THE SECRETS OF SILKWORM CULTURE

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After the caterpillar has anchored its crude hammock, it will lie on its back, double up its legs, contract its body, and force the filament from within. The small spinner won't take the easy way out and weave Its womb in circles from one end to the other. Instead-with its head bobbing and weaving at a rate of 69 times per minute-the amazing creature produces a pattern of figure eights, layer upon layer, until its shell is formed.

You'll soon lose sight of the hearty worker but will still be able to hear it spinning until its complete supply of body fluids-so magically created from mulberry leaves-is consumed. If you could see inside the finished case, you'd find that the once-plump, three-inch-long caterpillar has been transformed into a shriveled-up pupa of about 1-1/4 inches in length. The entire spinning process takes about three days, and it's a show that beats the stuffing out of anything on television!

THE HARVEST, AND AFTER

While the tired pupa turns itself into a moth—a process that takes from ten days to two weeks—you'll have a decision to make: If you plan to raise silkworms again the following year, it'll be necessary to select some cocoons that will be allowed to complete their life cycles.

Naturally, it's necessary to choose a fairly equal number of males and females to carry on your line, and the best way to sex these critters is to take a close look at their protective envelopes. A male produces a structure that resembles a peanut slightly hour-glass in shape and somewhat pointed at the ends—while the "ladies" are most often found in larger, oval-shaped sheaths. Keep in mind that one moth lays from 300 to 400 eggs, and that 80 or 85% of those will hatch. Two dozen cocoons will, therefore (assuming that half of them contain females), yield enough "seed" to hatch about 3,000 crawlers.

The nests that you select as your "laying stock" should be removed from their boxes and set aside in separate, clean, dry containers. There's no trick to plucking the little silk houses from their moorings ... just tug 'em gently and they'll release. (Some waste silk will cling to the box and cocoon, though. Pull this material loose and save it, as it can be woven into a beautiful rough cloth called shantung.)

Traditionally, the rest of the cocoons which vary in color from light brown to creamy white ... with a little lemon and pale green thrown in—are harvested anywhere from seven to ten days after the caterpillar begins to spin. It's necessary to kill the pupas inside those nests that are to be used for silkmaking. (If you don't, the chrysalids will soon emerge as moths, and—during this process—the insects produce a solvent which destroys the continuous filament of the silk fiber.) The easiest way to accomplish this unpleasant but necessary task is to put the cocoons in a paper bag and place the sack in a 200° F oven for 20 minutes. Long exposure—at least six hours—to bright sun will also do the job.

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