PREFACE 



TO 



THE AMERICAN EDITION 



THE attention of the American People having been attracted for several 

 years to the culture of silk, with all its attendant advantages, both to indi- 

 viduals and as a source of national wealth, the following compilation, 

 from Chinese authors, made by authority of the French Government, it is 

 hoped will prove interesting, and not entirely unprofitable, to the yet 

 incipient serigene art in the United States. Notwithstanding the supe- 

 riority of the French in the arts and sciences, and length of time which 

 has elapsed since the introduction of the manufacture of silk into France, 

 (in the reign of Francis I,) the fact, of the great superiority of the Chi- 

 nese culture is frankly admitted by M. CAMILLE BEAUVAIS, the gentleman 

 at whose instance the French Minister directed this Translation to be 

 made from the Chinese works. Such is the strength of his testimony on 

 one point, that he asserts, " the Chinese lose in the rearing scarcely one 

 per cent, of their worms, whereas the French lose more than fifty" ! So 

 important is silk to the civilized nations of the globe, so many and various 

 are the fabrics wrought from this beautiful material, so familiarly known, 

 and of such universal consumption, that the manner of its production 

 cannot fail to be a subject of earnest inquiry and of interesting investiga- 

 tion to our enterprising citizens. It is well calculated to excite surprise 

 and astonishment, that the gorgeous velvet, the rich brocade, the transpa- 

 rent gauze, and the delicate blonde, should all have their origin from the 

 labors of an apparently despicable worm. The egg of this insect exceeds 

 not the size of a grain of mustard-seed, yet so amazing are the results 



