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" And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel ; and the 



mau was very great, and ho had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats : 



and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel." I SAMUEL xxv. 



Indies, Turkey, &c., where the silk-worm has been found to thrive. The attempts 

 that have been hitherto made to cultivate it in this country have proved 

 unsuccessful. At Rome, in the time of Tiberius, a law passed the senate which, 

 as well as prohibiting the wearing of massive gold jewels, also forbade the men 

 to debase themselves by wearing silk. There was a time when silk was of the 

 same value as gold weight for weight and it was thought to grow upon trees. 

 It is recorded that silk mantles were worn by some noble ladies at a ball at 

 Kenilworth Castle, 1286. It was first manufactured in England in 1604. In the 

 reign of Elizabeth, the manufacture of silk in England made rapid strides. In 

 1666, there were 40,000 persons engaged in the silk trade. The silk throwsters 

 of the metropolis were enrolled in a fellowship in 1562, and were incorporated 

 in 1629. In 1635, a considerable impetus was given to the English silk manu- 

 factures. Louis the Fourteenth of France revoked the edict of Nantes. The 

 edict of Nantes was promulgated by Henry the Fourth of France in 1598. It 

 pave to the Protestants of France the free exercise of their religion. Louis 

 the Fourteenth revoked this edict in 1685, and thereby drove the Pro- 

 testants as refugees to England, Holland, and parts of Germany, where they 

 established various manufactures. Many of these French refugees settled in 

 Spitalfields, and there founded extensive manufactories, which soon rivalled 

 those of their own country ; and thus the intolerance of the king was justly 

 punished. What important facts we see connected with the simple thread of 

 the silk-worm ! 



1201. What is wool? 



Wool is a kind of soft hair or coarse down, produced by various 

 Animals, but chiefly by sheep. 



This is another of the useful productions of nature, for which we are 

 Indirectly indebted to the vegetable kingdom ; for were it not for the rich 

 pastures forming the green carpet of the earth, it would be impossible for man 

 to keep large flocks of sheep for the production of wool. Wool, like the hair of 

 most animals, completes its growth in a year, and then exhibits a tendency to 

 fall off. For the production of wool in England arid Wales it has been estimated 

 that there are no less than 27,000,000 sheep and lambs; and, in Great Britain 

 and Ireland, the total number is estimated at 32,000,000. Wool was not 

 manufactured in any quantity in England until 1331, when the weaving of it 

 was introduced by John Kempe and other artizans from Flanders. The expo, - 

 tation or non -exportation of wool has from time to time formed a vexed subject 

 for legislators. Woollen clothes were made an article of commerce in the rcigu 

 of Julius Caesar. They were made in England prior to 1200. Blankets were 

 first made in England in 1340. The art of dyeing wools was first introduced 

 into England in 1608. The annual value of the raw material in wool is set down 

 at 6,000,000 ; the wages of workmen engaged in the wool trade, 9,600,000. 

 The number of people employed is said to be 500,000. 



1202. What is starch ? 



Starch is one of the most useful products of the vegetable 

 kingdom, A* a rule, a vegetable, if nutritious at all, is so 



