Silkworm raising, known as "silkworm watching" by the people of the sandy land, has a long history in the sandy land. During the Qianjia period of the Qing Dynasty, due to the diversion of the river road, the area of Zheshan, Nanyang, Hezhuang and Paradise that originally belonged to Haining was merged into the sandy land on the south bank and changed to Xiaoshan. Mulberry and silkworm cultivation have always been planted here, and it is called "nine miles of apricot flowers and ten miles of mulberry". Affected by it, the sand is full of sericulture. From the beginning of spring to the fall of autumn leaves, mulberry trees are green everywhere, and silkworms are busy.
Looking at silkworm families, there are mulberry gardens. The pond is lined with mulberry trees. The early mulberry varieties are fire mulberry, lake mulberry, green mulberry, Wanghai mulberry, red-top mulberry, etc., all of which belong to arbor mulberry and high ganmulberry. Mulberry seedling cultivation, mostly with the branch hanging method, that is, with a bamboo hook to hang the side branches, so that it gradually close to the ground, to the winter soil pressing, to spring will take root and sprout, can be cut and transplanted elsewhere.
The mulberry tree cultivated by the strip does not produce mulberries and does not bloom. When the tree is about two meters high, the main trunk is "broken", and the branches and leaves are draped, and it is very convenient to pick mulberry. If sowing with seeds, pick purple ripe mulberries in the beginning of summer, rub the seeds with thin muddy water, and pour them on the ground with water, and the seedlings will grow more than a foot in autumn. But this is a "grass mulberry", and it still needs to be grafted into a "glutinous mulberry" before it can be fed to silkworms. Each mulberry leaf is generally self-sufficient. If there is a surplus or shortage, it will be adjusted by the intermediary. The intermediary is called the "mulberry master", and the mulberry lord generally builds a shed on the roadside bridge to close the market. In the morning, the households with more than mulberry leaves were picked one after another, and the families of demand came to buy them, and the mulberry owners passed the scales. After the transaction, the mulberry owner draws the first money according to the total amount.
Silkworm seeds, mainly foreign, called "Lailu seeds", were mostly sold by silkworm farmers in Shengxian County (at that time) who came to the villages to sell them, and there were also improved varieties promoted by sericulture research institutions. Some farmers prepare their own "soil seeds": after the spring silkworms are cocooned, a certain amount is left for seeding. For more than ten days, the cocoon breaks out of the moth, the male and female are equal, and they meet and intersect; Later, the male dies of exhaustion, and the female lays eggs immediately.
The eggs are covered with paper, and more than 200 grains laid by each moth are evenly and densely distributed, and they are stuck to the paper one by one, without a single grain accumulating. After the spawning is completed, the bamboo strips are clamped on the four sides of each silkworm seed, and hung in a ventilated place to avoid the sun, and avoid peculiar smells such as fireworks and tung oil. To the twelfth day of the lunar month, sacrifice to the silkworm god, take off the silkworm seeds, soak them in salt water for twelve days and nights, pick them up on the twenty-fourth day of the lunar month, and dry them with a slight fire, which is called "silkworm bath". After bathing, the inferior species will die by themselves. Then store it in the box to make it impermeable and not damp until Qingming takes it out and hatches.
The mulberry tree spits out new leaves, and the silkworm woman begins to "promote greening". First, hang the silkworm seeds in the indoor ventilation place, wait for the silkworm seeds to turn green, that is, wrap them in a hand towel between the chest and back, which is "the seeds". After two or three days, the silkworm seedlings emerge from the shell like ants, that is, they are dusted into small plaques with chicken feathers and raised in the south-facing silkworm room without wind and ventilation. The mulberry leaves used to feed the young silkworms should be as thin as tobacco. When cutting leaves, use a straw anvil without damaging the knife. The mulberry leaves are stored in an urn and are not easy to dry out.
It is commonly known as silkworm sleep as "young". From the seed to the first young, the second young, the third young, the big young, until the upper cluster as a cocoon, about one month. The young silkworms gradually grow, and they are flattened and stacked on top of the silkworm frame, which is called "moving silkworm frame", which means that the silkworm is busy in the season. As for the young silkworms need charcoal fire to keep warm, the strong silkworms need to be bright and ventilated, the silkworm seat needs to be sparse and moderate, and the silkworms should not be fed with fog leaves, dew leaves, and add nets to remove sand, promote green and young, and cluster on the curtain, etc., are common. During this period, there are many skills, which are slightly inferior to Tongxiang and Haining.
After the cocoons are put away, they are generally directly picked up and sold in the cocoons of nearby towns. Kanshan and Toupeng are large cocoon cities, and there are many cocoon rows. There are also those who reel their own soil and silk. To reel the soil silk, you need to peel off the silk cotton around the cocoon, and then put a cage stove and a car. Boil the water of the stove wok with a simmer, put in a handful of cocoons, and stir with long chopsticks to make the cocoons soft, remove the gum, and bleach.
Then seven or eight wire heads are pulled out and lifted, glued into a strand, passed through the wire control valve of the silk car, put it on the turntable, stepped on the silk car, and the silk strip was gradually withdrawn. After the cocoon in the wok, grab a handful of stirring, add the wire head to the wheel, and continue to pedal. This cycle repeats itself, and finally the whole turn of the wire is removed from the wheel frame and tied into a twist. The power of the poor day, one person can reel silk for about a catty. The soil silk is not exhausted, and the thickness is uneven, most of them are sold, and a few people ask the waist machine master to weave into the silk. The earthen silk is thick and hard.
Silkworm people generally worship the silkworm god and call it "silkworm flower niangniang". In addition to the sacrifice during the silkworm bath, there are generally two sacrifices: once after the young silkworms emerge and before the head sleeps, praying for the smooth growth of the "silkworm baby"; Once again, when the adult silkworm "goes up the mountain", pray for a good harvest of silkworm cocoons. The sacrifice is generally two cups of wine and one piece of meat, burning incense and lighting candles, and praying and praying. Some also have to add a bowl of bean porridge, after the sacrifice, cover a piece of meat on the bean porridge, and put it on the top of the house to feed the mice, because the rat is the enemy of silkworm raising, so as to pray for the rat not to hurt the "silkworm baby".
In the old days, during the period of watching silkworms, people were not allowed to come and go, and some even closed their doors to thank guests, although relatives and friends also refused to entertain, so as not to rush to the silkworm god and infect silkworm disease, called "silkworm taboo".
In 1937, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out, and the silk industry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was generally in a desperate situation, and a large area of sandy land was destroyed to grow mulberry grain. After that, there was no significant improvement. In the sixties of the twentieth century, in order to expand the area of grain planting, the mulberry garden was completely abandoned. In the mid-70s of the 20th century, in order to develop side businesses, mulberry and silkworm breeding were planted in reclaimed areas such as Hezhuang, which shrank by the mid-80s.