Silk Worm Farming:
Everyone knows silk worms get fed mulberry bush leaves. Here they are. They are short bushes which are cut back each season so they will grow new green shoots the next year. The farmer takes a load of branches to the house where the family will help pick off the leaves for the silk worms. The silk worms I'm told are fed three times a season. That accounts with the cut back shoots in the foreground. His plot was just big enough for two more harvestings of the same size as what has been cut already so probably true.
The farmer grow just enough to feed a small population of worms as a cash crop (see silk market).
Grandmother feeds worms. The back rack is for multiple layers of beds but she must be cutting back this year as only two tiers were used. (another not shown is higher. This small building was dedicated for growing worms and had two racks inside.
Bricks are laid on the floor so the worms don't get crushed. I'm told the worms are white for three days so I hit the right time.
The worms need a home which is usually a mulberry tree branch. To grow worms for silk you need a lot of branches. If their outdoors it could rain or the silk could get damaged so creating a home is required.
The homes are made from wheat stalks. The wheat is used to make a rope. Short stalks are inserted into the rope which is twisted to lock them in place making bristles stick out. The worm will go on the bristle and attach itself and spin it's cocoon.
Grandfather, two granddaughters and a grandson work together to make the silkworm home.
The wheat stalks are braded together while the rope gets twisted by the granddaughter.
After making the rope short wheat stalks are inserted into the twisted rope and the whole spun again to flare out the inserted stalks like a bristle brush.
The rope with inserts is twisted by the grandson as grandfarther walks down the rope when just enough twisting has been applied to rope.
The finished home is a long series of bristles on which silkworms will be placed. They'll attach and get to work spinning their cocoon.
Below are some silk cocoons. The gold cocoons are natural color and not dyed. The silkworm has been bred to produce pink and gold colored cocoons. These cocoons are special and were home grown by a young scientist.
The size on your screen is approximatly the actual size.
I left the cocoons in my desk and went of vacation for a week. When I got back the moth hatched and laid her eggs. I think this is the end of the line for the moth. She looks very beautiful but very tired.
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