MOTHS AJsD BUTTERFLIES. 201 



Mechoacau, in Mexico, at the height of 10,500 feet 

 above the level of the sea. Handkerchiefs are manu- 

 factured of this silk by the inhabitants of Oaxaca. 



The cocoons of the large North American Moths, 

 Cecropia, Luna, Polyphemus and Promethea, which I 

 shall illustrate in the succeeding volume, contain 

 much silk, a single fibre of which is at least ten times 

 as thick as one of the common silk-worm, an experi- 

 ment I have often made myself. Stuffs made out of 

 this silk would far exceed the common fabrics in 

 strength and durability, and could not probably be 

 worn out in many years. 



In India, silk is also obtained from the cocoons of 

 other Moths, in relation to which, Kirby and Spence 

 say, " Of these, the most important species known, are 

 the Tusseh and Arindy Silkworms. These insects are 

 both natives of Bengal. The first, Attacus Papilio, Lin, 

 feeds upon the leaves of the jujube tree, or Byer of the 

 Hindoos, and upon the Ferminalia alata glabra, Roxb, 

 the Asseen of the Hindoos, and is found in such abun- 

 dance as from time immemorial to have afforded a con- 

 stant supply of a very durable, coarse, dark colored 

 silk, which is woven into a cloth called Tusseh-doothies. 

 This fabric is much worn by the Brahmins and other 

 sects, and would b e highly useful to the inhabitants of 

 many parts of America, and the south of Europe, where 

 a light and cool, and at the same time, a cheap and 

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