102 



who were partial to a large grub; tlioiigh it is doubtful what th& 

 particular insect was. We know that it bore the name of ' ' Cossus " ; * 

 but naturalists are much divided on the knotty question of what is 

 the true Cossus of the ancients. It was certainly not the animal to 

 which Linnreus gave the title. Again in Leviticus xi. 22, ' ' The 

 beetle after his kind " is mentioned among the articles of food which 

 the Jews might eat ; but there is no doubt that the original word 

 (chargol) is incorrectly translated, t 



If, however, insects cannot be said to hold an important position 

 in regard to medicine and food, there is no doubt, that in arts and 

 manufactures they play a distinguished part. The number of species 

 employed may be small, but certainly a considerable void would be 

 created, were all the insects to be blotted out, which contribute to 

 our necessities or luxuries in this respect. 



To insects we are indebted for one of the principal articles of 

 clothing. Silk — to which I propose to devote the remainder of this 

 paper — tne produce of an insignificant moth has in the course of ages 

 become one of the most important manufactures which the world has 

 witnessed. 



The education of the insect and the manufacture of the article 

 have alike come to us from the Northern Provinces of China, wher& 

 sericulture has been established from a very early period. Chinese 

 annalists carry it back to the 27th century before Christ ; and they 

 attribute its establishment to the foresight and care of Si-ling-chi, 

 wife of the emperor Hoang-ti. Setting aside trade tradition, the 

 mention of silk as an article of manufacture occurs for the first time 

 in the writings of Ezekiel, the prophet, about 550 B.C., who speaks 

 of its use among the Jews as an indication of wealth and glory. J 

 It is well to mention that there are two earlier allusions in our 

 version of the Bible to the employment of silk. The first is in 

 Genesis xii. 42, where "Pharaoh," it is said, "arrayed Joseph 

 in vestures of fine linen ; the last two words are given in the margin 

 as "silk." Again, in the Book of Proverbs, § the clothing of the 

 virtuous wife is described as of " silk and purple. " The original 

 word in both cases is " Shcsh," of which " fine linen" appears to be 

 the more equivalent. 



We next read of silk in the Sacred Writings of the Book of 

 Revelation, || where it is enumerated among the luxuries for which 

 Babylon was celebrated. 



But although the ancients were acquainted with the article, 

 they were entirely ignorant of its origin ; as we may gather from 

 the poet Virgil, who speaks of 



" Ethiop forests hoar with fluttering fleece. 

 And downy foliage carded by Chinese."^ 



By Ethiopia, I may mention, is intended the modern Abyssinia; 

 and it is curious, that Pliny speaks also of Ethiopia as the home 

 of cotton ; for he says that that country "possesses scarcely any 

 trees of importance, except those which bear wool." 



Two centuries later the celebrated Eoman physician, Galen, 

 employed silk as threads for securing blood-vessels in surgical 

 oi^erations. 



* Pliny, Hist. Nat. xvii. 24. t Smith, Diet, of the Bible. 



t Ezekiel xvi., 10, 13. § Proverbs xxxi., 22. 



II Kevel. xviii. 12. • Second Georgic. Blackmore's translation. 



