THE MODERN HISTORY OF SILK. 185 



About the beginning of July, the caterpillars had 

 attained their full growth, and exhibited a disposition 

 to spin ; but, at this crisis, a chilling north wind 

 set in, accompanied by a degree of cold little less 

 severe than some of the winter months. Its baneful 

 effects were visibly displayed on Miss Rhodes's little 

 colony. Those that were ready to spin became of 

 such icy coldness, that it was scarcely possible to 

 bear them on the hand ; they made some feeble 

 efforts to eject the thread from their mouths, but in 

 vain, for they shrunk into the chrysalis state without 

 being able to form even the web which encloses the 

 cone. " This," says Miss Rhodes, " was equally 

 new and alarming to me, and I watched them with 

 the most anxious attention. The principle of life was 

 as visible in them as in the chrysalises which they had 

 spun. That this change was the effect of cold, I had 

 no doubt ; but I wished to discover how that effect 

 was produced, and this I could only do by opening 

 some of them. On examination, I found that the 

 glutinous matter which forms the silk was become 

 so highly congealed by the cold, that it resembled 

 a strong tendon, both in appearance and tenacity ; 

 whereas I had ever found it to be perfectly fluid in 

 those worms which were employed in spinning. 



" My distress increased hourly, for thousands went 

 off thus every day. It was sufficiently obvious that 

 the making of fires would remedy the evil ; but they 

 were unfortunately situated over a range of ware- 

 houses, which rendered that not only dangerous, but 

 impossible. To remove such numbers into the house 



VOL. II. N 



