Fundamentals of Agriculture and Sericulture: Volume 2

Spray Cylinder

The spray cylinder original: 噴筒 (pentong) is a device used for spraying water. It is constructed from a ring of brass, with a circular diameter of about six or seven fen approx. 2 cm and a length of one chi approx. 31 cm. A copper plate is fitted into the bottom as a base, with a fine slit drilled into it to serve as the passage for water to enter and exit.

Additionally, a slender, round wooden rod is used, which is about half a length longer than the cylinder itself. At one end of the rod, a short handle is fixed; at the other end, two or three layers of cowhide are nailed, sized to fit the cylinder perfectly. This rod is inserted into the cylinder and used to suck up and spray out liquid, functioning much like the mechanism of a bellows bellows An apparatus consisting of a flexible bag and valves, used here as a metaphor for the piston-like suction and pressure of the pump (original: 橐之鼓籥).. This allows the liquid to be sent to high branches or over a great distance. Whenever there are borer insects original: 蠹蟲 (duchong) on the mulberry trees, one must use this device to draw up medicinal water and spray it upon them.

Mulberry Shears

Mulberry branches must never be pulled or snapped by hand; they must be removed using shears. These shears are forged from steel and iron. The "head" (the blades) is one and a half inches long, while the "body" (the handles) is five inches long. The "shoulders" the pivot area should not be too wide, so that the tool is easy to grip and handle. The cutting edge must be extremely sharp. One must avoid shears that have "trapped ash" a forging defect where slag is caught in the metal, those that "chew iron" where the blades nick or roll when cutting, or those with "soft edges" referring to improperly tempered steel that dulls quickly.

Mulberry Stool