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Sericulture
is Lucrative
Khilendra
Basnyat
The production of silk, which is called sericulture, was the
secret of china. The secret was kept for several thousand years.
In older
times, silk farmers and their family used to save the pupae and used them as food.
The little pupae are high in food value. Among the people who had little of any
meal to eat, these bits of insect protein were welcome. In more recent times,
the pupae have been saved and returned to the soil. They have also been used to
fertilize the mulberry trees.
In Japan,
during World War II, there was a great shortage of food. At that time, many
families used the silk moth pupae for food. They cooked in special ways and
used them to improve their diet.
Silk growers
today are India, Korea, Brazil, Turkey, Iran, Greece, France and Spain. China,
Japan and Italy lead in the production of silk. Japan, however, produces more
than the rest.
Silkworms are
kept mainly as a hobby or for scientific study. In countries where silk worms
are raised for commercial silk, the eggs are sold by ounce .There are about
40,000 eggs to the ounce. The silkworms from 40,000 eggs eat 3,500 pounds of
mulberry leaves. The cocoons from 40,000 silkworms weigh about 140 pounds. These
cocoons produce about 12 pounds of raw silk.
Actually, a
silk farmer with an ounce of eggs ends with twelve pounds of silk after several
months of day and night work by everyone in the family including the children.
It is amazing that silk comes from a little insect.