Show SILKWORMS OF LEBANON they are cultivated in the mountain of tripoli harry fenn the artist has written a paper entitled silk and cedars for st nicholas describing his visit to tho famous mountains of lebanon concerning the silk industry which plays such an important part in the lives of the natives mr fenn says As the time approaches for the silkworm to hatch out tho egg the family move out of the house and camp under the treed giving up the entire establishment to the worms after having placed the eggs on shelves made of a bamboo at first the young worms are fed on finely chopped leaves but as they grow larger the leaves need only be broken in two the people have to feed and watch the worms night and day or they wander in search of food and get lost and in the silence of the night the sound of the worms feeding is like A gently falling rain the worms fast three or four times during this period and about 24 hours is the length of each fast A curious feature about their fast is their posture they assume the attitude of a cobra snake about to strike and remain rigidly fixed in that position for the entire period when they are ready to spin domall branches are placed on the helves and as the cocoons are formed upon them the dead twigs seem to bear golden fruit when the worms get through that part of the business the neighbors are called in something as to an old fashioned new england ap pie paring bee they call it etaf in Arabic that ia picking and soon yon ate piles of pale green pure white and golden yellow cocoons heaped upon the floor later they may be spun into banke but usually the cocoons are sent down the mountains to tripoli or da maacks and after their 30 or 40 days of toil they too often have to sell the produce for next to nothing aa the chinese an ready to undersell them another curious use mr silkworm is put to is to soak him in vinegar for bome hours after which he is drawn out into xo called catgut to asko snells w leaders for fishhooks |