308 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



The ancients made this an article of commerce, greatly 

 sought after, and the robes formed of it, called " tarentine," 

 were very much in esteem. It is said that the scarf of the 

 turban of Archytas was made of this fibre. In the year 

 1754 a P a i r of stockings, made of it, were presented to 

 Pope Benedict XV., which, from their extreme fineness, 

 were enclosed in a small box about the size of one for 

 holding snuff. A robe of this material is mentioned by 

 Procopius as the gift of a Roman emperor to the satrap of 

 Armenia. 



Even in the present day the fibre is utilized, but more 

 for its rarity than anything else. The women comb the 

 lana with very delicate cards, spin it, and make from it 

 articles which are much esteemed for the suppleness of the 

 fibre, and their brilliant, burning gold lustre. 



A considerable manufactory is established at Palermo ; 

 the fabrics made are extremely elegant, and vie in appear- 

 ance with the finest silk. The best products of this 

 material are, however, said to be made in the Orphan 

 Hospital of St. Philomel, at Lucca. 



At the London Exhibition of 1862, V. Dessi Maenetti, 



' O 



of Cagliari, showed byssus of the Pinna, thread, cravat, and 

 gloves made of it, and Mariano Randaccini a shawl made 

 with it. At the Paris International Exhibition, in 1867, 

 Paul Montego, of Asti, Alessandria, also showed shawls 

 made of this byssus. 



A considerable number of bivalves possess what is 

 called a byssus, that is, a bundle of more or less delicate 

 filaments, issuing from the base of the foot, and by means 

 of which the animal fixes itself to foreign bodies. It 

 employs the foot to guide the filaments to the proper 

 place and to glue them there, and it can reproduce them 

 when they have been cut away. Reaumur believed them 



