724 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



Ph,i,h If. Savlllc-Ktnl, F.Z.S.] [MilfirdwSta 



WHITE PLUME-MOTH 



J very delicate insect. The ivings are cleft almost to the hate into separate 

 feathers, nuo on the fore -wings and three on the hind 'wings 



colours, in order to weave chequered sarcenets, 

 comprising black and white, black and green, 

 green and red, with red-and-white checks 

 all of which was to be done according to 

 the ancient rule, without the least variation; 

 the black, yellow, azure, and red tints were 

 all to be correct and good, without the least 

 fault, in order to provide dresses for the 

 celestial and ancestorial sacrifices, and stand- 

 ards for distinguishing the high and low 

 degrees. 



" In ancient times the emperor and his 

 princes had a public mulberry garden and 

 a silkworm establishment erected near some 

 river. On the morning of the first day of 

 the third month of spring, the sovereign, 

 wearing a leather cap and a plain garment, 

 ascertained by lot the chief of his three 

 queens, with the most honourable amongst his 



concubines, and caused them to attend to the rearing of the silkworms in the above-named 



establishment. They then brought the eggs of the worms, and washed them in the river 



above alluded to, after which they picked the mulberry-leaves in the public garden, and aired 



and dried them, in order to feed the worms. 

 " When the season was over, the royal 



concubines, having completed the business of 



rearing the silkworms, brought the cocoons 



to show them to the prince, when he pre- 

 sented the cocoons again to his consort, 



whereupon his consort said, ' This is the 



material of which your highness's robes are 



to be formed.' Having said which, she 



covered herself with her robe, and received 



the cocoons. On this occasion the ladies of 



the court were honoured with the present of 



a sheep. This was the mode in which the 



presentation of the cocoons was anciently 



conducted." 



In the reign of Justinian eggs of the 



Chinese mulberry-silkworm were smuggled 



into Europe by two monks, and the culture 



of silk rapidly spread through Southern 



Europe, where it has continued to form 



a staple industry ever since. In the Pelo- 

 ponnesus especially such large plantations of 



mulberry-trees were grown for the purpose 



of rearing silkworms as to give the peninsula 



its modern name of Morea. Silk is obtained 



in different parts of the world from the cocoons 



of various other moths, chiefly belonging to 



the group of Emperor-moths ; but these pro- IND IAN SWALLOW-TAILED MOTH 



ducts are only of local importance, and are not JUamblet the American Luna Moth figured on page JiS, and of a* 



likely to compete with the mulberry-silkworm. tyuUj delicate green 



