TUSSAII, a silk cloth, prepared from the silk of a wild worm, and woven, in some districts in Bengal, into cloth of a fine description, much used for ladies' and children's dresses, and in most parts of India for native use, being worn by Hindus for certain ceremonies and while bathing. It is an article of export. In the Dekhan, the tussah worm-breeders are a elms quite distinct front the weavers, and are either Telingas of low caste or Gonda ; the former reside priocipally at Chilpore, Madapore, and Chinnore. At Madapore, which may be regarded as the centre and headquarters of the tussah breeders, there arc at least seventy faniilies. The tussah breeder never thinks of keeping up the breed of the insect throughout the year. 1VIten the leaf is off the tree about the middle of March, he deetns his occupation gone, and he leaves the object of his former excessive care to shift for itself, thinking of nothing- but the present ease, which may be summed up in a few words,—sloth, a bare subsistence, and an occasional debauch in his nectar, palm toddy. But with the rains returns his toil, and some little difficulty is experienced in procuring insects for a fresh campaign. If he can gather a dozen of promising cocoons, which his experience tells him are of females, he is quite satisfied. Carefully does he watch the bursting of the cocoon, and much c,are does he take of its winged inmate, having previously prepared for it a house of teak le,aves dried. Tile male is not tardy in approach ing. Itnpregnation takes place, the male dies, and in four days after laying her eggs, the feinale also. The eggs are in number about sixty ; of these one-half prove abortive, while the others are hatched in ten days. Tho small insect is fed on the tender leaves of the Careya sphmrica, and in six weeks spins its cocoon. The first brood are spared, and allowed to burst their cocoons to supply a sufficient quantity of ova for the tussah harvest. The same process as described is again gone through, with this exception, that the young worms are at this time fed on the leaves of the Pentaptera totnentosa, because those of the Careya spluerica are by this period of the season sup posed to have acquired some influence noxious to the insect. It is during the progreas of the worni from the egg to the formation of the cocoon that every energy of the tussah breeder is called into action for the preservation of his charge. Every auimal, footed, winged, and creeping, is said to be the enemy of the tussah grub. Ants destroy them, kites and crows prey on then), snakes devour them, and squirrels are said to make a repast of them. To protect them first from their insect enemies, the tussah breeder ascends the ' muddy ' tree (Terminalia tomentosa), the leaves of which aro the insect's food, every branch he carefully clears of the different species of ants by which they may be infested, preventing the access of others by surrounding the trunk of the tree at. its foot with ashes. The other enemies are kept off by shouting, throwing stouea, firing guns, etc. Their life at this time would appear by their own, account to be one of the most unremitting–toll, to devote themselves to which they forswear .not only every indulgence but every comfort ; and it rouses the apathetic peasant of Telingana to eloquenee when he recounts what privations .he undergoes, what pleasure he derives limself, and what incessant labour he incurs, while -watching the rearing of the worm; and the perfecting of its work. The tussah butterfly is a species of Saturnia; probably the paphia, described by Dr. Helfer as the most common of the native species., From four to five hundred of the cocoons are sold to the banya and weavers for one rupee ; the moth is killed by means of heat. There are three tussah harvests, one at the end of the rains, the other two in the cold. season. The .winding of the silk is accomplished by boiling the cocoons, separating the floss, of which no use is made, and twisting eight or ten filatures from as many cocoons on the middle of' the thigh with the left hand of the workman, and to be woUnd on the instrument. This instrument,.the middle bar of the wood, is held lightly in the hand of the work man, and made to move in a semicircle. An ounce and a quarter of silk is the average daily winding of a single workman. His wages are at
the common rate of one pice for winding the silk of fifty cocoons, about three pice a day, as he cannot wind more silk than from a hundred and fifty cocoons. The pice, however, are large, and go there by eight to the rupee. The only dyes used for the tussah silk, so far at least as observa tion or inquiry has gone,. are the flowers of the Butea frondosa and turtneric. By the former the usual familiar colour is produced ; by the latter, golden-yellow - is brought out after the threads are for some time inunersed in a solution of ashes. The warp threads are stiffened with rice congee. Tussah is made into the same, pun chee, and scarfs, at several towns of the Circar of Warangal. But in the Dekhan, the chief seat of the tussah manufacture is the town of Madapore, on the right bank of the Godavery, in the Ramghur Circar, where the moth that yields it is carefully reared, and from whence raw tussah silk is sent to other parts to be woven into cloth. The tussah cloths produced at Madapore are, in durability and fineness, very inferior to the cloths of the same kind manufactured in Bengal. They are dyed the same colour, and with the same materials as the silks, of which they are about one-half the price. The Saturnia, which is most commonly met with in Southern India, appears to be S. paphia. The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of the country ahnond tree, Terminalia catappa, whence it is often called the almond moth. It is also found on the leaves of the ber tree, Zizyphus jujuba, the casuarina, etc. The cocoons are in geniously attached to the twiggy branches of the zizyphus by a long stalk terminating in a ring, encircling the branch. It does not appear that silk in any quantity has been obtained from this source in the Madras Presidency. There, the only nee to which the cocoons appear to be turned, is that of a ligature for native match locks. They are cut spirally into long 'narrow bands,, with which the barrels are tied to the stocks. Considerable quantities of the small silk cloths worn byBrahmans at their meals are' inio= ported 'into the Northern Circars'from 'Cuttack. Dr. Roxburgh; hi the 7th vol.' of 'the Linnman Traniactimis, described the preparation of the tussah silk .of Bengal, derived there from two different species of Saturnia. One, called Bughy by the :natives of Birbhum, appears to be the same as the Madras species (S. paphia), and, is stated to feed on the ber tree and on the asana, Pentaptera glabra. The other, termed Jaru by the natives of the same province, is the S. cynthia, and is domesticated. The caterpillars are fed on the leaves of the castor-oil plant (Ricinus), whence it is called the arundy or arundi silk-worm, but it also eats the leaves of the zizyphus and Terminalia tomentosa. Colonel Sykes, writing in the 3d vol. of the Trans. Roy. As. Socy. Lond., on the cocoons of S. paphia found by him in the Dekhan, under the designation of the kaliswar silk-worm, stated that it is met with on the ber tree, Terminalia glabra, teak tree, and common mulberry. The Chinese tussah is said to be obtained from Saturnia atlas, which is also to be met with in Southern India. Another species of Saturnia (S. selene), the posterior wings of which are prolonged into a tail like process, is common in Southern India. The caterpillar may be observed feeding in consider able numbers on the Odina wodier, or Be-sharm tree, in February and March. Its chrysalis is enveloped in a silky covering, so like that of S. paphia that it would probably be found to yield a strong and useful thread. It might be worth while to direct attention to the silk spun by several smaller specimens of. Bombyx moths, found on different species of cassia, acacia, and phyllan thus. A gregarious caterpillar (a species of Lasiocainpus) may be observed clustering in great numbers on the stem of the guava, the jamoon (Syzygium jambolanum), and probably other trees. The silky covering of these also seems deserving of examination.—Tennent's Ceylon, p. 427; Dr. Walker in Madras Jour. Lit. and Science ; Jury Rep. Madras Exh.,' 1855 ; Mr. Rohde's MSS. ; Major Cuth. ; Davidson; 1?apport Science, Jury inixtelnternational, p. 54.. See Silk.