The Story of Silk

by Sara Ware Bassett

"GO ON TIPTOE"

"Now see how careful you can be in bringing in the moths. Go on tiptoe and move gently."

Slowly the pairs of greenish white butterflies were transferred to the papers. Scarcely one did more than flutter feebly.

"How long will it take before the eggs are laid, Mother?" inquired Pierre.

"From twenty-four to thirty-six hours—usually not longer than that. Each female moth will lay three or four hundred eggs."

"Shall we have room for so many?"

"Oh, yes," nodded Madame Bretton. "You recall how small they are—only about the size of the head of a pin."

"In the meantime what are we going to give the moths to eat?" asked Marie.

"Nothing. They are not hungry like silkworms. After they leave the cocoon they eat no food, and they will live but a few days after their eggs are laid. We must then gather up the sheets of eggs as quickly as we can, for if they are left exposed to the light and air they will hatch at once and then where should we be?"