152 NEW SOUTH WALES. 



The history of the spread of the industry in other countries from 

 China is extremely interesting-, but limited space forbids further par- 

 ticulars being given, beyond those which appertain chiefly to their 

 compulsory nature. 



The greater part of the silk produced in Europe is raised in Italy 

 and France, but great difficulties were experienced in establishing 

 silk culture in those countries, and there, as in other places, it has been 

 effected by the efforts by far-sighted, and even sometimes despotic, 

 individuals. " The culture of the mulberry and rearing of silkworms," 

 says Cochran, '' is said by some authors to have been begun in France 

 during the 13th century, in an amateur way, in Languedoc, Province 

 and the Comtat d' Avignon, but the experiment docs not appear to have 

 made much progress," however, later on, " it was enthusiastically 

 encouraged by King Henry quatre," during whose reign the industry 

 may reall}^ be said to have begun. " This king," says Figuier, " saw 

 with grief considerable sums of money leaving France each year for 

 the purchase of raw silk or silk stuffs. Two men marvellously furthered 

 his project of encouraging the silk trade " — these were Barthelemy 

 Laffemas and Olivier de Serres, who used great efforts to establish 

 sericulture — " but, notwithstanding this great impulse, sericulture 

 dwindled away on the death of the king. It received a fresh impulse 

 under Colbert," to be brought to a standstill by the revocation of the 

 edict of Nantes. After the first French Revolution the industry 

 revived, and Cochran says, " One of the very few good things Napoleon 

 Bonaparte did for France was to foster sericulture, so that under his 

 encouragement the crop once more began to increase and progress, 

 and after the European peace of 1815, rapid progress up to the end 

 of 1853 was attained," when the disastrous silkworm diseases almost 

 annihilated the industry in Europe. 



In Italy there seem to have been considerable difficulties iu the 

 way of establishing the industry, Figuier mentions that in Tuscany, 

 ^'in 1440, each Tuscan peasant 7^a.?/orc'e(:? to plant at least five mulberry 

 trees on the land he cultivated." 



His Excellency, our late lamented Governor, Sir Eobert Duff, who, 

 with the members of his family, took considerable interest in seri- 

 culture, caused a translation to be made and published on the 

 '^ History and present state of Sericulture and Silk-spinning in 

 Hungary, 18U1." The writer of the article says, "Silk culture was 

 begun in Hungary towai'ds the end of the 17th century; the industry 

 was most successful until the end of the last century, when it was 

 almost entirely abolished by various unfavourable circumstances. In 

 1811 a Commission was instituted, under the protection of Joseph (the 

 late Archduke of the Palatinate), for the promotion of silk culture, 

 and through his zeal the industry gradually revived, so that in 1826 

 the amount of cocoons gathered rose to 152,000 kilogrammes 

 (1 kilo. = 2*2055 lb.) The present Archduke Joseph, following the 

 example of his father, is one of the most ardent supporters of this 

 grand industry. Between 1835 and 1845 the amount of cocoons pro- 

 duced reached the maximum of 250,000 kilos., and this amount was 

 maintained until the political crisis of 1848-9. At that period the 

 industry began to decline, and during 1850 and the few following 



