another, especially when this is done by sea, you inust order them to be put into a bottle, which ought not to be filled more than half full, that the eggs may not lie too close together, which might run the risk of heating them, and causing them to hatch. The bottle being but half full, leaves sufficient room to the eggs to be tossed upside down, by the motion of the vessel, which keeps them cool and fresh, and hinders them from heating. After putting the eggs into the bottle, let it be carefully corked; a cover of lea. ther put over the cork; and let that be sealed, to prevent any danger of changing the eggs. When corked and sealed, as above, put the bottle into a double case, or box of wood; not only to preserve the eggs from all damp from the sea or other ways, but also to protect them from too much heat, which would cause them to hatch. If the bottle is too full, the eggs will lie too close upon one another, and will in that case heat of themselves, and hatch, and consequently in both cases must be lost.

The eggs that are duly impregnated by the male butterfly are of a gray cindery color, which color they preserve till they are properly prepared for hatching. The eggs which are not duly impregnated are readily to be distinguished from this circumstance, namely, that after having been kept for some time they always continue to be of a yellow color; and I need scarcely add that all such eggs are good for nothing, and ought therefore to be thrown away. There is no distinguishing betwixt good and bad eggs, but by the change of color, after being kept for some time as above mentioned. One ounce of eggs will produce 40,000 worms; and so in proportion for a larger or smaller quantity.

The advancement of the season determines the time of preparing your eggs for hatching, as you proceed to that as soon as you observe that there is a prospect of having a sufficient quantity of food for your worms, by the advancement of the leaves of the mulberry. But, in order to be properly prepared for this work, you must begin a month before the usual time of hatching; first, to put your eggs in little divisions, from half an ounce to an ounce, which you must place upon a piece of clean white paper, upon plates, for example; and put those plates containing the eggs in a place a little warmer then where you had kept them during the winter; for example, if you have an alcove bed, place them upon the shelf within the alcove. Let them remain in that situation for the first five or six days; after which you must prepare some little chip boxes, perfectly clean and neat, seven inches long, four inches broad, and four inches high, and cover them on the inside with clean white paper, into which put the different divisions of your eggs, having a small box for each division, and place these boxes in a basket, upon a stool or chair, at the foot of your bed, making one of the mattresses of your bed go underneath the basket; and cover the basket on the top, first with some cover of woollen cloth, which pin close over it, and above that place a bed cover above all, so as to keep in the heat communicated by the mattress to the eggs; in which situation let them remain for six days longer;

after which increase the heat to 14° of Reaumur's thermometer, preserving that heat equal, night and day, by means of a little fire in some corner of the room at a distance from the bed. In the morning, when you get up, put a heater of one kind or other; for example, a tin bottle with hot water, or a foot stove, into your bed betwixt the sheets, and proportion that heat so as to equal the heat you give to the bed when you lie in it yourself, keeping up the same heat, as nearly as you can, until you go to bed again yourself in the evening. Having kept them in this situation for eight or nine days, you must then put your different divisions of eggs into little pieces of old linen cloth, which must be washed thoroughly clean for that purpose, as the least dirtiness in the cloth would prove prejudicial to the eggs: each piece of cloth should be of the size of a foot square; turn up the ends of the piece of cloth, and tie them with a bit of thread as near to the top or end as possible, by means of which the eggs will lie loose, and can be shook and turned from time to time, without untying the knot; replace these packets in the basket, and cover them up as before, turning and shaking the seed in the packets three or four times a day, that it may receive the heat equally. On putting the eggs into these packets, increase the heat to 14 of the thermometer, and keep up that heat night and day, as equally as possible: for which purpose have a couple of thermometers in your room for your direction. After the eggs have remained in the little packets for three or four days, increase the heat to 15°; and in four days more, if the weather seems settled and very promising, increase the heat gradually to 16°, visiting and turning the eggs from time to time as before.

When the eggs begin to turn white, and the mulberry trees are so far advanced as to be out of danger from cold winds or slight degrees of frost, increase the heat gradually to 1740, or 18° at most, to quicken the hatching of your eggs, and to make the worms come out as nearly at the same time as possible; but never increase the heat to more than 18°, because a greater heat never fails to push the worms too fast, and to render them red at their first coming out. When the worms are red at their first coming out, it is a sign the eggs have either been bad, or ill kept over winter, or overheated; that is, too much forced when laid to hatch. Worms of this color are good for nothing, and are therefore to be thrown away, to avoid the expense of feeding them, since they will never produce cocoons. When the worms are entirely black, upon their first appearance, it is a sign of their having been perfectly well managed, which gives great hopes of success.

When the eggs first begin to take a white color, put them into little chip boxes, and cover each box with a piece of clean white paper, pricked with many holes in it, to allow the worms to come through, taking care to inspect and shake the eggs from time to time in the boxes, that they may have equal access to the heat; and, when the worms are ready to appear, put a few mulberry leaves upon the paper, to which the worms will readily attach themselves as they

come out; and, by means of the leaves, you can easily take out the worms as they appear, in order to put them into different little boxes; and then give them some of the tenderest leaves, cut into small pieces, to feed on, giving them at the rate of three meals each day. As the leaves when very young will dry so much, even in an hour's time, if exposed to the open air, as to be unfit for the use of the young worms, you must put them into a clean glazed pot; but take care to place them loose, that they may not press too much upon each other; cover the head of the pot with a wet linen cloth, and place the pot in a vault or cellar (or, in case you have none, into the coolest part of your house), by which means the leaves will keep fresh and good for two or three days together. Besides, you must take care to have always in the house at a time a stock of leaves sufficient at least for three days' provision for your worms, to secure you in food for them during such length of time, in case of wet weather, as nothing is more pernicious to the worms than giving them wet leaves for their food; for which reason be careful never to pull the leaves when wet, either with rain or dew, except on absolute necessity; and in that case you must spread them out, and turn them from time to time with a long wooden fork, that the leaves may be perfectly dry before you give them to the

worms.

It may here be added that it is the general opinion, in France, that the leaves afford a more wholesome food for the worms when they have been gathered four or five hours, than fresh from the tree-and more particularly so if the trees grew upon any soil other than sand or gravel, because the keeping them so long so far diminishes the over richness of the leaf. The persons employed in pulling the leaves must be careful to have their hands clean, and free from every strong offensive smell, such as that of garlick, onions, or tobacco, &c.; and they ought to be particularly attentive not to bruise the leaves in pulling them.

When the worms are first hatched, keep each day's production separate by themselves, as it is of high consequence to have each parcel brought up as equal as possible, that all the worms contained in it may be in readiress to mount for making their cocoons at one and the same time, After setting apart separately the production of each of the first four days, what then remains of the eggs to be hatched may be thrown away, as these later worms are always found to be weakly, few of them completing their cocoons; so that the attempt to rear them is always attended with an unnecessary waste of leaves, besides the trouble they occasion to no purpose. When the worms are just come out, keep them in a heat not exceeding 15°; and even then there is no occasion to cover them by putting on the heads of the boxes, as it is better for the worms to have abundance of free air. But, if the weather should happen to prove cold, you must in that case put on the heads of the boxes at night, or cover them with a double napkin, taking care, however, not to let it touch the worms, for fear of hurting them; and take off the head of the box or napkin in the morning, when you give a

feed to the worms, as early as you can; at four or five o'clock, but not later than the last. In that early state the three different meals should be given to the worms at the distance of six hours from each other. When the worms are coming out they are not to be left scarcely a moment, as they ought to be gathered from the boxes as fast as they make their appearance; and, as this work goes on in the night as well as the day, it becomes a very hard task at that time. M. Marteloy, who always carefully attended to this particular himself, generally went to bed at nine o'clock in the evening during this critical period and rose again at midnight, which was quitting them as little as possible. But this great attention at this time is only requisite in large operations; for example a pound of eggs, or any quantity above it.

Before proceeding to the further treatment of the worms newly hatched, it may be proper here to give some description of the stage and baskets necessary for the carrying on of this culture, as these ought to be in readiness some time before they are wanted. The stage ought to be erected in a large room, with windows on each side of it, so as to be able to command a thorough air when necessary, the walls and floor of which should be examined with the strictest attention, in order to fill up every little hole or crevice that can give access either to rats or mice, as both these animals eagerly devour the silk-worms whenever they can find an opportunity for that purpose. In Languedoc and Quercy they make the stage six feet, but more frequently only four feet and a half broad, so that a person, by going first to the one side and afterwards to the other, may be able with ease to reach over the whole breadth, both for the advantage of giving the leaves to the worms, and for clearing away their litter more easily. At every nine feet distance, in the length of the stage, they fix a post in the floor of a height sufficient to support the roof, and to those posts they nail a piece of wood across the stage, which piece of wood serves to support the baskets to be hereafter mentioned which rest upon the cross-bars of wood at the two ends; so that these bars ought to be four inches broad, which allows two inches for each basket to rest on, as the baskets join the one to the other at the cross bars. The stage, being four feet and a half broad, takes two of these baskets to fill up its breadth. They make their stage to consist of as many shelves as the height will admit of, keeping at the distance of twenty inches from each other. The lowest table or shelf ought to be made six inches broader than the shelf immediately above it, that the lowest may project three inches on each side farther than the one above it; and so on in proportion with all the other tables or shelves; the uses for making this difference of breadth in the different shelves shall be afterwards particularly explained.

It has been already observed that rats and mice are extremely destructive to the silk-worms when they can get access to them; for which reason every precaution should be used to proFor tect them against such dangerous visitors. this purpose, therefore, the following one is ge

neath. Having thus taken up all the worms from that corner, and placed them above those adjoining to them, you then clear away the litter from that corner, and carefully sweep together, with a little broom of twigs or heath, all the refuse and excrement, which you must remove entirely before you replace the worms in their station; and in the same manner you must proceed with the rest, till you have thoroughly cleaned the whole basket.

During the third age make use of the leaves of such trees as have been planted out in the field, but reserve the leaves of your oldest trees for the fourth age, as these last leaves are reckoned the best for the worms when come to their maturity. Be attentive to cleaning away the litter as before directed, which, during the third age, should be done at least four or five times; and take care to clear away, from time to time, all dead worms the moment you observe them; and to throw aside also regularly all such worms as appear to be diseased, to prevent them from infecting the rest, which will happen if this article is not pursued with the strictest attention. All the worms which you observe to grow of a yellow color, and to have their skin shining, are strongly diseased, and must be immediately thrown away, for fear of infecting the sound ones. These diseased worms sometimes void a yellow liquid at the tail, and it often also bursts out at other places of their bodies. These must always be attentively removed the moment they are observed; but it becomes more essentially necessary before the worms enter into their third sickness, because at this time they become most dangerous, by voiding the yellow liquid above mentioned, which is poisonous to the worms, and exceedingly contagious; insomuch that every worm that happens to touch this liquid is sure to be infected with the same distemper, which has hitherto been found to be incurable.

It has been remarked that it is improper to change the worms during their sickness, because it may occasion the loss of some of them. But it is necessary to add that, if the litter at that time should prove to be in such quantity as evidently to run the risk of heating, before the worms can get quit of their old skins, which they generally do not accomplish in less time than two days and a half, it is better to suffer the loss of a few worms, by removing the litter at that time, than to run the risk of losing the whole parcel, which undoubtedly would happen if the litter should be heated before the operation is over of their changing their skins. This article of keeping the worms clean will appear to be of high importance in the silk culture, when it is added that it is commonly computed that the loss sustained yearly in France, by the death of the worms during the times of their four different sicknesses, by being smothered in the litter, by the great quantity of litter, leaves, and worms above them, and by the litter's happening to grow damp, and to heat at these critical periods, is not less, upon an average, than between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 of livres annually, which is equal almost to a tenth part of the whole yearly produce of silk in France, which is computed at 30,000,000 of livres.

Being now arrived at the fourth age, the time approaches when the worms will mount in order to form their cocoons; and the person, therefore, who pursues the culture of silk, must now begin to prepare for that important period. One of the first objects of his attention must be to provide himself with a sufficient quantity of small brush-wood, for making the cabins of the worms; and there is nothing more proper for this purpose than heath or broom, when either of these can be obtained; when neither heath nor broom is to be had, any other kind of small brushwood will answer, preferring always such as is bushy at the top, and whose twigs are of a sufficient strength to support the weight of the worms. But it is to be remembered that the slender brush-wood is the best, that you may be able to bend it which way you will. Strong brushwood is not so pliable, and by that means not proper for the purpose. Having provided your brush-wood, it may be proper to prepare a parcel of baskets, for such of your worms as are soonest ready for mounting, in the manner practised at Montauban, in Quercy, which is done as follows:-You take a round willow basket, which you dress with brush-wood, putting the wood round two-thirds of the basket, and leaving the other third open for putting in the worms, and to give an opportunity to clear away their litter. You then pull the ends of the wood together at the top, so as not to press too closely upon each other, and so tie them with a little twine or pack-thread, to keep them in their place; after which you put a paper cap, pretty large, upon the top of the wood, it having been found that the worms are fond of making their cocoons under a cover of this kind, as it affords an opportunity of attaching some threads of silk to the paper, which enables them to fix their cocoons the more firmly in their place.

In putting up the cabins, on the stage, the two rows of brush-wood at the extremities of the stage are made much thicker than the others, especially for six or eight inches above the shelf, to prevent the worms from getting out at the ends and falling over the stage. In putting up the other rows, you lay a little piece of wood, or a reed, across the stage for each row; and, in putting up the brush-wood, you make the first turn to the right hand, and the second to the left; and so alternately, keeping the reed in the middle, which binds all fast.

In dressing the stage with the brush-wood it is advisable to cover the pillars which support it, and to cover likewise the top of the stage with brush-wood. In constructing the cabins great care must be taken to put up the brush-wood in such a manner as to allow a passage for the worms between the different branches, which, however, must not be too wide; and it is right to make a great number of the points of the brush-wood touch the shelf, because it affords the greater opportunity to the worms to mount. Many people at Montauban put a number of roses, or other sweet-smelling flowers, upon the pillars which support the stage, and in other parts of the room, with a view to sweeten the air. But the best apparent means for this purpose is to take care to keep up a free circulation of fresh

air in the room, by keeping open all the windows, and the doors also, if you find that to be necessary.

In forming the arches of the little cabins with the brush-wood there is always a little opening at the top of each pillar, occasioned by the curve or top of the circle. Take care to make this opening pretty wide, because it has been observed that the worms make choice of that opening, by preference, to fix themselves in making of their cocoons. In order to make this opening of the width it ought to be, the brush-wood should not be altogether straight, but rather crooked or bending. These openings are not only evidently the choice of the worms; but another advantage also arises from them, namely, that your cabins by this means contain a greater number of worms than it is possible for them to do when these openings are too small, and consequently fewer cabins will answer your purpose. When the brush-wood is quite straight, it rust necessarily occasion these openings to be made. The brushwood ought to be quite stripped of its leaves, and perfectly dry.

If, in forming the cabins, you place the brushwood quite upright, the worms when mounting run a great risk of tumbling down; and those worms which tumble down are for the most part destroyed by the fall. In order to avoid this inconvenience, you must make the brush-wood which forms the sides of the arch slope a little, by which means you secure much firmer footing to the worms in mounting. Besides, when you form the cabins, you must be at pains to cut off all the very small slender shoots, which when left to themselves, and not properly bound in with one another, have not strength sufficient to carry the weight of one worm, far less of several; and which, if left, must for that reason always occasion the loss of a good many worms, by their tumbling down, as above mentioned.

In describing the stage, it was said to be proper to make the lowest shelf six inches broader than the one above it, that the lowest may project three inches on each side further than the one immediately over it; and to make the same difference of breadth in all the other shelves progressively as you go up to the top of the stage, which three inches of breadth in the different shelves is intended to receive the worms which may happen to fall from the shelf above. And therefore these different projections must be covered with brush-wood, when once your cabins are well furnished with worms, as this will help to break the fall of such worms as may happen to tumble down. And for the same reason it is advisable, when once your cabins are well furnished with worms, to put a little brush-wood in the bottom, and at the entrance of each cabin, as it will be of service to such worms as fall from the brush-wood above, and afford them a proper convenience for making their cocoons in case they should be so stunned with the fall as to disable them from mounting again on the branches.

But, to return to the treatment of the worms during the fourth age: as soon as you find several of your worms have got over their fourth sickness, you must pick them out and put them by

themselves; that is, all those that get over that disease for the first two days may be put into one parcel, those of the next two days into another parcel, and so on with the rest, that each separate parcel may be carried on as equally as possible. The most attentive care must also be given to clear away the litter regularly every day; and, if it can be done, it would be advisable to clear away the litter twice in the twenty-four hours, especially during the four or five days immediately before mounting. If this cannot be done, as it is often found to be difficult to get it accomplished when the quantity of worms is large, you must, however, constantly make it a rule to clear away the litter regularly in such a' manner as to prevent it at any time from increasing so much in quantity as to make it run the smallest risk of growing damp and heating, which never fails to destroy the worms.

Many people, during the four or five days which precede mounting, which the French call the grande fraize, are in the custom of giving from four to five meals a day to the worms, giving a large quantity of leaves at each meal. But it seems much more advisable to give them fewer leaves at a time, and, to repeat their meals oftener even to the number of eight or nine times in the twenty-four hours, according as you find them in appetite; by which means the leaves are more quickly and thoroughly eaten up, without occasioning so great an increase of the litter. But, what is of still more consequence, the fresh leaves so often repeated never fail to give a fresh edge to their appetite; so that, in fact, in the space of twenty-four hours, the worms actually eat up a much larger quantity of leaves than they could have done by following the other practice of four or five meals a day, as none of the fresh leaves are spoiled by their treading upon them. This practice of course hastens the worms to their full maturity, and upon the whole saves a considerable quantity of leaves, because few or none of them are lost amongst the litter, besides that the operation is by this means sooner brought to a conclusion, and the worms always kept in high health and appetite by it. Upon these occasions let it be a fixed rule to feed them at night immediately before going to bed, and as early as you possibly can in the morning.

There is another particular to which it is proper to pay attention, and that is, that, the moment a basket of worms is cleared from the litter, the litter should be instantly carried out of the room, and along with it all the dead worms you can find, in order to prevent, as far as you can, any bad smell from taking place in the room, which is always hurtful to the worms, nothing conducing more to their health than cleanness and preserving always good air in the room.

During the four or five days which precede the mounting, the worms eat with the most vora cious appetite, and in that period consume au incredible quantity of leaves; so that the supplying them with fresh leaves, and the clearing away of the litter, become at this time a most laborious, incessant, and fatiguing work for those who attend them. You will know when the worms are ripe by observing them with attention when you give them fresh leaves. Those that are ripe, in