114 LIVING CREATURES. 



before Christ. China, now famous for its silk indus- 

 try, is supposed to be its original home. 



For thousands of years, so the story goes, the 

 Chinese would not allow the eggs of their silk-moth to 

 go out of the country. At length, about the year 550, 

 two monks are said to have brought away to Europe 

 a few eggs concealed in their canes. The silk-worm 

 is now a purely domestic animal like the dog. So long, 

 indeed, has it been fed by human hands, that it has 

 lost the power of flight, and is wholly dependent on. 

 human care* 



Though the cultivation of silk-worms occupies but 

 a few months in the year, it requires great care. 



It can not be success- 

 fully conducted on a 

 large scale. It is good 

 work for women and 

 aged people, while it 

 brings a pleasant little 

 income to add to the 

 profits of the farmer. 



Silk-worm Moth (after Riley.) 



A single silk-moth 



lays about four hundred eggs, and an ounce of eggs 

 will number about thirty-five thousand. During the 

 winter the eggs are kept in proper boxes in the cellar. 

 When the foliage is sufficiently started in the spring to 

 furnish them food, the eggs are brought into a warm 

 room the silk-worm room where they hatch in five 

 or six days. 



When about to hatch, the eggs are spread out upon 

 a clean sheet of paper, and over them is laid a mos- 

 quito netting, on which are scattered fresh cut leaves 



