Show lr FEEDING TIIE THI V BY LOUIS A llen IlEn TRANZI XI l 4 1 tl naw saw wp will go back and attend to thos those a little fell feil fellows os that we took from frold the po papers pers pens containing the cg eggs and placed upon other papers and attend atten Tto to their wants their first and almost only want wan is food there is ano one thing however ot of almost as much importance to their healthy existence exi tence that they do not want and that is they do novt no t want lantto to be too crowded or thick together for the first few days they require to be fed on the most tender leaves which should be begia given I 1 en to them directly from the tree perfectly fresh and only a few at a time timo re rei i moving them sr 3 often as the last gihei giver given consumed As thew ahe worms ornis grow older and stronger give them older and atno afro ngee nger les lea ves res but this rule should alf ways be most faithfully adhered adhe red rea to feed them buts but brt yew at a time rene renewing iving them as often athole athose last reven them are consumed if be strictly followed Y yon you ou will ne yeneo verco wilted or dried leaves lut tut but always frel fres fresn fresi hones honeg mes wes belore the worms there is but conety caption to this rule of fresh leave leaves s asi ani aap that occurs on the days of boulting moul ting wiep as before remarked they should have jo ashe ne there is no absolute invariable rule JS 9 0 exact ago when the several moult angs occur for tho the reason that thai the life of agthe ithe worm from the day 0 hatching to tho the Ir Tinning of cocoons depends in a greab T degree on the favorableness and uniform ii i f ty of the tho weather the frequency and reg 4 clarity of feeding with fresh food and tho the quiet ulet allowed ow them em while boulting moul ting thel tha different erbit varieties of df worms also vary as to td the period of their thein whole hole lives as well as tol the tho time timo betwee neach each moultine moul moui ting As asa al general rule however under circumstances the several mountings moul moui tings will occur aa follows the first ingul engulfing fung fing when about five days old the ad when ni nine ne days old the third when fifteen days old dac dag t the fourth when twenty two days old whenever the worm is about to commence bom mence boulting moul ting he leaves off batin eating Z attaches him self seif rigidly to the most handy thing he finds and stretches up his head as if in pain the fbi forepart elihia of his body increases increase an and the latter part decreases in size ana the whole body assumes a glossy appearance thus he continues to swell up about the headen head bead n til theold skin bursts and slips back I 1 to wards his tail ho he then crawls out ortho oid old skin a changed bein lookin shriveled and gaunt and hungry and nd at once begins for when care eare has been taken to keep the worms of the same age only together and they have been fed care eare carefully fulli and uniform 1 lyall kall the worms on the same paper or on t the 0 papers of the first days dayl s hatching batching will go through these several mountings moul tings at atthe the same time and so ortho second and ld third days hatching thus when ono one worm wants to to bo quiet and absolutely requires it so does docs every other one OHO on the same paper alid abid and consequently all are arc gratified no one crawling crawlin lin i over oyer or disturbing the oller other othen exp eap experience ri lea lep ce teaches that upon a proper separation wn pf af the several days hatching depends ai as much 6 as apon any tiny other thing the success of a feeding and consequent aue sue cess of ofa a crop of silk slik next to proper care in feeding often and on fresh food aud and keeping the worms of the tho same lame same samo afe ate ngo ago together tp gether it is im important octant as s intimated a above abote ove that they sho should nd ie properly thinned and spread out over oven greater surface as they grow larger they should have room so as not to bo be required to lie one the other too much this 1 is necessary for convenience in getting at their food and is very essential to the healthful growth and maturity odthe of the worm besides the exercise of judgement jud gement assisted assist bd by the appearance odthe of the tho worms themselves it may 03 b 3 well to be guided in thinning them out by the rules laid down in this chapter as to the space required for five live hundred thousand worms in the several ages to make this subject familiar I 1 will hero here stame state the space required for tu that number of worms in connection with the amount of food they will require dorcon for consumption during each of ortho the tho several ages dive five hundred thousand worms for the first age ago should be allowed one hundred square feet of surface and it is estimated that during this age or the f finst first fiva five days of taft existence they will consume one hun drand and twenty five pounds of leaves luring during 0 atie o second age or the next four days dams of air their lives they should occupy about two la indred kindred square feet of surface and will con COD consume anine Anane three hundred and seventy pounds of leaves dwing curing the third age from nine to finen fifteen days old they should occupy about four fout hundred and fifty feet of surface and will consume eleven dundr hundred ed and nifty fifty pounds ot of leaves during the fourth ago from fifteen v twenty I 1 anty two days old they should occupy eano vao thousand and one hundred feet of surface surf aft and will con samo three thousand four foul hundred and seventy nive five pounds of leaves during the fifth and last age from tv twenty etty enty two to thirty two days old the ago ol 01 going to tp din pin inning i g they should occupy tw tio thou th on sand five hundred square feet ot of surface and will consume nineteen thousand elgh hundred and seventy nive five pounds or shout about two thousand pounds or one ton per day making in all about twenty five tho the thousand u s ild pound sor twelve and one halftone half tons ofle ofie of leaves a v it will be seen by the above state statement mei at while the worms occupy but little space and anil eat cat but but little during the first half of their lives they spread out rapidly and eat voraciously during the tho last half consequently ly while the work of feeding and attending to them is light 11 during the first three ages or first half halt of their existence it becomes very considerable during the last two ages these considerations have led of late years in most countries where to economize labor is desirable to the adoption of what I 1 mr ir louis rouls prevost styles tho the california mode of feeding after the first two mountings moul tings when the worms begin to move about pretty easily instead of picking the leaves one by by one ono nom rm n om the tho tree and feeding them to the worms on a flat surface you take your pruning shears and horse and wagon and go into your which must be cultivated in dwarf ai arf form beginning at one side of the field and clipping off the strai straight shoots from each tree as you follow the iho rows back and forth throw them by ly the tho armful into the wagon till you have gathered the required quantity for one feeding and drive to the tho co cooney taking an armful of these branches you lay down four in the form 0 of a square on each paper containing worms the worms gather ather 0 along the branches and and devour the leaves yc aves frol from them the next feeding you 0 proceed in the same way laying in the branch branch each succeeding feeding ort oil those thao before laid on thus you build up A d little square pen for each cach collection of worms worm all through your tha worms work up from tho the stripped to mhd fresh branches and fifth in this is way they ar alq raised raided from tha flat surface where they ard necessarily in contact with their own omna offa offal and filth up into the air ahova it thil thi mode of feeding has lafa many ad advantages vantages I 1 both botis in the manner of cultivating the mulder mulberry rv trea tree in plantations as dwarfs to which chichi wh ichi lehi 14 has led and in the tue feeding of df the worms worm s firt firk because because yon ton can gather the tho food much easier and faster fater second you cani produce much more to the acre aero than by the old orchard style of standard trees and ands third leaven leaver thus grown on trees pruned back are more vigorous and contain more of the resinous substance from which the silk slik vessels of the worm are filled the advantages of thi asto feeding may be stated as follows follow st 4 F first the greater nici fici facility lity of handling a given quantity of food second the greater length of time timo the tho leaves leates thus adhering to the branches will remain fresh I 1 third it gives the worms a freer circulation of air keeps them clean and consequently more healthy and vigorous many beginners believe that the above mode of feeding is a nio modern dern invention to correct that false notion I 1 will state here that it has be been n practiced by Japa japanese breeders bleeders bre eders from time immemorial |