X^9I. 0}i REARING SILK-WORMS IN SCOTLAND. l6gi 

 Ibme thouiands of years to afcer tain the truth of this 

 important fact, as a flight Iketch of the hiftory of the 

 progrefs of filk-rearing will clearly fliew. 



To the Chinefe, the Europeans are indebted for the 

 knowledge of this curious infe£t, and the ufes to which 

 its labours can be applied in manufadlures. How 

 long they have been in poiTeffion of this branch of know- 

 ledge, cannot be afcertained ; but it is not two thou- 

 fand years fince even the very name of lilk was un- 

 known in any part of Europe. When the Roman pow- 

 er extended over half the globe, this brilliant and or- 

 namental article of drefs was not known. From 

 Egypt, it firft was imported into Rome ; — and among all 

 the articles of elegance belonging to the luxurious Cle- 

 opatra, none feemed fo much to excite the admiration 

 and afl;oniQiment of the Romans, as to obferve, that 

 the very fails of her pleafure barge w'ere made of filk. 

 From that time, the /ords of the world became acquaint- 

 ed with this article, and it ferved to ornament the robes 

 of emperors, and to adorn ladies of the higheft rank, 

 who alone were able to purchafe thefe coftly . trap- 

 pings. 



For many centuries, raw filk could only be procur- 

 ed from China ; — nor was it then believed poffible to 

 produce it in any other part of the world. At laft, 

 however, fome begging monks, who had wandered as 

 far as China, having obferved the manner in which they 

 fed the worms, and performed the other parts of the 

 operation, thought it might be introduced into Greece, 

 where they knew the mulberry tree grew very. well. 

 They accordingly obtained fome of the eggs, which, 

 during the winter feafon, they tranfported with fafety 

 into Greece; — and having inftru6ted the natives in the 

 mode of managing them, thefe ingenious people, en- 

 couraged by the high price that filic then bore, gradu- 

 ally perfefted themfelves in this branch of bufmefs, and 

 at length found that filk could be reared to as great 

 perfeftion in Greece, as in China. 



Vol. 111. f Y 



