108 



interfered with, and still is (and is likely long to remain) master 

 of the situation. 



Whether any of the silk producers, whose names I have brought 

 before you, will ever be introduced with profit into this colony, 

 is a question, which cannot at present be answered. There is cer- 

 tainly nothing in the geographical position of the island or in its 

 climatic relations, to prevent the attempt from being made with 

 prospect of success, when the proper time arrives. The North 

 American, if not the Indian, moths are perfectly hardy, and 

 would undoubtedly thrive in this dry and sunny climate. Indeed 

 there is no reason why the true silkworm should not do well here. 

 Dr. A. Wallace, no mean authority on the subject, has given hia 

 opinion that it might be cultivated with success in Great Britain.* 

 And if it would do well in the damp foggy climate of the old country, 

 we may safely predicate that it would prosper in our more favoured 

 zone. 



Of course, at present skilled labour commands too high a price to 

 hope for commercial success from sericulture. But the day may 

 come, I have little doubt, when, if the popular energies are turned 

 in that direction, Tasmanian silk or Tasmanian Tusseh cloths will 

 be able to compete with the fabrics of Japan and China. 



* Entora. Annual, 1871. 



