have grown 6o THE CULTURE grown fo very long as to become top^ heavy, and not well furnifhed with leaves throughout their whole length, or when you defire that fome of them fliould pro- duce more delicate and tender leaves. On thefe occafions, fome perfons in the filk-countries manage their mulberry-trees as fallies are fometimes ufed, by cutting off the whole head, that new fhoots may fpring out} but this is a very bad method, for it hurts and damages the tree beyond mea- fure, fo many and large wounds fcarce ever healing without letting the moifture in, and fo rotting the trunk, that the tree never after becomes found, and befide fome years are loft before it can again com- pleatly furnifn itfeif with branches ; where- as, if you prune the tree in fuch a manner as to leave a good length of all the larger branches, thefe willfoon furnifh themfelves with young wood, and the tree will not be in fuch danger of being rotted by the moifture, or killed by too large amputa- tion. The branches fhould be cut floping, - that the rain may not fettle on the cut. By this kind of pruning, you will ftill leave fomewhat of the form of a tree, only with O F S I L K. 6i with its branches confiderably (hortened, and a few feafons will make it as handfome as it was at firft, and will not leave it a large unhealthy trunk, with a thick bulliy head, as the other method would do ; and this prunmg may be performed, as I hint- ed before,, in any of the fummer months, immediately after you have ufed the leaves for the filkworms, by which means you will have reap'd the advantage of your trees before you lefTen their branches, and in fummer pruning, the bark fooner covers the cut. It may be convenient in the foregoing method of heading trees, to leave a few of the fmaller branches and twigs upon the larger arms, and the leaves of thefe fmaller branches fhould have been fparcd and not pull'd of, that they may ferve to draw nourifhment, and keep the tree alive until it has furnifh'd itfelf with young wood j the cut alfo made in pruning would be the better, if made clofe to fome fmaller branch, that the bark might the fooner cover it, and a little fmearing with tar would be of advantage. Trees which are thus largely diibranched, fliould not have their leaves puU'd for the filkworms 62 THE CULTURE filkvvorms till the fecond time of their bud- dins: after it, both becaiife the leaves would be too tender and unwholiome for the worms, and alfo the life of the tree en- dangered by it. The black mulberry-trees, which are kept for the fake of their fruit, will re- quire the foregoing culture, when they become fo fuperannuated that the berries grow fmall, and ripen ill, as is the cafe of many trees in cool climates, where people complain of the mulberries not coming to perfection, yet ufe no culture to perfe6t them ; and befides this, even young trees fhould have the ground about their roots dug, opened, and enriched with manure, in order to make them bear well, and to make young plants bear the fooner, they Ihould have been grafted or inoculated from a good kind. The ripe black mulberries would, I be- lieve, make a moft rich and delicate wine, could they be gathered in fufficient quanti- ties at once, but they feldom ripen toge- ther, therefore it would be necelTary to have a great many trees, in order to have quantities worth preffing, for when full ripe, they will fcarce keep abo\^ one day wfthouS O F S I L K. 63 without beginning to grow mouldy ; per- haps it may be found that they will ripen more equally in elpalier hedges, and alfo that the fruit can be gathered with lefs trouble than on flandards. In London^ where they have mulberries in great per- fection, they ufe ladders, pretty wide at bottom, but tapering fo as that the two legs become join'd in one for about a yard in length at the top, this makes it eafy to be fix'd between the forks of the branches againil: any part of the tree, without dan- ger of overturning ; they gather the fruit in long chip balkets, tapering to the bot- tom, which keeps off the weight of the upper fruit from preffing that which is below, the mulberry being of all fruits the eafieft to be bruifed j the bafket is hung by a hook'd ftick acrofs one of the branch- es of the tree near the gatherer, which allows him to have both hands at liberty, and he moves it as he fees convenient from one branch to another. This method doth very well for gather- ing fmall quantities of mulberries, but would be too tedious for making wine, iince mulberries don't grow in cluiters, but fingle, and muft be gathered one by - one; 64 THE CULTURE one; therefore it fhould be try'd whether* they cannot be fhaken on a coarfe woollen cloath, not by climbing on the tree, but by placing a forked pole againft the branch, and fhaking it gently, fo that only thofe which are ripe may fall ; and in this way perhaps fufficient quantities might be col- lected from a good number of trees, and prefs'd every day as they were gathered, fo as to make good wine. Mulberries afford a great quantity of very rich juice, it jftalns the hands much, and will not come off with foap and water, but any acid, fuch as vinegar, lemon, or forrel immediately difcharges it j the pulp which remains after prelling may be pre- ferved to raife feedlings. I mufl not omit mentioning, that the mulberry-tree, by being planted againft a wall, may be made to ripen its fruit in very cold climates, and that one or two trees are very fufficient to furnifh table fruit, which, as it doth not ripen all at once, will often continue to afford a frefh fupply every day, during the fpace of fix weeks. Many of the obfervations made here concerning the mulberry, may be apply'd to O F S I L K. 6^ to the raifing and ailturfe bf fevcral other trees ; and though iff riiany places there ^re things mentioned only as probable conjectures, it is hoped they will afford Ibme foundation for ufeful trials, which however fliould always proceed with cau- tion, and not be fnade in fuch a large manner, as to become extenfively danger- ous ; it is thus that experiments become ufeful. But if they are made all at once, and in a very extenfive manner, then, tliough they fhould be founded in reafon, they will moft commonly prove abortive, becaufe fomc minute circumftance will be omitted, while the attention was engaged wholly on whatVas indeed more material, but not entirely fufficient for the fuccefs of the trial ; and it is chiefly for want of a prudential conduft, that experimentors have often fuffered, both in their fortunes and in the opinion of the world. F THE THE Culture of S I L K. PART II. II ■ I' CHAP. I. A general brief 'view of the Silkwornts life^ with the choice of place proper for rear-* ing them in^ THE filkworm proceeds from an tg^ laid in fummer j it is yellow when firfl: laid, but in three or four days turn* of a blueifh colour j its fize is about that of a grain of muftard > it is preferved till the following fpring, and is then hatch'd either by the natural warmth of the wea- ther, or by artificial heat. The worm that proceeds from this egg is about a quarter of an inch long, as thick as a fmall pin, and of a black colour j three or four days warmth generally hatches k. This worm, from fo fmall a fize, doth. O F S I L K. 67- dotli, in the fpace of about fix weeks, grow- to be above two inches and an half long, and an inch and half round, after v/hich it defifts from feeding, and begins to form its filk-ball. It begins the outfide of its work firfl:, and keeping ftill in the infide, forms an hollow ball of filk round itfelf, which it generally finilhes in three or four days from the time of its beginning to fpin. It lies inclofed in this ball a certain fpace of time, in hot cH mates fifteen days, in cold ones a month, and fo proportionably, at the end of which it is transform'd into a very large moth, and works it way out by an hole which it makes through the ball. The male and female moths then cou- ple, and when they are feparatcd, the fe- male lays her eggs to the number 6f three or four hundred, and in a few days after-* ward both males and females die. Their eggs are kept fafe till the enfuing fpring, at which feafon they are again hatch'd into wormSi This is the general fketch of a filkworm's life when it is pre- ferved to breed ; for millions of filk-balls are wound off to manufacture before die moths fpoil them by boreing their way out. y 2 While 68 THE CULTURE ^While the filkworms are very young, they take up but very little rooni, and during the firft fortnight at lead, may be kept in (liallow broad drawers, boxes, and fuch like, and that in great numbers j for a foot iquare may contain above ten or twelve thoufand of thofe newly hatch'd, but as they grow larger, fo muft alfo the fpace that contains them. Thofe there- fore who have large nurferies of filkworms, fliould provide a place large enough to hold them when at their greatcit fize ; a foot fquare will not contain above an hun- dred worms conveniently, when they are full grown. As to the temperature of the place in which they are kept, cellars and all moift places are to be avoided, nothing being fo great a detriment to their thriving and health as moifture j high places, fuch as thofe next the tiles of an houfe, are alfo to be avoided, for here they would be too hot in warm weather, and too much chilled in cold weather ^ an equal degree of heat is what beft agrees with them, and that heat always from a dry and not a moifl: air. The temper of the climate is therefore to be regarded, fo as in hot cU- mates O F S I L K. ^9 mates to avoid violent heats, and in temperate ones great colds, and in both moiflure. The room hi which they are kept ought to have windov^s oppolite one another, that is to fay on the Eafl and Weft, or on the North and South, fo as that, by open- ing the oppofite windows during very hot weather, the air may have a free current through, in order to refrefli and clear the place of bad air or fmells. Thefe windows, provided they Ihut clofe, may be made either of thin canvafs, which is beft in warm climates, or of glafs, oiled paper, tranfparent membranes, or any other ma- terial which will prevent the cold and ad- mit light ; and it will be neceflary to have nets, or fomething of that nature, to pre- vent the entrance of birds when the Vvin- dov/s are left open, which might make great havock among the worms, unlefs you only open them while you are prelent. No bad fmells, fach as thofe of fmoak, fewers, or fuch like, fliould approach their lodgment ; and all crevifes which migl>t admit or harbour rats, mice, fnakes, fpiders, crickets, or other vermin Ihould be clofe ftopped, for fpiders and other ver- F 3 min yo THE CULTURE mill will prey on them while very youngs . and fnakes or lizards at any age. Under the foregoing conditions, it is no matter what fort of building they are kept in, a mud-wall tenement is as good as anyj nay on account of its drynefs perhaps pre- ferable to any other ; the barns and other out-houfes of farmers may be ufed for this purpofej or, in hot countries, cccafional iheds may be made, which, in fuch cli^ mates as fome of our colonies enjoy, will fufficiently anfwer the end ; for the reader mud here take notice, that feveral circum-r ftances, which will be mentioned in the courfe of this inflru6lion, are rather con- veniences for thofe that would do things in the neateft manner, than abfolutely necef^ fary, and that many of the precautions asfainfl cold and wet will be ufelefs in fome climates. Thofe circumftances which are abfolutely necelTary to be obferved, the praftitioner will, from his own experience, loon diilinguifli from thofe which are not fo material, or which the nature and con- veniences of the country determine him to make choice of; and the courfe of l:jis practice will alfo make him fupply what may haply be forgotten among a number pf minute and various circumftances. CHAP, O F S I L K. 71 C n A P. II. Of choofing good eggs^ ami the 'time of the year proper to hatch them, THE way to be certain of having good eggs of your own breed will be fliewn further on in Part III. but if you are only beginning to feed filkworms, and are obliged to buy your eggs, you muft, in a great meafure, depend on the honefty of the feller, efpecially if you fend for them to a diflant country j the principal rule to be depended on in this cafe is, for the buyer to choofe the largeft and moil plump eggs, and of a lively blueifh or grey co- lour, for if they are fmall they are of a weak and puny breed ; thofe that are white or yellow have been laid by the female without coupling with the male, at leaft are not impregnated, and therefore good for nothing; and thofe that are brown, fhrunk, and very flat are decay'd. If you are near the place where the eggs were bred, you can befl difcover their fize and goodnefs, before they are taken from the F 4 materials 72 THE CULTURE iBaterials on which they were laid by th$ moth. Some give as one mark of good eggs, that they Should make a noife in cracking them With your nail, and that the moi- flure that comes from them lliould not flow thin, but thefe are no certain figns. Some are faid to kill good eggs by the heat of the lire, in order to hinder the pron- pagating them in other countries 3 and at befl, it is to be feared that many who make fale of them are not very careful of the breed, but take them indifcriminately from weak as well as flirong worms. Be- fide the choice of good eggs, fome regard is to be had to the climate in v/hich they are to be rear'd, fo as to buy your eggs from a country which enjoys nearly the ikme degree of heat^ or if any dirlerence is to be made, I v/ould rather buy them from a country a fmall degree colder than the one to which they are brought.' It is alfo to be obicrved, that you muft not put miore eggs to hatch tlian you can procure mulberry leaves to nouriiTi them with J it is hard to give a rule for this i three or four Iar.9;e trees, or about a dozen pr fifteen fmali ones may feed about an ovmce O F S I L K. 73 ounce of eggs, if they arc the "white mul- berry, but if you ulc the black, its leaf being much more grofs and broad, you may reckon one of the black equal to two or three of the white fort. The beft pre- caution is rather to have too many trees, than too great a number of worms. Being furnifiied witli eggs, the next thing to be regarded is the time of hatch- ing them J and the bell and fureft rule for this is, to do it when you fhall obferve the mulberry buds begin to open and fpread into fmail leaves ; and it will not be fuffi- cient to obferve this in one or two trees, which may chance to ftand in a warm and fheltered fituation, but it muil appear through the bulk of all your trees, other- wife, though you may have a great num.- ber of trees, you may be diilreff^d for want of food J for though fome have taught to fupply this defeft with lettuce, and other different kind of leaves, as elm, mallow, bramble, rofe and nettle leaves, yet it is not worth while to amule one's ielf Vv^ith reariiig worms which have taken their firft nounihment from any of thefe, as they will neither be ftrong nor make good filk. Tl^? bramble or blackberry has 74 THE CULTURE has been prefcribed, becaufe its fruit re- fembled the mulberry, but the flavour of the leaf has not the Icaft affinity, being auftere and flyptick, whereas the mulberry has a mild fweet tafte, with a peculiar flavour, and the others have been pre- fcribed perhaps, becaufe the worms, to avoid being famifh'd, w^ould eat them. But as each particular fpecies of caterpillar has its peculiar plant allotted for food, fo the filkworm has the mulberry, which alone it willingly eats, of all plants or leaves yet tryed ; neither do other cater- pillars willingly eat the mulberry that I have heard of; I tryed the fpeckled hairy worms that feed on the nettle and feveral others, bat they would not touch it. I once indeed met with a green worm, a- bout an inch long, and as thick as an oaten ftraw upon the mulberry- tree ; I fed it in a box with the leaves of the mulberry -, it was very nimble and wary , it changed into a fmall brown-winged moth ; I believe, as it was Angle, it was not a native qf that tree, but cam.e there by accident, Thefe things being confidered, I think the ill confequences of giving the worms any thing. for food but the mulberry-leaf will O F S I L K. 75 will appear, and I fliould rather choofe to give up thofe worms, that were hatch'd before there were leaves, for loft, and be- gin a new hatching of eggs, tlian attempt to feed them with any other thing than the mulberry, unlefs it were for two or three days, and even this, only when I could procure no more eggs that feafon. But even the neceffity of doing this may- be prevented ; for if you fear that your eggs fliould hatch before the mulberiy-leaf comes out, remove them into a cooler place, and this will backen them for fome time. Or if it is found necelTary to keep them very cool in any of our colonies, in order to prevent their hatching too foon ; they may be put into a bottle with a pipe fix'd in its neck, and then the bottle may be kept under water or in a well, the mouth of the pipe muft be above the water, to admit frefh air, and it fliould be coated well with wax, at the place where it is fix-^ €d in the bottle, to prevent the entrance of the water. I have tried this with a fmall bottle of eggs kept in a veflel of water, and it has kept them from hatching for three weeks, after others had hatch'd of themfelves -, yet perhaps very cold fpring wells -jd THE CULTURE wells might deilroy the vivifying principle of the eggs, efpecially if the v/eather was already grown very warm, and they had a tendency toward hatching, the change then from heat to cold might be too great : the experiment may at fir ft be made upon a fmall quantity of eggs. The bottle need not be above half hli'd with eggs, that a larger furface of air may be in contaft with them ; and it fliould be loaded with fome Vv'C'ght, and the pipe buoyed with cork in fome part, ani"wering to the depth you would have it (ink in the water. If your eggs had began to hatch before you took this precaution, you muft then proceed dire6lly to hatch them, by putting them in flialiow boxes, as mentioned in the next chapter but one 3 for you muft not put them in bags becaufe it would now hinder their coming out by their lying in an heap. And now as they hatch you may feed them even with the fmall buds of the mulberry though not yet opened j this in- deed makes fome wafteof their future fuf- tenance, but if you have plenty of trees it is not much matter, as the worms now eat but a fmall quantity. Even O F S I L K. 77 Even the green bark fcraped from the blanches will feed them, but this injures the trees, if it is fcraped with an iron knife I fufped; that it might give an aflringent quality to the bark which would hurt the worms, one of glafs or a fharp flint would do beft. It would be proper, if the cli- mate is liable tothofe inconveniencies which arifes from a late fpring, blafls or fliarp winds, to have a good many trees in a funny place, but flickered from the fevere winds, which may give you food for your worms as early as is neceffary, and by the time that thefe leaves are ufed tlie other trees will be ready ; but if the iateft trees are ready time enough, it would then be bell: to prcferve thefe early trees to the laft, when the worms are full grown. Befides obferving the budding of the mulberry-tree^ you fliould choofe a day clear, dry, and warm, when you put your eggs to hatch : fome alfo advife that you Ihould, if in other refpecls convenient, choofe the new moon, in order that the worms may begin to fpin on the full moon of the following month, which they think makes them fpin the better ; but as in very warm chmates time is chiefly to be gain'd, 8 that 78 THE CULTURE that the worms may be rear'd before tli^ weather grows violently hot, which is very apt to injure them^ therefore the earlier you begin will be the better, without re- garding the influence of the moon j befides, as in fome climates you may rear two broods in one fummer; this is another rea- fon that you fliould begin as early as you can, that your fecond brood may .have finifh'd their bufinefs before the weather begins to grow cold. Having fixed upon your time of hatching, obferve that all thofe diredions which fol- low, concerning the manner of doing it fhould be purfued in a chamber well clofed^ and fecured from cold and wind ; and ob* ferve that the bags and boxes which fhall be hereafter mentioned for putting the eggs to hatch in, lliould be made as warm as your fkin before you do this ; and when you ufe the boxes they may be lined with a piece of filk or cotton ftufE If the weather fliould happen to grow cold or moill, after you have begun to hatch your eggs, you mufl be more care- ful to guard againfl the injuries of it ; you mull continue the fame degree of warmth as near as you can, and not remit I of O F S I L K. 79 of it, iinlefs it be a very little after your eggs have begun to hatch, and this only to avoid erring on the extreme of too much heat, which would at that time injure the worms which were hatched or near* hatch- ing. CHAP. III. ^he method of hatching the Silkworms eggs^ TH E nature of the filk worm's eggs is fuch, that like thofe of other in- fects, they will as the weather advances in warmth hatch of themfelves j but as, in this manner, there would be a great diftance of time between thofe that hatched firfl, and thofe that hatched laft, infomuch that,as fome would every minute be hatching, it would be impoffible to attend or collect them to- gether, or afterwards to feed them, on ac- count of their being fick at different times -, therefore it is necelfary to make ufe of ar- tificial warmth in order that numbers may be hatch'd at one time, and that your whole quantity of eggs may come out at leaft in two or three days, fo that you may be 8o THE CULTURE be able to feparate each days hatching, or rather two or three tunes a day, and feed them by themfelves. And this is a thing fo abfolutely neceflary, that without it there would be no poffibility of feeding any quantity of filkworms to advantage, as I fhall fhew hereafter. Various methods of making the eggs hatch may be ufed according to the con- veniences of people ; but whatever method is ufed fhould aim principally at this end, viz. of making them hatch as nearly as may be together. And the thing that will moil: effedually do this is an equal degree of warmth, as near as can be attained, and conflantly apply'd till they are hatched. This degree of heat, which is called the heat of incubation, is that which the fkin of a healthy perfon can communicate, or any other heat equal in degree to it. And the method for hatching them by this heat is as follows. Divide your quantity of eggs into par- cels of one or two ounces each, and put each quantity into a bag of cotton, filk or fluff, tying it fo as it may not fpill : thefe bags are to be kept in the breads, next the fkin, by a perfon who do not ufe violent OF SILK. 8i violent motion, or who naight othervvife endanger them by crufliing or fqueefing them too hard, this they do for the fpac» of two or three days, or until they fuipe6l that the eggs are within a little of hatch- ing ; which, if the eggs were not too for- ward before, will be in the fpace of three days and nights j at night the bags are taken into bed with them, but care mufl be taken not to crufh them, and therefore it would be well, having firft warmed the bolder thoroughly as warm as the fkin, and taken care that the outfide be not hot- ter than that, to lay the bags under it, placing over them a fmall box or drawer, fufficient to hinder them from being crufli- ed, with its bottom uppermoft. When the eggs are ready to hatch, which will be about the end of the third day, it is inconvenient any longer to keep them in the bags, becaufe the worms which hatch'd v/ould be fqueezed and hurt as they , came out j and therefore each parcel mufl now be gently poured out into a fliallow box, of fuch a breadth as that the eggs fhall not lie on the bottom above a quarter 'of an inch thick, fo that the worms, as they hatch, may be able to make their way G through 82 THE CULTURE through. The box ought to be of clean firr, fuch as wafer boxes or the like. The eggs of different bags ought not to be mixed, becaufe they may have received different degrees of heat and fo w^ould hatch unequally. The bell time of putting the eggs into thefe boxes is jufl before you go to bed, that you may put them under your bolfter warmed as was before dire6led ; covering the box clofe with its lid, which lid ought not to come fo clofe to tlie eggs, but that there fhall be fufficient room to lay the iliced leaves of the mulberry over- the worms when they begin to hatch. The next morning early, after having put your eggs into this box, open it, and, if the worms have not yet begun to come out, return the box under the bed-cloaths, where they may remain about two houi's after you have left the bed, for about fo long a fufficient heat will remain ; after which the boxes muff be placed between two pillows heated very moderately, for a fniall over-degree of heat would injure the worms when near hatching, and you muff have other pillows ready warmed, as thefe cool, and fo continue them, all day be- 4 tween O F S I L K. 83 tvveen pillows, and at night in your bed, till they begin to hatch. In warming the pillows you may place them as near the fire, and heat them as quick as you pleafe, and let them be heated thoroughly ; but take care, before you place your boxes between them, that they may cool fo as to be no hotter than your hand when thoroughly heated in your bofom, and to preferve this heat, the longer in the pillows, you may wrap round them a quilt or coverlet, the thicker it is, the better, and this may be heated as hot as you pleafe, it cannot injure the worms through the pillows. Where large quantities of eggs are to be hatched, feveral pillows may lie upon one another, and be faflened by a couple of firings, tying them acrofs, and may then be placed at fuch a didance from the fire as that the heat exceed not that of the hu- man fkin J this diftance you may find by warming your hand in your bofom, and approaching it towards the fire till you juft begin to feel the warmth, here fix the flack of pillows with the boxes, and place a quilt or fuch like behind them, to hinder the back from cooling too fail, and thus G 2 turning 84 THE CULTURE turning the whole flack now and 'fhen, to give all parts an equal degree of heat, you will fave the trouble of often changing and warming the pillows. Or inftead of plac- ing them before tlie fire, you may, when the fun fliines clear, place the flack of pil- lows in the window where the wind doth not enter, and hanging a coverlet behind them, turn them as before, which, while the funfliine continvies, will fufUciently pre- ferve their warmth ; the boxes fliould fink into the pillows, fo as to have all fides com- pleatly covered j and when you fufpe6l the eggs to be near hatcliing, you may, every three or four hours, fiip different boxes out to try them, taking care, as often as you do it, to expofe the eggs as fhoit a time as polTible to the cool air. The method of liatching the eggs in bags by the heat of the ikin might perhaps be improved, by patting the bag into a box fitted to its fliape, but rather a little fmal- ler, that fo it may keep fteady ; v/hich it will the better do if the bag is made fo deep that its mouth may be turned outward over the rim of the box ; this will alfo keep the lid of the box firm, and hinder the new hatched worms from creeping between the bag and 1 OF SILK. 85 and the box which contains it. But as air is neceflary for the hatching of eggs, the box flioLild be all over pierced full of fmall holes, and the bag jQiould b^ made of thin filk or lluft: The eggs thus inclos'd may be kept in the bofom, or by men in pockets made on the infide of their waflecoats, or in any other way near the warmth of the fkin, without fuch danger of cruftiing as when kept in bags alone j befides, as the eggs fliould not quite fill the box, they may, by turning it foftly round, be fliifted and mix'd fo as to enjoy an equal degree of heat ; and when they are put under your bolfter at night, there will be no fear of injuring them : but, when the eggs are near hatching, they mufl be pour'd into the broad flrallow boxes ; and treated, in all refpecls, as thofe poured out of the bags into fuch boxes. Some, without putting them at all into bags, hatch them ficai the beginning be- tween pillows in fhallow boxes, keeping them by day between the warmed pillows, and at night in bed, or under the bolfter in the manner which has been already re- lated. The eggs while in the boxes, may G 3 be 86 THE CULTURE be fometimes ftirred and mix'd, with a fmall fpoon made of wood, that they may equal- ly fliare the heat which is ufed in hatch- ing them : the boxes may be near full of eggs till they begin to hatch, after which the eggs muft be fpread thin in other boxes. Many authors direct the fleeping of the eggs, in wine made as warm as the fkin, for half a quarter of an hour, and then drying them in a moderate v/armth, by gently rubbing them in a dry napkin, jufl before they are put to hatch. This makes them come out more equally together, for they, at this time, feparate thofe eggs which, after having been half a quarter of an hour ilirred in the wine, fwim at top, and throw them away, or at leaft don't mix them with thofe which fmk ; becaufe they are of a weaker conftitution, and would not be likely to hatch fo foon. This method alfo feparates thofe which are decayed and rot- ten, which may be of good ufe if, as is faid of pullets eggs, the rotten ones will affect the refb. I have been the more particular on this circumftance of hatching the eggs, as it is one of the moil neceiTary points in breeding filkworms, yet notwithilanding the many and O F S I L K. ?>7 and minute things which are fet down, tlie pradice will be found ilifficiently eafy j I ihall only add that in fome of our hot co- lonies, heating the pillows, and afterwards managing them by the meer warmth of the fun, in the day time, and at night in bed, by the method before prefcribed, may be found fufficient to hatch the eggs effec- tually J but to expofe them naked to the hot fun, I take to be a very bad method in any climate, the heat being too great, and neither equally imparted nor equally continued. I fliiall now proceed to the ma- nagement of the worms when they begin to hatch. CHAP. IV. ^he method of treating the Silkworms during the time of hatchiitg. WHEN the worms begin to hatch, you fliould have in readinefs two pieces of paper, fitted to the infide of each hatching-box, pricked full of holes as big as a large pin would make. Lay thefe two papers over one another in each box, G 4 and 88 THE CULTURE and flrow over them fome mulberry-leaves, fliced into flireds, fo as to cover the whole fuiface ; then iliut the box and lay it in your bed if warm, or between the warmed pil- lows, the heat of which fhould now be rather more moderate than before, for fear of injuring the worms ; the box alfo would be the better for having a few holes in its lid to admit frelh air. The worms, as they hatch, will come thro' the holes of the paper and fix upon the leaves, and when you perceive them almofl quite black with worms take off the upper paper, and gently flide the leaves, with the worms which adhere to them, upon the place where you intend to keep them. Or you may with a large pin take up the fibres in parcels, and fo fpread them ; but don't fpread them thin- ner than juft that they may not lie in heaps upon one another. I have pra6lifed an eafier method than either of the fore- going, for fhifting the worms of the pricked paper, which is to hold it inchned in one hand, and, bringing the furface of another peice of paper clofe to the worms and fibres, gently to turn them over, and fo the pricked paper lieing uppermoft may be taken away, and O F S I L K. 89 and placed in the hatching box, as before, for frefli worms to come on it. The reafon for ufing two prick'd papers to each box, is to avoid taking up the eggs when you remove the paper ; for many of them are apt to ftick to the paper which is next them, by a fine cobweb which the worm begins to fpin the infbant it is hatch- ed. Tvv^o pieces of gauze or Cyprus, wove wide enough to let the worms pafs, would fave the trouble of pricking the papers, and do better, efpecially, if by means of two or three flireds of fine hay, their furfaces did not lie exa6lly clofe to one another; this alfo fhould be taken care of when you ufe prick'd paper, otherwife the holes of the upper paper, by lying clofe to the un- der one, might not afford a pafTage to the worms to come through. In this manner you muft continue to manage your worms until they are all hatched, you fliould vifit your boxes at leaft twice a day, in the morning early and at funfet, if your worms hatch fart: you may do it thrice j and be fure not to mix thofe that hatch at different times together ; this would create you an infinite trouble in your future manage- ment of feeding and cleaning them, on 6 account 90 THE CULTURE account of their moulting -ficknefs coming on at different times. If you keep the hatchings of every fix hours difl:in6f, pro- vided they come out faft enough to cover the leaves in that time, you will have the lefs trouble afterwards ^ but thofe of twelve hours diftance mull: never be mixed toge- ther 3 wherefoie number the drawers or papers into which you put them, accord- ing to their different times of hatching, that you may not afterwards miftake. The greateft number of worms are ge- nerally found hatched early in the morning, and may then lie too thick on the leaves, fo as to croud one upon the other 5 in this cafe, when you diflribute them into the drawers, place the heaps that you take out of each hatching box at fome little diftance from one another, and lay fonie frelh mulberry leaves between them, that the worms may fpread themfelves, and not be crouded. The rule for which is, that they fliould nearly cover all the leaves, fo as to make them appear almoft quite black, but not lie upon one another ; if they lie thin- ner than this, they will not have eaten their leaves before you give them the fub- fequent feeding, and fo will remain among the OF SILK. 91 the old fhreds, not coming up readily to the frefh leaves, by which means the leaves will alfogrow withered before they are quite eaten, and thus continually heaping leaves, you will both wafte their food, and bury many of the worms under the heap of fragments. Note, for the firfl eight or ten days of the worms age, let the leaves al- ways be fliced. In two or three days, if things have been managed well, your eggs ought all to be hatched; but if you have not as many hatched on the third day, reckoning from the time of their beginning to hatch, as you intend to feed, you muft continue to keep the eggs warm as before. Some, to avoid tedioufnefs in getting their quantity of worms hatch'd, put a confiderable greater quantity of eggs to hatch, than they intend to feed, and then in a day or two from their firfl coming out they have all their number, and not fo many different ages among their worms as they would otherwife have had. What eggs remain after this may either be given to fomebody elfe to continue their hatch- ing, who might happen to want eggs, or elfe fhould be thrown away. A few eggs extraordinary are of little value, and what are 92 THE CULTURE are thrown away are flill of lefs account^ as the weakefl worms are likely to be the laft coming out : manage what way you will, there will always be fome which come out fo late as not to be worth attending on, as alfo fome very early ones, but fo few in number as not to deferve a diftin^l drawer or place of feeding j both thefe may be thrown away. I have here all along mentioned the putting your new-hatched worms in fmall drawers or boxes -, for though hereafter I fhail give direfiions for making large ftands to feed the filkworms on, yet thefe need not to be ufed till the worms have at leail palled their fecond moult, or fleep as it is called ; this is to be underflood of woi'ms bred in the more temperate or cool cli- mates, fuch as France or E?tgland j for in the hot climates, fuch as Georgia and others of our colonies, they may in fine weather bear the open air foon after they are hatch- ed, and be laid upon papers fpread on the large hurdles, or on an open table, with only fome flight covering of paper thrown over them for the firft days ; but if it is cold weather, drawers will be found very convenient, as they can befl regulate the neceffary O F S I L K. 93 nccefTary degree of warmth. I will fup- pole you have a frame containmg fix draw- ers one over the other, and that each drawer is about an inch in depth, and twen- ty inches by twenty fquare j there will then be nearly the fpace of three fquare feet in each drawer : I will alfo fuppofe that one fquare foot will contain all the worms that are produced from an ounce of eggs when juft hatched. Suppofe now you were hatching three ounces of eggs, of which you intend to make three different fortments, as coming out at three different times, an ounce each time J then the firft ounce that hatches fhould be put into the middle of the upper- mofl draw^er, and marked as the firil hatch- ed ; it will in this drawer take up the fpace of one fquare foot, and there will be the fpace of two fquare feet left in the drawer, which will be occupied by the worms by the time they have pafs'd their firft moult- ing. The fame is to be underiiood of the fecond hatched ounce, which fhould be put into the third drawer ; and of the third hatched ounce, which fhould be put into the fifth drawxr. When the firfl hatched worms have grown to the fize of their drawer. 94 THE CULTURE drawer, half of them muft be placed In the fecond drawer, and they will fill both thefe by the time they have pafled their fecond moult j m the fame manner the fecond hatched will fill the third and fourth draweis, and the third hatched will fill the fifth and fixth, and then they may be diftributed upon the large ftands. Thus you fee the fix drawers will con- tain all the worms which come from your three ounces of eggs, without confounding different hatchings. I fuppofe that the worms will occupy thrice the fpace after each moulting that they occupied at the moult foregoing, which I believe is pretty nigh the truth, and will hold through all the different moults, and alfo from the fourth moult to the time of their fpinning j and I have run through this method only as a fample of the regularity which, in fome degree, fhould be ufed through the whole procefs of feeding filk worms, when they are hatched at different times. The drawers above-mentioned may be made of any flight materials, fuch as laths, vv^ith paper bottoms, fupported by two or three firings or flicks, to hinder the paper from fwagging; or tliey may be made of Itraw O F S I L K. 95 flraw fmeared with cow-dung and dried, as bed fuits the climate and your conve- niency. The frame which fupports the drawers need be only four uprights, with crofs bars for the drawers to run upon, being open on all fides, that the freih air may occa- fionally have accefs, for which reafon alfo there fhould be an inch or more di{l-ance between each drawer ; a cover of coarfe flifF paper may be made to go over the whole, and keep the young worms warm when there is fliarp weather 5 and one fide of this cover may be loofe, fo as to throw back when a lefler quantity of frefh air is neceflary, and you do not care to uncover the whole frame. This neft of drawers can eafily be moved from one part of a room to another, can be fecured from cold by covering it clofe at night, and alfo from mice or other ver- min, by hanging it out of their reach. I mentioned above the laying of the worms in the middle of the drawer, the reafon of which is, that they m^ay regu- larly fpread themfdves, fo as to fill the whole drawer as they grow large; they are made to do this by fpreading the leaves a little 96 THE CULTURE a little round them as you feed them, and perceive that they lie too throng, for the worms will follow the leaves that are laid clofe to them. The fame may be effe6led, by making three or four different parcels of the worms in the fame drawer, and fo feeding them till they meet. Thus much was neceffary to be faid here concerning the management of the new- hatched worms ; but before I proceed far- ther in the method of feeding them, it will be convenient to give an account of the Hands which are to keep them as they increafe in fize. The manner of gathering the mulberry leaves, and their periodical ficknefs, which I fometimes call moulting, becaufe they then caft their ikins, and are difordered like birds that are cafbing their feathers. Thefe are the fubjeds of the three following chapters. CHAP. OF SILK. 97 CHAP. V. T^he ma finer of preparing the large ftajids and JJjeheson which the grown filkworrns are to be fedj and on which they afterwards fpin their filk. IT will be convenient for thofe who feed large quantities of filkworrns, to have the ftands and fhelves on which they are to be kept, or at lead fome of them, pre- pared before they are abfolutely wanted, in order to avoid being hurried when they become neceifary j and thofe who are pro- vident will prepare them in fuch a manner, that the fame materials can every year be quickly and eafily put together and refit- ted, and wheiV there is no further occafion for them, taken afunder and laid by in fmall room. The Hands (fee plate I. ng. I.) are made by erecting poles about an inch and half thick, according to the weight of (lielves and worms which they are to fupport; they are placed at the diftance of three or four feet afunder in a fquare fituation, and are ty'd firm to long flreight tranfverfe H poles 98 THE CULTURE poles reaching from one to the other. To as to form partitions for the fhelves where the worms are fed. The fhelves muft be fourteen or more inches afander, and their fize not more than that, when you are on one fide, you can reach half way over, in order to give the worms their leaves, and attend them, and then going on the other fide, you can reach to thofe which are fed j therefore each flielf ought not to exceed four feet in breadth. Thus the flielves on which the worms are to be fed, form ftories one above ano- ther in thefe ftands j they are hurdles com- pofed of reeds, fmall oziers, and fuch like. The hurdles made of fmall reeds are pre- ferable I think to boards or any other ilielves, on account of their cheapnefs, lightnefs, and drynefs, and alfo for other reafons, which will appear in treating of the manner of feeding and cleaning the worms. If the hurdles are made fo as to let the litter drop through, there might be a re- ceiver of coarfe paper to hinder it from falling on the leaves and worms of the next lower flory ; thefe receivers may be fixed fo as either to be brought up clofe under the hurdle, or to let down on one fide. J 0 F S I L K. 99 fide, fo as to form a flope when you would fweep away the htter that has gathered on them. But becaufe the fixing of thefe re- ceivers may appear too troiiblefome to rnany, it may fuffice to make the hurdles of reeds placed fo clofe to one another, that after the worms are a fortnight old, none of their litter can pafs through ; and before they arrive at this age, they may have paper or other convenient materials fpread under them on the hurdles, which will hinder their litter from annoying the lower ihelves, and alfo be convenient in taking out each flieet of paper by itfelf when you would examine or clean the worms, unlefs you keep them in drawers, as taught before. Hurdles feem much preferable to (lielves of boards ; for though when the v^^brms are large and make much litter, their hur- dles muft be taken out, fliaken, and fwept, yet this need not be done near fo frequent- ly as when they are kept on boards ^ for the air, which will have admiiTion through the vacancies of the reeds, will keep them fweeter, by drying the litter and alfo the fhreds of leaves that remain on them, and will hinder them to grow fo moifrand H 2 mouldy 100 THE CULTURE mouldy as they would be apt to do on boards, where the ah* could have no ad- mi (lion from beneath ; for any great moif- ture and mouldinefs of the heap of Utter on which they lie muft always be guarded againfl, and their hurdles cleaned as often as fhail be found necelfary. If you are flinted in room, your flands may be raifed ten foot, but then it will be necefTary to have a ladder, in order to be able to feed the uppermoil fhelvesj and this ladder ought not to lean againfl fuch lliffht materials as thefe Ifands are com- pofcd of, but ought to fupport itfelf with two ftriding legs, like thofe ufed to clip high hedges j and therefore it will be befl not to have your uppermoft fhelf higher than that ycu may, by ilanding on a ftool or bench, reach your hand to feed the worms, unlefs, as v\'as before mentioned, you were ftiiited in room j for which rea- ion, though you may make your upright pofl's ten foot liigh, you need put no flielves higher than necefllty fliall from time to time oblige you to do, the low fiielves being eafieft attended. Several rows of thefe flands may be placed in a room, leaving alleys between each O F S I L K. 101 each row of them, fo broad as that tw6 perlbns, in feedhig the worms, may pals one another when they meet, and alfo room to take out the hurdles. Some ad- vife to make each hurdle narrower than the next loweft, in order that the worms which chance to drop from one (lory may be caught by the next -, but this would lofe a great deal of room; the worms, until they are ready to fpin, never wander from the leaves, and may eafily be fecured. Thofe who have no great nurferies of worms, or want the means of making fuch regular conveniences as I have de- fcribed, content themfelves with nurhng the worms in the room where they lodge on all forts of boards, flielves, tables, wic- ker hurdles, &c. fixed in whatever manner is mofl convenient ; and the worms do well, provided they are guarded againfl: rats and other vermin, and creatures that might prey upon them or difturb them -, nor are they hurt by the frequency of peo- ple, nor by moderate noifes, if they are ac- cuftomed to them, but , Shocking, harfli and fuclden founds fliouid be always avoid- ed : but though this ordinary way of keep- ing them may do, it will Hill be beft to H 3 keep 102 THE CULTURE keep them in the rnoft convenient manner, it will abridge and methodize the trouble of feeding and cleaning them, and this being a great part of the labour attending filkvvorms, every thing that fhortens or cafes it, Vvhether by what I have or fhall hereafter mention, or by vi^hat the practi- tioner fliall himfelf find out, is to be con- fid ered as a material point. Flate I. Fig. I. fnews the flruclure of the flands where the filkworms are to be fed when they grow large and require much room. It is a fort of fcaffolding compofed of ftreight poles tied together. Its breadth A D three or four feet ; its length A C may be continued according to the dimenfions of the room which contains it ; its height A E about five feet, unlefs you are flinted in room, and then it may be as high as the ceiling. The upright poles A E. D F. &c. fliould be niched where they are tied at top, in the manner reprefented at Fig. II. to let the tranfverfe poles ABC, &c. into them, that the fcaffolding may ftand the firmer ; but at bottom the tranfverfe poles E G I, &c, iliould be niched, and not the uprights, becaufe OF S I L IC 103 becaufe, as they fnftaln the whole weight, it might weaken them. When you untie the ihort tranfverfe poles A D, &c. which are at the ends of the fland, the front and back of the fcafFold- ing comes afunder, and may be laid flat againft one another, fo as to take up little room, till you have occafion again to ufe them. The divifion next A Ihews the flielves, which are a fort of hurdles made of fmall reeds. They are ranged above one another at about the diflance of four^. teen or fifteen inches. Over the loweft hurdle is reprefented a Hoping receiver of coarfe paper, or thin bafs matting -, its ufe is to defend each un- der hurdle from the litter of the worms above it. Thefe are only necefiary when you choofe to weave the reeds fo open as to let the filk worms litter fall through ^ in which cafe there fliould be a receiver under each hurdle j but when the hurdles are made 10 cl ofe as not to let the litter pafs^ there is no occafion for the receiver^. The divifion at B is left clear of Ihelves, to fnew the pins i, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. upon which the hurdles reft j the breadth of each hurdle muft be equal to the diftance H 4 betweeu 104 THE CULTURE between the upright poles, that it may ea- lily be put in and taken out > but its length mufl- be three or four inches more, that it may reft fecurely on the four pins which fipport it. It may be inclined to one fide when taken out or put in. The branches, for the worms to fpin at the divifion C, &c. will be defcribed in Part III. Fig. III. reprefenls one of the hurdles compofed of fmall reeds, its rim made of four ftrong reeds or fticks tied toge- ther at a, b, c, d, where two nitches, fuch as that of Fig. II. are let into one another. This kind of curved nitch is hot apt to break, nor doth it weaken the part, as an angular one would do. The ftrong reeds or fticks e, f, g, over which the fmall ones are woven, may be tied in the fame man- ner. The fmall reeds are woven in parcels of twenty or thirty, and clofe to one ano- ther, when you intend that the litter of the worms ftiould not drop through, yet there will be ftill fpace enough between them to let the air pafs. CHAP, O F S I L K. ^ 105 CHAP. VI. I'he manner of gathering the mulberry leaves, and keeping them Jrefi. 'T^HE hands of thofe that pull the -■■ leaves fhould be very clean, as alfo of thofe who attend and feed the worms -, they fhould not have handled any thmg that has a flrong offenfive fmell, fuch as leek, garlick, and fuch like ; neither fliould they have eaten them, nor ufe tobacco, efpe- cially in fmoaking, when they feed the worms. The time in which they fhould pull the leaves, ought to be as foon as the dew is off them in the morning, for they ought never to be puil'd with moiflure on them. As the worms ought to be fed wdth leaves which are tender and young, in propor- tion to their tender age, therefore you fhould begin by pulling one tree regularly after another j you mult not begin to pull a fecond tree till you have puil'd all that you ought to do of the firil, for you mufl: not quite difleaf a tree for fear of hurting it J nor muft you pull the fame tree twice, though z io6 THE CULTURE though by the time that you have pull'd a good many of your other trees, it fhould have thrown out a confidei able quantity of Jeaves, both becaufe it would injure the tree, and becaufe thefe leaves would be improper for the worms, being a fecond growth and tender j whereas the worms will then be advanced in age, and require older leaves. If your trees are kept in a flat form, being planted like an efpalier hedge, you may begin regularly at one end of your hedge, and pull the leaves regularly on, inaking a mark every day as far as you have pull'd, that you may not go over the fame part twice -, and thus when you have gone in order down one fide of the hedge, you return up the other, and fo proceed to another hedge. If the hedges run in lines from north to fouth, pull the call fide fiiil, becaufe in fpring, when the fun is weakefl, it will be firfi: dried after the morning dew j but as the feafon advances in warmth, the weftern fide will be lufiiciently dried, though the fun has not fhone upon it when you begin to pull in the morning. It is beft I think to have the hedges run from north to fouth, that each fide may fhare the fun alike j but OF SILK. 107 but if a fliower of rain have diiveii with an eallei ly or weilerly wind, pull that fide which lay to the leeward, as being leaft moift. In pulling the leaves it is much better to do it eafy, taking the leaves in your hand, than to take the whole branch or flioot in the fifl:, and thus to rake off as many leaves as you can at once ; for this both bruifes the leaves, which makes them bad for the worms, and alfo breaks and damages the branches, and fills the leaves with flireds of broken boughs ; wherefore one of the gatherers fhould be a Ikilful perfon in feed- ing and managing the worms, and fuch as can be trufted to dire6l and overfee the others j for as it is common to pay the gatherers by meafure for the quantity of leaves they bring in, they will be apt only to make it as large as they can, without either choice or fkill. The leaves as they are gathered fhould be thrown into clean bafkets, and not too much fluffed or preiTed together, v/hich would make them heat and otherways damage them ; each gather- er fhould have a fmall bafket, v/hich he may hang befide him to the tree, by a Jiooked flick, that he may not be obliged to loS THE CULTURE to fluff his hands too full before he empties them ', and thus all the gath^u'ers having fiU'd their fmall balketSj may empty them into one or more large ones, in which they are to be brought home. Such a quantity of leaves ought to be gathered each morning, as v^^ill ferve to feed the w^orms during the red: of the day, and alfo enough to give them their firil feeding, early the next morning, before the new leaves can be gathered : after one or two feedings you will eafily judge what quan- tity will be necellary for this, and give di- redions to the gatherers to fill their bailcets accordingly. Tlie leaves which are brought home fhould be kept in a cool place, but not in too great an heap : if they are young, and fuch as are gathered for new hatched worms, they may be kept in a -glaz'd earthen vellel, as they then make but a fmall bulk ; and when they come to make a large heap, as they mufl for a great number of worms that are grown large, they may be kept in large wicker pinniers or bafkets, or even in the corner of a cool room for two days. It is accounted befl not to feed with the leaves frefh taken from the OF SILK. 109 the tree, for they are good as long as they remain green and firm. Though your general method of gather- ing the leaves may be as has been defcrib- ed, yet, if the weather tends to be rainy, you muft provide at leafl two days food, or in proportion as you forefee the diificul- ty of gathering, which if poiTibie fliould not be in wet weather, efpecially while the moifture is ad:ually upon the leaves : you may keep the leaves tolerably well for two or three days in a cool place, but you mufl take great care that they do not heat and grow mouldy, which would greatly injure your worms. If the leaves, therefore, any way tend to this Hate, you mufl often turn, and give them air; fpreading and placing them where there is a current of air, or on fome of the hurdles of thofe flands which may happen not yet to be employed. Notwithftanding the foregoing caution, it may often happen, that on the very morning when the gatherers go out, and when you have no provihon for that day, but what they fliaii briqg in, there fhall fall rain, and wet the leaves : in this cafe you are under a neceflity of having the leaves gathered ; 110 THE CULTURE gathered j they fhould therefore fhake the trees before they begin to pull, and if it is an hedge in the efpalier manner, they may fhake it with a forked pole without wetting themfelves, and thus they will throw off a good quantity of the moifture ; and for what remains, it muft be taken off by fhaking and tolling the leaves between two dry fheets of linen, and afterwards fpreading and airing them as above j for no necefiity fhould force you to give them to the worms v/hile any moifture remains, it is better they fliould faft. The gatherers Ihould not ftay till they had pulled their whole quantity, in this laft cafe ; but fliould at leaft lend in a fufficiency of leaves for one feeding, as foon as they have ga- thered them, that they may be fufficiently dryed by the time they are to be ufed. As gathering the leaves in moift weather is to be avoided, fo is alfo the pulling them after they have born the fcorching heat of the mid-day fun -, they might then be too deftitute of fap, and would be apt to wither, and grow unfit for the worms before they were all ufed. The leaves of trees which grow in moifl grounds, or where they are fo Iliaded that 4 the OF SILK. tiT the fun cannot fliine on them, are bad for the worms J fo alfo are all fpotted, blafted, and yellow leaves j and thofe which are upon fuckers, or other proud fiioots grow- mg from the trunk or principal branches, are only fit for newly hatched, or very young worms. Therefore you may pull all thefe forts at firft, through your whole plaPitation, as long as they laft j and then go regularly from tree to tree, as before di- rected i but obferve that even the young worms, if they had been ufed to feed on firm leaves, would be kill'd by giving them thofe which grew on fuckers ; fo that if thefe are us'd, it mufl be at the firft. Some mulberry-trees are apt to have fuch quantities of fruit, that it is difficult to pull the leaves without having great quan- tities of the berries mixed along with them ; thefe, befides that they are faid to be hurtful to the worms, will occafion a great quan- tity of litter, and mouldinefs ; and will oblige you to clean the flielves much often- er than would other wife be neceli'ary: you fhould rather therefore avoid pulling fuch trees as are thus loaded with fruit, if you have enough without them j or, if you are obliged to ufe them, you fhould fcparate the berries. 112 THE CULTURE berries, if they are in any great quantity, by ihaking the leaves in w'ldz meih'd fieves or fomc iuch way : but if you fpare puUing fuch trees, the berries will give you feed for new plantations ; for if they are flrip- ped of their leaves, the fruit will not ripen well nOr grow large, Beiide the foregoing obfervations, the gatlierers muft be cautioned not to bruife the leaves either by pulling them roughly, fqueezing them in their hands, or prefling them into the bafkets ; not to break the branches of the foregoing year, nor mix the fragments of broken branches among the leaves. In fliort, to injure the trees as lit- tle as pofiible, and to pull the leaves with clean hands, and bring them home in as neat a manner as they can. Not that it is abfolutely necelTary to follow minutely every thing which is above mentioned ; but if your conveniency anfwers, you will find them cf advantage. Some authors fay that if the leaves are pulled by Gripping them dovvnward, it will difbark and hurt the branches ; but I have found that this is not faft, for they come off by flripping downward much eafier than upward, and without injuring the OF SILK. 113 the bark, or being Co much bruifed by the hard grafping, which you are forced to ufe when you ilrip them upward, which makes them lels agreeable to the worms, you muft however take hold of the end of the branch with one hand when you ftrip downward. CHAP. VII. Of the four fcknejfes or moultings which the Silkworm undergoes, TH E filkworm is fubjecl to four lick- nefles, from each of which it recovers by what I Ihali hereafter call moulting, or throwing off its Ikin ; and the times in which this happens are carefully to be ob- ferved, together with the dilferent appear- ance, which the worms makes both at the time of its fickening, and after it has moul- ted i becaufe thefe are periods which great- ly regulate your conduct in managing your broods. The times of their ficknefs are fo vari- oufly fet down by many different authors, that fcarce any fixed times can be taken I from 114 THE CULTURE from their accounts, efpecially for the firft ficknefs, fome fixing it to the feventh or eight day after hatching, and others not till the twelfth : but MalpighiiiSj in his ac- curate anatomy of the filkworm, fays that thofe worms which he hatched in May were eleven days old before they fell into their firft ficknefs , thofe hatched in July ten days, and thofe hatched in Auguji not quite nine : yet as he obferves thefe times vary according to the weather and other circum- flances. Some French authors fix the feventh or eighth day for the firfl ficknefs, in France, and I found it to be about the the fame time in England. That you may not be at a lofs for the time of their firfl: ficknefs, upon which the other three depend, I will be fomewhat more particular concerning its approach, and concerning the appearances which the filkworm has during its firfl: age; becaufe from its fmallnefs, at this time, they might efcape a common obferver. The filkworm when it comes out of the egg appears quite black, this in two or three days changes to a light moufe co- lour : upon the approach of its firft fick- nefs, the head begins to fwell fo as to be apparently O F S I L K. 115 apparently larger than it was, in proportion to the body j it appears alfo more pointed towards the mouth than it did before, and upon their a6lually falling into the height of their ficknefs they leave off eating, and remain quite motionlefs with there heads fwelled, and raifed, generally, above their bodies -, and their colour is now a light yellowifh brown, in which the rings of their body may be feen, if you view them clofely. They continue thus, without feeding, a- bout three days j then the fwelling of their heads begins to fall, and they caft their old fkins, which tho' on account of their fmall- nefs you may not readily obferve, yet is as compleatly caft now as at their laft moulting, of which the magnifying glafs will fully inform any one. You will know that they are quite recovered by the different appear- ance, which they immediately make after moulting, for they now appear of a very light grey colour about their necks, and the reft of their bodies a dark grey j their heads are no longer fwelled, nor their nofe ftiarp ', their bodies alfo appear flender, and not lb ftiff" and fhortened as when they lay I 2 in ii6 THE CULTURE in their ficknefsj and in half an hours time they fall eagerly on their food. In the above defcription obferve, that the fwelling of their heads is the obvious fign of their approaching diforder; their motionlefs fituation with their heads erec- ted fhev^s their continuance in the height of it ; and the light colour about their necks, their motion, and beginning to eat, fhews their recovery. Though they fall into their ficknefs by foiTie degrees, yet their recovery is almofl inflantaneous J for from the time that they begin to throw off their Ikins till it is quite off, is oft only about two or three minutes fpace. They caft it by fixing their tail to the leafy fibres, and then moving their body forward, after which they feem to reft themfelves for a fliort time, and then begin to eat. Having fed about three days, they be- gin to fall into their fecond ficknefs with much the fame appearances as the firft, and lafting the fame time, viz. three days, therefore it need not be particularly defcrib- ed J only obferve that though they are faid to be well and feed three days, and to faft and lie motionlefs for three days more, yet this OF SILK. 117 this is not to be taken ftridly, becaufe they eat a little even after they begin to ficken, and therefore are fomething longer in an eating condition, than in a fading ina6live one : you muft make this fame allowance for what fliall be faid of their third and fourth ficknefs ; obferve alfo that the w^arm- er the climate is, fo much the fhorter is the time of their continuing fick. Having recovered from their fecond fick- nefs, they continue in health for about three days, and then their heads fwell as before, and they begin to fall into their third ficknefs j their bodies grow fomewhat gloiTy of a pale yellowifh colour, and fome- what leflened in length -, they remain mo- tionlefs with their heads rais'd, which now alfo appear fharp toward the mouth, as in their former ficknefles. After three days, the fwelling of the head falls, and fometimes they fuddenly grow as it were fpeckl'd with dark ftreaks, which colour proceeds from their old fkin then beginning to fe- parate j they then continue ftretched out at their length, for about two hours, after which th^y begin to ftrip off their old fkin from the head downward towards the tail, which is always the manner in which I 3 it ii8 THE CULTURE it is done, and from the time in whick they begin to ftrip it till it is quite off, there is but about one minutes fpace : they appear now of one uniform colour, which fomewhat refembles that which the fmall fmooth branches of an afh-tree have : the new fkin at firfl: appears fomething wrink- led, but as they begin to eat it flretches and grows fmooth. After their recovery from the third fict- nefs, they continue in health about three days, as before, and then their fourth fick- nefs begins with the fame appearance as the third, and therefore need not be parti- cularly defcribed, being much of the fame duration, and, as the worm is now grown large, eafily obferved ; this is their lafl lick- nefs : after their recovery from it they ap- pear cf the fame colour as after the third ; two black comma's, in this fituation (") appear on their back, a little below their iirfl: ring, which before this moult were not fo manifefi: : after this they continue eating, and in perfect health for about ten days, that is till their time of being ready to fpin. I have in the foregoing account only mentioned the calling off of their fkins ; 6 but O F S I L K. 119 but I muft inform you that they do at tlie fame time, by rubbing their heads among the leafy fibres, caft the entire fcull includ- ing their teeth, and all other parts of it ; and as their fkin is flrippcd downward off their tail, fo the Ikull comes forward off their mouth, and this is what gives their muzzle that fharp appearance which it has during their ficknefs, it being no more than the old fcull flicking to the point of the new one. When the worms are large you can eafily with the naked eye perceive this cafl- ing off their fcuUs ; and through the micro- fcope you may perfectly difcover their jaws, teeth, &c. in it, together with feven mofl exceflive fmall holes, on each fide near the mouth, which were thofe of their eyes : for the two broad appearances on their head, which fome miflake for their two eyes, are only two bones of their fcull : their eyes are feven, as I have faid, on each fide, but fo fmall that when greatly mag- nified with a glafs, they do not exceed a fmall grain of fand. The fpots which, when the worms are grov/n, appear at re- gular diftances down each fide of the body, are alfo by fome miftaken for their eyes, but thefe fpots are the breathing holes I 4 through I20 THE CULTURE through which the air enters into their lungs ; and all the kinds of worms, and caterpillars which change into flies, do, in their principal organs and transformations, fomewhat refemble thofe of the filkworm. From what has been faid, it will eafily appear that their ficknefs is not fleep, or a flate of reft, though .by fome called fo j but rather a fever, like that which accom- panies the toothing of children, or the cas- ing of the feathers in birds, attended with a lethargick motionlefs ftate, which indeed refembles {leep, and a total lofs of appetite, and abftinence from food till they caft their fkins and the diforder goes off. The final caufe of their thus cafting their fkins, &c. feems to be, that their bodies may have room to grow and enlarge ; their old fkins, it is likely, growing too tough to admit of further extenfion, for which reafon a new and tender one is ne-. celTary. I hinted above, that though the duration of their ficknefs, and of their fubfequent health, is fet down at three days each, from the beginning of their firft moult to the end of their laft, yet this fhould not be taken in too Uriel a fenfe, fmce they eat a little O F S I L K. 121 little fomet'imes after their head begins to fwell i and their flate of total inaction doth not come on immediately j fo that they are perhaps a day longer in a flate of eating, than they are of abfolute fading. So that you might reckon four days, in three of which they feed heartily, the fourth eat a little, and on the two next totally fad. Malpighius, who took his dates of their ficknefs from the beginning of their total- ly ina6live date, divides the times of their health and ficknefs in the following man- ner : after their being hatched, they con- tinue in health for ten or eleven days, then they are fick about a day and an half ^ their health after recovering lads four days and an half J and their fecond ficknefs a day and half; their next health continues for three days; and their fubfequent and third ficknefs a day and half; the next health, which proceeds their lad ficknefs, he fets down at four or five days continu- ance ; the lad ficknefs at two days and an half ; and their lad healthy date nine or ten days and then they begin to fpin : but he obferves that the weather, and other circumdances make thefe times vary. 5 Not- 122 THE CULTURE Notwithflanding that the particulars which I have fet down on this head, will inform you pretty well of the times of their ficknefs, yet to be more perfe6l in it, you mufl add your own diligence of obferva- tion; and alfo confider the climate and weather, which if it be cold or moift, ge- nerally retards and lengthens out the times of thefe changes and moultings in the filk- worm ; but your own experience, join'd to the tokens and marks which are given above, will enable you readily to know what ftage of life, and what condition the worms are in, and alfo to know what will next happen, and confequently what ac- commodation and management you are to prepare for them. Their times of moulting being, therefore, the principal thing which regulates many particulars in your atten- dance, and which when well knov/n will eafe you of much trouble, I need not in- fifl how much they are to be regarded. The time preceeding each moulting of the filkworm may be called one age -, fo that to the fourth moulting there are four ages J and from the fourth to the time of its being ready to fpin may be reckoned a fifth age. Each age is about five days long OF SILK. 123 long except the firfl:, which is about feven, and the laft which is about ten, in the cli- mate of England 'y but in a warm feafon, or in warmer climates. None of their ^ges are of fo long duration. The fizeof the filkwormwhen firft hatch- ed, and at its recovery from each moulting is fliewn, Plate I. Fig. VI. the little curve line at top fliews it juft hatched. The numbers i, 2, 3, 4, -fhews its fize at the moultings which correfpond to them ; the horizontal line being its length, and the perpendicular its diameter ; and number 5, fhews it a little before it is ready to fpin 3 for, when quite ready, its fize is fomewhat leflened. CHAP. VIII. Of feeding and managing the filkworms during their two fir ft ages^ or till they pafs their fecond moulting. 'T^HE filkworm's life, unto the time "*- when it is ready to produce its filk, has been divided into five ages, reckoning one age at each recovery from moulting, and 124 THE CULTURE and the fifth age from its fourth moult till it is ready to fpin. The whole five ages together comprehend the fpace of Rvq or fix weeks, more or lefs, according to the coldnefs or warmth of the cfimate. The filkworms had juft began the firft of thefe ages, being nevv'ly hatched and dif- tributed into their nurfery-drawers, when I left them m order to fhew the method of getting food for them, and to give you a general defciiption of their four moultings ; I now refume the management of them at this firfi: age. They begin to eat as foon as they come out of the egg, and immediately fix them- felves on the mulberry leaves, which are thrown upon them ; and from this time, until they become ready to fpin, they con- tinue almoft conftantly eating, except at - night and during the time of their moult- ings. Now, as they are placed in drawers large enough to admit of their increafe of fize until they arrive at their firft moult, you will have no occafion to touch them nntil they have pafs'd it, and will have little more to do than to feed them regu- larly, by ftrowing the tender fliced leaves of the mulberry over them, and to give theru O F S I L K. 125 them a little air, or to keep them clofe and warm, according as the weather is hot and clofe, or cold and damp. Some authors prefcribe, that they fhould be fed only twice a day till after their firfl moult ; but as the flrowing of a few leaves over them is a matter of fmall trouble when they lie in fo narrow a compafs, I fhould rather choofe to do it thrice or oftner in a day; for if you give them in the morning the quantity which is to ferve them the whole day, you mufl lay them thick on the worms, and moft of them would be withered, or unfit for food before night; and when you gave them frefh leaves, many of the worms would not come up to them, but would continue attached to thofe that happened to be a little frefh among the former old leaves, and thus you would, from time to time, bury and hide many of the worms among the fragments that re- mained, and it is by no means pra6licable, or worth the toil, to be fearching and pick-* ing for them among the leaves. But if you only ftrew diced leaves thinly over them, fo as that they fliall juft touch one another or thereabout, but not lie in heaps i or if you give only fo many leaves as 126 THE CULTURE as you find by experience your worms can eat before they decay, excepting the grofler parts and fibres, then at every new feeding your worms will quickly come upon the frefh leaves, and you will not then bury the worms underneath, neither will you make fuch w^afte of food, nor fuch a great quantity of litter, or of moifture and mouldinefs ; and thus no more than fome dry wither'd fibres will be left, which are of ufe and fervice, as the dung of the worms will fall and be buried among them, and not at all taint the frefh leaves which you from time to time give the worms. You fliould therefore avoid giving too great a quantity of leaves at any age of the worms J for though when they are well grown, they will not be fo eafily buried, except at their moulting, yet by thus heap- ing, you will both wafte food and increafe litter, mouldinefs and moiilure, and the labour of often being obliged to clean them. You fliould rather defer giving them a frefh meal for fome little time, than give them it before the former was eaten, if it remained frelh or fit for food -, nay, if at any time you find the worms, while they are out of their moult and well, lazy to come OF SILK. 127 come on the frefh leaves which you give them, it is a fign that they are too fail, and you would not do amils if you let them fafl a little beyond the time in which you.ufed to give them their next meal. I have been thus particular, that you may avoid the great trouble which I have known to proceed from heaping too much food. When you feed the worms, let the firfh feeding be as foon as you can conveniently in the morning 3 this muft be done with the remainder of the leaves which were ga- thered the day before, and let the laft feed- ing be as late as you can before you go to bed. As the worms lie in the middle of the drawer, and at their firfl: being placed there fliould only take up about one third of it, you may enlarge the fpace they lie on, at the time of feeding them, according as you perceive them to grow large and crowd one another j to effect this, you have no more to do than to place leaves round about, fo as to touch thofe the worms lie upon ; and thus, as you fee it neceffary, you may extend their fpace, for they will always follow and fpread themlelves over the 128 THE CULTURE the leaves which are contiguous to them ; but if you fpread the worms too much, they will not be able to eat all the leaves you thi'ow over them, the inconveniency of which I have mentioned j therefor^ al- ways keep them as throng as they can lie without being crouded upon one another. While they are very young, you muft, in cold weather, keep them clofe and warm, fhutting the drawers or boxes as foon as you have fed them, and expoling them as little as polTible to cold air 3 you may for this end keep a blanket or fuch like over your whole chefl of dravi^ers. But you mufl, on fine and warm days, life them to the open air, according to their age and vigour, pulling the draw- ers in which they are kept about quar- ter or half open in the middle of the day, and for as long as you fliall judge convenient -, and when you Ihut the draw- ers, turn that fide which was out inmoll, that when you air them next, the other fide may have the benefit of it j for which reafon the drawers fhould be made to go in at either fide. Scarce any general rule can be given for the time of thus airing them J the climate, weather, and other fuch circum- O F S I L K. 229 circiimflances mnfl dire6l you. In tem- perate climates they fhould be kept clofe and warm till after their fecond moulting ; in hot climates too much heat and want of air will oftener hurt them than cold. It would be of good fervice, where great quantities of worms are kept, to have a thermometer ; and having, by your expe- rience, determined the greateft degree of* cold and the greatefl: degree of heat which •they could bear, without any manifeft figns of harm, you might afterward, as the fpirit in the thermometer varied above or below thefe points, regulate your con- duel. You can give a good guefs at their health by the vigour with which they eatj and their alacrity in coming on the freih leaves which you give them, and hence you might pretty well afcertain the degrees of warmth in which they thrive befl:. A like good ufe might be made of an hygro- meter, which meafures the moifture and drynefs of the air, and moifture hurts them more than cold ; but thefe are niceties which few can or Vi'ill make ufe of. If the worms are near their m.oult, you muft not then judge of their health by their liftlef- nefs and inadlivity, for thefe are at that K time 130 THE CULTURE time natural tokens of a natural and per!^ odical diforder, which though it is by fome called a lleep, yet is rather a fort of lethar- gick fever. In about five or fix days after hatching, the worms will begin to fall into their firft ficknefsj which precedes their moulting. When therefore you perceive their heads to fwell, and that they do not eat fo heartily as before, give them their leaves more fpa- ringly, adjufling the quantity of their food fo as that it fliall be eaten before next meal, and when you perceive them all to lie inac- tive, with their heads erected, and that they no longer attempt to eat, you fliould then defifl: from giving them any more leaves, and by no means dilfurb or move them either now or in any of their moults, but let them lie quiet and warm, by fliutting the drawers or boxes where they lie, efpecially if the weather is cold, during their tvv^o firfl moults. You will often perceive fome worms grow fick a . little before the reft, though they were all hatched together, on accouni of fome inequality in their ftrength or con- ftitution; or becaufe, though they were all taken out of the hatching boxes toge- ther. O F S I L K. 13 T dier, fome came out of the egg perhaps three or four hours before the reft 5 thefe early ones will be a fort of notice to you ta moderate their food, for that the others will foon be in the fame ftate. If by any mifmanagemen't worms of dif- ferent ages were mixed together, you may now feparate them from one another ; if, for inftance, a great number of your worms which are in the fame drawer abftnined from their food, and grew motionlefs iri the morning, and the reft continued eat- ing till late at evening, then by giving d few frelh leaves thefe will come upon them, and fo may be taken away from the reft with thofe leaves on which they have fixed. But as the picking the leaves up in order to remove them is tedious, and alfo unlefs great care is ufed may crufli many of the worms, whether by taking hold of the leaves with your fingers or with plyers -, therefore I think it a better way to fepa- rate them now by the means of papers with holes cut in them, in the manner di« reded for taking away the v/orms out of the hatching boxes. But if all your worms fell fick together, you would now have nothing more to do K z than 132 THE CULTURE than to wait for their ■recovery, and would not have the trouble either of feparating thofe of different ages, nor of feeding feme v/hich were of a different age in feparate drawers. And this you might efft-6l, by getting all your eggs to hatch at once, which therefore you fliould, as much as you can, llrive to do. It is true indeed, that though ail your worms had been taken out of the hatching boxes at one time, there might be fome which would ficken a little fooner than the reft from different llrength of conffitution, and confequently recover and begin to eat fooner -, and if the difference of time v/ere about twelve hours, and that there were a fufiicient quantity of fuch worms to deferve a diftincl: place, it v/ould be befl to feparate them 5 but then tliis may be done after their moult, by giving them a few leaves when they recover before the reil, and then taking thofe leaves with the worms on them, and placing them by themfelves in a diilincl drawer. But if you have large quantities of worms hatch 'd at different times, and that almoil all your firfl: hatched fickeneth at once, then you may take away thofe few that are later than the reft and put them among your fecond hatching, O F S I L K. 133 hatching, and the few that fliall happen to be tardy among the fecond hatching transfer to the third, and fo on. Yet if there is but Httlc diilance, for inftance, only half a day, or even almofl: a whole day, between the fickening of thofe which lie in the fame draw^er, you may defer fe- parating them till their fecond moult, or till their third, if the difference of time is too little at their fecond ; the difference gene- rally increafing at each moult. You muff however take care to feed thofe which are in a feeding ffate among the fick ones, if you do not feparate them, hut do it very fparingly, fprinkling the leaves very thin, that you may not bury the lick worms. Moil of what I have been faying tends to one principal end, viz. that of keping the worms of different ages diffin6l from one another, and whichfoever of the methods you choofe, you will be fenfible that it is an ufeful and neceffary thing. You will not be at any lofs to know when your worms have moulted and reco- vered from their firft ficknefs, the appear- ance they then make being very different from that which they had during their diforder, according to the marks given in K 3 the 134 THE CULTURE the chapter on moulting. And now, as they recover, give them their leaves gather- ed as neat and clean as pofnble, and if they lie too throng, feparate and diltribute them into other drawers as they come upon the frefh leaves. You may either diftribute them in fmall parcels at Ibme little diflance in the drawer, fo that they iliall fpread and meet as they grow large, or you may place them all in the middle of a drawer, and let them extend and fpread all round, by laying leaves round them when they begin to lie too throng. Your worms are now in their fecond age, and enlarged in fize ; and the leaves which are to feed them are alfo grown firmer ; with thefe you muft continue to nouriih them : and the rules which have been already delivered for their firfl age being, with your own difcretion, fufficient for this, their appearance alfo and time of moulting being much the fame, excepting their fize, I ihall only refer you to what has been already taught, to avoid the te- dioufnefs of repetition. After about three days health and three days ficknefs, you will find them recovered from their fecond moult, in which flate I fiiall take them up OF SILK. 135 in the enfuing chapter. Obierve here how- ever, that a worm jiifl recovered from any moult is not larger, but rather lefs, than one which is goii^g to fail into the fame moult, left you iliould miflake their age on account of their fize, which fize only advances during their health between each moulting. Take notice alfo, that the drawers and warm-keeping here mentioned are only for climates where the fpring is cold at the tim.e of hatching filkworms, and are not neceffary in the warmer lati- tudes. What I have faid in this chapter is fuf- ficient for the management of the worms during their two firfl ages ; I have made no mention of cleaning away their litter, or the broken fibres of their leaves, for at this time it is unneceiTary ; the litter they now make is foon as dry as dufc, and the fibres of the leaves are alio foon withered, and make a foft bed, on which the worms lie cleaner than if they v/ere placed on pa- per, for the litter runs down among the fibres, and fo doth not at all incommode them, efpecially if they lie on a hurdle made of flraw, reeds, or fuch like, through which the litter can pafs. 1 have known K 4 fome 136 THE CULTURE fome of our ladies who kept filkworms give themfelves an endlefs trouble in cleaning and picking them from the old leaves and jfibres every day, a thing which cannot be done vv^ithout injuring the worms, and for which there had been no neccflity, had not their food been crouded fafter than they could eat it, and the leaves given with^ out dicing them, which would have hin- dered them to curl and invelope the worms. I have read, that in Spaiit they keep the very young worms in flat ftraw bafKets fmeared on the infide with cow's dung, and then dried, and that they reckon the fmell of the dried cow-dung wholefome for the worms. C H A P, OF SILK. 137 CHAP. IX. Hew to manage the Silkworms diiri?ig their two next ^ges, that is, from their re- covery out of their Jeco?id moult to their recovery out. of their fourth. HEN the filkworms are recovered from their fecond licknefs, they will be able to bear the air on open flielves if the weather is fine, and you had acciiftomed them to the frefh air at times before, when you found the day warm, to inure them to it. You may therefore now place them upon fome of your fhelves made of hurdles, in the large flands, and as there has been no occafion as yet to take away their litter, if it remain'd dry and they were properly managed, fo neither is there any now ; it is no more than a loofe cake of dry fibres conne6led paitly by its own materials, and partly by a fine cobweb which the worm is almoll confiantly fpin- ning from its birth -, the little dung, which lies among the fibres of this cake, is alfo quite dry, and in this cafe I never found a worfe 138 THE CULTURE worfe fmell proceed from it than that of dry grafs or hay, but indeed if it had con- tra6ted much mouldinefs and moifture for want of air, or by heaping too much food, it would be otherwife, and have an offen- five fmell. You might have inured the worms to the open air, by laying the drawers, or whatever elfe they wej-e nurfed in, upon the hurdles in the day time, and returning them back into the cheil of drawers at night, and afterwards, if the weather is warm, by letting them lie all night on the open Hands in the fame drawers. When you intend to (hift them out of their drawers to the hurdles which com-* pofe the fnelves of your large fcands, you need only raife the Vvhole cake of fibres with the worms on it, and lay it on the middle of the hurdle, or raife one edge of the cake over the edge of the drawer upon the hurdle, and then gently fhift the drawer from under it j this would be the eafier done if one of the ledges of the drawers had been contrived to flip of. As the worms will as yet take up but few of your flielves, you Ihould place them on thofe flielves where they v/ill be eafieft fedi OF SILK. 139 fed ; that is about three foot high, and al- ways obfeive to keep the high and mofl: troublelbme flielves empty of worms as long as you can. When the worms lie thus on the cake pf fibres in the middle of the flielf, you are fenfible that as they grow and fpread on the hurdle, thofe on the edge of the cake will have fcarce any thing under them but the reeds or twigs of which the hur- dle is compofedj if therefore you think this keeps them as yet too cold, or that your hurdle is fo vv^ide that they drop through, or any other inconvenience at- tends this, you may remedy it by laying fheets of coarfe paper, but free from every thing ofFenfive to the worms, round the ^dgQ of the cake of fibres, and as the cake extends with the growth of the worms, by the fame degree you may draw out the papers, flill leaving fome under the edge of the cake, till you find no inconvenience follow from taking them quite away. A little fine hay, fpread thin over the empty part of the hurdle round the cake of fibres on which your worms lie, might anfwer |:he fame end. S On 140 THE CULTURE On thefe flielves continue to feed your worms thrice a day j do not be at the trou- ble of laying the leaves over them one by one, but, taking them by handfuls, fcat- ter them at firft thinly over your worms, not letting them fall in heaps 3 it is bed to fcatter them firft where the worms lie thin- neft, which will draw them from lying in crowds, and afterwards you may throw them over thofe places which remained un- fupplied. As the worms are now to continue on thefe flielves, you muft, if the weather fhould change to cold, keep the doors and \vindows very clofe, and you may further guard againft the cold, by throwing a co- vering of thin light paper over them, fo long as the bad weather continues ; and thefe remedies will have the better effe6l, if, while- the weather was warm and fine, you had not kept them too tenderly, but had given them the frefh air now and then, efpecially in the heat of the dayj an equal temperature of heat being what agrees beft with them, and to this your conduct and contrivance mufl come, as nigh as you can bring it. Now O F S I L K. 141 Now after the third day from their reco- very out of their fecond ficknefs, your worms will begin to fall into their third ; their heads will fvv'ell, their bodies look fmooth and glofly, and fomewhat fliorter, and they will, after fome time, defift from eating, remaining motionlefs, with their heads generally raifed, as in the former moultings. Thofe which continue feeding fix or feven hours after the others have done, may now be removed, taking up the leaves on which they are, and claffing them with thofe of the fame time of moulting, or you may wait till they begin to grow well, and then feparate thofe that firfl recover from their moult. Their moult ends in about three days as before, but their ap- pearance jufl before they moult is fome- what different from the two former moults; for having been during their licknefs of one uniform light colour, they now, about an hour or tv/o before their recovery, turn dark and fpeckled j they then lie inactive for about an hour or two, the fwelling of their head falls, and they drip oiF their /kins from the head dov/nw^ard, and caffc theh fcuUs forward off their nole like a malk I4i TH£ CULTUPvE malic taken from the face, as you rnay now obferve with the naked eye ; their co- lour ahx) after this moult is different from what it was after the two foregoing ones, having no more that light grey on the neck, or that darker greyiili colour which they had on the reft of their body, but being of one uniform hue, hke the fmooth bark of an afii branch, but a little more incUned to a red colour. Your woims being recovered from this third moult v/ill be pretty large, and fome of them fliould be diftributed on other fiielves to make room for their further growth, which will be pretty confiderable before their next ficknefs. You may diftri- bute them on tlie other fiielves or hurdlesj by taking up the frefli leaves with the worms on them in v/hat quantity you find convenient to take away ; but it would perhaps be beft to take them entirely from one fide of the hurdle, and not pick them up here and there, for this might leave thofe that remained fo fcattered as not ea- fily to be fed, and I mentioned elfewhere that they fhouid always be kept as clofe as they can, without, crouding on one another. Or 4 OF SILK. 143 Or you may diflilbute them on other fhelves, taking what portion you think proper of the cake of fibres whereon they lie, by putting your hands under it and gently feparating it from the refl, and then laying it where you intended, repeating the fame method if you had not taken enough at firft. And if at any time you find this cake of litter moid, mouldy, or foetid, your worms fliould all be taken from it when they come upon the frefli leaves, and all the cake of litter fliould be thrown away, or at lead you fliould feparate the upper layer of fibres whereon the worms lie from the un- der part ; which you may pretty eafdy do, as the cake is generally compofed of many layers of fibres, by raifing the layer at firfi: on the cdgQ with your hand, and flill as you raife it, iliding a thin board under itj the board fliould have a fliort handle like a wool-card, and when you have as much of the cake as it will take of, feparate it from the reft, and gently flide it on the fiielf you defigned it for, and {o proceed to take more. A little fhovel or board of the above kind, with a fmall ledge on all fides, ex- cept the forepart^ may be found at other times J44 THE CULTURE times convenient for carrying parcels of worms from one fhelf to another. When your worms after this third moult are diftributed conveniently, continue to give them leaves thrice a day, in fuch quantity as they can confume between each feeding, and according to thofe general rules given concerning the quality of their leaves. As the worms may now take up fo much room that fome mull be placed on hurdles under others, you mufl guard that their dung falling through may not incom- mode the under fhelves; coarfe paper, thin matts made of bafs, or other fuch like . cheap materials may be placed under them on the hurdle to prevent this ; or rather, fix thefe matts, fo as that one fide of the matt being f aliened to the bar of the (land which goeth acrofs, the other oppofite fide of the mat having a rod faftened to its edge, (as large maps are fometimes framed) may hang with a flope, the rod bearing on the outfide of the viprights which form the jftand. If thefe are thought too trouble- fome, the hurdles (liould have been woven fo clofe as not to let the litter pafs through j or at leaft you fliould take out the hurdle a when OF SILK. T45 when you go to dean it ; but if the hurdles were made ih clofe as to hinder their Ht- ter from falling through, there would be no occafion for any thing under them. After about three days feeding of the worms, which muft be managed much the fame way as in their foregoing age, they will begin to fall into their fourth and lafl moult, which having the fame appearances as the former need not be infilled on. In three days they recover from it, being of a colour the fame as after their former moult, but their foreheads broader and their feet larger and furnifhed with claws ; their tails alfo broad, and furnifhed with an infinite number of fine hooks, with which they are enabled to cling and fup- port their weight. N. B. If each receiver has two rods a little longer than its edge, one rod may lie over the pins which fupport the hurdle a- bove it, inftead of making crofs bars, as mentioned in the lafl paragraph but one. See Plate I. Fig. j. L CHAP. 146 THE CULTURE CHAP. X. '^he management of the Silkworms during their fijth age^ that is from their recovery out ef their fourth moult^ till they are ready to fpin their fJk. F you did not diilribute the worms upon other fiielves on their falling into their fourth ficknefs, it muft be done now up- on their recovery from it, by fome of the methods given in the lafl chapter -y and though they be kept on the wide-v/oven hurdieSj yet they need have nothing under them, unlefs it v^ere fome loofe ilraw or fuch like, that the air may have the better accefs both to dry the fibres which the leaves make, and to keep the worms cool and refreih'd ; for too miicli heac or any moif- ture would at this age very much hurt them. The floping receivers of coarfe paper, bafs-matting, or fuch like, will hinder their dung from dropping through one hurdle upon another, if they are fach hurdles as were woven wide for this purpofe j and this litter may eafily with a. feather or light brufli O F S I L K. 147 brufli be fwept off thefe receivers when there is occalion 3 but thefe are unneceflary with clofe hurdles. It is in this laft age that you will mofl find the benefit of keeping the worms on hurdles ; for as they will now eat during nine or ten days before they are ready to fpin, and will grow very large, making a prodigious deal of litter ; they would, if they were kept upon fhelves made of boards, require to be cleaned every day, which cannot be done without removing them every time you clean them : but on hur- dles made of fmall reeds, which are very dry and light materials, and have vancan- cies betvi^een them, the air will have accefs to that litter which flicks and remains a- mong the fibres and flireds of their leaves, and it will not fo fuddenly grow putrid, moift, and mouldy, as it would do if the whole quantity of litter and fibres lay on boards or flielves, which did not admit the air underneath. It will, however, often happen that pretty large Ihreds of leaves v/hich are not eaten, fnall fo clog and fence up the interftices of the hurdle, as to hinder the air from paffing through, and will nake it necef- L 2 fary 148 THE CULTURE fary to clean them in fome manner or other : to do this I would propofe the fol- lowing method, when the hurdle is made fo as to let the litter pafs througii. Raife the hurdle on one fide fo as to Hand aflope as much as the next upper flielf will let it, and fix it in this fituation fecure from dropping down ; then take a fmall fork made with two or three wide teeth of pretty ftrong wire, and a little hook'd at the points, and thrufling it underneath between the interRices of the hurdle, fo as to take hold of the under fibres, draw them down, and thus going over the bottom of each hurdle, mofl of the litter which before fluck will run down on the receiver. The fork fliould not be very fnarp, but have round blunt points j and, if the fibres are not very thick, take care of hurting the ■worms as you pull them down : it will al- fo promote the falling down of their dirt, if either before or after this, you do with a copper or brafs bodkin or fuch like iniiru- ment, a little raife the fibres on which the worms lie, fo as to make them lie loofe, which will difengage the dirt from them, and will alfo make the worms eat thofe parts of their leaves which remain frefh i OF SILK. 149 frefh ; but which, by lying flat under the worms, would not otherwife be eaten : it would be beft therefore to do this before you give them a frefli feeding, if much of their former leaves remained unconfumcd. If your worms lie on fhelves of boards, or in any other way that their litter can- not fall through, and, that it is neceflary to clean away all their litter from under them, you may do it by j-emoving the worms when they come upon the frefh leaves to one fide of the Ihelf which is empty, and then making clean the part from which they were taken, remove the next neareft worms upon this, an^d fo on until you have clean'd them all ; and you need not at this age of the worms be af- fraid of taking them up with your hands, provided they are clean. But in remov- ing the worms thus with your hands, do not by any means pull away thofe fibres which Oiail cling to their claws, but lay them along with them : the tearing and forcing them from thefe fibres, I take to be a gi'eat caufe why many of them do not care for mounting the branches where they are afterwards to fpin j their clav/s being fo blunted and ftrained, that they L 3 caiinot 150 THE CULTURE cannot lay hold of the tv/igs and climb, without being fubjedl to fall and tumble down, which fo fatigues them that they give over the attempt. The worms at this fifth age will eat a prodigious quantity of leaves, which fhould now be of the befl fort you can procure for them, becaufe it is now that they col- le6l and digeft the matter out of v/hich they afterwards form their filk : if you were to open a worm before the fourth moult, you would find nothing but a watery humour mixed v/ith the green mucilage of the leaves which they feed on 3 but when they are fomewhat advanced in this lad age, you will find^in their filk-vefTels a pale or yel- low gum, out of which they form their balls of filk. The goodnefs, therefore, of their filk de- pending, in a great meafure, upon their being properly fed at this time ; you mud take care that their food may be, in all re- fpe6ls, as good as can be got j not the foft tender leaves of flickers, or of trees growing in moifl: watery places, or of thofe which are very young, but the firme/l dark green leaves from your oldeft trees -, and thefe always free from dew or moif- ture. OF SILK. 151 tiire, which would now make the worms- dropfical and burfl them. They muft in the beguming of this age be {^d four or five times a day, viz. very early in the morning ; about ten of the clock ; about three in the afternoon 3 about fun-fet; and at night juil before you go to bed. ' Your gatherers Hiould therefore be abroad as foon as the dew is off the leaves, that they may fapply you at ten of the clock ', or, if they have far to go, and cannot return fo foon, you mufl always preferve two feedings out of the former day's leaves. During the ten days in which the worms are now to be fed, before they are ready to fpin, you mufl increafe the quantity of leaves which are gathered every day j for the worms every day will eat more than on the former ; and when they are within a few days of fpining, you m.ufl not con- fine them to four feedings, but mufl take care that they get them as often as they want, remembering always to feed them late at night before you go to bed, and as early as you can in the morning. In this lafl age alfo you mufl give them air, by opening the windows for three or L 4 four 152 THE CULTURE four hours during the heat of every fair day J and even though the weather is foul, yet, if you perceive the place where they are kept to fmell ftrong upon your coming into it, you muil, notwithftanding this, open the windows for a fliort time to refrefh the air; and you fliould afterwards examine whether their litter is not gathered too thick, and clear it away. Nor fiiould you now keep the worms too throng, but as airy, clean, and neat as you can conveni- ently. Notwlthftandhig the many rules and in- ftruclions which have been given, chieliy that you might not be at a lofs in any cir- cumflance, yet before their fourth moult, you vv^iil not find much trouble in mana- ging the worms -, but in this laft age your labour of feeding, and attending will be confiderably increafed -, yet as it lafls but about ten days, and as the advantage which you are to reap from the filkworms de- pends much on your diligence at this period ^ you muit fubje6l yourfelf without referve to it, or lofe the profit which you ex-. pe61:ed. The worms being fed plentifully as al- ready rnqntioned, will, within ten days af- ter O F S I L K. 153 tcr their recovery from their fourth moult, have arrived to their utmoft growth, be- ing two inches and an half long, and an inch and quarter round, nearly j their co- lour light, but not gloliy, with fome mix- ture of a dark greenifli hue : but in a days time, having prepared and digelted the materials of their filk, they will lofe this greeniih colour, their bodies will get an ivory colour and polifli, toward their necks fomewhat tranfparent, with a little of a faint orange colour. They wdll leave off eating, and before they are ready to fpin, they will fomew4iat leiien in fize^ but their bodies v/ill feel more firm and confiRent than they did before. They will now totally defifl: from eat- ing, and begin to wander about, flretch- ing out their heads in queft of a place proper to fix in and fpin their filk-balls. Now though, on account of preferving fome little order and method, the inilruc- tions for accomodating them, at their fpin- ing time, are not given till the beginning of the next part of this tjeatife ; yet it is proper that you fliould have', jok'd forv/ard into that part, in order to have made the neceffary 154 THE CULTURE neceilary preparations for them fometime before-hand j for you would find yourfelf greatly embarafled to do it when numbers of the worms were to be accommodated if you had not made fome provifion be- fore. It may be proper, before I end this chap- ter, to inform you that the wormiS which are hatched from fix ounces of eggs, re- quire the attendance of two perfons till they have paiTed their fourth moult, after which they require five or fix. They will produce from fifty to fixty pounds of filk, and in a favourable feafon a good deal more. THE THE Culture of S I L K. PART III. CHAP. I. I'he method of accommodating the SiJkivorms with brajiches proper tojpm their filk in, I Have now brought the filk worms to that period of their lives, at which your labour of feeding them ends 5 for from the time that they are quite ready to fpin, they no more ^ake any kind of food, though their life in dTifferent forms laft a- bove a month longer, and, in cold climates, a good deal more. Yet, though you will be ealed of the trouble of feeding thofe which are come to their fpinning time, you will for a few days, till they are all fettled in their v/ork, be obliged to give them a diligent attendance. In 156 THE CULTURE In order to drefs the flielves for your worn:is to fpin their filk, you fiiould have prepared before hand good quantities of broom, heath, pruning of vines or fuch like materials, of v^hich broom is the beft, which fliould be very well dryed, in the fun, fometime before you ufe them, and fhculd be free from leaves, and all dirt, moifture, mouldinefs, or offenfive fixiell ; -thefe branches fliould be laid in bundles like a whilk or befom, their fmall tops placed as ecjual together as you can, and then you fliould with a bill-hook cut off their thick ends, fo as to leave them half a foot longer than the diilance between each fhelf, that, when the thick ends are fet on the flielf, the fmall twigs being ben- ded, may bear againil the bottom of the flielf which is above it. With thefe twigs you are to form feveral long arbours, arch- ed at top, quite acrofs each fhelf; the diftance between the fides of thefe arbours, fhould leave the arch open quite through, about a foot wide, that there may be room to put in your arm, and feed thofe worms which are not yet quite ready to fpin. You muil form thefe arbours by the following method : firfl: place one row of twigs O F S I L K. 157 twigs within two or tliree inches of the edge of your flielf, bending their tops in- ward, fo as to bear on the flielf above ; then place another row of twigs, at about a foot diflance, with their tops bending fo as to meet and form an arch with the firft rov/. The tiiird row of twigs, which is to form one fide of the next arch, mufl be placed within two or three inches of your fecond row, with the tops bended the contrary way ; and the fourth row, which compleats this fecond arbour, at a- bout a foot diftance, with the tops bended fo as to meet and arch with the third row ; and thus proceed till you have formed as many of thefe arbours as the flielf will contain, w^hich will not be above two, in a fhelf of three foot fquare, or three on a flielf of four foot fquare j becaufe the bufliy partitions between the arches, and alfo thole of the outer fldes, will each be four or five inches in thicknefs. You mufl fliift the worms afide to make vacant lanes where each partition ranges. You fliould form thefe arbours fo as to have a fort of bufliy appearance without being too thick or too thin, but fo that the worms may have room enough to fpin, and yet the vacuities among the twigs not be 158 THE CULTURE be fo large as that they fliall wafie a great deal of their filk, before they can fix on a proper place; the fize of their balls, which is that of a pigeon's egg, will diredl you in this matter ; and the better to accom- plifh this end, yoii may leave the vacant fpaces, among the partitions of the ar- bours, pretty large and open, till you have done forming the arbours ; and then you may thicken them properly by placing in thefe vacancies, either fmall twigs, or fome kinds of large hollow tubes, fuch as thofe of full grown angelica, and others which have no bad qualities. You fliould gather thefe tubes the year before, when they are white and withered, and if you flit them lengthwife from end to end, they will make a very good conveniency for the worms to form their balls in, being very light and dry, and foft, and fmooth on the infide, and of fuch a form that the worm will im- mediately fall to work in them, and make very little flofs or ufelefs filk^ and if you bun- dle, and lay them by vvdien you have done wath them, they may ferve you many times over ; you may thrufh thefe, along the va- cancies, into the partitions of your arbour, among the twigs and branches, and you Will O F S I L K. 159 will find the advantage of them ; fince, as I mentioned before, the more any place is adapted to the fize and figure of the fiik-ball, the lefs filk will be wafted in fiofs and ufelefs web ; befides that the worms will more quickly fet about, and finifli their balls. With thefe therefore, or any branchy materials, you may fill up the partitions of your arbours ; oblerving flill to leave the arches clear and open, fo that you may readily thrufl in your arm, and feed your worms that are plac'd under them, which muft be fupplied with leaves, moderately, till they climb up among the branches to fpin. I have fald that, whatever materials you make ufe of, in forming thefe arbours, they fhould be very dry, and clean j for frefh branches with the fap in them are not pro- per, nor fliould there be any leaves on them, for thefe would fo flick among the flofs filk of the balls as to render it ufelefs; it is befl therefore to cut the branches of broom in winter, and have them dry'd a- gainft fummer, for broom, on account of its pllablencfs, is very convenient for form- ing thefe arbours, the flruclure of which I have i6o THE CULTURE I have given from Ifnard a French author wh3 treats the management of filkvi^orms. If the making of fuch arbours as thofe I have mentioned be thought too nice, and troublefome, it may fufficiently anfwer the fame purpofe, to place branches of broom round the fides of the ftands. And to do this s firfl furround the fband with a cord tied very loofely to the uprights, fo as to leave room to thrull in a fufficient quan- tity of branches ; the branches now may be as long as the height of the ilands, and their thick ends, being thruft down be- tween the cords and the ftands, may reft ■Hpon the floor j and thus you may thicken them to what degree you pleale j but you muft remember to keep an open on one fide of the fcands, to feed thofe worms which fliall not yet have chmb'd the bran- ches ; and becaufe the lower ends of the branches are not fo bufhy as the upper ends, you may place fome with the bufhy part up, and others dov/n, to make it all ahke branchy. If the branches are not tall enough to reach as high as you have worms on the ftands, you muft place other branches ren- ting on thefe where they ^11^^ and fupport- cd 1 0 F S i L K. i6r fed by other cords j and thus you may quickly furnifli your wor;ns with a con- venient place for Ipinning their filk. IF the hurdles are very broad, you may, when the worms are near fpinning, draw them towards the fides where the branches are, by fcattering the leaves toward the branches when you feed them j or you may, if neceflary, place them near them with your hands j or, which is eafier, you .may make bufliy partitions acrofs the end of each hurdle by branches laid horizon- tally. Du Halde, in his hiftory of Chlna^ fays they there make ufe of matts for their filk- worms to fpin on \ in the middle of tliis a thin ftrip of about an inch broad is fixed on its edgCj and forms fpiral rounds, at about an inch diftant, over the whole fur- face of the matt 3 and between thefe rounds the worms fpin. There would be lefs flofs made in this method, but then the breadth of mattings mud exceed the breadth of all the hurdles whereon the worms were fed, becaufe a fiik-pod takes up much more room than a filkworm. It would be endlefs to recite all the me- thods which might be contrived for this M purpofe. i62 THE CULTURE purpcfe, for a filkworm will fpin in any corner where it can flretch its threads, fo it is able afterwards to form its oval pod upon them j that contrivance which, with little trouble, will have the leafl fiofs pro- duced, would be the beft. Note, that in placing the broom round the ftands, it may be ufeful to place fome branches acrofs, mixing them with thofe which (land upright, to give them fome ftifFnefG3 otherwife the fpring of the thread which the worm fpins may, after it has begun its ball or pod, draw the twiggs too clofe, and not leave it fpace enough to fpin in, which I have fometimes feen happen among fome of the fmall detached twigs, that were not made firm by others mixing with them. Plate I. Fig. I. in the middle divifion of the (land atG. isfhewn the manner in which the arched arbours are to be formed on each hurdle for the worms to fpin in, ac- cording to Ifnard's method. In the other divifion at C I. is fhewn a part of the Hand furrounded with branches, according to the other method. The whole fland is to be furrounded in the fame man- ner, leaving only an open in front at each divifion O F S I L K. 163 dlvlfion to feed the worms. Branches may alfo hi this method be fuperadded to thole which furroimd, by laying them acrofs the hurdles on the fides which are quitted by the worms. CHAP. II. ^he jnanagement of the Silkwoj'ms during the time of their fpinnifig. WHILE the filk worms are fearchhig for places to fpin then' pods, fome of them will often wander about the mid- dle of the hurdles, waftmg their filk in ufelefs flofs. Indeed, if the ftands are fur- nifhed with arched arbours, as defcribed in the firft part of the foregoing chapter ; or if there is a bufliy partition made acrols the hurdles, which have the broom only placed round them ; in either of thefe cafes the filkworm.s will fcarce mifs of a place where they may readily fpin their pods ; but in large hurdles, that have the twigs only placed round them, you muft often look, and whatever worms you find wan- deruig under the hurdle, or far from the M 2 arbours, i64 THE CULTURE arbours, you muft take and place near the twigs, provided they are ready to fpin, and their wandering from their food is a fign that they are ready j you need not fear hurting them by taking them in your hands, only let thefe be clean, efpecially from to- bacco, onions, and fuch like^ and you may take as many at once as can lie in your hollow'd hand without fqueezing ; but ob- ferve to take them up with whatever fticks to their claws, without tearing it away, for fear of blunting the claws by which they are now to climb. Wooden fhovels, which have a fmooth furface, on which they cannot lay hold with their claws, are the fitteft to convey them from one place to another, becaufe they can readily be taken off them without ufmg force. As a great many of the worms will con- tinue to eat for fome time after others have begun to fpin, you muft conflantly fupply them with the beil kind of leaves, fprink- ling them very thin over them, and feed- ing them often, and this even at night jufb before you go to bed, and as early as you can in the morning j for their quantity of filk, and their ilrength and activity in fpin- ning it, depends now upon their being properly O F S I L K. 165 properly and fully fupplicd as long as they continue to eat ; for which reafon, you muit give them their leaves often, though but few at a time, bccaufe if they lie under the arbours it is not eaiy to clear away their litter, which yet however niuft be done, if it gt ows throng and fmells much. If you find that as many worms have got among the branches as can conve- niently fpin there, then take away thofe which have not yet mounted, and place them upon another fland, among worms which will fpin nearly at the fame time j for if the worms are too much crouded in the arbours, they will be more apt to fpin double balls, which having two worms in one pod, cannot be reeled ofF^ and there- fore, as you look over the arbours, where- ever you fee two worms begin one common pod, you fhould take one of them away, and place it in fome otli^er part of the twigs. A little before the worms on any of the ftands were ready to fpin, you fhould have clean'd away their litter from all the hurdles, that the fVands may be fweet and airy at the time of fpinning, and that you may not at that time diflurb or fliake the M 3 arbours i66 THE CULTURE arbours where they are fpinning ; for this would ilop and interrupt their work, fo that fome would defift from making any more filk, and the pods of others v/ould be ill-formed, and difficult to reel off; for which reafon you muft always take care, in whatever way you are employed about thofe worms which are fpinning, to fhake or m.oleil them as little as you can. As yoa were directed, in feeding the worms, to keep thofe which were of the fame age on the fame hurdle, fo you fhould alfo, in diftributing them as they grow large, al- ways have kept them on the fame fland, that they m.ay fpin at the fame time, fuppofmg that you have many ftands of hurdles. When moffc of the worms that lie on any hurdles have climbed the branches in order to fpin their pods, you will gene- rally have fome on each hurdle, which, though they are ready for fpinning, yet are either too lazy, or too infirm to climb the branches, and remain below, wafting their filk among the fhreds of leaves j thefe fliould be colle(Sl:ed from all the feveral hurdles where they lie, and fhould be placed on beds of branches ftrowed pretty thick on fome Ipare flielf, or other convcr nient OF SILK. 167 nient place, which branches may be mixed with the fhaviiigs of deal boards, }>eelings of ofiers got from places where bafkets are made, and fuch like materials, being well dried. Among the(e fuch worms will fpin, iinlcfs they are much fpent and grown very Ihort ; in which cafe you may place them in paper cones, or fuch hollow tubes as I mentioned above, where, if they have any ability left, they will not fail to fpin ; their balls however will be but fmall and imperfe6l, and none fuch as thefe fhould ever be faved for breed. A warm place helps the fpinning of weak worms. It is ufeful to vifit all the arbours from time to time, and to replace fuch worms as may have tumbled down, and fuch as have ftrayed into places where they cannot fix their balls j or rather you fhould put them upon fuch beds of branche's as have been jufl now mentioned, if they are late fpinners. If the worms, at the time of their going to fpin, do feem in general lazy or fickly, to perfume their room with thyme, laven- der, and fuch like fweet aromatick herbs, is good for them j it may be done, by put- ting the lierbs on an earthen plate over a M 4 chafhng- i68 THE CULTURE chaffing- difh of clear charcoal, and ihiftlng; it to diiierent parts of the chamber. The fume of vinegar is alfo faid to be good for them, and thefe things are alfo directed at other times when they are fick, but if they are well they will rather hurt them. Cold and damp weather during the time of their fpinning is extremely hurtful j in very cold v»'eather the worms defift from tlieir w^ork ; you may fee them, while their balls are yet thin, either moving very flow, or quite ina6live j if you remove one of the balls to a warm place, the worm im- mediately begins to work with a6iivity, and def:ils again when put in the cold, where, if it continues, the worm at length totally leaves off its fpinning, and is changed into a grub or chryjalis, which is its flate in the ball before it becomes a moth. This interruption of its work, though it fhould continue to fpin, makes the ball difficult to wind off, the thread often breaking ; wherefore, if this kind of weather fliould happen, you muft keep the room dole and warm, ufmg perfumes and fires of clear charcoal on iron chaffing- difhes as above, and it is advifed by fome to put a piece of iron among the coals, to keep O F S I L K. 169 keep down the lulphurous vapour of them. If the fume of the coals Ihould become very fenfible, it were befl to admit the frefli air for a httle while. This inconvenience of cold and moifture will happen chiefly in cold and changeable climates ; but in hot climates you will of- tener have occafion to guard againft fultry and fuffocating heats, which can eafily be done by admitting the frefh air. An eafy method of introducing either frefli air, or aromatick vapours into the room where you keep the filkworms, may be feen in the chapter on the difeafes of lilkworms. CHAP. III. T'he manner of the Silkwcnns Jflnnlng its filk-pod or ball', its continuance in it, and the changes it Juffers while it remains there, till it comes forth in form of a moth or butterfly. THERE is fcarce any thing, among the various wonders which the ani- mal creation affords, more admirable than the variety of changes which the filkworm 8 undeigoes j i;o THE CULTURE undergoes 5 but the curious texture of that filken covering with which it furrounds itfeif when it becomes a moth, and arrives at the perfection of its animal hfe, vaftly furpaffes what is made by other animals of this clafs. All the caterpillar kind do in- deed undergo changes like thofe of the filk- worm, and the beauty of many of them in their butterfly flate greatly exceeds it ; but the covering which thev put on before this change into a fiy is, poor a; d mian, when compaicd to that golden tiffue in which the filkworm wraps itielf. They indeed come forth in variety of colours, their wings bedropp'd with gold and fcarlet, yet are they but the beings of a fummer's day, both their life and beauty quickly va- nifh, and they leave no remembrance after them; but the filkworm leaves behind it fuch beautiful, fach beneficial monuments, as at once record both the wifdom of their Creator, and his bounty to man. The matter out of which the filk is formed is, while contained in the filkworm, only a fine yellow tranfparent gum, con- tained in two veffels as thick as a grofs knitting needle, and, when unfolded, a- bout ten inches lorg 5 tliefe open clofe to onq OF SILK. 171 one another in two exceeding fmall orifices below its mouth ; on which account it is, that though the filk thread as it is fpun ieems only fingle, yet it is in reaHty two threads flicking flightly together by their fides from beginning to end, and they may be eafily (cen and drawn afunder by the help of a microfcope, or even without one. This gum is of a particular fpecies, neither diflblvable in water nor fpirit of wine, though they will a little foften it, and it receives its firmnefs and tenacity imme- diately upon the filkworm's drawing it out in a thread, by the air exhaling its moifture. I take this gum to be of the nature of horn if it were in the ftate of a jelly J for the filk vefTel, being taken out of the worm and hung up, will, in a day's time, become quite dry and hard, not dif- fering in appearance from a piece of tough yellow horn, and having the fame fmell when burned : thus filk will be only an ex- cefTive fine hair, with feme fmall portion of gum on its furface, of fuch kind as water can diffolve, and which cau.es leveral of thefe hairs to cling together when they are peeled out of warm water, and it is this difTolvable 172 THE CULTURE difiblvable part of the gum which occafions the walle fufl'ered by filk in boihng it ^ but there is a much greater wafte than this would occafion when the fiik is artificially gummed, as is fometimes fraudulently done, to increafe its weight, or to make it lie fmooth when they comb it to conceal what has been ill reeled. The fiikworm can fix and form its ball in any angle, or hollow place that is near- ly of a fize with the ball j it generally roams about for fome time among the branches, till, having got a fit place, it begins its work by firfl fpinning thin and irregular threads which are to fupport its future ftrudui'e j upon thefe it doth, on the firft day, form a fort of oval of a loofe texture, which is called the flofs-filk ^ with- in this, on the fubfequent three days, it forms the firm and more confident ball of filk , it remains always on the infide of the fphere which it is forming} during its work it refts on its hind part, and with its mouth and forelegs fafi:ens and dire6ls the thread. This thread is not dire6led in continued rounds on the infide of the ball, but is fpun in fpots forward and backvv^ard, in a fort of wavy figure ; and this is the caufe why a bail, OF SILK. 173 ball, in winding off its filk, will perhaps not turn once round while ten or twelve yards of filk are drawn out. At the end of three or four days the worm has ufually finifhed its ball, in lize and iliape like a pigeon's Ggg j the infiae of it is generally fmeared with a fort of gum of the fame nature with that out of which the filk is formed, and which feems defigned in their natural ftate to keep out the rain, for it refills the wet fo well, affiil- ed by the filk which is round it, that the balls, when put in hot water to reel them off, fwim on the top like fmall bladders, not admitting it within fide unlefs they are imperfeclly formed, or the filk almofl quit^ reeled off. When the filk-ball is finifhed, the filkworm, being now much fliortened and wrinkled, fo that the rings of its body appear very deep, refls a while, and then throws off its fkin -, this is the fifth time of its moulting, though not mxcntioned among its other moults, becaufe it doth not interfere with your management: and now, upon opening the filk-ball, you would fee it in the form of a grulf or chryfalk, in fhape fomewhat like a kidney-bean, but pointed at one end, having a brown fmooth fkin 174 THE CULTURE fkin compofed in rings, and the worm's Ikin which it threw off lies in the ball with it. In this form it continues, according ta the different heat of the cUmate, from fif- teen to thirty days ; in Engla?id\t is thirty^ reckoning from the time of its beginning to fpin 5 it then throws off the grub's fkin, which may be called the fixth moult, and has now the compleat form of a large white moth, with four wings, two black eyes, and two horns or antlers branching fideways, like two very fmall black fea- thers. It then immediately begins to moift-* en the end of its filkball with a clear liquor which it throws out of its mouth; and thus foftening the gumminefs of the filk, it, by frequent motions of its head, loofens the texture of the filk, but doth not break it, and thus widens a paffage by which it comes forth in the form of a moth, as de- fcribed above. Though the filk is not broken, yet the balls which are thus pierced by the moth can never be reeled off, on account of the fuzzy burr of filk which is raifed and loofened at the hole where the moth comes out, which immediately entangles the threads O F S I L K. 17^ threads upon attempting to reel them ; therefore, that you may reap the advantage of the worms, it is neceflary that the chry- falis or grub fliould be killed in thofe iilk- balls which you have not leifure to reel off before the time of the moth's piercing them; after having firft made choice of a fafficient number of balls to breed from ; the man- ner of choofmg them I fhall give in the following chapter. But here I muft mention one thing which I had forgotten, and this is, that after the filkworm has begun its firft loofe threads, it generally lets fall a drop or two of moifture, the more in quantity as the feafon has been wet ; at the fame time it evacuates its lafl litter, which is very glutinous and moift; and by thus emptying itfelf before it is in- clofed, it avoids fouling the infide of the iilkpod. CHAP. 'i^(> THE CULTURE CHAP, IV. Of dijhranching the arbours where the ivof'mi fpin. How to choofe thofe Jilkpods which are defigned for breeds and fort thofe which are to be reeled, 'T^ H E time in which the fiikworitis fi- -^ nifh their filkpods varies according to the weather j if it is warm and dry, the worm makes quick difpatch j but if it is cold or moiftj they are languid, apd fpin flowly. You may know whether they have finifhed by fliaking the pod in your hand, for if the chryfalis is loofe and rattles in it, this is a fign they liave done fpinning, that is to fayj all that began to fpin at or near the fame time with the one on which you make tryal. In three or four days after the time when the worms began to fpin, you may generally gather their balls or filkpods from among the branches* Begin with thofe flitlves where they fpun firfl:, taking the branches and twiggs down regularly, and puUing the balls from among them fuccelFively as you take them down. In O F S I L K. 177 In gathering the balls yoa fliould make four different foi tments of them, for which purpofe place four different ballcets, in one of thefe place gently thofe which are defigned for breed ; in another put all thofe which are double, having two worms in them ; in the third put the firmed and hardeil of thofe which are to be reeled ; and in the fourth thofe that are of a loofer texture. Thofe which are very thin, un- finifhed or imperfe6l, may make a fifth fort. Let your choice of thofe which are for breed, be always from thofe fhelves or ar- bours where they fpun earliefb. Choofe from thefe the largeft, the firmefl, and the deepeft coloured balls, that your breed may be ffrong and healthy. For if you make ufe of fmall, or foft and imperfe6l balls, which are the produce, generally of fmali and weak worms, your future broods will degenerate, both in fize and vigour, and give you vaflly more trouble, and lefs profit than ffrong and healthy ones. In choofing thefe balls you muff, as well as you can judge, take an equal number of males and females : the balls which con- tain the males are generally more taper N and 178 THE CULTURE and fliarp at the ends than thofe which hold tiie females, which are more blunt and round at the ends, and fomewhat more fwelled in the middle 3 the reafon of which is, that the femaje, having a grof- fer body as being full of eggs, adapts its ball to this form. You might miftake thofe which are fpun double for females; but beiides, that thefe are of an extraordi- ' nary fize, you may diftinguifh them by their clumfy fliape, which is rather round than oval, and a little obfervation will make you pretty expert in this know- ledge. You cannot however expecl to dif- tinguifh exa6lly equal numbers of males and females, there may after all be a confi- derable difference, and therefore you may keep as a fuperfluity, fome of the beft a- . mong thofe which are fpun double, and , when the moths are come out (for you will then eaiily diftinguifh the males and females) you may add from thefe to the fide that was defective. A French writer has indeed hinted that thefe double balls would produce worms, which would alfo fpin double balls, and that therefore they are improper to breed from ; but this has no foundation, fmce it is accident, 'or a con- O F S I L iC. 179 Confined place which brings two worms to fpin in one ball 5 and therefore the largeft and ftrongeft of the double ones would be as good as any for breed ; and as they can't be winded off would be fo much faved : but as they are twice as ftrong as the fingle ones, the moths cannot well make their way out, therefore you had befh cut them with a pair of fizars, and take out the chryfalis, which being laid in a box, and covered about an inch thick with chaff, will change to a moth as well as the reft. An hundred males and an hundred fe- males will together produce about an ounce of eggs, from which computation you may determine what number of balls you will keep for breed ; and you fhould rather keep too many than too few, to prevent failures which may happen either in the moths coming out ^ or their breeding ; or the eggs which are to be kept till the en- fuing year, fome of which generally decay. The balls which you choofe for breed being thus fixed upon, take a pretty ftrong thread and with a needle pafs it through the outer filk of the balls, taking care not to hurt the animal which is inclofed, and N 2 having i8o THE CULTURE having filled a thread of three or four foot long in this manner, tie the two ends of it together, and hang it up out of the reach of rats or mice, which would infal- libly deflroy it. Proceed with the reft of the balls defigned for breed in the fame manner, and firing the fuperfiaous double ones by themfelves. Let them all be hung up in a temperate fituation, if it is a hot climate, but, if it is a cool climate, a warm room will haften the coming out of the moth. The moth will the eafier make its v/ay out if before you firing the balls, you ftrip ou the outer flofs j and if you llring the males and females upon feparate threads it Vv^ill have a convenience which v'iil be mentioned hereafter in the direc- tions about breeding. The reft of your iilk-balls which are to be reel'd, muft either be reel'd off direftly;, or, muft be proceeded with fo as to pre- vent the moths piercing them, till you have leifure to do it ; for though the filk of thofe balls which are reel'd off without keeping is faid to appear fomev\'hat more bright and glolfy, yet there will be no dif- ference in the goodnefs of their filk, and of thofe in which the grubs are killed, in 2 order OF SILK. 'iSi order to preferve them till yoa have time, provided you kill them in a proper man- ner ; befides where you have a great quan- tity of balls it cannot be expected that you fliould be able to reel off many before the time of the moths piercing ; therefore you mull be careful in preventing this, which, if it happened, would be an irre- parable lofs; and thus by having all the balls in a condition to wind them off at your leifure, you will be able to go the more regularly about it, and to reel off their filk to greater advantage and perfec- tion. Moff perfons in the countries where filk- worms are bred, do not reel off their balls, but fell them to thofe who make this their bufmefs ; and there is no doubt but that all manufadures are the more ex- peditioufly carried on, the more branches they are divided into : yet where perfons who breed filkworms have leifure and con- veniency, they will confiderably increafe the profit of their filk by reeling it them- felves. Three thoufand three hundred filk- pods, with the chryfals in them weigh a- bout twelve pounds, and may be worth about eight fhillings, according as the filk N 3 feafoii i82 THE CULTURE feafon has prov'd favourable, or not ; thefe twelve pounds will make about fixteen ounces of reel'd filk, which is worth near fixteen fliillings, befides about eight ounces of flofs. So here then the reeling of the pods doth double the profit. You will fee the advantage of forting the balls, as mention'd in this chapter, v^hen you come to that part which treats of win- ding the filk J I proceed now to the me- thod of killing the grubs, to hinder the balls from being pierced. CHAP. V. T'he methods of killing the Griih or ChryfaVn^ to prevent the Silk-balls from being pierced, THE forting and feparating of the ftrong, hard, and thick filk-balls, from the thin and foft ones, as dire6led in the foregoing chapter, will be of fome fer- vice, v/hen you intend to kill the grubs within them, in order to prevent their piercing ; for as this is done by the means of heat, the thick and hard balls will re- quire to be placed where the degree of heat is OF SILK. 183 IS greatefl:, that it may penetrate more ef- feftualy through their thick and hard fub- llance. There are three methods of fuffo- cating the grubs in the filk- balls : firft by the ardent heat of the rnid-day fun ; fecondly by the heat of ovens ; thirdly by the fteam preceeding from fcalding water ; in the firii and the third of thefe methods there is no danger of the heat injuring the filk, and therefore they are to be preferred, when your conveniency permits. In order to kill the chryfals or grub by the heat of the fun, you mufl choofe a clear day, without clouds or wind ; about ten or eleven of the clock, fpread the filk- balls to its rays, and letting them remain in this manner for about four or five hours ; wrap them up clofe in coarfe cloths, which fhould alio have been expofed to the funs heat, to the end that their liifling warmth, added to what the balls have before re- ceived, may the better anfwer the intend- ed effec^t. If the cloths were black or of a dark colour they would conceive the heat better, and after the worms are wrapped up in them, they fliould remain in the lun's heat fo long as you perceive it can preferve any confiderable warmth in them. N 4 The 184 THE CULTURE The bed fituation for expofmg the balls to the fun is before a foutli wall, or in the angle between two walls which lies open to the fouth, if fuch can be obtained, the refleclion from the wails giving an addi- tional heat. It is hard to determine the time which is neceffary to kill the grubs ; in the more temperate climates, the balls will require to be thus expofed three or four fuceffive days 5 the colder climates fuch as England^ will not do it at all efreclually, and, even in the hot ones, you may be difappointed in the weather, and be obliged to repeat the operation, or, at lafl:, to have recourfe to the heat of the oven, or the fleam of fcald- ing water. The beft method to determine the leaft time which is neceffary to kill them by the heat of the fun, is by expofmg a few dur- ing different lengths of time, and then ob- lerving which is the leafl time which can effectually prevent the moths from pierc- ing, by opening the pod and feeing if the grub is kili'd: you may make this tryal while you are expofmg to the fan all your filk-balls, but the experiment can only be pf feiyice to you the enfuing feafon, for yoq O F S I L K. i2$ you muil make furs of the balls which you intend to wind o.T; and it is better to overdo than not to expofe them fuf- ficiently. After having wrapped the balls up in cloths as dire6led above, keep them fo while any warmth remains ; and take care not to admit the cool air to come at them, elfe the chryfalis may recover and pierce the balls. The heat of an oven, fuch as it has af-^ ter the bread is drawn, will generally kill them -J but this requires nicety and atten- dance, for if it is too hot, or they remain there too long, it will fcorch and injure the filk J and if too cool the grub will re- cover as above : the balls fliould be put in bafkets, or in fome ordinary bags that they may not be fcorched by touching the fides of the oven j it might alfo be of fer~ vice to moiften the bags, in order to pre- vent this fcorching ; the oven mouth lliould be well flopped, and in about a quarter of an hour after they have been there, it will be time to take them out; efpecially if upon liftening you hear a fmail crack- ling noife come from them ; after taking them out, you mull wrap them up in cloths made hot, as was before dire6led in i86 THE CULTURE in killing them by the heat of the fun 5 and, when they are quite cold, expofe them to the air, or to the fun, becaufe the heat of the oven will make fome moifture fweat out of the grubs which are killed, which fhould thus be dryed up, leaft it rot or injure the filk. It is advifed alfo by fome to take the flofs off before you put them into the oven, becaufe, being very delicate, it is apt to be fcorched and injur- ed 3 but if this is neceflary, it would take vip too much time, which at this juncture might be very dangerous, efpecially if it was near, the time in which the moths pierce the filk- balls. The third method of killing the grub or chry falls, which is by the fleam of boil- ing v/ater, is preferable to either of the others, as it perform.s the work without any injury to the filk, and alfo with certain- ty and expedition j and, furely, fom.e re- gard is to be had for creatures which die for the ufe of man, fo as to kill them as quick and with as little torture as poflible : it may be done in the following manner. In a large wooden vell'el, fuch as thofe ufed in brewing ; put about two foot depth of boiling watery over the water fix an hurdle O F S I L K. 187 hurdle of wicker, fitted to the infide of the vefl'el, about an inch diftant from the wa- ter : you may fix it thus by driving three or four nails, which fliall fupport it firmly at this diftance. Having fixed the hurdle firmly, and alfo fupported it by a prop in the middle, if it is liable to bend, throvi^ over it a coarfe woollen cloath, ur fomething of the nature of taylor's wadding, which will eafily let the fteam pafs j and on this place the (ilk- balls, covering them clofe with a thick flrong cloth. You may pile them about four inches, or as high as the fuiibcating fteam of the water can reach, which you may judge of, by putting your hand under the cloth which covers them -, when they have been there long enough for the fleam to get through them, for if the heat there is uneafy for the hand to bear, it is fuf- ficient, and an hour or tv/o continuance in fuch heat will kill the chryfalis. When the water cools, fo as not to be uneafy to the hand, it mufl: be changed for other boiling water, therefore you ihould have a kettle conftantly on the fire to fup- ply you, and one fupernumerary veiiel which you fhould fill with boiling water whei^ i88 THE CULTURE when any of the others do not retain fuf- ficient heat to kill the chryfalis, and thus the water which was ufed but flill retains fome heat, being poured again into the kettle, will foon boil, fo as to furnifli you "with frefh fupplies. It w^ould make this method of killing the worms, by the fteam of boiling water, much more commodious, if, inftead of placing them on the hurdles as before diredled, you proceeded in the following manner, viz. Have a broad but Ihallow wicker bafket made, pretty open in the twigs, and of fuch a fize as will fit and go into the ket- tle or boiler j it fliould be of fuch g depth as you find by experience, the fleam can penetrate through the heap of filkballs; this baiket fliould alfo have a wicker cover, to fliut over the filkpods which are put into it. Having filled it with pods, fhut the cover, and let it down to within an inch of the hot water, fupporting it by nails, as you were dire6led in ufing the hurdle, then cover it with a cloath. After it has re- mained in this fituation, till you think the chryfalis is killed in the lower part of the pods, take the bafket out, and turning it upfide O F S I L K. 1S9 upfide down, fix it in the fame manner as before over the (learn, thus will the pods which were before uppermoft be now next the water. Thus when they are fufficlently ftoved, pour them out in a heap on a blan- ket made very hot, and wrap them up clofe, but not fo as to bruife them, that by this continued heat you may be more cer- tain of having killed the chryfalis ; then fill the bafket again, and proceed in the fame manner till all your balls are ftoved. When the balls are cold in the cloth where they were wrapped, they fnould be fpread in the fun, or in an airy place to dry any moiilure which they may have gotten from the fleam of the boiling water. If the weather is not favourable for drying them abroad, you may do it by fpreading them on the fhelves of hurdles where the worms were fed, at the fame time open- ing the windows, that the air may have a free pafTage. You may, after they are quite dry, heap all the balls on the (helves of the flands till you have occafion to reel them of; they will be more fecure here than if laid on a floor, where rats and mice may get at them, and will gnaw and deftroy a great many for the fake of the grub 190 THE CULTURE grub which is in them. Therefore if the place where you fed the filk worms was Ha- ble to be infefted wdth rats or mice, befide laying traps for them, you fhould guard the feet of the flands, by ftringing fome fliarp thiftle-burrs on a thread, and wrap- ping it two or three times round each of the feet, clofe to the lowermoft fhelf, which fhould be at leaft fourteen inches from the floor 5 this will fecure both the worms and the filkballs from being preyed upon. The thi files are moil fit for this purpofe when their flower begins to decay, before they begin to open and £bed their down and feeds. Having thus fecured your filkballs ready to be winded off at your leifure, you will not be hurried in that bufmefs, for the balls might now be kept for fome weeks ; they will however wind oiF eafier by not being kept too long, vv^hich is apt to harden the gum which binds the threads together, and if they are kept till the grub v/ithers, they cannot be reeled, not having weight fuflicient to keep them down in the hot water, befides they will foon fmell very olfenfiveiy. Having OF SILK. 191 Having thus brought your filkballs into fuch a Itatc, that you need not be anxious about any mifchief happening to them, it is time that you give fome attention to thofe which were feparated for breed, the method of managing which I fliall now proceed to. CHAP. VIII. ^hc jnanagcment of thofe filkpods which were chofen for breed, T'he coming out oj the m.oths, T^he method of coupling them, T^he materials proper for them to lay their eggs o;?, and how to preferve the eggs till the next fp7'ing, ' \^ HERE is nothing of greater impor- "*• tance in the management of filkworms than that of obtaining a llrong and healthy breed, whether you regard the trouble which it will fave you in feeding, or the advantage of their filk. Every method therefore which improves the breed is care- fully to be attended to, for when you have once got a good kind you can eafily keep it up, but if you let your worms degenerate and J92 THE CULTURE and breed promifcuoufly, the weak with tlie flrong, in a fhort time you will have none fit to raife a good breed from. I have already given direftions how to make choice of fuch filkballs as are proper to breed from, and how to firing and hang them up, the next thing you mufl expe6t to fee is the coming forth of the moth. The time of its coming forth is various, according to the warmth of the feafonand climates in Spain and Italy it is about eighteen days from the time of the worm's fpinning j in France about three weeks, in England and Ireland about a month. How- ever, you may haften the coming out of the moths in the colder climates, by hanging the filkballs in a warm room, fuch as a bed-chamber, or where there is a fire gene- rally lighted, againfl: the nde of the room oppofite to it ; and this in the colder cli- mates is veiy neceffary, that the cold wea- ther may not have advanced before the time of their laying their eggs, which would hinder their doing it in perfection. When the moths are near the time of their coming forth, the firings of filk- balls fi:ould not hang fo as to bear againfl tlie wall, becaufe fome of the balls might prefs O F S I L K. 193 prefs again ft it in the place where a moth was to come out, which is ahvays through one of the ends of the filkball j for which reafon alfo, in threading tiicni you fliould have run the thread acrols the fide, that the two ends of the ball may not bear upon one another i and if you had hung the firing upon two nails about three inches afunder, the fides of it would not touch one another, fo as to hinder the eruption of the moth. The moths generally come out in the morning, and cling with their feet to the outfide of the balls j fome odd ones may- chance to fall, and if the place is fubjedi: to have rats or mice they will deflroy them 5 cats will alfo infallibly kill them. To pre- vent any accidents, you may place a ftrip of paper under each firing of balls, which will receive thofe which fall. When you choofe the balls for breed, I advifed the putting the males and females on feparate threads, becaufe if they were on the fame, they would begin to flutter about and couple as foon as they carne out, and would hinder that regularity which you fhould obferve in putting them together. You may chance indeed to mif- O take 194 THE CULTURE take fome males for females, and the con- trary, while they are hi the filk balls j but this is of no confequence, for when the moths come out they are eafily diftinguifhed, the females having a large round belly, their colour fomewhat whiter, and their horns not fo large nor fo black as the male ; be- fides the difference of fliape, which in the body of the male is more flender and fharp at the end, you will obferve him fluttering his wings with great quicknefs, and moving ahout with adivity ; whereas the female remains very quiet, and flirs her wings very little. When you find the moths are come out of the balls, you fhould nail againft the fide of the room a piece of fmooth woollen ftuff, no matter how old and ordinary, about a couple of yards broad every way, or in proportion to your number of moths j then, by means of two or three fhort threads faflened to its lower edge, you may turn this edge up about three or four inches, and faliening the other end of the threads a little higher into the fluff, fix two or three fliort flicks fliarpened at the ends, to make the lower edge of the fluff fland out from the wali, like a kind of fhelf, about three or four inches O F S I L K* 19^ Inches broad. This will hinder any of the moths, which are to be coupled on the i\uffj froni falling to the ground. Now take tlie moths gently from off the filkballs to which they cling by their claws, and place them by pairs, a male and female together, on the above-mentioned piece of fluff, to which they will fallen by their daws, and, having purged themfelves of a liauor, in colour like brick-duft, which fpurts from their bellies in a fmall ftream, the male and female will couple together* You may, in thus pairing them^ put the ftrongeft and largeft nigh one another on the fluff, and you may quite reje6l thofe that are very fmall, weak, or fome-^ way injured, by which means you will further meliorate the breed. You fhould have another piece of ftufFj hung in the fame manner with that already defcribed, in a different part of the room, and, as often as you find the moths cou- pled, take them off the firft fluff, and place them, thus coupled together, on this fecond onej by which rrteans you will avoid any confiifion, which might arife from your not knowing which had cou- pled and which had not. O 2 When 296 THE CULTURE : When they have remained thus coupled j on the fecond piece of itufF where they were placed, about eight or nine hours, which will be till the evening of the day when you placed them there, you mufl feparate them by gently drawing them afunder, the male from the female j the male may be thrown away as of no further ufe, unlefs you happen to have a fuperfluity of females, and then you may keep a few of the males which remain mofi: vigorous to pair with them. It is better however, if you can fo adjuft it, to let none of your moths couple a fecond time ^ for the eggs produced thus are not fo good, nor do they give fo flrong a breed as thofe which are laid after the firil pairing. In fepa- rating the male and female, take care not to hurt the latter j you mufl draw them afunder foftly and gently, taking fome time to do it, and if you find any which will not come afunder without danger of hurt- ing, quit them for fome little time and go to others, after which you may return to thefe. Some hold them by the wings while they feparate them, but I think if you hold them gently by the body, it does as well. The OF SILK. 197 The reafon of Teparating the males and females, and not waiting till they uncouple of themfclves, is, becaufe their vigour be- ing now but of fliort duration, the female fliould have time to lay her eggs while flie remains in ftrength, whereas, if you left them to uncouple of themfelves, they would frequently not do it in lefs than two days,-, elpecially in the more temperate climates. You fliould vifit the moths at times, while they are paired, and fliould bring together tliofe that wander out of the way, and thofe which uncouple too foon, that is to fay, in an hour or two, that they may pair a fecond time. Before the moths are unpaired, whether they do it of themfelves or by your means, you fhould have in readinefs proper ma- terials for the females to lay their eggs on. The fitteft things for this purpofe are the leaves of the walnut-tree, or rufhes, v>^hich laft you may cut to the lize of any broad drawer, and fpread fo as to cover its bot- tom. From both thefe you can with great eafe feparate the eggs, in order to preferve them in little boxes till they aie to be hatched in the enfuing fpring -, but do not by any means let the moths lay their eggs O 3 upon 198 THE CULTURE upon paper or linen, for to thefe the eggs win flick fo fafl, that it will give you vaft trouble to get them of, and even that can- not be done without bruifmg many of them, and fcraping off a great deal of down along with them, which is apt to obflru6l and entangle the young worms when you come to hatch the eggs. Some ufe the fmootheft iort of woollen fluff, which has no pile, for the moths to lay their eggs on, and afterwards fcraped them off with a blunt knife j this is better than paper or linnen, but yet is nothing com- parable to the walnut leaves or rufhes. The drawers in which you fed the worm^ when young may ferve to put either the walnut leaves or rufhes in ; or if you have not drawers enough, tables or fhelves, which are out of the way of all vermin, and creatures which might injure the moths or eggs, may ferve -, for, befides rats and mice, ants and crickets are faid to deflroy the eggs, as will birds and poultry ; cats or dogs would alfo kill or difturb the moths. The walnut leaves or rufhes being pre- pared, take firft thofe female moths which had feparated of themfelves, and place therrj OF SILK. 199 them upon them ; then feparate the others which remain coupled, in the manner be- fore directed in this chapter, and place them alfo on the leaves or rufhes, and i'o proceed with the reft of your moths after they have coupled the proper time of eight or ten hours. The males are to be thrown away, and none of them to be left among the females which are laying their eggs, for they would only difturb and hinder them. In putting the moths on the leaves or rufhes, you may place them fo throng, that there will be about twice fo much fpace empty as what they cover, which will leave fufficient room to lay their eggs. If you make ufe of a imall net of the fize of your drawer, looping it over the heads of a few fmall nails all round the edge of the leaves or rufhes, and proping the middle with a piece of bulruih (becaufe they will lay their eggs on the prop) about three or four inches long, to keep the net from preffing on the moths, you will by this hinder them from creeping off the ruflies, and laying their eggs againfl the fides of the drawer, from which you would find it very troublefome to feparate them. Or you may with a needle and thread O 4 firing 20O THE CULTURE firing fome rufhes, fo as to make a fort of mats, and fix them ail round the fides of your drawer for the moths to lay their eggs on, other ways you muft vifit them oft, and replace fuch as creep from the rufhes. On thefe leaves or ru flies the moths will lay their eggs, each moth will lay about four or five hundred, more or lefs, accord- ing to their flrength and fecundity; fo that an hundred females Vv'ill produce about an ounce of eggs. The eggs flick, to whatever the moth lays them on, by a na- tural gum with which they are fmeared ; they are firft of a pale yellow colour, then greenifli, afterwards they grow fomewhat red, and in about four or five days after being laid, they attain a blueifh grey co- lour ; this happens fooner or later, as the weather is favourable ; and of this colour they always remain, unlefs they afterward happen to be damaged by too great cold, heat, or moifrure in keeping them. The eggs which do not get this blueifli colour, but remain yellow, are good for nothing, having not been impregnated by the male. When the moths have done laying, or beg'n to lay but flowly, and thofe eggs fmall, you may take them off the rufhes or leaver OF SILK. 20I Jeaves, and put them upon fome leaves flrowed on a table, where they may lay the refl, which Ihould not be mixed with your firil layed eggs, becaufe they will not be lb good, and many of them will not cliangc to the biueiih colour. If the rulhes from whence you took the moths after laying are not very full of eggs, you may put other moths on them to lay, but if they are full, take them away, and place others in theii' room. When the moths have done laying, and the eggs have attained the proper colour, you muft take the ruflies, and rub the eggs off gently, by drawing them through your nails over a drawer, thai; none of the eggs may be fcattered. They will very eafily feparate either from the walnut leaves or rufnes, efpecially when thefe are a little withered, (for they fhould be green and frefli when the moths are placed upon them to lay) either by rubbing them gently, or where the eggs flick fomewhat more fafl:, by loofening them with your nails, or a blunt knife ; but indeed mofl: of them will come off upon the leaft rubbing. As often as you feparate any quantity of eggs from the rufhes or walnut leaves, you ihould 202 THE CULTURE fliould put them into a glazed earthen veiTel, and cover the veflel with a plate or fawcer, to prevent any injury from rats, mice, &c. after which place it in a cool, but not a moift part of the houfe, and there let it remain fo long as the weather continues moderately warm, for fear of bringing the eggs into a tendency to be hatclied. When the weather begins to grow cold, pour the eggs into clean little fir-deal boxes, fuch as thofe made to keep wafers, and fhutting their lids clofe, place them in a cheft of drawers among woollen or filk cloaths, but not among linnen, it being apt to draw moifture to it ; or you may put the boxes among the flofs-filk which came from the outfide of the filk- balls, and thus they are to be kept till the enfuing fpring. The place where the cheft of drawers flands fliould be fuch as is neither expofed to moifture, heat, or cold 5 for moifture rots many of the eggs, and on this account too, thofe who let them be laid on paper, and keep them fo all the winter, will have many decayed ones ; for paper draws moifture to it. Heat is to be avoided, be- caufe it might biing the eggs to hatch be- fore OF SILK. 203 fore their time ; and great cold would mortify them as effe6lually as moifturei a bed-chamber therefore is a proper place to keep them in, but not near the fire ; and if the weather grows warm before the mulberry leaves open in fpring, they fliould be removed into a cooler place, to retard them till there is food for the worms. Obferve alfo, that if the weather is cold or moifl: when the moths are put to couple or to lay their eggs, it fliould be done in a place with a fire in it, otherways they will not lay many, nor fo good. PLATE I. FIG. IV. A. fliews the manner in which the pods kept for breed are ftrung and hanged. B. fliews a little fhelf of ftifF paper or pafte-board hanging under the eggs, to receive any moths which chanced to fall. FIGURE V. Reprefents the cloath, on which the moths are to be put to couple, placed againll: the wall ; its lower edge A B. turned up by means of two threads C C. to hinder the moths from falling. N. B. 204 THE CULTURE N. B. The chief reafon for placing this cloath againft the wall is, that the red liquor which the moth throws out may not fall upon the cloath. If the moths do not cling well to it, but fall in crowds to the bottom ; it is then beft to fpread it on a table. CHAP. IX. On the breed of Silkworms degenerating. An experiment propped to be tried, in order to hinder it. Another experiment of curio- Jity propofed for tryal, ^' O M E French authors fay, that it is neceffary to renew the breed of filk- worms every four or five years by eggs brought from other countries that are warmer or more natural to the worms, as from Spain and Sicily to France and Italy y and that without this renovation the breed will degenerate in four or five years. It may however be fufpe6i:ed, that much of tliis degeneracy is owing to perfons not being careful to raife their breed from a healthy and ftrong flock, according to the rules O F S I L K. 205 rules already given in this treatife, among which that of fteeping the eggs in warm wine, or even warm water, and leparating the fmall and weak ones which iwim, feems of great ufe, and no difadvantage, becaufe if you want a fufficiency of eggs, you may rear and feed thofe which fwim, but you fliould not breed from them. Yet fuppofing even what is faid of re- newing eggs by thofe brought from diffe- rent countries to be necefiary ; in cafe I was obliged to have eggs from a climate which was warmer, it fliould not be to raife an entire new flock from them, but only to crofs the llrain, between fome of the beffc of them, and the flrongefl of my own which were already naturalized ; becaufe it often requires fome time to make the conflitution either of plants or animals adapt itielf to the change of climate. But another kind of degeneracy, as I imagine, may proceed from the w^orms being fed, and kept in a manner which differs a great deal from their natural way of living ; for as yoii cannot reap any ad- vantage from them but by keeping them in houfes, becaufe of the injuries they would be liable to both from birds and the weather. 2o6 THE CULTURE weather, they by thefe means have ftelthef the advantage of air or exercife ; their food is conftantly fupphed, and they are pampered and full fed without having any labour of fearching about and going from one branch to another, which they are obliged to do in their natural ftate. Now though this method of your fupplying them with food is unavoidable, and though it may for the prefent make them large, and pro- duce a great quantity of filk, yet I think it mufl at length caufe the breed to be lefs healthy, and lefs fit for propagating fo ftrong and vigorous, or fo numerous an offspring as the worms which enjoy a free air, and are forced to move about and hunt for their food : for I believe it will be al- lowed that if a cock and hen were con- fined to breed in a coop, and their offspring to do the fame, the breed would foon lofe its mettle, and degenerate. To prevent this degeneracy in the health and vigour of fiikworms, and to continue the breed in full perfe6lion, I would pro- pofe an experiment, viz. that a few might always be bred Vvild on the mulberry-tree, with the beft of which you might crofs the flrain of your own breeders. To ef- OF SILK. r207 fb6l this, in climates where the weather will not injure the worms, no more care need be taken, than to fecure them from bii*ds; and you might perhaps do it, in the following manner. Take as many as you tliink proper of your fiiil hatched worms, and throw fome frefli leaves on them, in order to divide them fo, that there may not be above a fcore on each leaf; when you have thus divided them, faften each leaf with the worms on it by pinning them here and there among the fmall branches of the mulberry-tree, and fecure them from birds by covering the tree with a net. If the tree was trained againft a wall it might be the more convenient, becaufe its leaves would be the more forward, and it would not be liable to be fo much fhaken by winds ; you could alfo the eafier fecure it by a net, which you might fix in fuch a manner as to be at fom.e little diftance from the leaves, fo that no bird could come at any of the worms ; this might be done by fome covering of boards or fuch like, which, proje6ling from the top of the . wall, might have the net hung to it, and would be an additional advantage againfi: perpen- 2o8 THE CULTURE perpendicular rains and dews ; however^ you ihculd choofe a wall with an afpe6l toward the leaft rainy point, but the north afpecl mufl be excepted j the net alfo Ihould come clofe to the wall on the fides of the tree, and be fafcened with wooden pins to the ground. By this method the worms may perhaps without danger fublift themfelves in their own wild and natural jftate, and may afford you not only an agreeable entertainment, but alfo fome ufe^ ful obfervations, drawn from the worm*S own natural oeconomy. When thefe Vv'orms are ready to fpin, they will find convenient places between the wall and the branches of the tree, and, as foon as they have finifhed their (ilk-balls, you fhou'd take them down, and fbriiiging the befi: of them, keep them in the fame room with the reft of your balls defigned for breed, that the moths may come out about the fame time 5 and then pair the wild males with the houfe bred females, and the wild females with home bred males, as far as their number and time of coming out will conveniently anfwer ; the better to effed which, you might mark fome of your own flielves for breed, which went to Jpin at the fame time with thefe I wild O F S I L }^. 209 wild ones, if the worms on thofe flielves were ftrong and healthy, although not the firfl that went to fpin : or you may haften or delay a little the time of either coming out, fo as to make them anfwer, by a fmail difference in the warmth of the place where the pods are kept when ftrung. The foregoing method may be tryed in thofe countries which are not fubje6l to fuch rains, winds, or cold, as would hurt the worms. The following one for trying to keep filkworms on fmall trees v/ithin doors is propofed as a matter of curiofity, for thofe who keep them only for amufe- ment, which if it fucceeds, will fave the trouble of attending and feeding them. For this end get two or three young mul- berry-trees as bufhy, and full of branches as you can procure, and of fuch a fize as that when placed in pretty large but flat boxes of earth, they will pafs through the door of the place where they are to be fix- ed. Thefe trees fhould be fuch as fpread into branches within about half a foot of the ground, that by thefe means they may have the larger heads and more leaves, and yet pafs the eaiier through the door, which they will alfo the better do if they are of a P fiattifh 2IO THE CrULTURE Hattlfli form ; if they were not originally trained to this form, you may bring them to it when you are going to make ufe.of them, by bending the branches akernately acrofs pretty ftrong flicks placed among the branches on each fide of the tree. And this form will both make the branches lie thicker, and the better enable the worms to fhift from one place to another ; and will alfo give you a fairer view of them : but in bending the branches take care to fecure them fo that none of them may ftart, after the worms are plac'd on them, for this might deftroy m^any of the worms. Thefe trees lliould be planted in the boxes of earth, with all their roots taken up as whole as pofTible, and at leaft on the autumn preceeding the fpring when they are to be ufed i though I think it would be better to tranfplant them m February ^ a;id to let them fland one year in the tubs fe^re you ufed them, and if on tranf* planting you cut off any of the branches, let it be only thofe which flioot flrait forward, and which would not fo eafily bend to the flat form. They fhould fland abroad in the warmefl fituation which you can find, that they may bud the fooner, till OF SILK. 2IX till juft before you want to make ufe of them ; and then may be carried into the room which you defign for them. Before you put the filkworms on the tree,^' you (hould take a piece of bays or any ordi- nary cloth, and making a cut half acrofs its middle, let the flem of the tree go into it i then few up the cut and bring the cloth clofe up to the under branches of the tree on each fide, and fix it, thus fpread, in fuch a manner, that if any worms chance to fall, they may be caught by it, and alfo by its lying clofe to the branches, may make their way up again ; then place the worms on it in the fame manner as Was directed in the former part of this chapter, when they were to be placed on the trees abroad. If you think the weather too cold, or that the leaves are not {ufficiently opened, you may, in this as well as the foregoing method, defer putting the worms on the trees, till they have even pa ■ led their firft moulting. Neither fhouid too many be put on a tree, left they fhouid have eaten all the leaves before they were ready to fpin ; about two hundred worms will be enough on one of thefe fmali trees, even ■■■* P 2 thou2;h 212 THE CULTURE though it is very full of leaves ; and the tree lliould be forwarded by a wavm. fitu- atioii, foas to have its leaves opened to about the iize of a fixpence, before you put the worms upon it. However, you may have a fpare tree in a box for a re- fource, in cafe you find any of the others over-ftock'd with worms, and you may bring the flat part of this clofe to the flat fide of that on which the worms are, fo as that their fmallefl branches may a little mix, by which means the filkworms will go from one tree to the other, and the over- ftock'd tree will be eafed. That the flat part of the trees may the more readily be thus brought together, the boxes were di- refted to be of a flattifli form. While thefe trees are within doors with the worms on them, you mufl: take care to give them air by keeping the windows open when the weather is good. You may prevent any moifture at the bottom of the box from injuring the floor under it, if it is a boarded floor^ by placing it on a couple of pretty thick fcjuare polls laid on their fides, which will keep the bottom at a diflance from the boards, and give the 5iir liberty to pafs between them. If the I box OF SILK. 2T3 box IS pitched on the infide, it will both preferve it the longer from rotting, and alio hinder the earth from drying too fafl:, by means of the wood foaking up its moif- ture ; and as the tree while it (lands with- in doors, will not have the benefit of rain or dews, the earth fliould be pretty plenti- fully watered, efpecially when the weather is very hot ; and there fliould be a fmall hole in the bottom of the box clofe to its edge, to let out any fuperfluous water which may drop into a veliel placed to re- ceive it ; for which purpofe the tub fliould be fixed with a fmall inclination towards the fide where the hole is made. When the v^^orms begin to fpin, if you think they have not enough of convenient places, you may fix fome fprigs of heath here and there among the branches ; and thus if the experiment fucceeds, you may- rear filkworms within doors in the natural wild manner. If the leaves of the trees, thus kept with- in doors, are found apt to flag for want of the evening dews. Perhaps it might be helped by winding three or four united ropes of foft tow round the ftem of the tree, and afterwards feparately round three P 3 or 214 THE CULTURE or four of the principal arms, after which, being again united, their end might lie in a veifel of water placed or hung above the tree. This rope drawing moiflure from the veflel of water, would keep the main branches and flem conftantly wet, and by thefe means help to fupply that gi'eat quan- tity of fluid, which the mofl fagacious Dr. Hales has proved to be perfpired by the leaves ; and if the rope drew more than the bark im.bibed, the fuperfluity woul4 moiHen the earth in the box. :i.W j£ri3 ilU CHAP. %^^ .b^vorr Of the difeafes and mortality InciWentWSilk^ i9orms. tqai WITHOUT reckoning thofe acci- dents, by which the eggs of filk- worms become decayed and mortified be- fore they are put to hatch, and w^hich have been already mentioned ; the filkworm during the time of its formation in the cggy that is, during the time of hatching, is fubje(5l to accidents and mortality : thefe have been partly guarded againft in the di- rections OF SILK. . 215 re^lions given for making tlie eggs hatch. However, I cannot here omit mention- ing, that the hatching of eggs in perfons bofoms, as is pradlifed in many places, may poflibly often kill the embryo worm, arul make the breeders of fiikworms wonder at their eggs not producing according to ex- pe6lation, though they were very found . and kept in a due degree of warmth ^ yet this I think may often happen to eggs hatched in the bofom. If the eggs of pullets are fmeared with any clammy h- quid which (lops the pores of the ihell, there will no chicken hatch from fuch eggs, till that which thus (lops the pores is re- moved. The perfpiration and fweat of perfons^ who hatch fiikworms eggs, mufi: often pervade the bag in which they are kept, and may produce the foremention- ed bad effedl on many of the eggs j ibme perfons, however, will produce this bad ef- fe6l more than othei-s, and therefore all people are not alike fit to^hatjl}; ^i^wp^^iYiS in this manner. -.rrr ^7bs^^^"'[s rnsd Indeed, in all the prefent methods of hatching fiikworms eggs, the frefli'^ir has too little accefs to them j whether it is done in bags kept in the bofora^^^^i}ajg -boxes F 4 " kept 2i6 THE CULTURE kept in the bed, or between pillows. It may therefore be of advantage to open the bodies now and then in a warm place, and flir the eggs that the frefh air may have accefs, arid the eggs, by fdrring them, en- joy an equal degree of warmth 5 but they mufl: be expofed only a very fhort time, left they cool too much. It would be eafy to make a communi- cation between the external air and the box, by means of a fmall reed or a few quills, and the air which palled through fuch a tube, would be fufficiently warmed by the pillows before it came into the box :,. fuch a tube might alfo be fixed to the top of a little box, fitted to keep eggs in a perfon's bofom or pocket, and then there would be no occafion for having fuch box pricked with holes to admit the air thro* the bag which is in it, as I mentioned in the method of hatching the eggs ; and the box being clofe, and only communicating with the outward air by means of its tube, theie v»^ouid be no fear of the perfons per- fpiration or fweat hurting the eggs. A litde tube of leather kept open by rings, which could be cut out ot a quill, would bend in any direction, either out of the bofon; OF SILK. rif bofom or pocket, fo as to communicate with the outward air. Thus much I have thought necefTary to hint, in order to prevent any ill confe- quence which may be fufpc6led to arife from the method of hatching eggs ; for I think fteam and moifture may hurt them, as much as an improper degree of heat or cold. Some few filkworms are alfo liable to die in hatching by not readily getting out of the fliell, which, as it is not fixed to any thing, is apt to be dragged after them in their efforts to get out, till growing tir- ed they are not able to extricate them- felves ; this, however, happens to but a few, and thofe perhaps weak worms. But the method in which the eggs muil be hatch- ed makes this unavoidable, neither is it of great confequence. It is likely that eggs often are hurt by not being waflied, as mentioned in the chapter on hatching; for then many of them will remain fmeared over with that moid fubflance, which the moths cafb out a little before they lay their eggs, and this will flop their pores in the fame manner as was faid of fweat or perfpiration. It might :&i5 THE CULTURE might not be amifs to walh them as foon as they have got their grey colour, before they are laid up. The diflempers incident to filkworms after they are hatched proceed, generally, either from their food, or the temperature of the air in which they live. The regi- men of their food may err either in quan- tity or in quality. I have formerly mention- ed the manner of regulating the quantity of their food : it u^ill be a pretty fure rule to avoid giving them too much, if after they have eaten all their leaves, they are left without any for half a quarter of an hour or fo. But if by any accident they have failed too long, it is fafeU: to give them fparingly and often for fometime after, and then of the wholefomeil and befl leaves. And if they have furfeited by over- eating, let them faft a longer time, and afterwards feed them alfo fparingly, ^^y ^^^ 3ut filkworms are much more liable to fufFer from the bad quality of leaves than the quantity. The leaves of mulberry- trees which grow in moid grounds, or in places fhaded from the fun, are unwhole- fome; and thole which grow on fuckers produced from the trunk, or root, or prin-. cipal O F S I L K, 219 cipal arms, being full of fap and moifture, crude and immature, will produce a moil dangerous fatal diflemper in filkworms : even by only giving them one feeding, they grow immediately furfeited, znd throw out of their mouths a greenifh liquour, and a clear pellucid humour out of the pores of their fkin, particularly out of the little point which grows near their tail. This clammy moifture by their rubbing againft one another clofes up the vents by which they breath, which are thofe black fpecks that appear down each fide 3 and I fcarceever knew worms recover from this diforder, fo as to make filk worth any thing. It is therefore much belter to avoid the diflem- per than to attempt curing it; however, as all may not be alike infefled, pick out thofe which are in the worfl condition, and if you have a mind to make experiments on them you may. Then make the hur- dles of thofe that remain, clean and dry ; and letting them fail two or three hours, give them afterwards fome of the beft leaves you can choofe, but little at a time, and gathered a good while beforei,-^^, ^^o^iq Du Haldes hiftory of China mentions a powder made of the dried mulberry-leaves in 220 THE CULTURE an autumn, and referved for a cure againft a difcemper in filkworms which he doth not defcribe. He fays, they nioiften the fredi Jeaves and llrew this powder on them, being ground very fine. Perhaps it might be good agdinft the furfeit above mention- ed, as hay and dry food would be to cat- tle. But his account of filkworms being a tranilation from a very antient Chinefe manufcript, and in all likelyhood by per- fons who were not acquainted with the fubjecl, cannot be depended on. The moiilen'd leaves would, I think, be ;hurt- ful. ;' : ?" Mulberry-trees may alfo have peculiar diftempers in themfelves, which may make their leaves unwholefome for fdkworms, but this will beil be difcerned in the growth of the tree and of its leaves : and the dif- tempers incident to the filkworms eafiefl avoided by not ufing fuch. Air is the next thing to be confidered, and my much ho- noured friend the Reverend Do6lor Hales^ who-n fimple nature chofe for her fa- vourite, becaufe he courted her with can- did fm^plicity, has fliown in variety of in- fiances hov/ air aiFe^ls animals, and by a variety OF SILK. 22tf variety of incomparable contrivances, how it may beft be turn'd and attem^red to the ufes of life. Now filkworms are more liab|e. to be afFecled by the air, which is perpetually necefiary to animals, than by any other circumilance of their lives : fudden changes from heat to cold, and from cold to heat, are very prejudicial to them, ' and fuch cli- mates as are much fubje^l to fuch changes unfit for them. Thefe changes however, can be tempered by art and contrivances, inafmuch as filkworms are kept within doors J but putrid air occafioned by the worms being either kept too clofe, or not having their hurdles cleaned, is apt to de- ftroy great numbers j yet the caufe of fuch diftemper is eafily feen, for the abundance of their litter, and the fmell which it fpreads over the room, are fufficient indi- cations that the hurdles want cleaning, and that the room wants a fupply of more wholefome air. Indeed, a very little con- trivance would keep the rooms conftantly fupplyed with frelh air, which being a thing of the utmofc importance, I fhall here mention an eafy method of effecting it, which is founded upon that remarkable pro- 222 THE CULTURE property of the air, that when pureft, it is always moil heavy; and when mixed with vapour, either putrid, aromatick, or watery, or indeed with almoft any thing that afFe6ls the fenfe of fmelling, it is lightefl. a Now, in any room where filkworms are fed, if an aperture, about nine inches fquare, be made in that angle of the cieling which is farthefb from the door, and this aper- ture continued by a funnel of board, till it communicates with the open air, then will the putrid vapours, occafioned by the litter and the multitude of worms, con- ftantly afcend thro' this funnel, and the pure hea\7 air will fucceed by the door in its place ; or rather, if an aperture is made towards the bottom of the door, of the fame fize with that in the cieling, with a fmall fhutter to open and clofe as occafion requires ; then will the frefli heavy air come into the room with greater advan- tage, by railing up, and carrying of the foul air which is above it : or if two of thefe apertures are made in the oppofite walls of a room, near to the floor, and opening into the air abroad, they will have this convenience that you can take the ad- vantage O F S I L K. 223 vantage of opening that aperture, which is on the windward lide, when the room wants to be fuddenly and thoroughly clear'd of the foul air thus forced thro' the fun- nel. If it be inconvenient to carry up a fun- nel as mentioned above, then an aperture made through the wall, clofe to the ciel- ing, may ferve tolerably well to carry of the unwholefome air, provided you ufe fome of the apertures which I have men- tioned, for the admiflion of frefh and whole- fome air. Thus, if the proper cleaning of the worms, and the due admillion of frefli air be pradlifed, the diftempers arifmg from dirt and putrefa6lion will be prevented, fo, far as they arife from the manner in which people are obliged to keep filk worms in houfes j and, until fuch cleanlinefs and airing of the rooms is obferved, theie will be always complaints, as there are at pre- fent in the countries which breed filk- worms, of unaccountable mortality among the worms of fome perfons, . while thofe of others remain healthy. But the fmell of the room will give warning of the danger, and point out the bell cure, which is pre- vention. ^^£jil 4iir/ It 224 THE CULTURE It is true indeed, that dillempers of the fame kind may ariie from fome pecuUar piitrined liate, or malignancy in the atmof- phere, as in a hot and moift fummer, or in places abounding with mineral exha- lations, or fubje6t to earthquakes, which let loofe fuch ileams. But then, the dif- temper will appear more univerfal, and will more or lefs afFe6l all the filk worms in ad- jacent places i in this cafe, often cleaning the litter away will contribute to preferve the worms, as alfo not keeping them too much thronged and crowded together. The malignancy of the air may perhaps be in fome meafure qualified, by keeping Ben^ zoin, or even rolin melted in a pan, fo as to mix its fume with the air of the cham- ber j for I find the fume of fuch aromatick gums recommended in fome books, but without diftinguifhing precifely for what Icind of difordersj with thefe alfo they mention the fume of hot vinegar, and this laft, being of known efficacy againft putrid and peftilential diforders, has probably been found ufeful to fiikworms in fuch diflem- pers, though indifcriminately prefcribed, to other diforders it would prove inef- fe61:ual; and this method of prefcribing muft OF SILK. 225 mufl: be too often pra6liced in diftempers incident to brutes, who are incapable of defcribing their aihnents, and generally under the care of perfons who have little difcernment ; yet it would be of great ufe, if perfons, who have fkill and opportunity, would apply themfelves to dhlinguilh the diflempers which are peculiar to animals, efpecially fuch animals as are profitable to mankind. ^ The fire which is ufed, in order to raife the fumes above-mentioned, fliould be of very clear charcoal, placed in a chafting- difli, into which fome advife to put a piece of iron, in order to abforb and keep down the noxious fulphur of the coal, and alfo to move the chaffing-difli from one part of the room to another, that it may be equally fumigated, and not let flay over- long in the room. However, the inconvenience and trouble of the fiie might, as I think, be eafily avoided, when gumms or other things are ufed, which require to have their fume raifed by heat. For a funnel, about half a yard long, may be fitted into thp air-hole on the outfide of the room -, in the under part of this funnel, near to the air-hole, fliould be made a hole, fome- Q__ what 226 THE CULTURE what lefs than the mouth of an earthen pot, which holds the fumigating materials, this pot being placed on a chaffing-difh of coals, and its mouth brought up clofe to the hole in the funnel, will fend the fume up into it, which the air, entering by the funnel's mouth, will drive it into the room, and the offenfive fteam of the coal will be thus avoided. It may be convenient to let the funnel incline a little, that the fume may the eafier afcend into the room. This method fuppofes the room to be contrived in fome of the manners above defcribed, for the admifiion of frefh air, and letting out the foul, becaufe the fume fhould come in by the apperture which admits frefh air. When filkworms become fick and languifh by a continuance of moifl weather, it is difficult to relieve them, it being as yet a defideratum among inventions, to fupply quantities of dry air from a moifl at- mofphere. Fires may indeed warm the air, and fo hinder the bad efFedl of its cold- nefs } but flill the air which is conftantly drawn into a room where there is a fire muft be fupplied by the atmofphere, and bring its moifture along with it. It is bell- in this cafe to admit no more external air than OF SILK. 227 tiiaii is neceflary to keep that within frefli. It may alfo be of ule, before you feed the worms, to ftrow over them fome very dry chafF, flravv, or hay, fo thin that they can come through it, and upon this to ftrow their leaves, this may imbibe part of the moiilure which is in their Htter, or on the furface of their bodies, and at leaft it will keep them from lying upon their litter ; on which account it may be ufed alfo at other times, when there is a good deal of litter on the hurdles, and you have not lei- fure to clean them immediately. Silk- worms fometimes die during their fpinning, or after they have finifhed their pods, be- fore they change into a chryfalis. The proper regulation of heat, cold, and frefli air in this cafe is all that is in your power by way of prevention, and this has been mentioned in its proper place. When the worm dies before it has finiflied its pod, it never feels loofe in it upon fhaking the pod J therefore fuch pods mull never be chofen for breed, nor indeed ought the pods to be taken from the branches till the cliryfalis fliakcs in them. Such difeafes of the moths as are within your reach, are only languidnefs in coupling Q^ 2 or 228 THE CULTURE or laying their eggs, occafioned by the cold- nefs or moifture of the weather, which in- dicates warmth and a dry place as the pro- per cure. THE ^a.^luAdefc ■ THE Culture of S I L K, PART IV. CHAP. I. 7he 7iatiire of the filk-thread as fpun by the 'wonn. A general idea of the manner of reeling it. THE three foregoing parts of this treatife have only taught how to obtain the filkpods in that form which the worm fpins them j and thefe pods are now no further advanced toward being woven into the various fluffs which filk can compofe, than flax or wool are be- fore they are fpun into yarn. But tlie firil operation that takes place in the filkpods is not like that of either flax or wool 3 each filkpod is two continued glolfy CL3 230 THE CULTURE glolTy threads, without breach from begin- ning to end, yet fo glued together by their natural gum, that to the naked eye they appear but as one thread, in finenefs equal to the fmalleft hair j were this thread to undergo the operation of carding or comb- ing, its fmooth uninterrupted furface would be deflroyed, it would be reduced to a mafs of broken and entangled, fibres, fit only to be fpun in the fame tedious manner as flax or wool, and incapable of making ftufFs with that line giofs for which nature ex- tended it to a thoufand foot length. Yet, to reel off each fiikpod feparately, would be of no ufe, as the finenefs of the thread would then be infuihcient for ma- nufa61ures ; it is therefore contriv^ed that a number fhould be joined and reeled at once out of warm water, which foftening their natural gum, makes them flick toge- ther, fo as to form one flrong fmooth thread. This thread however is not formed by joining a certain number of filkpods, and fo winding them all off till their threads ended, for by this method the thread which is formed of them all together could not exceed a certain length, and by thefe means a new OF SILK. 231 a new fet of pods mufl be chofen, and a new thread begun fo often as would greatly interrupt tlie work ; befidcs, the thread would continually lelFen in thicknefs as the fingle threads of the filkpods do, and by the breaking of fome, and by others end- ing before the reft, there would be a wafte of what remained. They contrive there- fore to be continually adding the fingle threads of frefli pods as often as others end or break, by which method the thread is continued to what length they pleafe. The fingle threads of the new added pods are not joined by any tie, but only fim- ply laid on the main thread, to which they adhere by their gum, and their ends are fo fine, as not to occafion the leaft perceptible unevennefs in the place where they are laid on. Jt or your eafier conception, 1 here give a general fketch of the manner in which the pods are reeled. Firft, the pods are cleared of their foft outward fiofs, and a handful or two of them are thrown into a fmall kettle of water, under which is a fire to keep it hot. The ends of the threads are found by ftirring the balls with a fmall befom made of fine heath -, then, accord- 0^4 ing 232 THE CULTURE ing to the intended thicknefs of the thread, a number of thefe ends are taken and pafied together through a fmall loop of wire, which proje6ls over the kettle, and hinders the reel from pulling away the pods ; the thread is then pafTed through a wire-loop in a flick Vv^hich is called the guide ; this ftick, by a contrivance which ihall be defcribed hereafter, moves perpe- tually forward and backward, fo as to hin- der the thread from ever falling on the fame part of the reel, by which means the feve- ral rounds would be glued together, and could never be winded off again. From this guide-wire the thread is paiTed, and made faft to the reel, which is turned by one perfon, while another, fitting by the kettle which contains the filkpods, perpe- tually fupplies frelh ends according as they break, wind off, or grow fmall. The principal perfe61:ions of filk when reeled otf are ; that the thread fliould be fmooth, of equal thicknefs and If rength, not flat, but of a round form, having the fmall threads of which it is compofed as equally flretched as can be attained, and as firmly united 5 and laftly, that the feveral rounds as they lie on the reel fhould not be glued together, OF SILK. 233 together. The methods by which thefe quahties may bell: be attained, will be fur- ther taught in the more particular defcrip- tion of the iniiruments and manner of reeling the filk j and it ihould always be re- membered, that this is a part well worth attending to, as the value of the filk may be greatly raifed, according to the perfection in which it is reeled. CHAP. II. Oj the furnace y reel, and inflriiments for "wind- ing the f Ik from the pods. I Shall here defcribe the feveral parts of the inflruments which are ufed in reel- ing the filk off the pods, according to that order in which the filk-thread is condu<5led from the pods in the cauldron to the reel. The furnace marked A. Plate 2. Fig. I. is either a little round building, or an earthen veflel about a foot and an half in height, and a foot and an half diameter in the clear j it has a fmall opening b. in its low- er part to receive the fuel, and a funnel in its upper oppofite fide to let out the fmoak 234 THE CULTURE fmoak. A thin copper cauWipn of the fame breadth with the clear of the furnace, and about four or five inches in depth, is fixed upon its upper part : this contains the water in which the pods are winded off, its fhape may be oval, the better to con- tain two parcels of pods. The ends of as many pods as are thought proper, being united, are paiTed through a loop of wire. c. which I fhall call the flop-wire, fixed in the end of a rod which projedls about a foot from the bench of the reel. Its ufe is to flop the pods, and hinder their being drav/n farther towards the reel -, and this wire projeding over the copper, caufes any of the pods which chance to leap out of the water to fall di- rectly doi;vn again. It is ufaally made by giving the wire a turn like one round of a bottle-fcrew, making the end come a little acrofs. By this method the filk-thread eafily flides into the loop, which, if inflead of this contrivance it were a ring, would give trouble in paffing the thread through 5 this vare is fixed into the end of a fmall flick, which fliould project about a foot from the front of the fland. P. (i_R. S. which fupports the reel and the loop fhould O F S 1 L K. 235 flioiild be about a foot or more diftaiit from the furface of the water, and fliould be made of brafs wire, as lliould every loop through which the filk pafles ; for iron wire, though mentioned by mod wri- ters, wlien it takes rufl, becomes a fort of file, and would fret and break the thread j but brafs wire doth not take ruft by being wetted. From the flop-wire C. the filk-thread was formerly conduced ovc]- a fmall pully faftened to a piece of wood about three inches high, wliich Rood in the front of the reel's bench dire6lLy over the rod, which holds the ftop-wire. The intention of this little pully, or bobbin, was to prefs the moiflure out of the filk-thread before it came to the reel, but a better contrivance has been fubftituted for it. From this pully the filk-thread pafles through a loop of wire E. which I call the guide-wire 5 this loop is formed in the fame manner as the loop of the flop-wire before defcribed , the wire is fixed in a fmall flick F. G. called the guide-flick, the ufe of it being to guide and fpread the thread E. t. in fuch a manner on the reel, that it niay not always fall in the fame place. 236 THE CULTURE place, fince this would fo glue the moift thread together, that it could not afterwards be feparated. The guide-flick receives its motion from a wheel marked I. which formerly turned on a pin fixed in the fide of the reel's bench, but that fit nation is now changed ; its di- ameter is from eight to ten inches, ac- cording to the fize of the reel you ufe ; it has holes nearer or farther from its center to fhift the pin which goes into the guide- ftick, and fo fprcad the filk lefs or more upon the reel. This is a round pin, and is received into a round hole in the end of the guide-ftick F. fo loofe, as to allow the wheel to turn freely. It is turned by means of a band which palFes over another wheel K. fixed to the axle of the reel. The befl proportion of this wheel K. to the guide wheel I. for diftributing the thread on the reel, is as twenty two and an half to thirty feven. The wheel I. being put in motion by the turning of the reel, doth in each revolution make the guide-flick F. G. go and return, its end G. being round and Aiding forward and backward in a hole which is made in a piece of wood L. The pin on which the guide-flick moves mufl be O F S I L K. 237 be made with a little collar, fo as the guldc- flick may not He clofe to the lurface of the wheel I. left in its motion it Ihould ftrike againft the axle or pin, upon which the wheel turns. From the guide- wire the filk-thread is drawn to one of the bars of the reel I. and there made* faft in order to be reeled. The reel is compofed of an axle, H. which is beft made fquare for the advan- tage of boreing it true, in order to let in the crofs ftick, u. u. &c. w^hich are to fupport the four bai's, t. t. t. t. for this purpofe it is bored within half a foot of each extreme, with two round holes pretty near, and at right angles to each other. The axle may be about two inches fquare, and the holes about an inch diameter, in- to which the crofs fupporters u. u. &c. mull; fit tight at their middle part, though they may taper to half an inch diameter at their ends. Thefe ends fit tight into holes made in the four bars, t. t. t. t. the crofs fupporters muft be of fuch a length, as to make the four bars t. t; t. t. ftand two or more feet diitant from each other, making the round of the reel about eight feet. The 238 THE CULTURE The four bars have been generally made round, but I would recommend, as a bet- ter method, to form them firft re6langu- lar, about one inch by two, and then to plane down the edge, which is to be the outerm.oft and receive the filk, to any an- gle lefs than a right angle j for being plac- ed thus edgeways on the crofs fupporters, they will refift the fpring of the filk as joiils do the weight of a floor 3 for one could fcarce imagine, if he had not tryed it, how great a power a thick fkain of filk has to warp and bend the bars of the reel. Another advantage of planeing their outer edge down to lefs than a right angle, is, that in this cafe the filk will only touch the bars in a point, v^^hereas if they were round, it would lie upon one half of the circumference of each bar, which would caufe a good part of the flcain to be flat, and the threads to be m.ore glued together in the four different parts which lay upon the four bars. The angle however fliould not be left iliarp and cutting, but fliould have its edge a little rounded. And the bars fliould be made of wood which is pretty hard and fmoothly poliflied, for if it has any fplits, or rou^^hnefs, the threads of O F S I L K. 239 of the Ikain will be apt to catch and break when you are difbanding it from the reel. The axle of the reel turns in two grooves, made in two pieces of wood x. x. fixed in two oppofite fides of the bench, by means of the wince or handle, L. the axle is rounded and reduced to about an inch and an half diameter, at the parts which lie in the grooves 3 in which it is kept by two wire pins, w. w. one of which fmks a little into a fmall groove turned in the axle itfelf, by which means it is kept very fteady, or it may be kept fteady by two fhoulders, if they are exaclly at the diftance of the two pieces of wood which fupport the axle. In this defcription of the reel I have, for brevity's fake, only mentioned one lilk- thread ; but as two may be reeled at once upon different parts of the reel according to the expertnefs of the fpinner, which is the perfon who fupplies frefli ends when any of the pods break, or are winded off, therefore you are to fuppofe the other thread condu6led in the fame manner, as that already defcribed thro' the other ftop- wire, C, &c. at about fix inches diffance from 6 240 THE CULTURE from the other, in the manner which you fee dehneated in the figure. The foregoing defcriptions mentions the manner in which the filk-reel is at prefent made and ufed, but the plate which re- prefents it fhows it with the new improve- ments made lately by Mr. Vaucanfony and defcribed in the memoirs of the academy of fciences at Paris, but without giving any figures of the defcription. The rea- fon and foundation of thefe improvements ■ are confidered more particularly in the fol- J lowing chapter. C H A P. III. 7be improvejnents cf the [ilk-red^ Giui the manne?' of reeling. 7 I T H regard to the motion of the guide-flick, Mr. Vaiicanfon obferves that it was found that the band which paf- fes over the tv/o little wheels K. I. by be- ing varioully flretched by the v/eather, in- equalities of the wheels, ^c. could not make the guide-lfick F. G. move in fo uni- form a manner as always to difpofe the difierent I OF SILK. 241 different revolutions of the thread upon the fame parts of the red. And therefore it was contrived that the jniide-ftick fliould be moved by a fet of three or four wheels W'ith teeth, or cogs communicating with that on the axle of the reel. But thefe being made of wood, and frequently break- ing, and going out of order, occafioned de- lay and lofs in the reeling of the filk ; he therefore revives the m.ethod of working by the band, and to keep it always at the frame degree of extenfion j contrives that the wheel I. which moves the guide-flick fhould turn upon an axle, which is fixed in one end of a bar of wood, W X, this bar is moveable on a pin. y. paffing through a hole in its other end, (the lower part of that piece of wood through which the guide- Rick goes and returns may ferve for this purpofe) then the end W. on vv'hich the guide-wheel turns is drawn by a firing palling over a pully near S, to which a weight of one or two pounds is faftened. And thus the band is kept conftanly at the fame ft: retch. The next defecl was found in the fmall puUies, or bobins, whofe ufe as mentioned in the foregoing chapter, vv'as to fqueeze R fome 242 THE CULTURE fome of the moifture out of the thread as it pafTed over them. This however, they did but very impcrfecliy, and were beiides found by their preiTure to give the thread a fiat form, whereas its perfeclion is to be as round as poffible. In Head therefore of thefe puilies, they contrived to make the tv/o threads crofs by twifling three or four times round each other, between their paf- fage from the ftop-wiresto the guide-wires, vv'hich they called winding in crofs. This method had great fuccefs ; the threads by beins; thus wraDDed tv/o or three times round one another became round and corn- pad!. And the prelfure made by the crof- fmg one another, added to the frequent vibrations which were made at the angle, where the two threads feparate in wind- ing, caufed them to arrive at the reel well drained of their moifture, and of a more round form. . . Mr. Vaucanfo'ii obferves on this method, that the threads are made to crofs by tv/if- ting them over one another with their fingers, which have no accurate fenfe of feeling, by being continually employed in the warm water 5 and that bv thcfe means the OF SILK. 243 the degree of crofling is not accurately de- termined. He adviies to encreafe it by- making a double croffin^, and defcribes a method both f>f doing this and determin- ing tlie degree, or number of the times, that the threads are crofled, in the follow- ing manner. A wooden rins" marked A. Plate 11. Fis;. II. is made three quarters of an inch in thicknefs, and one inch broad, its inner diameter is fix inches and an half. Its outfide rim has a groove for the reception of a band, f. f. this ring is placed betv/een three little wooden rollers b. b. b. which turn on pins fixed in a fquare frame of wood, c. c. c. c. the frame is nxcd by the pin e. which comes from its lower fide in- to a hole, Z. which is bored in the mid- dle between S and R in the reel's bench. Fig. I. the band Vv^hich goes in the groove of this ring goes alfo round a groove in a wheel I. of the fame fize, which turns on a pin going thro' its center into an upright, i. i. which is failened in a hole to fuch a part of the reel's bench, R. where it can moft conveniently be reached by the hand of the fpinner, who fits by the cauldron, R 2 and 244 THE CULTURE and turns it by a little handle k. when when the threads are to be croffed. Now the two filk-threads after having been pafTed thro' the loops of the flop- wires, c. c. infi:ead of going over the bo- bins, or puilies, are made to pafs over two little hooks of brafs wire, d. d. placed oppoiite to each other on the infide of this wooden ring. From whence they go each thro* its own guide-wire, and fo to the reel. And now, by giving the wheel J. over which the band paiTes tv/o, three, or more turns i the wooden ring, over which the fame band paffes, is turned the fame num- ber of times, and fo many times are the filk-threads croffed over one another, and that in two places, viz, before they arrive at the wooden ring, and after they pafs thro' it. By this double eroding, or twif- tlng over each other, the filk-threads in 'i'Mihg, are as it were, wrung and fqueef- ed J and the gummy moiilure, wd^ich they receiv*d in the kettle, drained and preiied '^uti^^fo that they arrive at tlie reel much dryer than they otherwile would do ; and from' the preffure which they undergo at the croliings are made more firm, compacSV, ami OF SILK. 245 and round ; io as to appear in fome niea- fure twiftcd. Mr.. Vaiicanfon mentions a further ufe of winding in the crofs : which is that it fliews on which fide the fpinner ought to add frefli filk-pods in order to keep the two threads of equal flrcngth and thicknefs : he juftly obferves that keeping always the fame number of filk-pods will not pre- ferve the fame thicknefs in the thread 5 for the fnigle thread of one pocl that is but a little winded off, may be as thick and ftrong as two, three, or more that are al- molt exhaufted -, but the crofs which is next to the flop-wire will, as foon as ei- ther thread grows weaker than the other, *fwerve towards the fide of the flron^er 'thread, and thus give notice that fome filk- pods are to be added to the other fide. But I mud obferve that this fwerving of the crofs, to either fide, will not happen unlefs the hooks of the wooden ring, over which the threads pafs be kept in a pofi- tion horizontal, and alfo each hook on the fmie fide with that ftop-wire from which its own thread proceeds 5 and, tho' Mr. Vaiicanfon mentions this as a method of keeping each thread to the fame thicknefs R 3 with 246 THE CULTURE with which it began, it will only keep them of the fame thicknefs with one another in correfponding parts. For the addition of pods on one fide or the other, in order to bring the crofs to the middle, may happen to be fuperadded 10 equally, that, tho' the threads equal one another, yet at long run you fliall either add more thicknefs to each thread than you fet out with, or fall Ihort of it ; fome regard mufl therefore be had to the number of filk-pods with v/hich the threads were begun, fo as not confiderably to encreafe or leflen their number. Mr. Vaiicanfon obferves that when the crofs fwerves much to the {\diQ, of the weak- er thread, -and remains long in that t1tu- ation, the thread is then apt to break ; he therefore fometimes made the crofs fland between the fangs of a fm.all fork, that young beginners, who were not expert at reeling in crofs, might have time to add frefh pbds to the weaker thread, the folk confining the crofs fo as not to let it fwerve much. Thus I liave given the fcope of Mr. Vau^ canfons improvement of the double crof- fmg, and the advantages he propofes from it. OF SILK. 247 it. He fays indeed, that the women who reel the pods will with difiicLilty be brought to life it, becaufe the threads thus croilliig twice are liable to be broken, and occafion delay, efpecially if they are not kept- clear of any flofs, or burr, which is apt to rife cither from the pods not being at tirft well clear'd of the flofs, or from the water being too hot. Mr. Vaucanfon therefore propofes this double croiTing chiefly for fuch filk as is to ferve for warp ; which, becaufe it fuffers a confiderable ilrefs in the oper- ation of weaving, is therefore to be made more compact and ftrong. It may be obferved that the apparatus of the wooden ring is only for the readi- nefs of crolFing the two threads, for they may i-eceive a double crolTing by means of two little hooks plac'd at each extreme of a flick fix inches Ion 2:, and fixed in its middle point upon another, fo as to form the figure of a T. this being placed erecl in the place of the wooden ring, the two threads v/hich pafs parallel over its hooks will receive the double croirmg, by taking off the top of the T. which is only faflen- ed by a hole in its middle ; and^ after it R 4 has 24S THE CULTURE has been turned round fo many times as is neceflary for the croiling, replacing it. I mention this becaufe it requires little apparatus 3 the double croffing may lirft be tried in this manner, and, if it comes into pra(Slice, Mr. Vaucaiifons method may afterwards be ufed. The chief advantage of two crofihigs are the fcarts and vibra^ tions which the two threads undergo when they feparate at the croffes ; this makes them fhake of the moifture with which they are loaded, more fpeediy, as the vi- brations are double of what they VvTouid be with only one croffing. Some dimenfions of the reel, &c. v/hich are as yet undefcribed, are as follows. See Plate II. Fi^. I. : ,U- The length of its bench, P. S. about five foot. Its breadth S R. two foot and a half. The feet at S and R next the cauldron^ two foot high. Thofe at P. and Q^ next the reel, two foot antl a half high. The ftop-wires fixed in the two rods C C. project one foot from the tranfverfe, S R. and are about fix inches afunder, njiz, equal to the diameter of the guide-wheel I. OF S I L K. 249 I. and about a foot diftant from the cauU di'on. The bar M N. wliich fupports the guide-. wheel I. and guide-flick E. G. is two foot dillant from the end C. of the itop-wires, the guide-wires are fo long as not to let the filk-thread make an angle at the m. The axle of the reel K L. is three foot dif}-ant from the guide-flick. The reel's diameter, viz. the length of the crofs-bars about two foot for fine warp, for woof it is often four or five foot 3 but this is not reel'd in crofs. The guide-wires, E. E. are at the fame diflance from each other as the flop-wires, viz, about fix inches. The diameter of the guide- wheel's groove is to the diameter of the fmall wheel's ' groove, as 74, to 45 j for ranging the filk in the beft manner on the reel -, the fize of thefe wheels fhould enlarge with the reel's diameter, but the proportions fliould be kept. The bench mufl alfo be lengthen-, ed when the reel is made large. The Furnace A. is round, or oval, with a fire hole, B. and it vv^ould alfo be the bet- ter of a flue to carry of the fnioak. The 250 THE CULTURE The copper or cauldron is fhaped to the form of the furnace j (the oval form is beft for reeling two or three parcels of of pods) it is about four or five inches deep 5 it may fmk into the furnace, and be fupported by its ledge j or it may be only a pan Handing on the top of the fur- iiace, in which cafe the furnace muft noj; be much above a foot high. Though the fore feet of the reel's bench are by authors direci:ed to be made only two foot high, and the hinder ones two foot and an half j yet it would anfwer bet- ter if they were made higher 5 for then the frop-wires C. C. v/ould be raifed fome- what more above the cauldron, •wliicfi would give better fcope to the adding of frefli fJk-pods by having more length of threads beneath the Hop-wires, for it is thefe feparated threads that catch the freih ones v/hich are added and carry them up. Befides, the pods in the cauldron would not then be fo apt to rife and ftrike againft the flop- wires, which often breaks feme of the threads. The feet therefore iliould be fo high, as that the ftop-vvires may be at leaft a foot and half above the water in the cauldron, and the cauldron itfelf not fo OF SILK. 251 fo low as to be iineafy to the woman who fupplies Tilk-pods, by making her floop too much, as (he fits by it. Small models of the reel are made by Mr. Thomas Belcher-y Cabinet-maker in Bruwnlow-Jireetj Holburn, CHAP. VI. JI01V to take of the fiofi or loofe filk from the pods, the reafon of forting thefe accord- ing to their different degree oj finenefs^ in, order to be reeled^ E F O R E the filk-pods can be reel'd, it is necelfary to free them from that loofe fuzzy filk which is on their outfide, and is called the flofs, it being of fo fine and loofe a confidence, and partly broken by taking it from the branches where tae worms had ij^un it, that it cannot be reel- ed off in water. It may be taken off by opening it on one of the, ends of the filk- pods, and then thruRing out the hard part of the pod, which is that which is' to be reeled, clearing off ,the loofe filk which adliers to it, and throwing this part v/ith the 252 THE CULTURE the flofs, in order to make ordinary cheap filk. And now, at taking off the flofs, is'i good time for forting the filk-pods accord- ing to their different degrees of hardnefs j this is a thing which is very little attend- ed to in the countries v^^here hlk is produc- ed. They carelelly throw into the hot water all kind of filk-pods, and fo reel of the flrong and the tender, and often the double ones mixed with tliem, the confe- quence of which is, a great deal more trouble in the reeling, the filk breaking much oftener, and being much the woife. For the proof of this, let us fuppofe only two filk-pods, one campa6t and hard, and the other of a loofe and foft fabflance thrown together into the hot water, in or- der to be reeled off together, and to make one thread : if nov/ the vv'ater be fufficient- ly hot to let the hardefl of the two filk- pods wind off with cafe, by diffolving its gumminefs, then that water will be too hot for the other pod whofe fabflaiKe is loofe, fo that it will run off in burrs, that is flakes of the filk vv^ill come off withoi t being drawn to their extent, which burrs as they pafs the flop-wires, or guide-wires, will O F S I L K. 253 win endanger the breaking of the thread, filling it alfo with lumps and inequaU- ties. On the other hand, if the water is jufl properly warm for the foft pod, fo as not to occafion the above inconveniency, it will then not be hot enough for the hard pod, fo that its thread will not be difuni- ted from it, without fome llretch and vio- lence endangering its breaking, and giv- ing the trouble of adding a freih pod. And in both cafes the fnigle hairs of the filk-pods, being unequally ftretched in reel- ing, will make the combin'd thread the weaker, and alfo lefs even, and glofly, fmce the fingle hair of that pod which was moil ftretched by the reel will, upon dif- banding,' contra6l itfelf more than the other, and be feparated from it in fome places, V J 5,; On thefe 'accounts, having firil feparated the double pods, and alfo thole whicii con* tain nothing but flofs, with any others, which, being iraperfecfly formed, cannot be reeled ; fort the peifetl pods into three kinds, and do this at the time that you are ftripping off the fiols, which being re- moved, you can readily perceive their dif- ferent 254 THE CULTURE ferent degrees of hardnefs, and thi'ow them into three diiierent bafkets. The firfl: fort will confifl: of all that are very compact, having their fingle hairs very firmly glued over one another -, the fecond of thofe which are of a middle confidence j and the third, thofe v^hofe hairs are loofe and open. The liard or loofe confiftence is not judged of by tlie fiofs, but by the compa6i: part of the pod which remains under the flofs. It may not be amifs to obferve that chil- dren may readily be taught the bufmefs of fcripping the flofs from off the pods^ but to judge of their confiftence and fort them, will require a perfon of fome Ikill -, and though the flripping oft the flofs may be performed by candle light, this tiiine h not very convenient, either for foiting, of reeling, thefe requiring a good light and a quick eye 3 though with regard to the com.- paclnefs or foftnefs of the pods,' ybii will partly be guided by the feeling, and partly by the appearance, thofe being the hardefl, and requiring the water in which they are reeled warmeil, whofe hairs appear mofi: firmly adhering, and moll: glued over one another. The time ipent in forting will be O F S I L K. 255 be very inconflderable with refpecl botli to the time and labour which it will fave in the reeling, and with refpe^l to the advan- tage and value which the filk will receive from it; for which reafon, I do the more earneftly recommend it as a work which is both eafy and of great importance. CHAP. VII. How to reel the filk from the pods, 'T^HE kind of water in which the lilk- -■■ pods are reel'd is of confiderable im- portance, water which is called hard ; fuch as that of fprings and wells, is by no means to be ufed, for it will not diflblve the gumminefs of the pods, fo that they will wind off with difhculty, and their threads be liable to break often. Choofe therefore the . foftefb vv'ater from flow run- ning rivers, or ponds, and which has been longcil expofed to the air. This water being put in the cauldron of the furnace before defcribed, let it be made jufl: to fim- mer, or come to boiling, and then, with a 2 ikim- ^56 THE CULTURE ikimming difti, take off any fcum which rifes on the top. For the hardeft fort of pods a fcalding heat will be neceffary, but a lefs degree for the others. However, the heat cannot be afcertained till you begin to reel, for then, if the filk comes o'ft in burrs, or lumps not ftretched to their extent, the water is too hot, and the fire muft be abated un- der it. On the contrary if the filk comes off with difnculty, which is known by the pods often leaping out of the water, it is then too cool, and the fire mufl be in- creafed. The fpinner, which is flie who attends the management of the filk-pods in the cauldron, muft be provided with a brufll made of the iinefl twigs, or tops of heath bound together, and cut off Hat at the brufll part. Then being feated before the cauldron, flie throws into it an handful or two of the fiik-pods, of one fort or de- gree of firmnefs, and preffing them gently under water with the flat brufh, the ends of the filk-pods will adhere to the twigs : fhe then takes as many of thefe ends as are neceffary, according to tlie thicknefs fhe intends her thread, and, bringing them to- getb.cr. OF SILK. 2S7 gctiier, draws out the united thread until file finds that tlie fingle hairs of which it is compofed come off eafy and free from flofs. She then breaks oti' fo much of the end of the thread as came of coarfe with fiofs, or burrs in it; and, throvv^ing it afide, deUvers the end of the perfedl thread to the perfon who {lands ready to turn the reel, who immediately pafTes it through the ftop-wire, and through its guide-wire, and then makes it fad to the reel, as mentioned in the defcription of the reel. In the mean time the fpinner has another thread prepaj ed for him, which he pafles through the olh.-T flop- wire, &e, in the fame maimer j ana if the filk is to be reel'd in the crofs, you are to underfland its being palFed over the crof- (ing-wires. And now, both threads being faftened to the reel, it is turned with a regular even motion, at fii*il fomewhat leifurely, till the threads are found to run free and eafy, for it will happen that fome of the ends which were taken to compofe the thread were falfe ones, becaufe in taking off the flofs, there may be two or three breaches made in the beginning of the hairs, which in winding will foon end, and muft be added anew to make up the number S which 25§ THE CULTURE which you defign in the thread. It might therefore be convenient in the beginning of the thread to put a few more pods than you intended to continue, v/hich will foon be reduced to the proper number. As foon as the pods begin to give the thread freely, the reel is turned with a quicker motion, and the fame thing which, as I mentioned before, regulates the heat of the water, v/ill alfo regulate the mo- tion of the reel j for if the pods leap up often, and beat againfl: the llop-wire, the motion of the real mull be flackened, and if the thread comes off in burrs, it mull be turned quicker. And of this the fpin- ner, v/ho has her eye upon the balls and thread, muil, as flie fees occafion, apprize the reeler -, and at the fame time the fire mufc be increafed or diminifhed, that the reel may be allowed a proper motion, which ought to be as quick as may be, without endangering the breaking of the thread, or hurrying the ipinner, fo that {he cannot add frefli pods as fail as the old ones are ended. While the reel is turning, the fpinner is continually adding freih pods to each thread as fafl as fhe can find the ends, not -waiting till fome of the number flie be- gan O F S I L K. 2^9 gan with are ended ; but being before hand, and at any leifure intervals, preparing frelli ends by dipping the heath brufh among frefh pods, of which fuch a quantity muil be conflantly thrown iitto the cauldron as will fuffice to fupply the two threads which are reehng, but not more, leaf!:, by being too longfoaked in the hot water, they fhould wind off in burrs ; and thefe pods which are thrown into the cauldron, mufl be often forced under water, that they may be equal- ly foakedj for, as they fwim with their greater part above water, that part would remain hard and ftubborn, while the part which is under water would be too much foaked : or otherways you may with a brufh frequently throw fome of the hot water upon them, as you may likewife do on the pods which are reeling, when you obferve them grow dry at top, and yield the thread ftubbornly. The fupplyhig of frefh ends is perform- ed by laying them flopingly acrofs the (ingle filk hairs which continue feparate till they reach the ftop-wires, for here the added one is readily caught by them and drawn up ; for which reafon the ftop-wire Ihould be about a foot above the water. S 2 There 26o THE CULTURE There is a readinefs in adding frefli pods which can only be acquired by pra6tice, in which fome are fo expert, that they can fupply three threads of filk paffing thro* three different flop-wires. You will know when any pods are com- pleatly winded off, when you fee the fmall remainder of the pod rife out of the wa- ter, and flick at the loop of the flop-wire ; the worm having then droped out, the re- maining filk becomes too light to remain in the water. You will know when the ends of any pods break before they are winded off by their remaining at refl in the water, and generally by their quitting the com- pany of the reil, and lying clofe to the fide of the cauldron. When the fpent pods leap up and adhere to the loop of the flop-wire, they mufl iniraediately be taken away, elfe by choaking up the pafiage, they will en- danger the breaking of the whole thread. The quantity of filk which can be reel- ed in any given time is, cseteris paribus, in proportion to the quicknefs with which the fpinner can add frefli ends. Thus if you fuppofe that every filk-pod, at a me- dium, will either break or be winded off at the end of five hundred foot, then, if five O F S I L K. 261 five fuch pods are reeled together, a frefli end will be wanted at every hundred foot that are reeled; if ten are reeled together, one will be wanted at every fifty foot ; if fixteen together, then at thirty one foot, and fo on. Nor doth it make any dif- ference v/hether twenty pods form only one thread, or whether they are divided fo that each five forms a diirin£l thread, in both cafes, if they are reeled at once upon the fame reel, they will require nearly the fame difbatch to fupply frefh ends ; and this points out a method of employing fpin- ners according to their different Ikill, for if one fpinner can fupply two threads each of ten pods, then another fpinner who can fupply ends only half fo faft, can on- ly attend two threads each of five pods, or one of ten pods. The feldomer that pods end or break, the greater number of them can one fpinner attend, vvhich fliews the advantage of large and ibund pods, and of every artifice which can hinder either the breaking of the fingle hairs, or of the whole thread. The breaking of the fingle hairs is prin- cipally owing, either to bad filk-pods, rjiz. being ill formed, as they will be when the S 3 worms ztz THE CULTURE worms were difturbed and interrupted dur- ing their fpinning, either by fhaking, or by cold weather rendering them torpid and ina6live at their work, a thing at that time very manifeil to the light. Or the fmgle hairs may break by an improper re- gulation of the heat in the water, when it is not fufficient to make them wind off eafy ; or when it is too great, and occafions burrs which may ilop at fome of the wire^ loops through which the thread runs j pods alfo which have two worms inclofed will perpetually break. The whole thread may alfo break, by burrs flopping at the wire-loops, or by the reel's being turned by jerks. It need not however be knotted, but may be faftened by laying the parts on one another, and giving them a little twill j or the end which broke may be carried up to the reel and fo fixed as readily to find it again, and may be reel'd on without uniting it to the other, for all delay fhould be avoided. To avoid the breaking occafioned by burrs, the v\dre-loops fhould not be too fmall, but fo wide as to let them eafily pafs, and if the diflance between the reel and the pods \v?re increafed y the thread then by having lengtl\ OF SILK. 263 length would have time to let the burrs (Iretcli out, and thus make tlie thread more even. I think it would be convenient for tlie fpinner to have a little ftick ere6led clofe to the fide of the cauldron, which having two or three pins in it would ferve to hang her heath brufli by means of a little hook at the end of it, and alfo any other little inflrument which (lie may want, fuch as afliarp fork with which flie may draw away the pods which are fpent, and have dropped the worm j or fuch as, being near fpent, have the bag drawn together and llick at the flop- wire ; and as the heath brulli will frequently take up more ends than are immediately to be added, and as the fpinner will fometimes have occafion to employ both her hands, the brufli will at that time conveniently hang by the cauldron, while the pods which are attached to it re^ main in the water, and the ends will be in readinefs as they are wanted .; in this cafe the pods which do not reach the water may be drawn down to it between the fpread fingers of her hand. If the fpinner is under a neceffity of leaving her work for any length of time, S 4 the 264 THE CULTURE the pods fliould all be raifed with a fkim- riling-diii) out of the water till her return, otherwife by over foaking they would wind off in bun s ; but it is befl to continue the reeling without interruption, and to let frefli perfons fucceed thoie who are tired, The water however mull: be changed as it grows foul, and fometimes fetid, from pods where the worms have been killed fome days before ; the chryfalids when the filk is reeled off them are ufed to feed hogs or poultry. The perfon that turns the reel fhould have an eye to the threads and to the loops of wire through which they pafs, that he may apprize the fpiriner when any thing is wrong, for her eyes will be fufficiently em- ployed about the pods. The reeler might alfo re6lify any thing which goes amifs in thofe parts of the thread which are near the reel, for he will always have one hand unemployed, and muft even flop from turning for a little while upon emergency. Though the reeler can change hands as they tire by turning, yet for his eafe I think he might nave a fupport for his arm oppofite to the axle of the reel, and fp to turn the handle only by that motion Vv'hich O F S I L K. 26s which he can give it by the arm moving upon the elbow as upon a centre. I muft obferve here that the bufmefs of winding the filk from the pods is, in fome countries committed only to perfons who upon examination are found properly qua- lified, and that the feveral regulations which regard the reeling are ellablifhed by law, and penalties annexed ; but I doubt whe- ther ftri£l regulations would be proper in the infancy of a manufadure of this kind in our colonies, 1 believe it is better at firft to encourage ail endeavours, and to let re- gulations grow upon time and experience. It is neceffary to inform you here, that as the heat of the water in the cauldron will require to be varied according to the eafe or difficulty with which the pods give their filk, therefore the fpinner fhould al- ways have fome cold water within her reach, in order to cool that in the caul- dron quickly, when the filk comes off too eafy and in burrs, and fome chips or fhav- ings fhould be at hand to augment the heat quickly when the pods are flubborn in letting the filk wind off. A contrivance indeed might readily be made by which the fire, lying upon a little grate with clofe § bars. 266 T H E C U L T U R E bars, might readily be approach'd to or withdrawn from the bottom of the caul- dron, which would more fuddenly vary the heat. This might be done by making the grate hang on a fwivel, with a handle coming out of the fire place by which it might be raifed or depreiTed. It would be convenient alfo to have a tap-hole in the fide of the cauldron, at its bottom, for emptying the water, when it grows foul and fetid from the chyfaUds which foon corrupt it, and, as they fmk to the bottom, cannot eafily be taken away without drawing off the water, which be- fides its ofFenfive fmell doth, by its foul- jiefs, diminifh the luftre of the filk. CHAP. IX. Some further hints for the improvement of reeling the f Ik from the pods, I AM inclined to think that a method might be contrived, for reeling filk from the pods, nearly as advantageous as wind- ing in the crofs, and fubje6t to fewer in- conveniencies. Mr, O F S I L K. 267 Mr. Vaucanfon fays, that filk reeled in the crofs has an appearance as if it were twirted J that this can be no more than an appearance I think requires little proof, for the end of the filk-thread at the reel and at the pods may be fuppofed fixed, and therefore any twill which is given at the place of crofling, goes off as foon as that part of the thread has pafled the crof- fing ; it can no more remain than if one fliould fallen any flretched thread at its two extremes, and then twid it in the middle between the finger and thumb, as foon as thofe are withdrawn the thread untwifts. The real advantages of crofling are the wringing out the fuperfluous moiflure, and the comprefTion of the thread, where- by it is rendered more compa6l : the incon- venience attending this method is the fre- quent breaking to which crofs'd threads are fubje6l. I leave it to experience to deter^ mine whether the following method will not procure advantages neaily equal to thofe which arife from winding in the crofs without its difadvantages. Let a flender fquare pole of about three or four foot long be fixed perpendicular in the 268 THE CULTURE the forepart of the reel's frame, jufl be- tween the two flop-wu'es. At the top of the pole let an ivory pully of about one inch diameler turn upon a fmooth wire- phi fixed in the iide of the pole ; and let another puHy of the fame kind be placed in the fame fituation ne.ir the bottom of the pole. Thefe pullles iTioald have a groove formed to the angle of an equila- teral ti'iangle and fmoothly polifiied '-, they Ihould alfo be formed with a liti^s round navel at their center to keep their Jiat from rubbing againil the pole. The pole ftands in a round hole, and can be dra/vn out as occaiion requires, or turn'd awry. See Plate II. Fig. III. Now when the filk-pods are to -be reel- ed, the thread after having paiTed the flop- wire is conda6led over the upper pully, then under the lower one, from hence to the guide-wire and then to the reel. By this method the len2;th of the thread from the cauldron to the reel may be increafed to what degree you think proper, viz. either by having a longer pole, or by having two pullies above and two below, and fo mak- ing the thread pafs up and down over them. By thefe means it may have fifteen or twenty foot fpace to run thro*, and fhake O F S I L K. 269 fliake off its fupeifliious molflure, which will be further promoted by the preffure which it fuffers in pafTing over each pully -, this prefTure will at the lame time help to make it compa6l ; and the groove of the pullies being the angle of an equilateral triangle will throw it into a figure which by the time it arrives at the reel will be fufficiently round : yet this roundnefs is not only to the grooves moulding the thread into a compa<5l figure, but to a caufe lefs apparent which is this : the plane of the pully fliould not be exadlly parallel to that of the thread by which means the thread will always roll a little on the fide of the groove, and fo will receive a fmall twift as it approaches to, and as it leaves each pully. That this theory is alfo true in fa6l, you may eafily prove by itretching an untwif- ted filk-thread on two pinsj if you then rbll one of the above-mentioned pullies along it, holding its axle between your finger and thumb, you will perceive that any fmall particle of down, which you may fallen to the thread, will begin to turn round as the pully draws near it, provided you give the pully a very fmall in- t-o THE CULTURE inclination, and do not keep its plane ex* a6lly parallel to the thread. The fmall twifl which the thread fufFers as it approaches the puUy has this further ufe, that it fecures the ends of the frefh pods which are continually added, from the hazard of fticking to the pully, and fo of being ftripped from the main thread and v/inded round the pully ^ and this will be more effectually prevented if the thread is made firil to pafs over, and bear a little upon a fmall wire hook placed within an inch or fo of the upper pully ; for then the whole twift will be confined to that part which lies between the hook and pul- ly, and will thus fecure the end juft where there is a neceffity : but without this hook the twifl would be fpent over the whole length of thread which lies between the pully and the flop-wire, fo that it would be but very little in any one part of that length. However, there will be no occafion for the hook unlefs it is found by experience, that the end is apt to catch and flick to the pully, which in my tryals I have not found. I mentioned before that the groove of the pully fliould be very fmooth, by which I chiefly mean the very QdgQ of the angle where OF SILK. 271 where the thread refts ; I don't know whe- ther there can be a better method of effect- ing this, than, after the angle of the groove is formed in the turning-lath, to ufe a piece of the fineft flqel-wire, as fmall as a hair, ftretched on a bow, which being held againft the angle of the groove, while the lath turns the pully, may take off any roughnefs, and alfo make the edge of the angle, inffead of being quite fharp, fome- what approach to a circular form, which may be of ufe to the thread that runs in it, which from puUies thus regulated will at leaft not receive that fiat form which it did in the old method of reeling over the bobins. CHAP. X. Of dijhanding the filk from the reel, and tye^ ing it up in fkaim : the ufe of the fofs-filk, WH E N a fufficient quantity of filk is on the reel and you intend to to take it off, there fhouid feem to be no great room for much inflru<5lion. Yet here I fhall take occafion to mention fomc 2 things 262 THE CULTURE things which will be found ufeful, even lit this bufinefs. One cannot confider attentively the man-* ner in which the filk is reeled from the pods, without obferving that the fmgle filk- hairs of which the thread is compofed, are liable to fufFer very different degrees of ftretching as they are winded from the pods. If the balls are not forted well, this different degree of extenfion will be the greater, and, even when they are fort- ed, they muft ftill be fubjedl to different Itretching, becaufe fome are a little longer in the water than others and therefore give their fiik eafier j and alfo becaufe the weak latter end of fome pods wind off with the flrong firfl part of others. rt The hairs being thus flretched unequal- ly, will occafion (when the fkain is taken from the reel too fuddenly) thofe hairs which are mofl: ftretched to contrad: more than the others, by which their union will be in fome meafure deffroyed, and the thread compofed of them rendered lefs compa6l and firm, the fingle hairs appear- ing in fever al places disjoined from one another. OF SILK. 273 To remedy this the ikain fhould not be fuddenly taken from the reel, but remain there till the unequal extention which it fuffered in winding is by the ftretch which it undergoes on tlie reel brought nearer to an equality, and till the thread by being well dried has its hairs firmly united. This would be beft effe(5led by having two reels, and when one was filled they might im- mediately proceed to wind upon the other. That which has the Ikains being taken off its frame fliould fland in the fun, or at a moderate diftance from a fire till the other is filled with filk, and this is again want- ed. This v/ould alfo prevent delay as the Ikain might be taken off, and the reel made ready by a perfon not employed in thb reeling. When the fkain is finiflied there fliould fomc mark be tied to the end of the thread, otherwife it may be difficult to find it, if it mixes among the threads of the fkain. When the Ikain is quite dry, and you proceed to difband it from the reel, you mufl firfl: fqueeze it together all round, by which it will become loofe upon the bars, becaufe its threads were all laid obliquely on by the guide-ftick ; then, with a piece of T twine 274 THE CULTURE twine made of the refufe filk, make a tie juft on that place where it bore up- on the bars of the reel : then flide it off the reel, and make another tie on the part oppofite to that where you made the firiV j after which you muft double it, and tie it round near each extremity, and then it may be laid up for ufe or fale. rx^ As to the flofs filk which was on the outfide of the pods, it is fometimes carded and fpun on the wheel ; as is alfo the inner bags of the filk pods, thefe being firfl foftened in boiling water. And fometimes the flofs is reel'd without twilling, being drawn out by the finger into a coarfe kind of thread, ferving for the woof of ordina- ry filks ', but this and the further manage- ment of filk, with the various manners in which it is thrown, and prepared to be woven, do not come within the fcope of this Treatife. C HAP. OF SILK. jt75 CHAP. XL Borne additional obfervations on cleaning the hurdles from tki litter made by the Silk-f worms, THOUGH fome directions for keeping the filkvvorms clean, have, occafion- ally, been interfperfed through thisTreatife, yet it may not be amifs to give them a particular place here ; both becaufe the. cleaning of the hurdles is abfolutely ne- ceflary to the health of the worms, and alfo becaufe, when they are grown large, it makes a principal part of the labour which is beftowed on them^ for, as the leaves are gathered and brought home by particular perfons allotted to that bufmefs, fo almofl the whole of their v/ork who at- tend on the worms confifls in feeding, cleaning, removing, and occafionally fe- parating thofe which do not ficken at the fame time. Till the worms have paflfed their third moult, or ficknefs, the trouble of clean- ing them is very fmati j for till they have pafs'd their fir ft moult, which is fix or eight T 2 days 276 THE CULTURE ; As there is no neceflity for cleaning away the fibres from under the filk worms till they have palTed their firil ficknefs, fo long as it remains free from moifture or mould- nefs, fo neither will there be any necefhty to clean them again, till they have pafTed their fecond moulting, fo long as you per- ceive it to remain tolerably dry -, but if there is a large heap of fibres, and you perceive them to have grown damp and mouldy, you may thin it as much as you think proper by taking away the under fibres, which will generally come off in flakes ; if you perceive many worms buri- ed and invelop'd among thefe fibres as you take them off, you may conclude that you have either given too much leaves when you fed them, or that they have not been all hatched at the fame time, by v/hich means fome became fick, while the reft were in a feeding ftate ; and fo the firft not- being in a condition to get upon the frefh leaves were buried under them and ftarved. You may readily take the worms off the cake of fibres when it becomes moift, by rol- ling a handful of hay between your hands T3 till 278 THE CULTURE till its fibres become entangled in one ano- ther j then fpreading it out and flattening ity it will become a fort of net- work i lay this over your young worms, and ftrew the frefh leaves over it, and when they are come through it, and have fixed upon the leaves, then Aide a very thin Ihovel of board, or pafte-board, having a handle like a wool-card, under the hay, and, tak- ing it off the cake of old fibres, Aide it with the worms from off the Ihovel upon a clean part of the hurdle : you may very readily infinuate the (hovel under the hay ■«ivithout incommoding the worms, if, while you raife the hay with one hand, 3^ou by de- grees thruft the fhovel gently under it with the other. You may let the worms be a little hungry, by falling a little longer than prdinary, before you lay the hay over them, that they may the more quickly come up through to the frefli leaves which you give them. And therefore, that you may lofe as little time as poffible, when you have fpread the hay and leaves over one parcel of worms, you may proceed and do the fame to another, and (o on to all the different parcels which you have, by which means the firil which you fed vi'ili be get- ting O F S I L K. 279 ting through to their leaves while you are managing the others ; foi* the hay and leaves Ihould remain a good while on the cake of old fibres before you remove them, that you may give the worms time to get on the frelh leaves ; fmce it is trouble- fome to colle6l the odd fcattcred worms which remain after the bulk of them is taken away, for if any remain you muft pick them up, with the fibres to which they flick, and fo lay them among the V Befides what I have already mentioned:^ you will find that if you, now and then open and raife the cake of fibres with a hooked wire, it will contribute to keep it dry, by giving admiilion to the air and caufuig the litter of the worms to run off. And thus to clear away their litter aftej" each moulting may fufHce for the keeping your filkworms clean until they have paf- fed their third ficknefs, during which time they lie in a narrow com.pafs and are eafi- ly managed ; for the worms neceffary to produce twelve or fifteen pounds of filk may, when firfl hatched, lie on the fpace of a foot fquare nearly, and thefe, by the time they have arrived to their firfl moult, v,' T 4 may 28o THE CULTURE may lie on a hurdle containing about fix fquare feet, at which time they will be about eight days old j two and an half of fuch hurdles may contain them at their Jecond moulting ; eight at their third ; feventeen at their fourth moulting, and fifty when they are ready to fpin : by which allow- ance you fee they will take up about three hundred times the fpace which they did when firft hatched. You may continue to (hift and clean the worms by means of the fhovels before mentioned until they have paiTed their third moult j if you keep them on the hurdle in fuch difi:in6l parcels as may be taken on a Ihovel ; otherwife you may, fhift them by the hand, the method of do- ing which may be thus j when you give them frefh leaves, and they have got upon them, take away the leaves with the worms which Itick to them, and place them up^j on loofe flraw fpread on a clean hurdle, and if any worms remain upon the old fibres pick up the fibres to which they ad- here, and place them among the reft. This I think is better than (as fome ad- vife) to fcatter a few frefh leaves, and wait till the odd worms which remain have got upon OF SILK. 281 upon them, for bcfides the wafte of time, the worms will often not get upon thefe frefh leaves but lie upon the hurdle while they eat them, fo that you might wait a long time before you got them all fliifted. When you have a number of hurdles to clean, flrew frefh leaves on as many hurdles as you think proper, and by the time that you have ftrewed them on the lafl, the worms will have got upon the leaves of the firfl. Then begin and take thefe off and place them upon a clean hurdle, and then after clearing away the litter and fibres of the hurdle from which you firfl removed the worms, it will be ready to put others on, and in this me- thod proceed till they are all cleaned 3 by which means one fupernumerary hurdle^ will ferve for cleaning all the refl, and the laft clean'd will remain empty of worms, being the fupernumerary hurdle with whicff you are to begin your next cleaning. ;J''^^^^ '"For the greater eafe of fhifting*^- tliS'J worms, the two hurdles fhould be takeri'7 from the fland^ and laid near one another _[ on a table, or fquare frame, wliich may be renloved from fland to fland aS'ydtl'^ The have oceafion to clean them. ' -^ ^^'- "^^ 2^2 THE CULTURE The reeds, or other materials of which the hurdles are made, are fuppofed to be placed fo clofe that, after their third moul- ting, little or none of their litter can fall through, leaft it fliould incommode the hurdles which are placed below one ano- ther on the fame Hand. When the reels are placed as clofe as they can be it will not hinder, but that there will be fufficient crevifes for the air to pafs and dry the fibres ; but if the worms lie upon boards, there will be alw^ays a great deal of moif- ture, for want of the free accefs of the air, and they will often require cleaning. Before iheir third moulting, the litter they make is fmall and moflly runs down among the v/ithered fibres, therefore till their third moulting it may fufHce, as I have faid, to clean away the litter and fibres once after each moulting, efpecially if the wTather is moderately dry, and they have eaten their meals clean, leaving no- thing but the fibres, which fibres you may raife up here and there with a bodkin to make them lie open, and let the litter fall down. But if it is clofe fultry, and moif- tifh weather you fhould clean them often ; for heat and moiflure coming together arc the OF SILK. 283 the great caufes of putrefaftion, and confe- quently of diflempers -, but never offer tO; clean them while they are m then- moul-^ ting ficknefs, for it is then very detrimen- tal to diftmb them -, yet at other times, when you find them come lazily on the frefli leaves, and eat languidly, it will be ufeful to make their hurdles clean at that time in order to excite and roufe ttiem. But the great bufmefs of cleaning is from their fourth and laft moulting, to their time of fpinning containing about ten days, they will then require to be cleaned every fecond day, or oftener, otherwife their ht- ter, being nov/ in great quantity, will foon create moiflure and mouldinefs, and in- fedl both the leaves and the worms. Whatever contrivance can now be found to lighten the frequency of cleaning them would be of great ufe : it is very obferv- able that at this age, their bodies being very heavy, they frequently prefs down and flatten great part of the frefh leaves, and that, after having lain on them, they feldom care to eat them 3 nor indeed can they readily get at them, while thus cover'd with worms and flattened to the hurdle : this occafions both waile of food and in- 6 creafc 2^4 THE CULTURE creafe of litter, therefore if any light dr5r materials, fuch as the withered fibres of rape or muflard, were fpread on the hur- dles (or framed in fuch a manner as 1 fhall hereafter mention) fo as to form a contex- ture very loofe and open, about an inch or more in thicknefs, which I fhall call bedding, this will help to keep the leaves in fuch' a fituation as to be eafily and wholy eaten, and will alfo prevent the worms from lieing among the litter which they make ; for though, when they were young and fmall, the fibres of the leaves formed a bedding fuflicient to fupport them, yet at this age they fcarce leave any fibi^es of the mulberry- leaves uneaten, and thofe are too weak to fupport their weight. If you drefs their hurdles in this man- ner their litter will roll down through the bedding and be received by the hurdle which, Las formerly directed, is woven ft> clofeas not- to let it pafs, and it may be cleared av/ay by. fhifting the bedding with the y^orms upon -it, in large quantities at -a time, upon, a clean hurdle, and then :fhaking-the litter off the othg**.* yd ,HM -/iThis: bedding "may be much "improved mi convenience, uby:^ fixing.it:in a flight 2L.j::,_,.;„.:i. . ..; ?.dj 3U3 d:\r-v ;^'- . fquare Yih i6-st.il ^T OF SILK. 2^^ Square frame, fo as that it may be all at once taken off the clofe hurdle when you intend to dean it : thus four reeds about the tiiicknefs of ones finger being notched and tied together, as dire6led in forming the rim of the clofe hurdle, and having fome fmaller twigs faftcned acrofs it, fo as to divide the fpace into fmall fquares of about fix inches, will make a fufficient fupport for the bedding, which may be fpread upon it fo as to lie about two inches thick, but fo loofe and open that the worms might pafs through the interftices. The outfide flraggling fibres may be confined within the verge of the frame by a ftrip of thin matting going round, which will -^Ifo form a ledge, and confine the worms. 3f^ Now ii -3 bedding may either lie upon tlie clofe hurdle, fo that both may be tak- en off the ftand together when you v/ould fhake off the litter, or it may be fupport- ed on the ftand by four nails of its own, while the clofe hurdle is likewife fupport- ed clofe under it by four others proper to itfelf, by which means you may take it away and (hake off the litter without mov- ing the worms. In order to take away the clofe hurdle with eafe the two fartheft nails that 286 THE CULTURE that fupport it, flioald have no heads, and the two fupports in front may be hooks moveable on a nail, which hooks being drawn back, you can lower the front fide of the clofe hurdle and fo take it away ; for, without thus lowering it, it would rub againft the bottom of the bedding, and might hurt fome of the worms which happened to lie low. Inflead of the flicks which fupport the bedding in its fquare rim, packthread may be tied acrofs to an- fwer the fame purpofe ; or nets with meflies five or fix inches fquare may fup- port the bedding, and may be placed on the nails in the ftand by two ftiff reeds run through the meihes of the oppofite fides. And here, by the way, a good me- thod occurs of taking the young worms from off their litter and fibres when there is occafion. Thus Plate I. Fig. VII. fup- pofe you intended to remove all the worms which lie on a hurdle half a yard fquare, to a thin light piece of lath A. fomewhat more than half a yard long, fix feveral fmall threads b. b. b. at about two inches difiance, the threads fiiould be fomewhat more than half a yard long, and fiiould have fingle knots tied near their extremi- ties, O F S I L K. 287 ties, which are to catch and hold them ftietched in the nicks of a thin lath E. or between wires bent and fixed in a lath, as reprefented at C. the lath lliould be of the fame length as the oth^with as many nicks, or divifions made by the wire d. d. d. and at the fame diflance as there are threads fixed on the other, into thefe nicks flip the knotted end of each thread, and, ftretch- ing them between the two laths, lay them over the worms 5 then make a veiy thin open bed of bents or hay, and lay it over the threads and worms j upon this bed ftrow their leaves, and when the worms are come through the hay, and are fixed on the leaves, remove all together by means of the two fticks ftretching the .threads which lie under and fupport the bedi and when you have placed them on a clean hurdle flip the knotted ends of the threads out of the nicks, and, taking hold of the other flick, draw away the threads foftly from under the bed, and ufe them in the fame manner for removing other worms, or for difpatch you may have ^ good many of thefe threaded laths. jj; Thefe things are fomevvhat tedious and ,jtroublefome in defcription, but of very 288 THE CULTURE eafy performance j and, according as they are found ufeful, may be varied anc^ im* proved in difcreet hands. Some might think that fmall nets would do as well as thefe thready which I have defcribed above j but if it is confidered that the meihes of thefe would never allow them to be drawn away with eafe, and that befides they would be liable, in drawing away, to lay hold of fome of the worms and cut them, then it will eafily be ken how much this method is preferable. With regard to the bedding which I was mentioning you muft take notice, thattho* flifF fibres, or perhaps flraw, may ferve for grown worms, yet when they are young light bents or hay is fittefl:, always proportioning the flifFnefs of the beds to the age of the worms, and making it fo loofe and open that they may eafily pafs through it. In the large hurdles, that are thus bedded with flraw, you may flretch two or three firings over the flraw to keep it in its place, if you fhould have occa- iion to turn the frame upfide down to fhake off any leaves or litter that lie on it. If you ufe flraw for the bedding, and the weight of the worms fliould prefs the flraw OF S i L fc. 28c^, ftraW too clofe, you may now arid then fork it up to make it lie loofe and open. When you ufe the forenlentioned bed-^ dings of hay or fibres, &c. you need not clean the clofe hurdles Ader them till you find the litter is lo thick as to hinder the air's pafling freely through their crevifes, fo that by this method you will be eafed of a good deal of labour, and the worms will lie clean, and clear of their litter, neither will they fo much croud one another, the thicknefs of the bed afford- ing them more fpace to lie in. It will be ufeful to have a broad fhallow bafket, made ^o clofe at bottom as not to let the litter pafs through, upon which you may lay the clofe hurdles to beat off the litter, and fo convey it out of the room ; for if it were fpilled on the floor, and trodden under foot, it would become very noifome j when you replace the clofe hurdle, after cleaning, turn the under fide of it next the worms, becaufe it will be the moil: dry and fweet. The more open and buflw fuch materials are of which you make thefe beds, the more they will refemble the branches of trees, among which the worra feeds in its natural (late ; it mufl however, U be 290 THE CULTURE be remembered that at the lafl tune of clean- ing the hurdles, when the worms are ready to Ipiji, the beds fliould be taken away, otherwife they will make their pods among the ftraw or ftl|^s, where their littei* would foul them, ana there would be a lofs of filk in drawing away the pods ; therefore, at that time the worms muft be laid on the hurdles, without any bedding under them. Thus far it f^emed to me neceflary to enlarge on the fubje6l of keeping filk- worms clean in a detach'd chapter, that I might not too much interrupt the method and order of the book ; and I thought it a fubje<5l too material to be omitted, even tho' only one ufeful rule of pra6life were iuggefted by the whole chapter. Among fuch a multiplicity of precepts and obfervations, fome things may poffibly have efcaped my attention > one at prefent occurs which is, that an equal continued degree of warmth is what filk worms beft thrive in, and this degree is about the eighteenth of Reaumur s Thermometer, and fixty feventh of Fabrenhaifs, for filk- worms will without any detriment bear fome variation above and below this de- gree. I fliall only juil mention one thing more. OF SILK. 291 more, and then with a few queries pro- pofed upon it, put an end to this treatife. The Chineje are faid to give themfelves no more trouble, in many places, than barely to hatch the worms after which they place them on the mulberry- trees, where they feed and make their pods without the trouble which attends keeping them in houfes. It fliould be inquired whether this is fa6t, and then How do they preferve the worms from birds, fnakes, lizards, ^c .^ Doth the weather never injure them ? How are the injuries of the weather pre- vented ? y"! Will any climate in our colonies allow of fuch management ? May not low fhelter'd hedges of mul- berry-trees anfwer beft for a trial of this ? May not fome cheap covering be found or matting formed like a pent-houfe to defend fuch hedges from perpendicular rains of ? May not the attendance of a boy be fufficient to keep off birds, lizards, ^c. can dogs, or hawks be trained, or ftation'd for this purpofe ? Will not hedges be pretty well fheltered from winds by large trees planted proper- U2 ly. 292 THE CULTURE, ^iT. ly, and from rains which .drive with the wind, by making them run in length parr- rallel to the dire6lion of the moft rainy winds ? Is it not worth while to make fome trials of this fort, in our colonies, where hands are fo much wanted ? ^<*^ IN. .::c INDEX. AG ES of the Silkworm, how diftlnguifhed, 122. Air, its influence on Silkworms 22o> 221. Me- thod of fupplying frefli air 222. America, its climate proper for Silkworms, 2, 3, Ad- vantages of filk in the colonies would exceed thofe of tobacco 3. Animals not naturaliz'd immediately to ditterent cli- mates. This true of ftlkworms i. Breed of Silkworms, on its degeneracy 204. f An ex- periment propofed to improve it 206. Another ex^ periment of .curiofity propofed 209. Chryfalis the fecond form into which the Silkworm changes 176. Cleaning of Silkworms. How you are warned of its neceffity 143. The method of doing it in the l^ft age 147. An additional chapter on cleaning and removing the worms 275. Dreffing proper for mulberry-trees, 58. Diftempers of Silkworms from furfeit 218. From bad leaves 219, 220. From clofe air 221. Frpm moift air 226. From peftilential air 224. Dryed chaff its ufe in moift weather 227. England how far fuited to the culture of filk 4. Eggs of Silk-moths, what kind beft for England 2. To prevent their hatching 7. To choofe good ones 71, &c. Not more to be hatched than you can feed 72. Time of hatching them 73. A method to keep ;heni from hatching 75. How to manage when they I hatch 294 INDEX. hatch too early -jG. To procure food in this cafe 77. To manage the hatching in cold or moift wea- ther 78. The various methods of hatching 79, &c. thofe hatched at very different times not to be mix'd, and why 79, &c. They hatch in about three days 81. Should be wafhed before they are put to hatch 86. The method of management vi'hen the worms begin to come out 87, &c. New hatched worms fliould lie thick on the leaves 90. Small drawers proper to keep new-hatched worms 92. Six ounces of eggs how much filic they produce, and what attendance the worms produced from them require 154. How many lay'd by a moth 200. Their change of colour and goodnefs 200, 201, How to be feparated from the leaves v/here they were Isyed 201, and preferved till the enfuing fpring 20 2. Fibres of leaves not to be torn from the Silkv/orms 149. Food not to be crowded on Silkworms 125. Fruit of the black mulberry eafily bruifed 63. Fruit un- wholfom for the Silkworms 1 1 1. Gathering of mulberry-leaves. The direflion for it, 105. Hatching SUk worms eggs, its method 79. Heads of mulberry-trees, to cut them off is ^a.bad method 6c. Health of Silkworms, a fign to know it i 29. Hedges the bed: form for a mulberry plantation 52, 106, Inurudlions for planting mulberry-trees, many of them applicable to other trees 64. Inoculation of mulberry trees, black and white on each other 49. On trees of a different fpecies failed 49. ImperfecSlions of the Silkworms eggs 214. From Hop- ed perfplradon 215 Improvement of reeling, fome further hints for it 266,&c, Ladies ufe troublefome methods in breeding Silkworms 7. Layers INDEX. 29^ Layers to mife mulberry- trees from them 46. More certain of growth than cuttings 47. More lazy to ftrike root 47. Litter of Silkworms to prevent its falling on the lower hurdles 141. Lazy to fpin, how to manage fuch worms 166, 167. Leaves of the mulberry tree how to be gathered, J05, &c. Eafieft gathered from hedges ic6. Age of them fhould fuit the age of the worms 106. To keep them frefh 108. Provifton to be made of them in rainy v/eather 109. Bad leaves 110. Berries mixed with them, hurtful iii. Leaves not to be bruif- ed 112. Striping them downward doth not hurt the branch 112. Should be fliced for young worms 124. Difadvantage of ftrowing them too thick over the worms 125. Unwholfome leaves no. Moift weather makes Silkworms languid 226. Moulting of Silkworms 113. its final caufe 120. The flrft moulting is appearnce 130. The fecond 1340 The third 141. The fourth 145. Mulberry- tree, different kinds 11. Generals properties and ufes 1 3. White beft for Silkworms and why 1 3. Black fort will feed Silkworms 17. Different ways of raifmg mulberry-trees 19. Seed manner of fav- ing it 19, &c. fhould not be chofen from trees which were difleaf'd 20. To feparate the beft feed 21. The foil proper for the raifing and planting of mul- berries 25, &c. Hov/ to raife them from the feed 28, &c. Seed may be fown as foon as it is ripe in fome climates 30. Pafling in digeflion thro' foma animals, fprings up the fooner 31. Young feedlinTS much deftroyed by fnails 32. To prevent this ■^ -5. Crops of feedlings to mow 34. To encreafe the^ heat of feed- beds 36. Cuttings the method of raif- ing trees from them 37, &c. Autumn the beft tims 38. Hedges the beit form for mulberry plantadons 39. Cuttings muft be water'd well 41. and fhaded in great heat 42. Layers. Of railing mulberry- trees by them 46. Why "they don't piit forth roots ib quick 2^6 INDEX. quick as cuttings 47. Of more certain growth 47 How to wean 47. Suckers of mulberries. To raife trees from them 48. Root. Parts of, to raife mul- berries by them 48. Inoculation failed on trees of a different Species 49. Of planting out the mul- berry trees 49, &c. Beft done in autumn 51. The beft form of a mulberry plantation 52, &c. Its cul- ture and pruning for Silkworms, 58, Sec. For fruit 62. N. B. Laying down a whole old tree is called a ftool. Mulberry papyrific of Kaempher a very quick grower, is of the white kind, and ufed for Silkworms. It has been lately brought into England and thrives well. Mules point out a method for the true diftlndion of the fpecies in plants and animals 13. Moths the laft form in which the Silkworms appears. Defcribed 174. The time of their coming out 192. Manner of coming out of the pod 174. Manage- ment proper for them 192, &c. Females and males to diftinguifh 194. Method of coupling them 194, 195, How long they Ihould remain coupled 196. The reafon of it 197- Paper bad to let the eggs be lay- ed on 297. Wallnut leaves, or ruflies proper 297, 198. Each moth lays four or five hundred eggs 260. Males ufelefs after coupling 199. Figure reprefenting the woollen cloath, which is hung for them to be pair- ed on 203. The ufe of it 204. Occafion of this treatife being written. Preface, page i. Paper or linen bad, to let Silkworms lay their eggs on 198. Plantation of mulberry-trees the beft form for it 52, Planting out of young mulberry- trees 49. perfpiration of human bodies fufpedted to hurt the hatching of Silkworms e^gs 215. PeflilentiaTfiate of the air, whence it may arife, and afted Silkworms 224. Pods, Silk-pods or cocoons how formed by the worm 1C9. What kind of fubllance 170, 171. How foot! INDEX. 297 foon finifhed 176. How to choofe good ones fo^ breed 177, Sic. Thofe of male and female how diftinguiflied 178. How many to keep for breed 1 79, How to be kept for breed 1 80. Thofe which are to be reeled muft be prevented from being pierced 181. A computation of the filk contained in them 181. Methods of fioving thofe which are to be reeled 182. Stoved by the heat of the fun 183. Stoved by the heat of an oven 185. By fcalding water ib6. Prey'd on by rats and mice 189. Of forting them 177. The management of thofe kept for breed 191. Figure fliewing how they are kept 203. Reeling of filk-pods, a general idea of its manner 231. Reel, a defcription of the Silk-reel furnace, &c. 233. &c. Its improvement defcribed, 240, &c. Reel- ing in crofs [defcribed 242. Improvement in it de- fcribed 242, &c. Obfervations on it 245, Sic. Re- ferences to the figures of it 243, 248, Sorting the pods neceflary to eafy reeling 252, &c. The procedure in reeling of filk 255. The kind of water to reel from 2 5" 5. Reel with what quicknefs to be turned 257,, 258. The proper heat of the water 256. Silkpods not to be too much foaked in reeling, nor too little 259. Frefh ends how fupplyed 259. To know when to do it 260. The quantity reel'd de- pends on the fpinners expertnefs in adding frefli pods 260. Caufes of the fingle threads breaking 262. Caufe of the whole thread breaking 262. The pods are to be taken out of the water when the fpinner Jeaves ofi work 263. The turner of the reel his bufi- nefs 264. The heat of the water to be varied 265. Water to be changed 266. Some further hints for the improvement of reeling 266, &c. How to take the filk from the reel and tye it up in hanks 271, &c. Seafon proper for hatching Silkworms 71. Seed of mulberries to rai(e trees from it 27. X Silk- 298 INDEX. Silkworm?, a general brief view of their life 67. The place proper for rearing them 68. No leaves pro- per for them but the mulberry 73. Their four fick- nefs's or moultings commonly called fleeps 113. Times and appearances of each moulting defcribed at large 114, &c. The final caufe of their moul- ting 120. Time of moulting varies with the climate 121. The knowledge of their moultings very ufe- ful 122. The length and thicknefs of the Silk- worm after eack moulting 12^. Cafts not only its (kin but alfo its fcull at each moulting 118, 119. The eyes of theSilkworm 119. Jts breathing vents 119. Its life to the time of fpinning divided into five ages 1 22. The management of Silkworms