250 A, D, 1608, 



' Having feeu,' fays King James, ' in a few years fpace, that our bro- 

 * tlier the French king hath, fince his coming to that crown, both be- 

 ' gun and brought to perfedion the making of filk in his country, 

 ' whereby he hath won to himfelf honour, and to his fubjeds a mar- 

 ' vellous increafe of wealth.' This was very true ; but experience has 

 flievvn tliat neither that king nor any of his fucceflbrs have been able to 

 propagate filk in any place north of the river Loire, and much lefs fo 

 far north as about Paris. 



Neither have any later attempts in England for this purpofe fucceed- 

 ed ; our climate being apparently too cold for it. But the climate in 

 Carolina and Georgia is better fuited for filk-worms than the very 

 foLithernmoft provinces of Spain, France, or Italy ; which therefor 

 it is earneftly hoped will foon be efl'ec^ually encouraged, as very hope- 

 ful and confiderable beginnings have already been made. But as the 

 bringing of fo great a matter to any degree of perfedion will require 

 many hands and much expenfe, it feems very well to merit the confider- 

 ation and aid of the public ; the quantity of raw filk of the very befl 

 quality already produced in thofe two provinces giving rational ground 

 for hoping that perhaps even the very next generation may enjoy the 

 fubftantial effeds of the prefent endeavours for the propagation as well 

 of filk as of wines, potaflies, cochineal, and fundry other excellent new 

 produdions ; more efpecially confidering the encouragement annually 

 allotted for thofe and many other noble purpofes by the honourable and 

 ever to be applauded fociety for the encouragement of arts, manufac- 

 tures, and commerce, lately efi:ablifhed in our own time. 



Hitherto the Englifh were but little Ikilled in the arts of dying and 

 drefling their own woollen cloths ; they therefor ufually fent them white 

 into Holland, where they were dyed and drefi^ed, and then fent back to 

 England for fale. It is furprifing that thofe who made the fineft cloths 

 in the world could not finifli them : but the fad was really fo. Alder- 

 man Cockayne, and fome other merchants, refleding on the great profit 

 thereby made by the Hollanders, propofed to the king to undertake the 

 dying and drefling of cloths at home, to the great profit of the public 

 and his majefi:y ; whereupon Cockayne obtained an exclufive patent for 

 it, and the king was to have the monopoly of the fale of fuch home-dyed 

 cloths. The king thereupon ifilied a proclamation, prohibiting any 

 white cloths to be fent beyond fea, and leized the charter of the com- 

 pany of merchant-adventurers, which empowered them to export white 

 cloths. The Hollanders and German cities, on the other fide, prohi- 

 bited the importation of all Englilh dyed cloths. Thus was commerce 

 thrown into confufion, Cockayne being difabled from felling his cloth 

 any where but at home : befide that, his cloths were worfe done, and 

 yet were dearer, than thofe done in Holland. There was a very great 



