an account of the silk-worm, which he describes as a horned caterpillar; he does not indicate its native country. Assyria is named by Pliny as the original region of the bombyx, and he adds the extraordinary statement, that the stuff which the women of Rome unravelled and wove anew, was made from a woollen substance combed by the Seres from the leaves of trees, and that draperies formed from it were imported from the country of the Seres. These ancient people, we need scarcely remark, are generally believed to be the same with those we now name Chinese. Silk, in their language, is called se or ser, the latter term corresponding with that used by the Greeks, who, we cannot doubt, derived both the material itself, and the name by which it was designated, from the Chinese name. According to Lattreille, the city of Turfan, in Little Bucharia, was for a long time the rendezvous of the western caravans, and the chief entrepot of the Chinese silks. It was the metropolis of the Seres of Upper Asia, or of the Serica of Ptolemy, situate, according to that author, between the Ganges and the Eastern Ocean. Hence the Serica vestis of the Romans, and the word Sericum, their name for silk.

This substance was but slightly known in Europe before the time of Augustus, and in the days of Aurelian was valued at its weight in gold. This was probably owing to the mode in which it was procured by the merchants of Alexandria, who had no direct intercourse with China, the chief, if not the only country, in which the silk-worm was then reared. Though so highly landed both by Greek and Roman writers, it was in frequent use for many centuries before any certain knowledge was obtained either of the country from which the material was derived, or of the means by which it was produced. By some it was supposed to be a fine down adhering to the leaves of trees and flowers; by others it was regarded as a delicate kind of wool or cotton, and even those who had some idea of its insect origin, were incorrectly informed of the mode of its formation. The court of the Greek emperors, which surpassed even that of the Asiatic sovereigns in splendour and magnificence, became profuse in its display of this lustrous ornament; but as the Persians, from the advantages which their local situation gave them over the merchants from the Arabian Gulph, were enabled to supplant them in all those mart's of India to which silk was brought by sea from the East, and had it in their power to cut off the caravans which travelled over land to China through their northern provinces, Constantinople thus became dependent on a rival power for an article now deemed essential to the enjoyment of civilized life. The Persians, with the rapacity inseparable from the power of monopolists, exorbitantly raised its price, and many attempts were made by Justinian to free his subjects from their vexations. An accidental circumstance is said to have accomplished what the wisdom of the great legislator was unable to achieve. Two Persian monks, who had been employed as missionaries in one of the Christian churches established in India, had penetrated to the country of the Seres, that is, to China, where they observed the operations of the silk-worm, and acquired a knowledge of the art of man in working up its produce into so many rich and costly fabrics. The love of lucre, mingled, it is said, (though perhaps a single motive may suffice,) with a feeling of indignation that so valuable a branch of commerce should be enjoyed by unbelieving nations, induced them to repair to Constantinople, where they explained to the emperor the true origin of silk, and the various modes by which it was prepared and manufactured. Encouraged by the most liberal promises, they undertook to transport a sufficient supply of these extraordinary worms to Constantinople, which they effected by conveying the eggs of the parent moth in the interior of a hollow cane. They were hatched, it is alleged, by the heat of a dunghill, and the larvae were fed with the leaves of wild silk-worm mulberry. They worked, underwent their accustomed metamorphoses, and multiplied their kind according to use and wont, and in the course of time have become almost universally cultivated throughout the southern countries of Europe, thus effecting an important change in the commercial relations which had so long existed between our continent and the east.

The cultivation of the silk-worm spread, at the period of the first crusades, from the Morea into Sicily, the kingdom of Naples, and several centuries afterwards, more especially under the administration of Sully, into France, to which kingdom it is well known to be now a source of great wealth. It is indeed curious to consider how the breeding of a few millions of small caterpillars should occasion such a disparity in the circumstances, or at least in the outward shew, of different tribes of the human race. When the wife and empress of Aurelian was refused a garment of silk on account of its extreme costliness, the most ordinary classes of the Chinese were, we doubt not, clad in that material from top to toe; and although, among ourselves, weekday and holiday are now alike profaned by uncouth forms, whose vast circumference is clothed in silk attire, yet our James the Sixth was forced to borrow a pair of silken hose from the Earl of Mar, that his state and bearing might be more effective in the presence of the ambassador of England, "for ye would not," said the uncouth pedant, "that your king should appear as a scrub before strangers." Queen Elizabeth, in the third year of her reign (1560), was highly gratified by receiving from her silk-woman, Mrs. Montague, a pair of knit black-silk stockings, with which she is said to have been so delighted, as never afterwards to have worn those of cloth. Even Henry the Eighth, notwithstanding his expensive magnificence, could not indulge himself as did his daughter, but wore cloth hose, except on gala days, when he sometimes contrived to obtain a pair or two of silken ones from Spain.

The silk-worm cultivated in Europe is the same as that which produces the greater proportion of the Chinese manufacture. It is the larva of the Bombyx mori, a pale coloured moth, with two or three obscure and transverse streaks, and a lunate spot on the superior wings. The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of the mulberry, and before assuming the chrysalis form, it spins a protecting covering in the shape of an oval cocoon, of a close tissue of the finest silk, usually of a yellow colour, but sometimes white. The filament does not form regular concentric circles round the interior surface of the cocoon, but is spun as it were in spots, going backwards and forwards with a wavy motion. This apparently irregular manner of proceeding is plainly perceptible when the silk is wound off the ball, which does not make more than one or two entire revolutions, while ten or twelve yards of silk are being transferred to the reel. The caterpillar casts and renews its skin several times before it commences to spin, and when full grown, it measures from two and a half to three inches. The principal points to be attended to in its cultivation, are regular feeding three or four times a-day, good ventilation, and a rather high temperature, especially at the period of spinning, say 70° Fahrenheit. It lives and spins though fed only on lettuce leaves, but their true and natural food is the mulberry, especially the white kind, called by botanists Morus alba.

The important tree just named, is a native of China, from whence it is believed to have been transferred to India, Persia, and Asia Minor. It was introduced at Constantinople during the sixth century, in the reign of Justinian, in connection, no doubt, with the importation of the worms themselves. It was afterwards introduced into Greece, and the name Morea, by which the Peloponnesus is now distinguished,

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1 See Robertson's Historical Description concerning Ancient India. 2 See Procopius De Bello Gothico; Gibbon's Decline and Fall (Reign of Justinian); Edin. Cab. Library, already cited; and this Encyc. Art. Entomology, ix. 247. 3 Edinburgh Cabinet Library, viii. 192. 4 Cabinet Cyclopaedia, xiii. 112. Silk-worm is ascribed by many authors to the vast quantity of mulberry trees there cultivated. In 1130, Roger, king of Sicily, having conquered many portions of the Morea, transported the white mulberry into his own kingdom, along with a supply of silk worms, and of artisans who understood their cultivation, and the manufacture of their natural product. About the year 1493, in the reign of Charles the Eighth, some nobles who had accompanied that Prince into Italy, brought the mulberry from Naples, and planted it in the environs of Montélimart. Not many years have gone by since those parent trees, the source of so rich a branch of commercial industry to France, were exhibited with an almost religious veneration. The mulberry was cultivated not only in the south of France, but Henry the Fourth brought a great many to Paris, which he planted in the gardens of the Tuilleries, where an establishment was founded for the rearing of the worms, and the preparation of their silk. No vestige of this plantation now remains.

It was long supposed that the cultivation of the white mulberry required a high temperature, but the contrary is proved by the fact of its thriving well in so many northern provinces of Germany. Even in Russia it is reared with considerable success. In France, however, it is not raised in large quantities with a view to the feeding of silk-worms, except in the central and southern provinces, as far north as the environs of Lyons. Government does not seem to have held out any encouragement to its extension, otherwise we doubt not that both the tree and caterpillar might be more extensively and abundantly spread over the more northern departments. The white mulberry is by no means nice in regard to the constituent character of its soil, and it is known to flourish in a great variety of situations. At the same time, the nature both of soil and situation seems to exercise considerable influence over the produce of the caterpillars which feed upon its leaves; the silk being finer, ampler, and more resistant, in proportion as the plant is successfully cultivated in a dry and rather elevated position. In the south of France it is customary to cut off all the medium-sized branches every year, with a view to facilitate the production of a greater number of young shoots, these bearing the largest and most numerous leaves. The leaves of the black mulberry (Morus nigra), and in general those of all the other species of the genus, are adapted to the nourishment of the silk-worm. But not only are they apparently less grateful to their taste, but they actually produce a silk much inferior both in quantity and quality.

We have said that the silk-worm cultivated in Europe is the same as that which produces the greater proportion of the Chinese manufacture. But in Bengal and other parts of India, valuable silk is procured from the cocoons of other species of moth. The first of these is described by Dr. Roxburgh under the title of Phalena papphia, and occurs in such abundance over many parts of Bengal, and the adjoining provinces, as to have afforded to the natives, from time immemorial, an abundant supply of a very durable, though coarse, and dark-coloured silk, called Tusseh, much used by the Brahmins, and other sects of Hindoos. This species, however, cannot be domesticated; so the hill people go into the jungles, and when they perceive the dung of the caterpillars under a tree, they immediately search for them among the branches, and carry off what they require. These they distribute on the Asceen trees (Terminalia alata glabra) of Roxb.), and as long as they continue in the caterpillar state, the Parias guard them from birds by day, and from bats by night. The natural food of this species is the Byer tree of the Hindoos, called Rhamnus jujuba by botanists. The Jaroo cocoons are produced from a rare variety of the kind just mentioned. This tusseh silk-worm moth appears to be synonymous with Bombyx mylitta of Fabricius, and is figured by Drury. The Arrindy silk-worms, however, belong to an entirely different species, Phalena cynthia of the last named author. It seems to be peculiar to two districts in the interior of Bengal, viz. Runpore and Dinagepore, where it is reared in a domestic state. The food of this kind of silk-worm consists entirely of the leaves of the common Ricinus, or Palma Christi, which the natives call Arrindy, and hence the name by which the insect is itself distinguished. The cocoons in general are about a couple of inches in length, three inches in circumference, and pointed at both ends. They are of a white or yellowish colour, and their texture is extremely soft and delicate. The filament, indeed, is so extremely fine, that the silk cannot be wound off, but must be spun like cotton. The yarn is wove into a kind of coarse white cloth, of a seemingly loose texture, but of such extreme durability, that the life of one person seldom suffices to wear out a garment of it; so that the same piece frequently descends from parent to child. It must always be washed in cold water.

The only other species with which we are acquainted is that alluded to by Mr. Arthur Young, in an extract of a letter published in the Annals of Agriculture. It has been introduced into our Eastern possessions for a considerable number of years. "We have obtained," says the writer of the letter, "a monthly silk-worm from China, which I have reared with my own hands, and in twenty-five days have had the cocoons in my basins, and by the twenty-ninth or thirty-first day, a new progeny feeding in my trays. This makes it a mine to whoever would undertake the cultivation of it."

The practice of rearing silk-worms in this country is usually followed rather as an amusing occupation than for purposes of gain. The female moth is induced to lay her eggs upon sheets of paper, to which they adhere by a natural viscosity. The period of hatching may be hastened or retarded by a higher or lower temperature, and the chief point for the breeder to bear in mind is, that the worms should not make their appearance till an abundance of natural food is near at hand. The eggs are at first of a very pale hue, but such as are to produce worms speedily become of a bluish grey colour; the unproductive ones continuing of a pale yellow. As there are tricks in all trades, the foreign dealers often favour their old useless eggs with a wash in dark-coloured muddy wine, which gives them for a time a deceptive healthy aspect. A store-room, or other apartment, with a temperature of 64° will suffice for the hatching of eggs, and the heat may afterwards be raised with advantage a few degrees every other day, for about ten days, but not so as to exceed about 80°. They will, however, thrive well enough in summer in any comfortably kept apartment, though a continuous warmth by night as well as byday is of great advantage. Whatever broods are hatched at the same period, should be kept together, and those of different ages ought never to be fed in the same trays.

The best and simplest apparatus for keeping silk worms is that proposed by Mr. Swayne. It consists of an open quadrangular wooden frame, about four feet two inches high, provided with eight uncovered slides or drawers a few inches apart from each other, and which, moving in a groove or ledge, can easily be shifted out or in. The upper slide is made of paper, and is devoted to the reception of the newly hatched worms, which it is desirable to feed at first with young and delicate leaves, chopped into small pieces. The flooring of the second and third slides is made of catgut, the reticulations being about the tenth part of an inch asunder. In these the worms are placed during what may be called the second and third stages. The five remaining slides are made of wicker-work or netting, and in them the insects are distributed "fewer and farther between," as they increase in size. Beneath every drawer except the uppermost,

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1 Illustrations of Natural History, ii. tab. 5. 2 See Account of the Tusseh and Arrindy silk worms of Bengal, by William Roxburgh, M.D. Linn. Trans. viii. 33; and British India (in Edin. Cab. Library), iii. 154. Silk-worms ought to be fed with regularity at least four times a day; additional or intermediate meals being given when any extraordinary appetite is manifested. The duration of the lives of these animals depends, to a certain extent, upon temperature and locality; warmth, well kept quarters, and abundance of food, being found to hasten the spinning process. All these things should be very sedulously attended to by those who rear silk worms in large quantities with a view to profit, time being so important an element in all commercial undertakings.

When the silk worm makes its first appearance, it is of a dark colour, and measures only one or two lines in length; after the lapse of eight days, it is attacked by a lethargic sickness, which will cause the heart of the young or inexperienced breeder to despond, but he need fear no evil, for this is only an unavoidable symptom of the ordinary goings-on of nature. The creature is about to cast its skin, and for about three days it remains motionless, refusing food. On the termination of this period the old skin opens at the anterior end, the fore-legs are disengaged, and the new and delicately attired worm escapes forth, to enjoy itself once more on pastures green. It had previously exuded a peculiar fluid, and had also, by means of a few silken strings (how provident is benign nature!) fastened down its old and useless coat, that it might not be dragged after it when the hour of delivery has arrived. This coating is so complete, that even the skin which covers the eyes and teeth is thrown away. Immediately after this renewal, the body of the worm appears pale and somewhat wrinkled, the new coat being made full size to admit of future growth; but the latter attribute speedily disappears. It feeds freely for five additional days, during which it grows to about half an inch in length, and is then seized by its second sickness, and again casts its skin. Then succeed other five days of feasting, in the course of which it increases to three quarters of an inch, when it sickens a third time, and acquires in a similar manner a third suit of clothes. Again five days of feeding; again a removal of the outer garment, or a fourth casting of the skin. The caterpillar now measures from an inch and a half to two inches long, and for a continuous period of about ten days it eats voraciously, and increases greatly both in length and thickness. On the expiry of this last-mentioned period, it has attained the full stature of a silk-worm, being from two and a half to three inches long. Its desire for food abates, it nibbles and wastes its leaves, then ceases to eat, and becomes restless and uneasy, moving circularly from side to side, owing to some instinctive feeling of desire to secure a quiet haven in which to spin its silken shroud. Its colour is now of a palish green, with a mingling of a deeper hue. In the course of about twenty-four hours from the time of its having ceased to feed, the silky texture becomes abundantly supplied to its interior reservoirs; the green colour disappears, the body becomes glossy, and somewhat transparent towards the neck. Previous to spinning, the general dimensions rather decrease than otherwise, but greater firmness of substance is acquired.

When the desire to spin is thus unequivocally manifested, art must come in aid of nature. Our own method formerly was (we worked, however, in this department on a narrow scale,) to supply our caterpillars with small twisted silk-worm paper bags, open at one end, such as any old woman may use on a Saturday night to carry from the grocer's her solitary ounce of tea. Into each of these would creep a single caterpillar, and weave his golden woof incessantly, till the loved work was done. But those who rear extensively, supply their completed caterpillars with small twigs or branches of broom, heath, or any other brushwood, which happens to unite tenderness and tenacity.

Great attention must now be paid in regard to keeping up a warm temperature. The observations of a writer in the fifth volume of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, amply illustrate this important point. He had successfully reared thirty thousand silk-worms, when in the beginning of July, just as they were about to spin, there came a chilly north-east wind, and many assumed the chrysalis state, without making any attempt to form a protecting covering. On examining these individuals, it was apparent that their silken reservoirs had been congealed by cold, so that the insects were unable to draw out the filaments in their usual slender state, their own capacity of movement and exertion being no doubt at the same time chilled. Even when they have commenced to spin, or have made some progress in their labours, they will cease if exposed to cold, and if the surrounding web is still of sufficient transparency, they may be seen lying idle and inactive in the interior of their cocoons. But if the temperature is raised, they will immediately resume their work. A heat as high as 70° is thought advisable at this time.

These beautiful silken coverings, or cocoons as they are called, are generally completed in three or four days. They are commenced by the formation (among the twigs or in paper bags, as the case may be) of a loose decomposed structure of an oval form, made of what is denominated floss silk. Within this, in the course of the ensuing days, the firmer cocoons are completed. These are rounded somewhat oval balls, varying in tint, but usually more or less of a golden hue, though sometimes white. Those of a bright yellow hue yield the greatest weight of reeled silk, but as the finer colouring substance is contained chiefly in the gum which is boiled out before weaving, less advantage is reaped by the grower. Raw silk, of a pale colour, is moreover preferred, on account of its better reception of certain dyes. The included worm, having finished its labour, casts its skin once more, but never appears again as a caterpillar, as it now assumes that rounded shapeless form termed chrysalis. The cocoons may be selected for reeling in about a week, and then comes the ungrateful and ungracious task of destroying the peaceful tenants of the tomb. This is variously accomplished, either by exposure (in sunny climates,) for some hours to unclouded solar light and heat; by steam; or by placing the cocoons in a temperature corresponding to that of an oven from which leaves have just been withdrawn after being baked.

If not killed, the chrysalis remains in its naturally dormant state for a longer or shorter time, in accordance with the climate in which it has had its birth. In eastern countries this is not more than eleven days; in the most southern parts of Europe from eighteen to twenty; in France about three weeks; in England, if unaided by artificial means, about a month. After these respective periods, according to climate, whether natural or acquired, the perfect moth emerges, and the reason for destroying the chrysalis is this, that in emerging she (the moth) destroys the silk, under the impression probably, that she may do what she likes with her own. A few, however, are of course spared for the sake of a future progeny, sound cocoons being selected, and in equal numbers as to sex, those containing the males being sharper or more pointed at the ends.

Such as have been killed for reeling are, before the commencement of that process, placed in warm water, so that their gummy nature may be partly softened, but not dissolved. The length of silken thread which may be unwound from a single cocoon, although it has been ridiculously exaggerated by Isnard and other writers, is in truth astonishing. Count Dandolo found it occasionally to exceed 600 yards; Miss Rhodes of Yorkshire mentions that one of her largest cocoons yielded 404 measured yards; and Pullen considers the average length to be about 300 yards. From data given by the first named author it was found, that to obtain one pound of reeled silk, twelve pounds of cocoons are required; that 2800 worms would be necessary to produce that amount of cocoons; and that to feed these caterpillars, 152 pounds of mulberry leaves must be collected.

As we write this brief notice rather for the amateur than the artizan, the mention of the above named tree reminds us of the propriety of stating, that as mulberry leaves cannot be easily obtained in Britain in required abundance, the best substitute is lettuce.