86 SILKWORMS. 



an oddly-shaped, greenish creature (Fig. 27), and the cocoon 

 (Fig. 28) is very lovely, being of a delicate pale green colour. 

 The thread is said to be between two thousand and three thou- 

 sand feet long. 



This species was for a time very jealously guarded by the 

 Japanese, and it was not till the year 1862 that eggs could be 

 obtained for transport to Europe. Strange to say, the introduction 

 of this Japanese species into Europe in this, the nineteenth 

 century, is associated with a romantic incident which is the 

 counterpart of the trick by which the eggs of the Chinese mul- 

 berry feeder were conveyed thither thirteen centuries before. The 

 eggs were obtained for transportation to France through the efforts 

 of M. Pompe van Meedervoort, a medical officer in the Dutch 

 navy, and Director of the Imperial School of Medicine at Naga- 

 saki. His history of the matter is sufficiently remarkable to 

 justify us in giving it in its entirety. He says : " In 1862 I had 

 the honour to make the acquaintance of M. Eugene Simon. He 

 informed me of the great value of the Bombyx Yama-mai, and to- 

 gether we made every effort, but in vain, to procure eggs of this 

 species ; we were told it was absolutely impossible to obtain them. 

 M. Simon being obliged to return, I made him a promise before 

 he left to continue my efforts, and, in case of success, to offer the 

 eggs to the French Government. But the more I tried, the more 

 I saw how difficult, if not impossible, was the attempt. I applied 

 in vain to the Japanese merchants, the silk-growers, to many 

 native naturalists with whom I was on friendly terms, lastly, to 

 the Government, but all in vain. The reply was, 'The penalty 

 of death is inflicted on any one who may export these eggs.' 

 Another idea then possessed me ; to apply to one of my pupils. 

 As the Principal of the Imperial School of Medicine at Nagasaki, 

 I was surrounded with students from the different provinces of 

 Japan, and amongst others from the provinces of Echizen and 

 Vigo, or Hiogo, where alone the Yama-mai silkworms are reared. 

 One of these youths, who had on several occasions given me 

 proofs of his extraordinary devotion, was selected by me for the 

 purpose ; to him I explained the whole affair, and proposed that 

 he should go to Vigo at my expense, in order to collect and send 

 me as many eggs as possible. This brave young man, whose 

 name I have promised never to divulge, started on the morrow, 

 and after an absence of fifteen days secretly sent me the eggs, 

 which he had gathered with much difficulty and danger to him- 

 self. He told me that no one suspected the object of his journey ; 

 that was in October 1862. My mission to Japan was finished 

 November ist, 1862. I started for Europe by the English mail 



