1. Silk is the production of a worm, of the caterpillar species,
which, in due course, passes through several transformations, and at
length becomes a butterfly, like others of the genus. It is produced
from an egg, and when about to die, or rather again to change its
form, spins for itself an envelope, called _a cocoon_. The worm then
changes to a chrysalis, and, after remaining in this state from 5 to 8
days, the butterfly, or moth, comes out, forcing its way through the
cocoon. The moths, or butterflies, eat nothing, and die as soon as
they have provided for the propagation of their species. Enough of
these are suffered to come to maturity, to provide a sufficient stock
of eggs. The rest are killed, in a few days after they have spun their
task, either by heating them in an oven, or by exposing them to the
rays of the sun.
2. The fibres are wound upon a reel. To render this practicable, the
cocoons are put into water heated to a suitable temperature, which
dissolves the gummy substance that holds the fibres together. A number
of threads being detached, and passed through a hole in an iron bar,
form, by the aid of the remaining glutinous matter, one thread, which
is wound upon a reel into skeins.
3. The raw silk, thus produced and prepared, is sold to the
manufacturers, who twist and double the fibres variously, and finally
form them into threads for sewing; or weave them into a great variety
of fabrics, which are too well known to need particular description
here.
4. According to the ancients, the silk-worm was originally a native of
China, and the neighboring parts of Asia, and had there been
domesticated for a long time, before it was known in Europe. For many
years after silk was sold among the nations of the West, even the
merchants were ignorant of both the manner and place of its
production.
5. The Greeks became acquainted with silk, soon after the time of
Alexander the Great; and the Romans knew little of the article, until
the reign of Augustus. Dresses, composed entirely of this material,
were seldom worn; but the fabrics which had been closely woven in the
East, were unravelled, and the threads were recomposed in a looser
texture, intermixed with linen or woollen yarn.
6. The prodigal Hehogabalus is said to have been the first individual,
in the Roman empire, who wore a robe of pure silk. It is also stated,
that the Emperor Aurelian refused his wife a garment of this
description, on account of its exorbitant price. At that time, as well
as at previous periods, it usually sold for its weight in gold.
7. A kind of gauze, originally made by the women on the island of Cos,
was very celebrated. It was dyed purple, with the substance usually
employed in communicating that colour in those days; but this was done
before it was woven, as in that state it was too frail to admit of the
process. Habits, made of this kind of stuff, were denominated "dresses
of glass:" because the body could be seen through them.
8. The Roman empire had been supplied with silk through the medium of
the Persians, until the time of Justinian, in the year 555. This
emperor, having become indignant at the rapacity of the
silk-merchants, determined, if possible, to supply his people from the
insect itself.
9. After many unsuccessful attempts, he at length obtained a small
quantity of the eggs from India, by the assistance of two Persian
monks, who had contrived to conceal them in the hollow of their
canes. The seeds of the mulberry-tree, on the leaves of which the worm
feeds, were also procured at the same time, together with instructions
necessary for the management of the worms.
10. For six hundred years after the period just mentioned, the rearing
of these worms, in Europe, was confined to the Greek empire; but, in
the twelfth century, Roger, king of Sicily, introduced it into that
island, whence it gradually spread into Italy, Spain, France, and
other European countries.
11. The silk-worm was introduced into England by James the First; but
it has never succeeded well in that country, on account of the
dampness and coldness of the climate. The manufacture of fabrics from
silk, however, is there very extensive, the raw material being
obtained, chiefly, from Bengal and Italy. In the latter of these
countries, in France, and other parts of Europe, as well as in Asia,
the manufacture is also extensive.
12. Some attention has been paid to the rearing of silk-worms in the
United States, and attempts have been made to introduce the
manufacture of silks. The mulberry has been planted in various parts
of the Union; and it is highly probable, that, in a few years, we
shall be able to obtain excellent silks, without sending for them to
foreign countries.
[Illustration: DYER.]