448 MORUS ALBA. 



pain of death, yet, by the hhcral promises, and the persuasions of Justinian, they 

 were induced to undtTtaUt; to ini|)ort some from that country; and they returned 

 from tlitui ('Xpediti(u llirough Hucharia and I'crsia, to Constaiitmople, in the year 

 S.j;"), with tiie eggs of the precious insect, which they had obtained in the " far 

 couiUry,'' concealed in the hoUow of their canes, or i)ilizrim-.staves. Until this 

 lime, the extensive mannfactiu'es of Tyre and iJerytes had received the whole of 

 tiieir supply of raw silk iVom (Jhina, throu^dl Persia. The eggs thus obtained, 

 wer(^ hatched in a hot-bed, and, being afterwards carefully fed and attended to, 

 the experiment proved successful, and the silkworm became very generally cidti- 

 vated throughout (jireece. 



The silkworm and the black mulberry were introduced simultaneously into 

 Spain and Portugal, by the Arabs, or Saracens, on their conquest of Spain, in 

 771. In the Wtli century, the silk culture of the last-named country, is uni- 

 versally allowed to have been in a highly flourishing state ; but it has been in 

 a declining condition ever since; so much so, that, in the year 1833, at the time 

 we visited that imfortunate country, it was one of the most neglected branches of 

 agriculture in the kingdom; being almost entirely confined to a few of the south- 

 ern provinces. 



The white mulberry was for a long period confined to Greece; but when 

 Roger, king of Sicily, in 1130, ravaged Peloponnesus, he compelled the principal 

 artificers of silk, and breeders of silkworms, to remove with him to Palermo, with 

 the determination to try tlie culture of this tree in that country. The Morus alba 

 was accordingly transplanted from Greece to Sicily, and, flourishing in its fine 

 climate, that island became the great mart of nearly all the raw silk required for 

 the manufactures of Europe. 



in 1204, the conquest of Constantinople, by the Venetians, led to the introduc- 

 tion of the silkworm into Venice, from which, in the course of a short time, it 

 extended to Genoa, and other parts of Italy. The white mulberry was intro- 

 duced into upper Italy, in 1440, since which time, up to the present day, the cul- 

 ture and manufacture of silk have constituted a very important part of the com- 

 merce both of Italy and Sicily. 



The white mulberry was introduced into France by Seigneur d' Allan, under 

 the reign of Charles VII. ; and it is said that the original tree still exists at the 

 gates of Montelimart. Silk manufactures were first established at Tours, in 14S0, 

 by Louis XL, who invited workmen from Italy to settle in his kingdom. These 

 manufactures, however, were supplied, entirely, at first, with the raw material, 

 from Sicily and Piedmont. In 1494, several of the great landed proprietors who 

 had followed Charles VIII., in his Italian wars, brought with them, on their 

 return from Naples and Sicily, an additional supply of the white mulberry, which 

 they planted in Provence, in the vicinity of Montelimart. In 1520, Francis I., 

 having taken possession of Milan, prevailed on some artisans of that city to estab- 

 lish themselves at Lyons; and, to encourage them to remain there, he granted 

 them special privileges and immunities. Henry II., and Charles IX., appear to 

 have been the next sovereigns who endeavoured to promote the culture of silk m 

 France; and, in the reign of the latter monarch, in 1.564, Fran9ois Traucat, a 

 gardener at Xismes, formed a large nursery, expressly for raising white mulberry 

 plants, from which he supplied all the south of France. Henry IV. was no sooner 

 established on the throne, than he exerted himself to promote this branch of 

 industry throughout his dominions; and, by his desire, Olivier de Serres, seig- 

 neur de Pradel, in 1601, formed a plantation of white mulberry trees in the gar- 

 den of the Tuileries, where was erected a large building for rearing the silk- 

 worms. In 1603, an edict was passed for encouraging the planting of mulberry- 

 trees throughout France; promising to reward with patents of nobility, such 

 manufacturers as had supported and pursued the trade for twelve year.?. Under 



