on the Continent. The last letter of the Countess 

 confirms my su]:)position. A week or two ago Lord 

 Wallscourt called upon me on his return from Turin, 

 and throufili his kindness I am able to exhibit to you 

 to-night a sample of this Italian insectivorous bird food, 

 which I have no doubt is as new and interesting to you 

 as it is to myself. The history of the silkworm moth 

 {Botnhyx tnori) is an interesting one, upon which many 

 pages could be written. The art of making the fabric 

 we call silk from the fibres with which the larva 

 enwraps itself before changing into the chrysalis, was 

 probably first discovered 1)}^ the Chinese at a very early 

 period. In course of time the silkworm was imported 

 into Kurope, and I believe at the present time the 

 cultivation of the mulberry tree, (the leaves of which 

 form the natural food of the silkworm), and the rearing 

 of the insect, is an important branch of commerce in 

 Ital}', Spain, and France, giving occupation to many 

 thousands of persons. Nmv it seems most likely that 

 the silkworm will be put to uses never thought of. in 

 England before, viz., as a food for birds, and as Mr. Jesse 

 says in his "Gleanings": "Thus completing the 

 adaptation of the insect in its different stages to the 

 purposes it is destined to fulfil for our advantage, 

 illustrating the care and kindness of the Almighty in 

 thus making an apparently insignificant insect the 

 means of so many important benefits to man." I 

 understand that in Ital}' these silkworm chrysalides are 

 to be had in any quantity at about id. per pound. Lord 

 Wallscourt told me that when he first saw them heaped 

 up on the stalls in the market places of Naples, Florence, 

 and elsewhere, he thought they were raisins, which they 

 much resemble in appearance. As a food for birds I 

 have not yet used them myself, but those birds I have 

 seen which had been largely fed on them seemed to be in 

 a very happy, contented state of mind. Before being 

 ii.sed they are crushed into a coarse powder, and in Italy 

 take the place of ants' eggs. I myself look upon them 

 as a very valuable addition to the foods we already have. 



