The history of silk, cotton, linen, wool, and other fibrous ... - Cd3wd.com

CHINESE MODE OF REARING' SILK-WORMS, ETC. 121
been gathered. It is surprising, however, to observe how soon
a tree in those dimates will recover its leaves in the summer or
autumn, after liaving been entirely stripped of them by a ty-
phoon or hurricane. Fresh plants are procured by cuttings or
layers, and sometimes from seed. When the trees grow too
old for the production of the finest leaves, and show a greater
tendency to fruiting, they are either removed or so cut and
managed as to produce young branches.
The principal object, in the cultivation of the mulberry, is to
produce the greatest quantity of young and healthy leaves
without fruit. For this reason the trees are not allowed to ex-
ceed a certain age and height. They are planted on the plan
of a quincunx*, and said to be in perfection in about three
years.
Mr. Barrow, who observed the management of the trees and
silk-worms in Che-kiang, confirms the usual Chinese accounts,
by saying that " the houses in which the womis are reared are
placed generally in the centre of each plantation, in order that
they may be removed as far as possible from every kind of
noise ;
experience having taught them that a sudden shout, or
the bark of a dog, is destructive of the young worms. A
whole brood has sometimes perished from the effects of a thun-
der-storm."
Some notion of the extent of the care required in the management
of the worms may be formed from the following ex-
tract, taken from the Chinese work referred to at the beginning
of this chapter.
" The place where their habitation is built must be retired,
free from noise, smells," and disturbances of every kind. The
least fright, makes great impressions on these sensitive crea-
tures ; even the barking of dogs, «fcc., is capable of throwmg
them into the utmost disorder.
For the purpose of paying them every attention an affection-
ate mother is provided, who is careful to supply their wants
« 111 gardening, the quincunx order is a plantation of trees disposed in a
square, consisting of five trees, one at each comer and a fifth in the centre, which
order repeated indefinitely, forms a regular grove or wood, viewed by an angle of
the square or parallelogram, presents equal or parallel alleys.
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