BOMDYX. 65 



The Silkworm Moth measures nearly two inches in expanse, 

 and is grey or white, with two or three dusky transverse lines, 

 frequently obsolete. The larva varies from almost white to 

 dark grey, with blackish lines and markings, which are usually 

 more or less obsolete. It feeds on the white mulberry-tree, 

 and should, especially when reared for commercial purposes, 

 be fed on the leaves of this tree only ; but it will also eat 

 many other plants, and in England it is often reared on 

 lettuce. 



Silk was not unknown in Europe in classical times. Not 

 only were silken fabrics of various descriptions brought from 



The Mulberry Silkworm Moth {Bouibyx uiori). 



the East, but a very fine silken material, derived from some 

 native si)ecies of silkworm, possibly Pachy^asa oiiis (Drury), 

 was manufactured in the island of Cos. 



The pupa of the silkworm is enclosed in an oval cocoon, 

 closed at the ends. The inner portion is more dense than the 

 outer, and the loose outer covering is called " floss silk." 

 When the cocoons are to be used, they arc first thrown into 

 boiling water, which dissolves the gummy material, and the 

 cocoon is then wound off in an apparently single thread. A 

 machine is employed which winds off several cocoons at a 

 time ; and the thread, though very fine, is really composed of a 

 double thread ; and each thread is again made up of two others. 



There are many breeds of the silkworm, some of which foim 



14 F 



