SILKWORMS.
“The proudest king
May thank the silkworm for his robe of state.”—Akenside.
The rearing and management of silkworms is an innocent and agreeable pastime both to boys and girls, and it is very interesting in many points of view. One fact is, that while the caterpillars of all the other tribes of moths and butterflies, when they have arrived at a certain state of maturity, show a restless disposition, and wander about and hide themselves in a variety of places in order to spin their cocoons, the silkworm, on the contrary, is content to remain stationary in the open tray or box in which it may be placed. After consuming its immediate supply of mulberry leaves, it waits for a further quantity, and when the period arrives for spinning its cocoon, instead of showing any migratory disposition, it seems to place itself with confidence under the care of man to provide it with a suitable place for its convenience and protection.
The silkworm is systematically known under the name of the Bombyx Mori of Linnæus, or the Mulberry-tree Moth, which in the winged state is of a cream colour, with several transparent bands of a darker colour across the anterior wings and a crescent-shaped central mark. The caterpillar when full grown is nearly three inches in length, and is too well known to our young friends to need any particular description. The eggs when good are of a pale slate or dark lilac colour; they may be purchased in Covent Garden market for about ten shillings per ounce; and care should be taken to obtain them of a proper colour, because those that are of a pale yellow are imperfect.
The silkworm when first hatched is black, and does not exceed in length one-fourth of an inch. The desire for food is the first symptom it exhibits of life, and at this period it is more active than at any other. When about eight days have elapsed after its hatching, its head becomes considerably enlarged, and it turns sick, refuses food, and remains in a state of lethargy for about three days. This sickness would appear to arise from the pressure of the animal’s skin, which has become too tight for the increased bulk of its body. Indeed, the very great difference in the size of the worm from the beginning to the end of the caterpillar state is so great, that Nature has furnished it with several skins, each of which it casts in succession.
The body of the caterpillar is begirt by twelve rings, which approach to or recede from each other according to its motion; there are nine breathing-holes on each side of the body, seven eyes on each side of the head, and two small orifices below the jaws, through which the worm ejects its silken filament.
The art of using this filamentous substance seems to have originated with the Chinese, and to have been discovered at a very early period, and the raw material was purchased by the Persians, Tyrians, and Indians for a long time before it was introduced into Europe. For many ages silk bore an enormous price at Rome, but about the middle of the sixth century two monks arrived at Constantinople from India, bringing with them the white mulberry and the eggs of the silkworm, which have since been reared in Italy, Spain, France, and other parts of Europe.