SILK 



BOMBYX 



Races of Insect 



West India. 



Eaces of Plant 

 and Insect. 



Second 

 Introduction 

 to Europe. 



Italy. 



Prance. 



Temperate 

 Climate. 



Names. 



Life- 

 history. 



Generations. 



silk manufacturing industry of West India an industry that subsequently drew 

 upon Bengal for its supplies of raw silk. It would also seem highly probable that 

 all the early references to silk by the Sanskrit authors denote one or other of the 

 non-domesticated worms, not the true silkworm of modern commerce. 



Briefly, then, it may be said that the domesticated silkworm has been carried 

 to all the countries of the globe where it has been found possible to grow the 

 mulberry plant. But just as there are several distinct species, and under 

 these many very different races of mulberry, so there are numerous forms 

 of the silkworm. Some of these are confined within narrow limits, both as to 

 locality and food-plant, others are less restricted and have adapted them- 

 selves to a wider range of climatic conditions and food-plants. The Roman 

 attempt at rearing the silkworm does not, however, seem to have made much 

 progress, for the domesticated insect of modern commerce is commonly believed 

 to have been conveyed to Europe somewhere about the 13th century, and has 

 since been widely diffused. There were, however, repeated efforts at acclimatisa- 

 tion. For example, the worm was conveyed to Italy by King Roger II. of 

 Sicily, who brought it from Greece along with Greek silkworm rearers, whom he 

 compelled to settle in Palermo. So again, it was in 1440 carried from Naples to 

 France. It is now met with in Italy (Lombardy), France (Central and South), 

 Spain, Sweden, Russia, Turkey, Algeria, Egypt, Syria, Armenia, Central Asia, 

 Persia, Afghanistan, Kashmir, India, America and Australia, in addition to 

 Burma, Siam, China, Japan, Corea, etc. It everywhere thrives best and gives 

 the finest silk where the climate is temperate and its food-plant one or other of 

 the races of Mortis li. Under skilled treatment, both of the food-plant and of 

 the insect itself, immense improvements have been effected in Europe, also in 

 Japan, so that it is commonly said both China and India have fallen below the 

 modern level of quality. 



As manifesting a common origin, the recurrence of the Tartar name ser 

 and the Corean sir in many languages may be mentioned. Thus the Chinese 

 tsau (cocoon), tsi (silkworm), and the Burmese tsa ; also the ser in Greek ; 

 sericum, Latin ; seiden, German ; soie, French ; sheolk, Russian ; seole, Anglo- 

 Saxon ; silke, Icelandic ; and silk, English. On the other hand, there seems 

 little or no connection with these words and the names for the silkworm and 

 silk in both ancient and modern India. The synonym urna (generally trans- 

 lated silk) occurs in the Rig Veda, but there is nothing to establish belief that 

 it denoted mulberry silk. Another Sanskrit synonym, patta, gave origin 

 doubtless to the modern Assamese and Bengali pat and the Tamil, pattu, for 

 mulberry silk. In fact, pat occurs here and there throughout India and even in 

 Kashmir, and uniformly denotes silk. So also the Sanskrit pundarika (silk- 

 worm) lives in the caste name of the silkworm rearers, the pundari-kakshas or 

 pundas. The very common Indian name resham (silk) is derived from the Persian 

 abresham, and is thus closely connected with the Hebrew meshi and demeshek, 

 as also the Arabic dimakso and kus. 



Life-history. While the forms made specific by Hutton have by 

 modern authors had to be reduced to races under the species lionibyjc 

 mori, the forms in question denote important industrial assemblages, 

 which it is essential should be here briefly indicated. 



It may be as well to sketch very briefly the life-history of the silkworm 

 itself. Needless to say it exists first as an egg, then as a worm (or cater- 

 pillar), which later on spins a cocoon within which the chrysalis stage is 

 spent, and lastly from the cocoon in due course emerges the winged moth, 

 which, after coupling, lays eggs and dies, thus originating once during its 

 lifetime the cycle above briefly indicated. The four stages (egg, caterpillar, 

 chrysalis and moth) thus constitute one generation, and insects that take a 

 year to pass through these stages are called univoltine. Occasionally special 

 breeds are met with that are bivoltine, that is to say, a first batch of the 

 eggs germinate almost immediately after being laid, thus allowing time 

 for two generations in the year. The bivoltine insect of China was perhaps 

 first introduced into Europe by the Genoese, but trivoltine insects occur in 

 Tuscany, and even quadrivoltine forms are met with in many countries. 



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