66 DIRECT BENEFITS FROM MOTHS. 



silk was an object of much commercial interest 

 among the ancient Mexicans, at least as far back 

 as the time of Montezuma, king of Mexico, who 

 reigned in the year 1511. These people pasted 

 together the inner layers, to form a thick, white, and 

 glossy pasteboard for the purpose of writing. Hum- 

 boldt says, in his Political Essay on New Spain* that 

 handkerchiefs are manufactured from this silk at 

 various places in the intendancy of Oaxaca. 



Indian grass, used by anglers, is said to be pro- 

 cured by the Chinese from the gum and silk recep- 

 tacles of several of the lepidopterous larvae. 



Most of the caterpillars of butterflies and moths 

 are formed so as to spin silk. This is of various 

 degrees of texture and colour, according to the species ; 

 and we have already seen, that Nature has endowed 

 them with this faculty for the protection of the pupa, 

 and has also enabled them to construct coverings for 

 their own comfort and safety, after their exclusion from 

 the egg. We have shewn that, by spinning a thread, 

 they are also enabled to descend from a branch to the 

 ground in safety, and also to return to a tree by the 

 same filament. The construction of their feet is 

 admirably adapted for this purpose. Each of the 

 six fore legs is provided with a hooked claw, as in 

 the following figure ; 



* Annals of Botany, vol. iii. p. 59. 



