ENTOMOLOGY. 173 



silk- worms' eggs to Constantinople ; and thus Europe 

 first became possessed of the power of raising silk. In 

 Greece, as in China, females of the first families com- 

 menced the care of silk-worms. Next to Greece, Italy 

 attended to the rearing of these insects. About the year 

 1600, Henry IV. introduced the raising of silk-worms 

 into France, which now derives from their labors 

 23,560,000 francs annually. Although in 1180, silk was 

 imported into England from China, which was earlier 

 than it had been received in France, still nothing of im- 

 portance was done towards the introduction of the cater- 

 pillar into England, until within the last eleven years, 

 two hundred years after France had set the example. 

 Although two preceding attempts had failed to render the 

 cultivation of silk important in Germany, during the 

 past twelve years great efforts have been made there, ori- 

 ginating with the Agricultural Society of Bavaria. Prus- 

 sia and Sweden also, have not been idle ; and in the for- 

 mer of these, it has been proved, that ' silk equal to that 

 of Italy may be produced, affording greater profit than 

 any other branch of rural industry ; ' while that raised in 

 the latter country would show ' that the silk raised near 

 the polar circle, is equal in strength and firmness to any 

 species cultivated in more temperate climates.' 



The cultivation of the silk-worm in this country, is 

 becoming an object of so much importance, that during 

 the year 1828, the Senate of the United States, ordered 

 2000 copies of a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, 

 transmitting all the information which could be collected 

 respecting the cultivation of silk in the Union, to be 

 printed for the use of its members. In Virginia, Georgia 

 and South Carolina, the silk-worm has been reared for 

 many years. In 1760, silk was first raised in Connecti- 

 cut. Since then in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa- 

 chusetts arid very lately in Maine, this subject has at- 

 tracted the attention of economists. Connecticut has 

 been eminently successful in her efforts: in 1825, in 

 the town of Mansfield alone, in that State, the silk man- 

 ufactured was three hundred pounds valued atjifteen 

 thousand dollars : in 1826, the County of Windham 

 manufactured silk to the amount of fiftyfour thousand 



VOL. i. NO. vii. 16 



