A field study on the hourly working pattern, energy expenditure, air conditions and the testing for fatigue of the process of the raising silk worms for 4 days in August, the period of early autumn raising. Three couples of the typical raising silk worms households in Kikuchi district in Kumamoto Pref. were selected for the study. The results were as follows.
1. In Kikuchi district, there were 5-10 raising periods in a year from april to november for each households and the yearly working days for the process were to be 160-260 days.
In the period of early autumn raising, the average working times and energy expenditure a day were calculated to be 374±136 min. and 2891±277 kcal for males and 383±119 min. and 2494±91 kcal for females in the third state of period (after 5 days of accepting the larva); and in the fifth state of the process (after 10 days of the former state) 644±112 min. and 3087±136 kcal for males, 618±65 min. 2851±48 kcal for females; in the state of the spinning cocoons, 944±238 min. and 3735±459 kcal for males, 846±271 min. and 3209±754 kcal for females; in the state of the controlling cocoons, 560±115 min. and 2944±233 kcal for males, 478±68 min. and 2537±101 kcal for females. In the spinning state it was the highest work loads to be taken for both males and females through one raising period.
2. The RMR (relative metabolic rates) values of each elemental work were measured to be 0.6-3.7 (0.0322-0.0995 kcal/kg/min). The average RMR in a working time was 2.2±0.3 (1.7-2.9) for males and 2.1±0.3 (1.4-2.5) for females, and in the spinning state higher average value was observed for females than for males.
3. There was some difference between males and females in the distribution of working posture. For males 30.8%(9.5-46.2%) of all working times was the standing position, but in the contrally, for females, 66.0%(64.0-69.8%) was the half sitting position and only 11.0% was the standing position.
4. The considerable reduction of flicker frequency was observed at the end of working a day in each state of the period especially in the spinning state, and the increasing of complaints of fatigue symptoms was also observed.