o* HISTORY OF 



thus gave birth to a number of flies, different 

 from itself, and that the same caterpillar some- 

 times bred an ichneumon, and sometimes a but- 

 terfly ; but it was not till after more careful in- 

 spection it was discovered, that the ichneumon 

 tribe were not the caterpillar's offspring, but its 

 murderers. 



CHAPTER V. 



OF THE SILK-WORM. 



HAVING mentioned, in the last chapter, the da- 

 mages inflicted by the caterpillar tribe, we now 

 come to an animal of this kind that alone com- 

 pensates for all the mischief occasioned by the 

 rest. This little creature, which only works for 

 itself, has been made of the utmost service to 

 man, and furnishes him with a covering more 

 beautiful than any other animal can supply. We 

 may declaim, indeed, against the luxuries of the 

 times, when silk is so generally worn ; but were 

 such garments to fail, what other arts could sup- 

 ply their deficiency. 



Though silk was anciently brought in small 

 quantities to Rome, yet it was so scarce as to be 

 sold for its weight in gold, and was considered as 

 such a luxurious refinement in dress, that it was 

 infamous for a man to appear in habits of which 

 silk formed but half the composition. It was 



