Essential Compendium of Sericulture

Merging and Turning the Baskets

"Merging the baskets" original: "He mian" (合緜) refers to the technique of placing two baskets face-to-face to flip and transfer the silkworms. This method is appropriate for the period from when the silkworms are newly hatched until their second molt; the process where a silkworm sheds its skin to grow. Because young silkworms have weak bodies, they cannot endure being manually handled or "stripped" from their bedding.

Once a layer of speckled chaff; rice or grain husks used as a protective bed has been used to create a partition, take a sheet of new paper and spread it over the surface of the silkworms the paper must be larger than the basket. Place an empty basket on top. Two people should then hold the two baskets together, pressing them tightly, and flip them over so the top and bottom are reversed. Then, lift off the original basket. Following the partition made by the speckled chaff, roll away the frass; the accumulated waste of silkworm droppings and leaf scraps. Immediately sprinkle a new layer of speckled chaff and cover it with the basket. The two people then flip it back upright as before.

One must take advantage of the momentum to rotate them smoothly; they must not be jolted, or the silkworm tray; the woven bamboo frame of the basket may be damaged. Then, remove the empty basket and the paper, and spread the silkworms out to ensure they are neither too crowded nor too sparse. There is also a method where two people stretch thick mulberry-bark paper tight and use it to cover the worms. Spread a cloth over the silkworms.

For fire silkworms; silkworms raised early in the season using supplemental heat, the merging method is also used, but without using speckled chaff as a divider. Instead, use threads to separate the layers. Use twenty or thirty threads, increasing or decreasing the number based on the quantity of silkworms. Tie one end of the threads into a single knot and spread them evenly among the silkworms. When it is time to flip and rotate them, simply lift the knot of the threads to remove the frass. Speed is the most essential factor in this process.