74 THE CULTURE 



has been prefcribed, becaufe its fruit re- 

 fembled the mulberry, but the flavour of 

 the leaf has not the Icaft affinity, being 

 auftere and flyptick, whereas the mulberry 

 has a mild fweet tafte, with a peculiar 

 flavour, and the others have been pre- 

 fcribed perhaps, becaufe the worms, to 

 avoid being famifh'd, w^ould eat them. 

 But as each particular fpecies of caterpillar 

 has its peculiar plant allotted for food, 

 fo the filkworm has the mulberry, which 

 alone it willingly eats, of all plants or 

 leaves yet tryed ; neither do other cater- 

 pillars willingly eat the mulberry that I 

 have heard of; I tryed the fpeckled hairy 

 worms that feed on the nettle and feveral 

 others, bat they would not touch it. I 

 once indeed met with a green worm, a- 

 bout an inch long, and as thick as an 

 oaten ftraw upon the mulberry- tree ; I fed 

 it in a box with the leaves of the mulberry -, 

 it was very nimble and wary , it changed 

 into a fmall brown-winged moth ; I believe, 

 as it was Angle, it was not a native qf that 

 tree, but cam.e there by accident, 



Thefe things being confidered, I think 

 the ill confequences of giving the worms 

 any thing. for food but the mulberry-leaf 



will 



